The Oskaloosa herald., 1906-11-15
HEALTH OF ARMY
STATED IN DETAIL
AMERICANS RANK SECOND IN
DEATH RATE.
DISEASE LESS MALIGNANT
Sickness Among Enlisted Men Shows
Decrease for the Slx-Year
Period Running from
1898 to 1908.

Washington, Nov. 1.-THE report
upon the work Of the medical depart
ment of the army by Surgeon General
r. M. O'Reilly, which has just been
made public at the war department,
goes with great detail Of that service
during the calendar year 1905, and
also compares the health of the diff
ferent armies of the world, as far as
possible in view of the different con-
ditions in each army.
The United States and Great Bril-
tain are the only countries whose sta
tistics include that part of the army
serving outside of the home country.
Many of the countries have a low
death rate because their sick are
promptly discharged or retired and
die out of the service instead of on
the sick report.
The highest rate of admission to
the sick report is held by the Dutch
army, whose rate is 1921 per thou
sand men; with the American army
ranking second, with 1895, and the
Russian army holding the lowest rate
of 3.4S per thousand men.
The British army ranks first in the
death rate, with 7.13 deaths per thou
sand men, the American army having
the next highest, 6.2S. The Prussian
army has the lowest rate, per thou
sand men.
Duration of Sickness.
An important factor in judging the
relative healthfulness of the different
armies is the average duration of each
case of sickness, the American army,
according to their standard, eXcelling
all others except the Dutch and Ba-
varian. The average duration of each
case in the United States army was
less than one-half of that of the Brit.
lsh and little more than one-half
that of the Spanish army.
With regard to special diseases, the
admission rates in the American army
were better than in most of the armies
In the following instances: Bron.
chitis, pleurisy, pneumonia, tubercu.
losls, erysipelas, sunstroke, relapsing
| fever, scarletina and trachoma. The
American army, however, exceeded all
other armies in alcoholism and dyson
| terry.
The surgeon general states that the
total number Of admissions to the sicl
report during the year was 73,742
equal to an admission rate of 1,295.9I
per thousand men, compared with /,
354.S9 for the previous year and 1908.
81 for the sexennial period from 1895
to 1903.
Death Rate Lowered.
The death rate was also much bet
ter than for the previous year, there
being 36S deaths from all causes
equivalent to 6.28 per thousand, a:
compared with CTS for the previous
year, and TIC for the six-year period
There was an increase in the dis
charges for disability, which mum
bered 1,464, or at the rate of 25 pc,
thousand men, as compared with o.!
for the preceding year. This increase
Is accounted for by the new system o
recruiting, many men now, being dis
charged after enlistment who woult
formerly have been rejected befor,
enlistment.
AS cause Of death, tuberculosi
led with a rate of 0.6S, a slight in
crease as compared with the previou
year; pneumonia was second, rat
032, as compared with 065 for 1904
typhoid fever dropped from 0.33 t
029, and diarrheal diseases from 0.3
for last year to 0.20.
| In comparing the different arms Q
the service, the admission rate wa
highest in the field artillery, and low
est in the hospital corps, while tn
death rate was highest in the hospits
corps and lowest in the coast artiller!
More Foreign Recruits.
In a, chapter devoted to recruiting
the report shows that the proportio
of foreign born white recruits wa
slightly larger than last year, 1861
per 1000, as against 1902 for 100.
AS the result of the reduction of tn
minimum age for enlistment from 2
/ years W 10 lSoulICu Gil CuIo
ment Of 1870 men under 20 years {
age.
Fort Niagara, N. Y, which last yea
had the lowest admission rate, thi
year occupies the same enviable pos
ton, and in addition had the loves
noneffective and discharge rates.
A comparison of the health of tn
colored troops with that of the whit
troops is given in the report and, wit
the exception Of the death rate, a
the other rates were lower for tn
colored troops than for the whit
troops.
Conditions In the Philippines.
In speaking of the health of til
troops in the Philippines, the repo
, says that all the rates. except til
, death rate for disease, were lowe
than in 1904. tuberculosis alor
caused nearly so per cent of the di
charges and more than 20 per cen
of the deaths from disease, Agai
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