The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1905-05-25
MOrtality In War.


neard from already as jealous adj
mirer OF Japanese sanitation methods.
is on his way to the seat of war In
quest of further ammunition to use IN
the fight he purposes to wage for NJ
form in the United States army.
Friends of soldiers will wish DR.. Sea-
man success in his efforts to mitigate
the evils Of the camp, battlefield and
hospital. But little temperance In
the statement by which he seeks to
indict the United States military au-
thorities for negligence or ignorance
would help to win adherents to the
cause this reformer has at heart. His
reflections upon army sanitation In
this country made months ago have
been printed broadcast and are to the
effect that American methods are
shamefully behind the Japanese.
Before embarking on his present voy-
age DIR. Seaman again called attention
through a newspaper interview to the
recovery Of the Japanese wounded, one
instance cited by him being sufficient
to show the tenor and depth of his
whole argument. He says:
I was at Hiroshima last summer when
$3.50 men were brought from the front.
OF that entire number only thirty-four
died. The great majority Of them got wen
and returned to the front. There were
1,1O6 brought to Tokyo. and Of that num-
Der not a single one died, although they
were shot in every possible way. Six OF
them had bullets through the brain In
different directions. Nine had bullets
through their chests. Six had bullets
through the abdomen, the point of exit
and of entrance being discernible in all
cases. And they all got we'll. That was
principally because they were fed on q
ration that is rational ration. and they
did not have their systems loaded with
uric acid and other elements that excite
Inflammation after injury and cause
death.
The soldiers sent from Manchuria
to hospitals in Japan are considered
"curables'' and must be in pretty fair
condition to be able to endure trans
portation for that distance There II
nothing remarkable in the fact that
1.-The great majority Of them got well
and returned to the front" The same
could be said of any 10000 sick and
wounded soldiers treated in hospitals
throughout the north in our civil war.
AS to the Tokyo wounded, there II
nothing exceptional in the showing pre-
scented by Dr. Seaman. Recovery from
bullet wounds in the brain, the chest
the abdomen and even the heart were
not held to be phenomenal in the civil
war. Any one who is curious to know
the facts will find the cases described
in detail in the Medical and Surgical
Record, published by the surgeon gen
eral of the United States army after
the war.
The truth is that the recovery Of %
riously wounded soldiers under army
medical and surgical attendance was
as remarkable for those times as any
showing the Japs have made is re-
markable for these times. The very
best talent Of the country was in the
service of the government. Scarcely
a name noted in the medical and sur
gical annals of the war era but was
connected with army hospital work
That Of DR.. s. Weir Mitchell may b
cited as an example. J
Thirty years ago, more or less. tia
case Of the soldier who survived the
simultaneous amputation Of both le8s
and both arms was well known all over
the country. And there is now living,
or was a couple Of years ago. Maine
veteran who was hit by seven bullets
within seven minutes in 1854 and lay
neglected on the field for hours as .
man past all hope Of recovery. One
bullet went through his brain, render
ing him unconscious; one went through
the chest and another through the
thigh.
1t would be a grewsome tale to re-
count the many remarkable cases Of
recovery from wounds in the civil war.
Men got well from almost every con-
ceivable form of battle injury. In
fact, the worst cases recovered. In
the field it was held that badly
wounded man had the best chance. He
was sure of every attention and, being
alarmed for himself, co-operated with
the surgeons and attendants. Often
the slightly wounded man was over
confident and reckless, or perhaps was
respondent and invited complicating
diseases, thus neutralizing the efforts
of the medical and surgical staff.
There is a point against DR.. Osler
and other sticklers for age limit in
achievement in the biography Of Theo-
dore Thomas. At rehearsal the play
ing of the orchestra was careless and
mechanical, and the maestro signaled
to stop. Looking over the players, he
said: young men, 1 am sixty eight
years old and still advancing. There
are some Of you who will lose your