The Detroit times., 1911-02-18
IT.WAYNE SURGEON
ADMITS SOLDIERS
ARE DIss0LUTE
Statistics Show 10 Per Cent Treated
For Social Diseases, Ratio Being
Over Twice That in British Army.
Nearest Competitor.
Doctor Says, Though, That Better
Men Are Entering Ranks and
Standard Will Improve.

IT Is true that the rate OF blood
diseases In the United States army IL
high, but | don't think the Increase
mas peen as high as 80 per cent in the
past ~ years, as stated by DR.. Nor
!. row. said DR.. Frederick M. Hartsock
United States army surgeon at Fort
Wayne, TO Times reporter, Friday
morning.
DR.. Hartsock's statement came in
reply TO q queHy-concerning his knovl.
edge OF the conditions mentioned oy
a DR.. Prince A. Morrow, who stated 20
The Times. while he was in Detroit
on Thursday, that the United States
army 10 the most dissolute In the
world"
DIR. Hartsock made no effort to
paint the soldiers as saints, but was
anxious to produce records OF the
surgeon-general to show the condi.
tons for the period singled out by DR.
: Morrow for comparison, being con.
vinced that there would be no evi.
dence for confederation OF the per-
centage increase given. The only re.
ports available, however, were those
for 1909 and 1910, both OF which were
about the same. That for 1910 showed
the United States army up in a bad
light as compared with other armies.
and tended to bear out the statement
OF DR.. Morrow. Ii recorded that 1876
out OF every 1000 members of Uncle
Sans army were admitted to post
hospitals for treatment for blood dis
eases. Similar statistics for foreign
armies for the same year were given
as follows: British, rs; Germany, Is;
French, 81. and Austrian, "a.
n DR.. Hartsock doesn't place mucn
credence in the comparative figures.
pointing out that the recording OF
such cases Is much more strict in the
, United States army than in those or
foreign countries.
Il have been with the United States
troops in China. Cuba and the Philip
pines" said DR.. Hartsock, and a.
know from personal observation just
what the moral conditions are in the
foreign armies. talked with the
eurgeons OF the different armies and
they told me that blood disease condi-
lions were bad among their soldiers.
But I grant that the conditions may
be worse among the United States
soldiers than among those OF foreign
countries. Yet l am confident that
there has been nothing like an in
crease of so per cent in the past 10
years. There are reasons for bellev.
ing that the United States soldiers are
more afflicted with blood diseases
than foreign soldiers. The boys IN
our army are much better paid than
those in foreign nations, and, corse-
uuently, have more money to spend.
They also have more liberty than the
foreigners, more time to themselves.
They are not savers, either, like the
Germans, who are generally fruga.,
the German soldier usually saving
about SO out of 81 from his pay.
But I want to tell you that We are
getting a better class of men in ne
army now than we did some years
ago. The standard is being raised oil
the time and moral conditions arc
bound to be better from now on. The /
medical authorities i'm the army are
also employing new methods to III I
minish the rate of blood diseases 1
among the soldiers.
"Yet, in spite of the statistics con-
corning the United States soldiers.