The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-02-24
FIND CITY BOY AS FIT
AS THE COUNTRY LAD
Dr. PeNrrsen Also Says Array Life
Helped Soldiers who Had MIG
Heart Trouble.

New York. Feb. 5s.--Thers 10 not
more than per cent difference, enc
way or the other. between city men
and country men, so far as phys.oai
condition is concerned. and further.
more. the men Of today are just as ne
for military service as were the1r
forefathsrs who fought in the civif
war; according TO statement made
last night by DR.. Victor C. Petersen.
fhs medical director of the seIecttve
draft for New York. in the course OF
an address at the Academy OF Medt-
cine.
DR.. Petersen announced that n new
ruling has been made by the provost
marshal-general, which makes its pos
sioie to accept for service In the ma
tfonai army men suffering from n mild
form OF heart disease. Reports from
the camps. he said. show that men 30
AFFLICTED have improved, and a number
mad apparently been cured OF that dfs-
ease as a result Of camp life. The men
so accepted. DIR. Peterson explained.
were drafted on probation. so to spea ak.
and were kept under medical observe
tfon Tor proper period after reach
ing camp. at the end OF which time the
uVCtoEE decide whether the
should be retained In service u
$50 far as the hrst draft Ia cor
cerned." said Or. Petersen. "the num-
Der OF men who were rejected by the
medical examiners after reaching tie
cantonments was about 6 per cent OF
those called to the colors BY the draft
boards 1t is also OF interest 70 note
that the percentage of men rejected
by the examining boards averaged
States. This sounds startling Mt frst.
bit la a fact that In the Civil war
nhe number rejected was also about
20 per cent. This shows that The
physical standards In America TO-DAY
are about the same as IN the DAYS OF
the Civil war
II may also point out that the draft
examinations show that the city boy
is Just as good physically as the coun-
try boy, There is not more than
per cent difference either way between
the two so far as the physical condf-
tons OF them as a class is concerned
Then there la the case of the American
boy born OF foreign parentage. Our
records prove that these boys ara not
slaekers. In some instances their
parents have trstilled I'm them a spirit
that In not American. but once these
boys get to camp they forget those
false teachings and prove TO be loyal
soldiers who can stand up alongside
SnS boy whose training has been OF
n more patriotic sort
We are extremely careful regard
ing the acceptance OF men who have
kidney or lung trouble. The doctor.
have 10 be on the alert every minute
TO see TO II that these men are not
drafted While army life appears to
benefit the fellow with mild heart dis-
ease II, on the other hand, does rot
as rule, beneft the man who suffers
from kidney or lung trounle.
The army 10 also getting the bet
ter Of the fat-tooted Individual, and
the day ~ at hand when fat fest are
not. In nine out Of ten cases, q bar to
military service. The doctors have
wonders in eliminating the flat-foot
problem"
DIR. Petersen also referred Go the
men who try to escape service by fax
ing this Of that disease Rheumatism,
he said, IS gavorite disease with shta
type or Stacker In many Instance
he added. interruptions doctors had
aided these men In trying to keep cut
OF the army.
On the other hand. he said. there
were numberless cases of msn who
were physically un1t for service who
tried in every possible way to fool the
medical examiners In order to get into
the army, He told of man with
glass eve who fooled the doctors for
two days before they found out that
ne had only one eye
A plan was under consideration. Or.
Petersen said. which IL adopted, would
make il possible for the army to ac-
cept men. with slight physlcai defects.
for service behind the first lines. This
new rule ne minated would probably
&c into effect at an early date.