Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-03-16
BAKER OPPOSES,
WILSON ~FAVORS,
THE GORGAS BILL
First Difference of President
and Secretary Comes on
Army Ranking

Washington, March 16.-The first
sign of discord between President
Wilson and Secretary of War Baker
over Il question of war policy was
disclosed to the Senate committee
on military affairs yesterday when
witnesses urging passage of the
owen bill, raising the rank of Army
medical officers to conform to that
in other armies, testified that the
measure enjoyed the sympathy and
support of the President and at the
same time is bitterly opposed by the
Secretary of War and a number of
his principal subordinates.
Almost at the same time that
Senator Owen, of Oklahoma, was
telling the committee the President
was heartily in favor of the BILL
a letter was received by Senator
Hitchcock, acting chairman, in the
absence of Senator Chamberlain,
stating that the measure would dis
rupt and unbalance ranks through
out the Army. This letter was sign
ed by Benedict Crowell, Assistant
Secretary of War, and in charge of
the department during Secretary
Bakers absence in France.
The measure introduced by Sena-
tor Owen, at the request of Major
General W. c. Gorgas, surgeon gen.
eral of the Army, provides for an in
crease in the number of medical
officers of the higher grades to meet
the ratio existing in the Navy. On
the basis OF an army of 100000
men, supporters of the bill explain
approximately seventy officers of the
medical corps would be raised to the
rank of general, thirty-five to ma
jor, thirty-five to brigadier general
and about $50 officers would acquire
the rank of colonel. The witnesses
besides Senator Owen were Surgeon
General Gorgas, Major c. II. Mayo,
of the medical corps, one of the IA
nous Mayo brothers, surgeons of
Rochester, Mimi, and Franklin
Martin, of Philadelphia, head of the
division of health and sanitation of
the Council of National Defense.
Orders Are Disregarded
The three doctors told the COM
mittee that the orders and recon-
mendations of medical officers un-
der the present ranking system in
the Army are virtually void, mas
much as they are fiagrantly disre-
garded by line officers even in cases
where the health of the Army is
involved. Senator Owen also i'm
| pressed upon the committee the con-
tention that line officers ignore the
advice of surgeons and contradict
the orders of medical officers to the
detriment of the service and the
health conditions in the camps and
cantonments.
General Gorgas said that when he
had recommended advanced ranks
for medical officers to Secretary
Baker and submitted to him a plan
for the correction of the system
the Secretary peremptorily rejected
it. The bill was then introduced,
Notwithstanding the Secretary OF
Wars opposition, and Senator Owen
| testified that it had the approval of
the President regardless of Mr.. Ba-
kers views to the contrary.
General Gorgas related his efforts
| to impress upon Secretary Baker
| the necessity of constructing hospi-
tails first in the various Army can
tonments. 1t was shown in the re-
cent War Department investigation
that the delay in hospital construc-
ton led to deplorable conditions in
| several camps. In spite of the Sur
geon Generals recommendation the
hospitals were among the last to be
completed in some cantonments, he
said.
At Norfolk, Va, the surgeon gen.
eral stated, the ranking line officer
refused to adopt the recommended
tions of the ranking medical officers,
and, as q consequence, the port of
embarkation was literally over
whelmed with sick soldiers"
Mayo Predicts Scandals
Major Mayo, who recently return
ed from France, boldly predicted
that grave scandals would grow out
of the situation where medical Of
ficers were virtually powerless to
enforce rules they knew to be yir-
tually necessary. He said he was
most eager that the Owen bill should
pass. That even if it does not, he
desired to make his position per-