The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1918-02-10

| in order to convince the mothers faith
ers. sisters, brothers, wives. sweet
hearts and friends of the million and
a half of gallant young men who are
! giving UP all, maybe their lives, for
| their. country. that the United States
soldiers are being mistreated and neg
lected when sick, and even after death,
| in clever effort to distract attention
/ from his mistake, is unbelievable cona
duct for man who holds the high
position of United States senator.
IF Senator Chamberlain is sincere
/ in desiring to know the facts about
health conditions in army cantonments
and of how sick soldiers are treated
he should visit some of the canton
mentS. He should take with him
| physician who has had experience IN
sanitation or in hospital management;
and after getting all the facts, then
publish them. Millions of the good
/ people of this country now are dis
| tressed with the belief that our brave
soldiers are being mistreated and II
/ Is Senator Chamberlain's duty as a
| man and as a senator to give the peo-
! pie the facts-not damn the whole
army from the Secretary of War
down to the humblest private, because
| he heard of instances where two out
! of million and a half soldiers have
| neglected their duty.
IF Senator Chamberlain Will go to
the army environments he will find
| the most comfortable, the best
equipped the best managed temporary
hospitals that have ever cared for the
/ sick of an army in this or any other
/ country Senator Chamberlain will find
al the head OF each OF these arms
| hospitals a regular army surgeon who
l has had years of experience in tn
l administration OF military hospitals.
| He also will find in each of them
a number of the le~>ng physicians,
i surgeons and specialists in all branches
| OF medicine. from various medical CEN
/ tiers of the United States, who have
given up practice ranging from $10,-
060 to $4,000 annually, to serve their
country on salaries of from $4,000 to
/ $4,000 per year. There are also in each
1 of these hospitals a number of voung-
| er physicians selected because OF their
| he spital experience, to assist in the
medical and surgical work. Senator
/ Chamberlain would find in each of
/ these hospitals 60 per cent more of
the very best nurses in the United
States. Only the highest class of
| nurses have been selected. He will
fine the sanitary arrangements in and
| surrounding the 3S environments in
better condition than in the suburbs
! of any city, or in the rural districts
4 of any state in the union.
4
had purer water supplies. the install
| lation of which, in such short time,
| has been marvel of engineering
| skill; and as yet, according to the
| statement of any army engineer. no
case of a water borne disease has oc-
Cured among the million and half
men in cantonments Another thing
| that never has been done before is
the hot and cold shower baths, suffi-
cient for every soldier in the army to
have bath every day, if he desires it.
senator Chamberlain may find Il
few incompetents in the medical
corps, but the number is so few that
they amount to nothing when CON-
| pared to the 10000 medical officers
and $4,000 enlisted men who are effi-
Gent, and who are doing their full
duty In caring for our sick soldiers.
No organization made up Of huma Il
| beings is perfect. Not even the SEN
ate.
considering the stupendous under
taking of getting million and a half
men in training camps in the time
| given, 1t simply is wonderful what has
been accomplished by the army Brit
tsh and French officers who have in
/ spected our camps marvel at the eff
| clcncy OF the American army, and the
! English papers every week call at
tention to how much more the United
states mas done the first year of the
war than the British did in the same
time. There are SO many splendid ex-
cellent thing that have been done by
tho army, and SO few mistakes have
been made. 1t would seem the chair
man OF the Senate military committee
should tell the people of our country
OF that which would encourage us to
win the war, rather than distress and
discourage us by his criticism OF the
lew instances of inefficiency and in
competency that have occurred
If Senator Chamberlain is sincere
a ne has heart and desires to re-
licve the minds of the millions of men
ard women whom he h. distressed
by publishing the two gruesome letters
with the inference that the whole
army, from the secretary down, is
guilty Of neglecting and mistreatins
our soldiers. let him get all the facts
and publish them Until he does this
he will stand before the American
people as guilty Of the most cruel