The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-01-06

floating hospitals, and that each such
ship should therefore be placed under
the command of a medical officer, the
navigation being controlled by a COM
petent sailing master. This order was
issued after the most careful consid-
Grafton, by the secretary of the navy
End by the president, of all the reasons
that could be adduced for and against
it, The case has now been reopened,
and the secretary of the navy and the
president have again listened to and
considered all the reasons that could
be adduced against putting the order
into effect. After the fullest consider
alton / have determined that the order
is right, and it is hereby confirmed.
THE hospital ships of the navy Will
hereafter, unless otherwise directed by
congress, be placed under the control
and command of medical Officers of the
navy, their navigation being exclusive
ly controlled by 4 competent sailing
master and civilian crew, the sailing
master having the complete RESPONSE
6ility for everything connected with
the navigation of the ship. Such a
ship is merely a floating hospital. The
hospital ship now in question, the Re-
lied, has already been used by the
United States army as such. 1t was
then commanded by a medical officer
with sailing master under him. This
arrangement has worked well, and il
is prepOsterous to suppose that it Will
not work as well under a medical Off
Ger OF the navy as under a medical Of
ficer of the army"
The president cites the experience of
foreign navies, as we'll as that. of the
United States. as proving the wisdom
of the order issued. The absurdity of
permitting a line Officer to command
hospital ship was shown, the presi-
dent says, in the case of the United
States hospital ship Solace, during the
war with Spain, when the line officer
in command actually attempted to put
in claim for prize money for the part
the Solace took in the capture of the
Adua, while the Solace was flying the
Red Cross flag and protesting neutral
ity. ON another occasion the Solace
interfered with the passage of a
schooner in the Old Bahama channel,
so that the United States torpedo boat
nearby could board and investigate
her. On yet another occasion, but for
the vigilance of the medical officers
aboard ner, the Solace would have car
ried armed men from New York to
Cuba. Her senior medical officer re-
ported the violation of neutrality to
the navy department and the ship was
recalled after passing through the Mar
lows and the armed men removed"
Line Officers Inappropriate.
The president closes hs letter by say
ing:
Hospital ships, afloat. should no
more be under the command of line
officers than regiments or warships
should be under the command of sur
geons; one kind of appointment is
as inappropriate as is the other Hos
pital ships should be maintained in
time of peace exactly under the same
conditions is il times of war. The sys-
TEN has been tried in the army and
tried I'm foreign navies, and has work
ed without a hitch. II is the only
system that should be tolerated: and
If it fails to work well this failure can
only be due to lack of desire to have
it work well on the part of those con-
cerned.
Il direct that, unless congress pro-
vides otherwise, the practice i'm the
ravy be similar to that now observed
i'm the army. In the army the hospital
ship is treated as a general hospital;
and article 1857 reads as follows:
" General hospitals will be under the
exclusive control of the surgeon gen.
eral and will be governed by such reg
ulations as the secretary of war may
prescribe. The senior surgeon will
command the same
Admiral Brownson was shown the
presidents letter today by a represent
ative of the Associated Press and ask
ed il he would not feel at liberty to
say something in his own behalf. Not
a word" was his prompt reply, and this
attitude he maintained to all INQUIRIES
for his own views. The admiral has
consistently declined to say anything
for publication in the whole matter.
Admiral BrOwnSon left Washington
this afternoon for n duck shooting trip
to South Carolina