The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-12-04
Troops On The
Border Have
= Best of Medical
Attention
(By Associated Press.)

the last five months the most complete
medical organization known to the
United States army has been devel
|oped to care for the 100000 state and
Irregular troops stationed at border
points and in Mexico.
The system includes five base hos
pitfalls, located at strategic points in
the long stretch of border territory;
ieight camp hospitals at other points
where troops are stationed, canton.
ment hospital at Columbus, N. M, to
serve the force on duty in Mexico, and
|26 ambulance companies and Al field
hospitals distributed among troops in
the field.
The base and camp hopitals afford
for total of 1900 pa
tients and have medical and surgical
facilities, equal to the finest hospitals.
Not more than half the beds have
been occupied at any one time since
the nations militia strength was
called into the federal service, but
the room is available in case of need.
Back of this array is the potential
organization. A hospital train of ten
Pullman cars, with a capacity of $50
patients, has been placed in use to
transport patients from the camp to
the base hospitals and fro mbase hos
pitfalls to general military hospitals in
various parts of the country, should a
campaign in Mexico be undertaken.
These larger institution are the Wal
ter Reed hospital at Washington, D..
c., the General Army and Navy hospi-
tai at Hot Springs, Ark, and the Let
timann hospital at San Francisco.
About 1000 beds are vacant in the
three hospitals at the present time.
In addition, number of army posts
have been selected for transformation
into general hospitals in acse of emer-
gency. This list includes Fort Nc
Pherson, at Atlanta; Fort Oglethorpe,
also in George; Fort Benjamin Harri-
son, Indianapolis, and other army sta
tons where barracks are available for
hospital purposes.
The medical corps has complete
equipment in storage for twenty evac-
uation hospitals and two base hospit-
ais. An evacuation hospital takes
care of 300 patients and a base hos
pital accommodates 500, SO the total
reserve equipment ready for use at
notice is sufficient for 5000
men. Evacuation hospitals are en-
tirely under canvas and are intended
for use along an extended line of COM
The base hospitals now in service
are located at Fort Sam Houston, Fort
Bliss, Brownsville, Eagle Pass and
Nogales Serving as feeders of these
institutions are the camp hospitals
located at the following points: Lore
do, 100 beds; Del Rio, rs beds; Maria,
$50 beds; Deming, 1870 beds; Douglas,
300 beds; Llano Glande, 200 beds;
McAllen, $50 beds; and Fort Clark,
$50 beds.
Last July when state troops began
arriving at the border the only army
for the care of sick
were the post hospitals at Fort Sam,
Houston, and Fort Bliss and much
places at Laredo and a few
other border points. Practically the
entire system of base and camp hos
pitfalls has been built since the call on
the National Guard was made.
AS result of the scientific methods
adopted by the medical corps and the
steps taken to insure absolute SAM.
tatfon in border camps, the big COM
mand of regulars and militia has set
new health record From MAY / to
October 81, there were only Is deaths
from disease in the force of more than
100000 and of this small number only
q deaths were due to infectious NAL.
aides.
Typhoid fever was formerly the
vast scourge of camp but it has no
place among the troops along the
Mexican border. From May / to DC.
tober is only 81 cases of typhoid de.
veloped and no deaths resulted from
the disease. All of these cases were
among the National Guard organiza.
lions, where in some instances the
men were not inoculated with typhus
serum until after regiments had come
to the border. There was not a single
case among the $4,000 troops of the
regular army engaged in patrol duty
and stationed in Mexico with General
Pershings command.
In Spanish-American war DAVIS
over a period of eight months in 1898.