The sun., 1908-01-06

dent under and In accordance with the law
enacted by Congress: and the nrst duty OF
every oticsr. whether OF the line. Of the pay
Department.. OF the medical department or Of
the construction department. whether in one
bureau or In another. is 20 give immediate
and loyal obedience 20 svery lawful command
of q superior and Of course. above all. to the
law Itself. This duty Il incumbent upon all,
hut Il IN most incumbent upon those highest
IN rank. whose example may bO Of far reach
ing effect. TEBoDokA RoosnvRLr.
The second letter was written on January
4. two days later. ItS taxi tOllOws:
To the SecrstGry Of tdS NsVvS
Your predecessor In the Navy Department
on December n. 1909. directed that hospital
ships should bS treated a. floating hospitals
and that each ship should therefore be placed
under the command Of q medical OftiCor.
the navigation being controlled by . cOmps-
tent sailing master. This order was issued
after the most careful consideration by the
Secretary Of the Navy and by the President.
OF all the reasons that could be adduOed for
and against Il, The case has now been
reopened and the Secretary Of the Navy and
the President have again listened to and con-
sldered all the reasons that could be adduCed
against putting tho order into effect. After
the fullest consideration have determined
that the order 10 right and II 10 hereby con-
nrmed.
The hospital ships Of the navy will here
after. unless otherwise directed by Congress.
be placed under the control and command Of
medical officers Of the navy. their navigation
being exclusively controlled by competent
sailing master and civilian crew. the sailing
master having the complete responsibility
for everything connected with the navigation
Of the ship such q ship is merely a floating
hospital The hospital ship now in question.
the kelief has already been used by the
AeaA then
commanded by a medical officer with sailing
master under him. This arrangement orked
well. and Il is preposterOus to suppose that II
wtllknot work as well under q medical oficer
Of the navy under a medical officer OF the
army.
Certain hospital ships in the British. Ger
man. japanese and Italian navies have al
ready been commanded by medical Officers
sometimes feet surgeons. sometimes Red
Gross surgeons. In these navies che only
nhips OF which have been able TO get record
were thus commanded. save that in the Japa-
nese navy the hospital ships at the beginning
Of the late war we're commanded by line
ofncers, but were then put under the COM
mand OF medical officers to avoid all question
Of possible breach Of neutrality. In our
own service at the close OF the civil war, by
general order Of February .. 1885. hospital
transports and hospital boats were placed
exclusively under the control Of the medical
ippi being under the command OF fieet
surgeon with an acting master under him
~ navigating officer.
In the Spanish-America war the hospital
ships ViRilianCia, Relief. Missouri, Bay state
and Olivette we're by various orders numbers
lOs, I72 iss. 2l2. 273. &c., placed under the
charge o. or the command OF various army
surgeons. the order sometimes reading that
the SURGEON will take charge OF" the hospital
stap, srmetimes that ne will assume COM
mand OF" the hospital ship. this last being the
form OF wo-cs used in connection with the
ship Relief. the one that we are now con-
sidsring. The manual Of the medical de-
paHtment OF the United States Army for
1905 provides that hospital boats shall be
exclusively ,,nder the control OF the medical
department; and the order OF the Secretary
OF the Navy OF December II. 1909. puts hoo
pitaI shipS under thB command OF. naval
surgeons. Al present two pay officers are
serving in naval hospital ships uEder the
command of medical officers OF the navy and
the present Paymaster-General OF the Navy
served under the command Of medical
Oficer % the navy in 1879.
Military surgeons including naval sur
ReOns, have special knowledge OF hospital
ships and they have in addition certain mill
tRry duties of command, organization drills
ana discipline. just as do Oficers OF the line.
awarding punishments and being guided
saEne regulations that guide and govern Ofil-
GERS Of the line. The command of hospital
ship should unuuestiOnably be vested in n
medical officer and no line officer should
be aboard It. The medical officer ia such
case ia simply the responsible head Of large
hospital plant. which by reason OF his train
ing he Ia peculiarly fitted 10 command.
IL rs not his province to navigate the vessel.
this should be left to a civilian sailing master;
dbut he and he alone Is best qualified to re-
spect and guard the neutrality of the ship.
The absurdity Of permitting a live officer
"a, command a hospital ship was shown in
the case OF the United states hospital ship
Solace during the war With Spain, VIXEN the
line off1cer ia command actually attempted
to put in a claim for prize money for the
paft the Soace took in the capture of the
Adula while the Solace was flying the Red
Cross flag and processing neutrality. On
another occasion the SOlace interfered with
the progress of a schooner in the old Bahama
Channel 50 that the United States torpedo
boats near by could board and investigate
her. On yet another occasion. but for the
vigilance OF the medical officer aboard her,
the Solace would have carried armed men
from New York to Cuba. Her senior medical
Olloer reported the violation Of neutrality
to the Navy Department and the ship was
recalled after passing through the Narrows
and the armed men removed.
In the Russo-Japanese war a Russian
hospital ship violated her neutrality and was
captured and cOnhscated by the Japanese.
In time OF war the presence OF cOmbatants-
that is, OF line officers or crew-wOuld GER
AalnIy cast a suspicion upon the neutrality
Of the ship and no line officer worth his
salt would wish to be on such a ship, while II
seems incredible that any line officer should
desire 20 have another line OficeT on board
such a ship.
Hospitals anoat or ashore should no more
be under the command OF line officers than
regiments OF warships should be under the
command OF surgeons: one kind Of appoint
unent IL quite as Inappropriate as the other
Hospital ships should be maintained in time
Of peace exactly under the same conditions
assiu time OF war. The system has been
tried in the army and tried in foreign navies
and has worked without a hitch. II 10 the
only system that should be tolerated. and
II Il fails to work well this failure can only
he due to lack Of desire 20 have 1t work well
on the part OF those concerned.
] direct that unless Congress provide other
wise the practice In the navy be assimilated
to that now obtaining In the army. In the
army the hospital ship Is treated as a genera
hospital, and Article 1897 reads as follows
General hospitals will be under the eX-
elusive control Of the Surgeon-General and
secretary OF war may prescribe. me seniOI
auIgeo will command the same.
THEODORE ROOSEVELT.
POLICE IGNORE INJUNCTION