South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1918-09-18
Other Editors Than Ours
ARMY HEALTH RATE Il BEST IN WAR HISTORY
OF IT'D WORLD.
{ Ma.hingtnn Time,. }

Washington Tfmes)
The American army has practically eradcated
of disease. which previous caused
deaths than shra2uel ard sword.
The credit side of the army's health ledger carries
table of lower and lower percentages. Am American
soldier of today takes his chance the firing line
rather than in hospital a mess hall where impure
food is served our armies at home and abroad
menaced 10y embamed beer scandals such as occurred
during the Spanish-American war Typhoid is almost
unknown on battle field in training Mortal
ity pneumonia remarkably low Social diseases
no longer seriously menace the effectiveness of Ameri
can armies.
recent report from the office of the surgeon gen
era of the army discoses that past
the average death rate account of disease only
2S per thousand This report both American
expeditionary forces and the training camps home
This means that out Of each thousand men under
arms during that period less than three died of
disease. The i'm civil life would hardly ask a
greater odds against death.
Comparative figures covering the past Of the
United States show that in these conflicts disease
ed more men-and many more mcmillan bullets. The
chances against the seriously wounded soldier
as they against the man stricken with fever
other diseases incident 70 camp life congested
lroundngs.
sanitation food inspection studies in nutrition,
sterilization watchfulness from the a select
man enters a training camp until he goes into the
frontne trenches, and then more watchfulness and
attention responsible for the creditable RECORD
the army medical department
II the gods OF battle spare their the American
mother and father today need have but little anxiety
about disease The army guards the health of its
hrst because IL is its duty them again
ties can be only by well men.
With the disease rec@ds of the Spanish American
war comparatively fresh i'm mind there nation wide
concern regarding disease protection when this war
came Ii has disappeared Tor here the record speaks
I'm the Mexican war QS46-fS) the disease rate was
10 men died OF disease 10 killed i'm baltimore
than seven to one.
In the armies Of the north during the Civil war
GS6i-65) Go died of disease to 35 killed in bate-a
disease mortality substantially double the battle
tally
In the spanish american war Gsss) 20 died Of
disease five killed in battle ratio OF than
five Typhoid fever. reduced almost the
American armies OF today claimed most of those who
died OF illness instead of in conflict.
During the first 10 months of American participa-
i'm world there has been "a parity
between the low death rate from battle and the death
rate from disease
Where eight men have died of disease eight men
have been killed I'm battle. with combined mortality
which III projected throughout the year, would be only
little than half of the battle mortality and less
third of the disease mortality OF the civil war.
Approaching the statistics from q different angle a
10y the American armies overseas and al home With
uroxrtely three million men under arms military
funerals because of disease fewer day by day than
the funerals in American city of three million popu-
lation.
For the last week i'm July for instance the combined
reports OF the American eNpeditionar forces and Of
troops stationed in the United States showed annual
death for disease of 1s thousand-less than
per thousand per year
The annual death rate for disease of men OF military
civil life is 90 thousand
Thus man in the army appears TO have three times
the better chance STAY wei the arm, Khan when
about civil pursuits.
This army rare. at that time BASED All APP
proNinate strength of 100000 was established
when large bodies OF American troops living uu-
abnormal conditions They were participating
the heavy lighting the Marine salient and slept
under arduous and almost primitive conditions
THAT this record for am isolated
favorable is shown 0y reports made los the surgeon
general i'm the middle OF August the preceding
I two months. The average death rate per thousand
from disease during those months
The progress OF military sanitation revealed
through other comparative figures the per thousand
+ basis
Duriug the Mexican war The annual death rate from
disease 100 per 1000. During the Ciyu war the
rate was ~ per 1000 in 1852 and il jumped 20 90
per Thousand the following sesr The disease death
rate for the spanish Americas was 30 per 1000
AS far available records the lowest here
tofo~e established any or the armies or the world
was that of the Russo-Japanese war when the rate
go 1000 men.
Elm the Drmeau Wal said surgeon Gen Gorgas
recen-ry "oue-fourth of the French army 10000
men, died of disease I'm the Russo-Japanese the
death brought down about 90 per
thousand per wear our disease record has
eight per Thousand per year We nope keep it
there reduce &c.
There were seven army hospitals tuis country
when declared against Germany. Vow there
are sham 800 ARMY hospitals here and 90 have a
capacity OF more than one thousand patients each
Hospitals France are bsiue constr uctrd n fttin
rle strength 80 the American forces there