COMMITTEE ON MILITARY AFFAIRS. 
ON INCREASE 
OP THE 
ORDNANCE AND MEDICAL DEPARTMENTS 
OF THE ARMY. 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Thursday, January 19, 1905. 
WASHINGTON: 
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, 
1905. INCREASE OF ORDNANCE AND MEDICAL DEPARTMENTS OF 
THE ARMY. 
Committee on Military Affairs, 
Thursday, January 19, 1905. 
Committee called to order at 11 o'clock a. m. 
The Chairman. The Secretary of War is present and will be heard 
on two bills. 
STATEMENT OF HON. WILLIAM H. TAFT, SECRETARY OF WAR. 
Secretary Taft. There is another bill, Mr. Chairman. 
The Chairman. My understanding was that you were to be heard 
on the ordnance and the medical bills. 
Secretary Taft. But you have said something about a recommen- 
dation for the passage of a bill to promote the brevet rank. 
The Chairman. The indications are that there will not be very 
much opposition to that ; but I think the committee will be glad to 
have you put anything you have into the hearing, so that we may 
have it all here. 
What bill do you desire to be heard on first, Mr. Secretary ? 
Secretary Taft. I think the ordnance bill would come first; at 
least, that is the order in which they have been presented to me. 
The Chairman. The bill is S. 51(36. 
Secretary Taft. The Ordnance Department is really in a very 
weakened condition. There are 19 vacancies in the department, and 
the work there is very great indeed. The expenditure of money 
averages, per officer, $187,000 a year; and with nineteen officers gone— 
with the vacancies in the department—there are a great many very 
interesting and important problems awaiting solution that will be 
postponed for solution for a year or two years. This is especially 
true of the study of explosives. There is only one officer in the Ord- 
nance Department now that has been able to give his attention to 
powders. Powders have something to do with war. Indeed they 
play a very important part in it, and the number of large factories, 
really industrial concerns, that we are carrying on through that de- 
partment seem to me to require a very substantial addition to the 
force of responsible officers. First, the bill provides an addition to 
the force, and, second, contains a provision by which the vacancies 
which now exist in the force shall be filled. Under the present sys- 
tem vacancies are filled by detail from other departments after an 
examination, but the inducement offered to officers in other branches 
to take the examination is nothing. 4 
ORDNANCE AND MEDICAL DEPARTMENTS OF THE ARMY. 
The present bill increases the inducement by permitting the pro- 
motion of an officer taking the examination to a captaincy from a 
first lieutenancy, and from second lieutenancy to first lieutenancy. 
It is objected that the examinations are too severe, but I assure the 
committee that no examinations in the Army are too severe. The 
truth is, lack of severity in examination is the great defect in our 
Army promotions to-day and is the reason why there is such justi- 
fiable criticism of rigid seniority in promotion as it now prevails. If 
examinations were severe enough really to test an officer’s capacity 
for promotion and men retired or discharged because of failure in 
such examinations, the deserving and able officers would rise much 
more quickly and the deadwood would be gotten rid of. In the 
Ordnance Department they have maintained a higher grade of exam- 
inations than in any other. In that department they need men of 
scientific attainments, men who are able to pass examinations that 
show the man to have real technical requirements. If you were 
carrying on a private business you would not accept for your scien- 
tific manager, for the man who must know what is to be done in 
technical matters, a man who could not pass a technical examination 
or one whose degree of graduation from some technical school did 
not indicate that he was fully versed in the branches required for 
the discharge of his duties. This bill has passed the Senate, and I 
think it has been before the House in previous years. It was dis- 
cussed in the Senate last year and went through that body practi- 
cally without opposition. We conduct a great manufacturing busi- 
ness and we need the men to operate it with. 
The Chairman. This bill increases the number of colonels by 2, 
lieutenant-colonels by 3, majors by 7, and captains by 6. 
Secretary Taft. And then makes the officers above that of captain 
permanent instead of detailed, and also provides that the interval 
between services under detail shall be one year instead of two—I 
mean services in the line. I think it was the opinion of my predeces- 
sor, Secretary Root, in whose judgment I always, of course, have the 
greatest confidence, that the Ordnance Department was one that 
could be largely conducted by details. But I think the experiment 
has hardly justified his conclusion in that matter. The necessity for 
very great study, and for almost genius in technical matters, required 
of the Ordnance Department in the very rapid development in the 
science of ordnance, it seems to me, justifies a withdrawal of its 
officers from the line of the Army more than in any other branch. 
Mr. Slayden. Authorizing a withdrawal and assignment to that 
department ? 
Secretary Taft. Yes, sir; I think while it is, of course, well that 
many officers of the line shall be familiar generally with the prin- 
ciples to be applied in the Ordnance Department, that it is impossible 
to hope that by the casual details from the line we shall get men suf- 
ficiently acquainted with the niceties of the science of ordnance to 
justify our continuing the service by details from the line. 
Mr. Slayden. Is it not true, sir. that the elements now required for 
efficient service in the Ordnance Corps are almost as much of a spe- 
cialty, and a technical specialty, as they are, for instance, in the 
Medical Department ? 
Secretary Taft. I think it comes nearly to that. ORDNANCE AND MEDICAL DEPARTMENTS OF THE ARMY. 
5 
Mr. Slayden. No man would think of taking a graduate of West 
Point for a member of the Medical Corps. 
Secretary Taft. Hardly; that, of course, is, however, a different 
profession. The profession of a soldier, it is true, brings him into 
more or less acquaintance with the principles that apply in the Ord- 
nance Department: and yet there is a very wide field of knowledge 
beyond the ordinary knowledge that an army officer must have with 
respect to the manufacture of ordnance, powder, and explosives. It 
requires a technically professional man to be familiar with it in order 
that the duties which the Government imposes shall be properly 
discharged. 
Mr. Slayden. A specialty, in other words? 
Secretary Taft. Yes, sir. 
The C hairmax. This bill is very much the same as the measure 
that the House passed and sent to the Senate. 
Secretary Taft. 1 was not familiar with that. 
Mr. Pa tterson. In order to get it into the report of the hearings, 
will you please state the number of officers you now have in this 
department ? 
The Chairman. We have that information here, in the officer's 
report. 
Secretary Taft. The bill raises the number of officers of the corps 
from 71 to 85. • 
The Chairman. Bv taking it up by rank it is an increase of 2 
colonels, 3 lieutenant-colonels, 7 majors, and 2 captains, as I figure 
it here. You can not figure out the number of lieutenants, because 
there are vacancies there, so you would have to get the law to do that. 
There are now I colonels, 6 lieutenant-colonels, and 12 majors. This 
bill provides for 25 captains, and there are now 23 captains. There 
are vacancies for some 18 or 19 first lieutenants. 
Secretary Taft. Nineteen, I think. There have only been 6 ex- 
amined under the present law, though there were 19 vacancies to be 
filled, I believe. 
The Chairman. There are 22 permanent captains and 1 detailed 
under the present law, and he would probably become a permanent 
captain. It would only be an increase in the corps of two captains 
over what they have now. 
Is the business of the Ordnance Department behind any? 
Secretary Taft. Yes, sir. 
The Chairman. Do you have any difficulty in getting service from 
the Department promptly now ? 
Secretary Taft. Yes, sir. I can give an example. A gentleman 
was brought in the other day by Senator Aldrich—a Mr. Hazzard. 
He said that he had invested—well, I don't know how much money, 
but I think perhaps $100,000—in a factory in Rhode Island for the 
making of chemicals supposed to'be necessary in producing high ex- 
plosives; that he had applied to the Chief of the Ordnance Depart- 
ment to know whether he would take these pure chemicals, which 
could not be manufactured anywhere else in the country and which 
lie had prepared a factory solely for the purpose of manufacturing. 
The Chief of the Ordnance Department was unable to tell him 
whether he would need the chemicals, which lie was prepared to manu- 
facture, for a year, and that if he was obliged to wait a year to know 6 
ORDNANCE AND MEDICAL DEPARTMENTS OF THE ARMY. 
it would be very much better for him to change his factory into a fac- 
tory for making other chemicals not to be used for explosives. I sent 
for General Crozier, and asked how it was. He said that the state- 
ment was true; that the experiments needed for the purpose of deter- 
mining whether that chemical was one which he would have to have 
could not be made in less than six months or a year because of the 
absence of experts in his corps who had given special attention to that 
matter. And then he mentioned the fact that I have already stated, 
that there was only one man who was giving attention to powder and 
explosives generally, because he did not have a sufficient force to 
attend to that and still take care of all the factories where the small 
arms and other arms are being manufactured. 
Mr. Young. Mr. Secretary, you stated that there are 19 vacancies 
in the corps now ? 
Secretary Taft. Yes, sir; those vacancies are all in the grade of 
lieutenants. 
The Chairman. If the Secretary will permit me at this point I will 
insert in the record section 23 of the act of February 22, 1901, which 
gives the constitution of the Ordnance Department: 
The Ordnance Department shall consist of 1 chief of ordnance with the rank 
of brigadier-general, 4 colonels, 6 lieutenant-colonels, 12 majors, 24 captains, 
and 24 first lieutenants, the ordnance storekeeper, and the enlisted men, includ- 
ing ordnance sergeants, as now authorized by law. All vacancies created or 
caused by this section shall, as far as possible, he filled by promotion according 
to seniority, as now prescribed by law. 
Those are the commissioned officers. 
Secretary Taft. When I wrote the Committee on Military Affairs 
of the Senate last year, there had been 25 vacancies in the grade of 
first lieutenant. These officers had been detailed, after examination, 
from the line. 
The Chairman. Some of those vacancies must have been in the 
grade of captain ? 
Secretary Taft. Yes; that is true. Of these, 1 has since been taken 
from the Department and promoted to a captaincy, so that that leaves 
19 vacancies;' but they were chiefly in the lieutenants’ grade—1 or 2 
in the captains. 
The Chairman. Then this bill simply increases the corps 11 ? 
Secretary Taft. Yes; from 71 to 85. 
Mr. Slayden. Officers in the corps ? 
Secretary Taft. Yes, sir. 
Mr. Y oung. What are the difficulties, Mr. Secretary, preventing 
you from keeping the corps full now ? 
Secretary Taft. The difficulty is that the examination is so stiff 
and the inducements to go into the corps so little by reason of a lack 
of increase in rank, that the men do not come. 
Mr. Young. How do you meet that difficulty in this bill ? 
Secretary Taft. You meet it by giving every man who comes in a 
promotion from first lieutenancy to captaincy; and then afterwards, 
when he reaches the majority, it becomes a permanent office. 
Mr. Young. Then your idea is that the real difficulty is not the 
want of attainments by officers in the Army, but a want of induce- 
ment to enter this corps? 
Secretary Taft. It is a want of inducement to have the officers fit 
themselves with the attainments, if I may use that expression; to ordnance and medical departments of the army. 
7 
fit themselves. It requires hard study, and officers of the Army are 
not unlike the rest of us in that they want to see what is coming to 
them for that hard work. 
Mr. Hay. Mr. Secretary, that inducement is contained in the first 
section of the bill. 
The Chairman. It makes the permanent grade of major. 
Secretary Taft. Yes, sir; but the real inducement is promotion 
on examination from a second lieutenancy in the line to a first lieu- 
tenancy in the Ordnance Corps, and from a first lieutenancy in the 
line to a captaincy. 
Mr. IIay. Under the present law it is the same as transfer from 
the other corps. 
The Chairman. The law provides that it shall be filled by detail 
from the line of the Army. 
Secretary Root was absolutely opposed to all of the additional 
grades. He said he would order them, if he could not do it any other 
way. 
Secretary Taft. You can not order study. You can not order a 
man to prepare himself. 
Mr. Mondell. You have not gone to the extent of ordering men 
to take examinations who have not been desirous of doing so? 
Secretary Taft. Not since I have been in the Department. 
Mr. Mondell. I was talking to a young officer some time ago who 
was ordered to take an examination. I understood that he was not 
desirous of doing so, although when ordered for the examination 
he did pass and went into the corps; but he did not desire to go into 
the corps, had not expressed any desire to go, but had been ordered 
to take the examination, and he passed. 
Secretary Taft. That must have occurred under Mr. Root. 
Mr. Mondell. It was some time ago. 
Secretary Taft. You will find here in the report of the committee 
a comment on that particular matter. Cogent reasons are given in 
that report for disregarding the first two methods, as the first would 
lead to decreased efficiency by lowering the standard of admissions, 
which a law to increase the efficiency of the Army would hardly con- 
template. The second would involve selecting officers without their 
own consent or applications either, first, without examination, or, sec- 
ond, with examination. The reasons for requiring examinations 
have been given, so that the first expedient would seem of doubtful 
value, while if examination be required it is difficult to see how an 
unwilling person could be induced to prepare for one. He might, of 
course, if he were ordered. 
Mr. Mondell. If a man were prepared and was ordered, naturally 
he would do his best, but he certainly would not make any prepara- 
tion. 
Secretary Taft. No. 
The Chairman. Secretary Root’s theory was based upon the pride 
they would have. 
Secretary Taft. Yes. 
Mr. Slayden. If the permanent assignment begins with the grade 
of captain instead of major, would it not offer still further induce- 
ments for gentlemen to fit themselves for admission to the corps ? 
Secretary Taft. I rather think not. Now you can take first lieu- 
tenants and make them captains by detail or examination. Then if 8 
ORDNANCE AND MEDICAL DEPARTMENTS OF THE ARMY. 
you were to make captains permanent you would reduce the opportu- 
nity of offering promotions to the younger officers of the line. 
Mr. Slayden. To bring them into the corps ? 
Secretary Taft. In other words, you would confine necessarily all 
inducements to go into the corps and prepare for examination to sec- 
ond lieutenants, and I think we ought to have a wider field of selec- 
tion. It seems to me to make the permanent officers majors—I mean 
the lowest rank—is sufficient. 
Mr. Mondell. In addition to that, is it not wise to have one or two 
grades in which men are given a trial, instead of having them made 
a permanent part of the corps on their first examination ? 
Secretary Taft. Yes, sir. 
Mr. Mondell. A man might pass a good examination and yet not be 
prepared to be a good ordnance officer ? 
Secretary Taft. Yes. 
Mr. Slayden. They still have two grades to assign from ? 
Secretary Taft. You could not assign a first lieutenant, as that 
would give him a rank of captain. If the captain were permanent 
he would be taken into the corps without any previous experience 
under detail. I think the experience under detail is a valuable 
method of testing what lie can do. 
Mr. Slayden. Could that suggestion be met in this way: After 
having been given the rank of captain he could be tried for a year 
and sent back to his regiment with the rank of first lieutenant if he 
did not maintain himself in the corps with manifest efficiency ? 
Secretary Taft. If you make him a captain and detail him. then 
he is to go out at the end of four years for one year. Of course the 
question of detailing him back is one of option with the officer above; 
but if he is a captain, and his continuing to be a captain merely de- 
pends upon the examination, it is not so easy to get him out of the 
corps. 
Mr. Slayden. I had in mind the difference, the actual difference, in 
his position between that of an officer with a commission of a captain 
as a permanency and the period of preparation during which he 
merely had the rank and pay of a captain, although his rank in the 
line was first lieutenant. 
Secretary Taft. My impression is it would give a little more elas- 
ticity at that end of the corps if you make two ranks for detail instead 
of one. 
Mr. Slayden. I frankly confess that I have approached the consid- 
eration of this question very much inclined to believe that the Ord- 
nance Department should be permanent. 
Secretary Taft. And completely separated. 
Mr. Slayden. Of course 1 want what is best for the service. 
Mr. Prince. Under the present law you have been unable to get the 
required number of officers in the Ordnance Department? 
Secretary Taft. Yes. 
Mr. Prince. Will you be kind enough to give the committee your 
views as to the working plan of the proposed law; how, in your judg- 
ment, it will operate to obtain the necessary number of officers, and 
what will be the effect upon the service ? 
Secretary Taft. The reason why we have vacancies now is, first, 
because no one can be taken in without an examination. The exami- 
nation is properly a stiff one, and it is a technical examination. And ORDNANCE AND MEDICAL DEPARTMENTS OF THE ARMY. 
9 
in order to induce a member of the line, a lieutenant in the line, to 
take it, there must be something inuring to him of benefit if he suc- 
ceeds. The difference between the ordnance and the other corps, the 
rank being the same, in favor of the ordnance, is not sufficiently great 
to make that inducement; but when a man passes an examination, and 
is raised to the rank above that which he holds in the line, then the 
inducement is sufficient. 
Mr. Prince. So that I may have it clear, a first lieutenant takes 
an examination. He passes and becomes, then, a captain, taking that 
rank and grade. He remains such by detail for four years, and then, 
under this new proposed bill, goes out of the Ordnance Department ? 
Secretary Taft. For a year. 
Mr. Prince. For one year? 
Secretary Taft. Then he goes back to the rank which he then 
would have—it may be a lieutenancy or a captaincy; he may by that 
time have reached a captaincy. 
Mr. Prince. Unless he has been promoted in the meantime. He 
stays one year in that rank in the line. Is he subject to another 
examination one year later when detailed ? 
Secretary Taft. Back? 
Mr. Prince. Yes. 
Secretary Taft. I think he is: that is my impression. 
Mr. P rince. That is subject to your regulation, as I understand it? 
Secretary Taft. Yes. I suppose that the examination would not 
be so severe as the first one, and probably merely nominal, if he had 
shown himself for the four years an efficient officer. 
Mr. Prince. As I understand it, he returns after the one year’s 
absence, takes the rank of captain, and is eligible for permanent 
appointment ? 
Secretary Taft. To a vacancy in the majority. 
Mr. Prince. If in the meantime his rank in the line should have 
gone up to that of a captain, upon taking the second examination he 
could be made a major under this bill ? 
Secretary Taft. If there was a vacancy he might be made a per- 
manent major. 
Mr. Prince. Unless some one held a senior commission as captain 
in that same rank ? 
Secretary Taft. Yes, sir. 
Mr. Holliday. Is there not a sufficient amount of army pride to 
induce these men to fit themselves for any service without offering 
special inducements in the way of increase of pay and so forth? 
Secretary Taft. Experience has not shown it; that is all I can say. 
The Chairman. Is it true that these officers have much more to do 
than any other in the Army ? 
Secretary Taft. I think that is true. Of course they have this 
advantage over a line officer, that the places to which they are ordered 
are usually more comfortable for living than the places to which a 
line officer may be ordered. 
The Chairman. The places to which they are ordered, as a rule, 
are such as entail additional expense, which has to be paid out of their 
salary. While they have some comforts on one side, they have addi- 
tional poverty on the other? 
Secretary Taft. Yes; that is quite true. The head of the Ord- 
nance Department is a brigadier-general, and unless a war ensues, or 10 
ORDNANCE AND MEDICAL DEPARTMENTS OF THE ARMY. 
something extraordinary occurs which ta Ices them out of the Ord- 
nance Department, they may look to the brigadier-generalcy as the 
ultimate rank to which they may attain before retirement. 
The Chairman. I would suggest to the committee that it will be 
impossible to conclude a hearing on the medical bill this morning, 
because we are compelled to be in the House at 12 o’clock, as the army 
bill comes up at that time. The medical bill is of considerable im- 
portance, and if it is possible we might devote next Monday entirely 
to that bill. That time would suit me better than any other. 
Secretary Taft. I am at the disposal of the committee at any time. 
Mr. Slayden. There is a gentleman here, Doctor Reecl, of Cincin- 
nati, who might find it inconvenient to remain over until Monday, 
and I would suggest that we hear him now if the Secretary will 
consent. 
The Chairman. We will hear Doctor Reed. 
STATEMENT OF DR. CHARLES A. L. REED, OF THE UNIVERSITY 
OF CINCINNATI, OHIO. 
Doctor Reed. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen: I am here to-day in 
my capacity as chairman of the committee on legislation appointed 
by the American Medical Association, and I have the pleasure of 
having with me one of my colleagues, Professor Rodman, of Phila- 
delphia, though we are disappointed in the absence of Professor 
Welch, of the Johns Hopkins University, who is the other member of 
this committee. It is quite probable, however, that the adjourned 
hearing on this bill next Monday will enable Doctor Welch to be 
present, and T shall ask him to be here at that time if the committee 
desires. 
The object of my committee is simply to present the respectful 
petition of the united medical profession of the United States, ask- 
ing for the enactment into a law of the pending bill. Senate bill Xo. 
4838, to reorganize the Medical Department of the Army. It is, 
possibly, rather a broad statement that this verbal petition is the 
petition of the united medical profession of the United States, and 
it seems to me that I can best occupy the few moments that I shall 
consume in explaining to you by what warrant I employ the express- 
sion. In the first place, the medical profession of the United States 
is organized into national. State, and county associations. The 
county association is the unit of organization and the State associa- 
tion is the connecting link lie tween the county and the national asso- 
ciation, which, in turn, appoints the committee that is now in your 
presence. When this committee begins its labors it makes inquiry 
of the heads of the Departments as to proposed legislation to be 
presented. On receipt of information through that channel it takes 
up these questions, first in the small committee here represented, and 
then it is referred to a consultative body called the national legis- 
lative council, which is composed of one member from each State 
medical association. 
This body, after considering all bills that are presented to it. deter- 
mines which bill shall be referred to the general profession for a 
full expression. This bill, with three others among seven or ten that 
were presented at a conference held in the city of Washington last 
year, was agreed upon; and was thereupon referred to the auxiliary ORDNANCE and medical departments of the army. 
11 
legislative committee, consisting of one member in each county in 
the l nited States—that is, it went, as a matter of fact, to every one 
of the 3.160 counties at present organized. This bill was sent into 
each of these counties with instructions that it in turn be brought to 
the attention of the medical profession in each of those counties and 
to the attention of leading and influential citizens not members of 
the medical profession; that an expression of opinion be secured 
from them, and that the result of that expression be communicated 
respectively to the Senators and Representatives in Congress, and 
that the members of this committee—my committee—shall be 
informed a> to the action taken. As a matter of fact, favorable 
reports have been received from an excess of 2,300 counties in the 
United States, and other counties that I know of have taken favor- 
able action and have communicated that action directly to their Sen- 
ators and Representatives. So by this mechanism we have been 
able to arrive at a conclusion which enables us to come into this 
presence and say that we represent the expressed opinion of prac- 
tically the entire medical profession of the United States. 
If you will pause and consider, you will see clearly the method 
used in the canvass for opinion. It is carried on by the auxiliary 
committees mentioned in the respective counties, and is made to in- 
clude not only the medical profession but many of. the representative 
members of the communities. And, gentlemen, all that 1 have to 
say. for I shall ask Doctor Rodman, who is present, to speak of some 
of the features of the bill, is that the petition that I respectfully pre- 
sent to you to-day is the petition of the united medical profession. 
The Chairman. Did you search out any other measures than this 
one ? 
Doctor Reed. Four other measures. 
The Chairman. And ask them to select ? 
Doctor Reed. Any alternative measure relating to this particular 
subject? No, sir. 
The Chairman. This is the only one sent ? 
Doctor Reed. Yes, sir. 
The Chairman. Did you have any report in opposition to it? 
Doctor Reed. I have not received one single protest, or one single 
expression of opposition. 
The Chairman. Do you not think that the unanimity of expression 
is largely the result of the national organization submitting the one 
bill ? ' 
. Doctor Reed. I think, in a pretty large measure: at least it ought 
to have been, for it was referred to the profession at large only after 
it had been agreed upon by a large and influential consultative body 
that had been selected by the profession itself, a representative body 
of one from each State and Territory; as a matter of fact there were 
38 members present at the council in Washington which thrashed out 
this bill. Avhich was there unanimously indorsed after full discussion 
as being the practical remedy for existing flagrant evils. It was not 
thought and is not now thought that any counter measure is possible. 
Mr. S lateen. In that connection, I understood you to say that this 
particular measure was sent out to secure the opinion of the medical 
associations of the United States, after the committee here had gone 
through to consider all the bills, and they had come to the conclusion 
that this was the best one? 12 
ORDNANCE AND MEDICAL DEPARTMENTS OF THE ARMY. 
Doctor Reed. As a matter of fact, we have had no alternative meas- 
ure relating to this particular object; this is the only one we have 
seen. 
The Chairman. Did you consider this one when your medical asso- 
ciation met here last year? 
Doctor Reed. Yes, sir. 
The Chairman. On their recommendation it was sent out for con- 
sideration ? 
Doctor Reed. It was. Heretofore, in the absence of this organiza- 
tion. every possible measure relating to the status of the medical 
profession and to the efficiency of medical science in the public 
service and everything relating to public health has been offered in 
the name of the medical profession: and that thus the medical pro- 
fession has been made to stand sponsor for all kinds of irresponsible 
bills. It is the object of this mechanism simply to exercise some 
discrimination as to bills for which the profession will stand sponsor. 
For that reason the legislative council went over all the bills that 
were presented—for example, the pure-food bill and the bill relating 
to the construction of a military hospital here in Washington. Then, 
too, we wanted some stacks put up over in the library of the 
Surgeon-General’s office. Those bills were agreed upon as the bills 
for which the medical profession stood ready to assume the responsi- 
bility, and upon which it was deemed wise by the national legislative 
council to ask for consensus from the profession at large. I have 
now presented that consensus, and thank you sincerely for the oppor- 
tunity to do so. I would like to introduce Doctor Rodman. 
STATEMENT OF DR. WILLIAM L. RODMAN, OF PHILADELPHIA, PA. 
Doctor Rodman. I shall be most brief in what I have to say, inas- 
much as I am situated as Doctor Reed, and unable to be here on 
Monday. I therefore appreciate the courtesy of being listened to 
for a moment to-day. 
It would be a work of supererogation for me to cover any point 
so well covered by Doctor Reed. In the first place, I do not feel 
competent to discuss with the Committee on Military Affairs the bill 
in detail. There are two points, however, that I would like to say 
a word about. In the first place, the somewhat adverse legislation 
of three years ago lias caused the Medical Corps of the Army to be 
looked upon with some disfavor by young men anxious to enter the 
public service. • 
Up to that time there were a great number of young men—a major- 
ity—who really preferred the Medical Corps of the Army. Knowing 
that, I was instrumental in having started at the college with which 
I am connected a special course to prepare young men for their ex- 
aminations before the army, navy, and Marine-Hospital boards. At 
that time we had perhaps three times as many applicants for admis- 
sion into the Army as for both the Navy and the Marine-Hospital 
Service. As soon as that bill was passed, however, the number of 
applicants fell off so quickly that we were compelled to discontinue 
the course. Young men found that it would no longer be profitable 
for them to apply for service in the Army, believing that their emolu- 
ments were not sufficiently direct and inviting to cause them to do so. 
Now, undoubtedly the medical profession have been very apprecia- ORDNANCE AND MEDICAL DEPARTMENTS OF THE ARMY. 
13 
tive of recent legislation, which has added materially to the better- 
ment of the Medical Corps of the Navy and the Marine-Hospital and 
Public-Health Service. We very much appreciate the fact that Con- 
gress should do as much relatively for the Army as they have done for 
the other two services, for it is the largest and, in that sense, necessa- 
rily the greatest of the three services. The one point, however, that I 
would particularly like to speak to is the reserve corps. I feel that 
that, of all the recommendations that have been made by the Surgeon- 
General, who has prepared this bill so carefully, is perhaps the best. 
It seems to me that it is the very best thing for the Army that has 
ever been proposed, and I speak from experience as a former contract 
surgeon. 
Twenty-live years ago, being broken down from service in the hos- 
pital as house surgeon, I was tendered a position in the Army as con- 
tract surgeon. I had never thought about going in the Army, and 
had no special desire to do so. I was told, when I asked what rank 
I would have, that I would be a first lieutenant, but when I went into 
the Army and was assigned to duty at Fort Sill, Ind. T., found that 
contract surgeons had no actual or even relative rank. In the first 
place I had been informed that I was entitled to the quarters of a first 
lieutenant, but learned that if a second lieutenant came along and 
wanted my quarters he could take them. I was entitled to nothing. 
I learned further that I was not to command enlisted men except in 
the Hospital Corps, and am now informed that by recent action of 
the War Department the contract surgeon is no longer able even to 
control members of the Hospital Corps. So a condition which was 
anomalous always seems to me now to have become absolutely insup- 
portable. 
I do not well see how men of sufficient self-respect and pride can 
longer serve in the Army as contract surgeons. In the first place, the 
title is offensive in itself. In the second place, having to do entirely 
with military people where rank is necessary, the contract doctor is a 
civilian. I want to say that my personal experience was most pleasant 
throughout, but it was due to the courtesy and the generosity of my 
chief. Major Williams, rather than to any actual rights. No one 
could have been more pleasantly situated than I was. We messed 
together, we fished and shot together, and, as I have said, it wTas his 
courtesy rather than any right of niv own that made my service 
pleasant; but pleasant as it wTas, I was very glad to terminate it at 
the end of the contract period. 
It takes one some time to learn everything connected with the ad- 
ministrative duties of a medical officer. It is much better to prevent 
sickness, either in peace or war, than to relieve it. In this respect the 
civil doctor, or contract surgeon, never can be the equal of the man 
who is in the regular corps, because the latter is taught problems of 
sanitation and administrative detail which a plain civil doctor knows 
absolutely nothing about. By the time the, civil doctor has been in the 
service for some time, has been trained, and really becomes more or less 
useful to the Government his contract is at an end. I maintain that 
the contract system is a very expensive one to the Government, and 
has always been unsatisfactory to both sides. Adequate protection 
of Government supplies and property and the solution of problems of 
sanitation and of administrative detail can only be assured by the 
appointment of those carefully trained for such responsibilities. I 14 
ORDNANCE AND MEDICAL DEPARTMENTS OE THE ARMY. 
am sure that the Surgeon-General has drawn a bill that will do away 
with all the disagreeable and wasteful features of the contract system. 
Now, and lastly, this bill is not only a good thing for the Army, but 
it is the best thing possible for the medical profession, because it will 
be an inspiration to the young men all over this country to take these 
examinations, and, if successful, to be placed upon the Reserve Corps, 
so that they can, in times of war, be called upon to render patriotic 
duty. Moreover, in time of peace, that they would be preferred,'when it 
became necessary to employ a civil surgeon to examine recruits, ex- 
amine for pensions, and to do a great many other duties which at the 
present time must, on account of the small number of men in the Med- 
ical Corps of the Army, devolve upon civil practitioners. So, gen- 
tlemen, by the passage of this bill you will do the best possible thing 
for the Army beyond any question, and I am equally sure that you 
will do the best thing for the medical profession in general and cause 
each of the 100.000 physicians in this country to applaud your action 
as economical, sagacious, humane, and do justice to a service of which 
the medical profession of America are justly proud. 
I thank you. 
Thereupon, at 12 o'clock noon, the committee adjourned. 
Committee on Military Affairs, 
Monday, January 23* 1905—10.45 a. in. 
STATEMENT OF SURG. GEN. R. M. O’REILLY, TJ. S. ARMY. 
The Chairman (Mr. Hull). General, are you going to have the 
gentlemen from Philadelphia appear before the committee this 
morning ? 
General O'Reilly. Doctor Welch was the other gentleman who was 
mentioned on Thursday, and it is not possible for him to come. 
The Chairman. We will then proceed with our hearing until the 
Secretary of War appears. 
General O'Reilly". Mr. Chairman, in addition to the hearing ac- 
corded me last April and the brief which has been presented. I 
should like to make a short statement. There are two points that I 
desire to cover. Perhaps I did not make quite clear about the medical 
reserve corps; and there is another point that I wish to speak of 
later. The medical reserve corps, in fact, is simply a change of the 
status of the present contract surgeons. In place of a contract sur- 
geon, which is a position objectionable for reasons already stated, we 
substitute a commissioned officer who can be called into the service 
at his own request and if he is required, and who at that time gets less 
pay than the contract surgeon. If we do not call him into the service 
he gets no pay at all, so he is no expense to the Government. In con- 
nection with the proposition to educate him, we believe that if the 
conditions offered make it sufficiently interesting for him to pass an 
examination, he would naturally pursue a particular line of study in 
preparation. We also may train them by getting young men who 
when required will be called into service for a comparatively short ORDNANCE AND MEDICAL DEPARTMENTS OF THE ARMY. 
15 
period, they consenting thereto, and then sent back to civil life to 
make room for others; and secondly by permitting them to attend 
the Army medical school at their own expense; and in addition to 
that circulating among them educational matter upon various sub- 
jects. 
There is one other thing, and on that head I do not want to have the 
slightest misapprehension or misconstruction in the minds of the com- 
mittee. I refer to the expense of this proposed reorganization. We 
stated, on information from the Paymaster-General of the Army, 
which was given us a year ago, that the additional expense for the 
first year would be nothing. That statement was made on two condi- 
tions wdiich do not obtain this year. The appropriation bill at that 
time carried 200 contract surgeons, and the Paymaster-General’s com- 
parative statement was based upon that. 
Mr. Parker. How many are there now ? 
General O’Reilly. There are 165 in the service, and the appropria- 
tion bill for the next fiscal year as it passed the House allows 165. 
The figures that were given at the time the Pay master-Genera l’s esti- 
mate was made were based on the 200 contract surgeons authorized by 
the current appropriation bill. 
The Chairman. Did not the Paymaster-General’s estimate also 
cover simply the flat pay ? 
General O’Reilly. No, sir. 
The Chairman. The pay of the first lieutenants was estimated at 
less than a contract surgeon ? 
General O’Reilly. Yes; he estimated that. 
The Chairman. Would not the allowances bring it up to more 
than the contract surgeon ? 
General O’Reilly. No, I think not. 
The Chairman. How much house rent do they get? 
General O’Reilly. Only when they are stationed where they do 
not get any quarters. The contract surgeon gets nothing in the way 
of quarters. 
The Chairman. A lieutenant would get how much for quarters? 
General O’Reilly. Two rooms. 
The Chairman. Twenty-four dollars a month ? 
General O’Reilly. Yes. 
The Chairman. So that if they are stationed where they get no 
rooms they get in addition a little more pay than the contract 
surgeon ? 
General O’Reilly. They get commutation for rooms if there; un- 
less there they get $200' less each year. But medical lieutenants 
rarely serve except with troops, so" their commutation would not 
amount to anything. Then there is another thing: Suppose this 
bill were to pass at this session, a certain number of promotions would 
take place which would not have taken place until this year; so that 
makes a difference, and that statement should be revised. I would 
like to read what I have written out in regard to this increase of cost. 
Mr. Patterson. Are you going to make a statement with regard to 
the department as it exists now ? 
General O’Reilly. I am talking now about the expense if this 
bill were to pass, compared with as it is now. The estimates made 
by the Paymaster-General of the Army showed that the first year 
there would be absolutely no additional cost. I have had that 16 
ORDNANCE AND MEDICAL DEPARTMENTS OF THE ARMY. 
revised, and I want to say that the estimates prepared by the 
Paymaster-General a year ago showed that there would be no increase 
in expense for the next fiscal year, and that when the increase was 
consummated on the fourth year the total added cost would be only 
$23,000 in a pay roll of $1,134,000. An estimate made yesterday by 
the Surgeon-General’s Office, based on data which is probably more 
exact, shows that the increase of expense for the next fiscal year will 
be $12,000, and that the total increase four years hence will be 
$43,000. These are outside estimates which may be diminished, but 
can not be exceeded. Thus the increased cost for the next fiscal year 
will be, by the Paymaster-General’s estimate, nothing; by the Sur- 
geon-General’s estimate about 1 per cent, and the ultimate increase 
four years hence will be between 2 and 4 per cent. 
Mr. Patterson. Is it your idea to abolish the contract surgeons 
during the four years ? 
General O’Reilly. Yes; to substitute these in their place. 
Mr. Patterson. Their contracts will all expire within the four 
years and they will not be reappointed? 
General O’Reilly. Those that are at present in the service will 
become officers of the Reserve Medical Corps. 
Mr. Parker. How about the age limits? There is no age limit, 
I believe, in the reserve corps? 
General O’Reilly. We think that in time of war, for instance, 
we could get able men who are above the age limit for entrance 
to the Medical Corps, and use to great advantage in hospital work, 
especially for the base and general hospitals. 
Mr. Parker. I thought you expected to promote from the reserve 
corps to the standing corps? 
General O’Reilly. We expected to take those of appropriate 
age and who had passed the necessary examination. 
Mr. Parker. Is it not true that under the present system with 
contract surgeons that you select men from a number, not merely 
by examination, but by trial and experience? And is it not also 
true that a contract surgeon will come in, stay three or four years 
and give first-rate service, and at the end of that time he is too old 
to be appointed to the standing corps? 
General O’Reilly. I think as a rule in those cases, where his 
service has been good, the Secretary has waived the age limit. 
Mr. Parker. It is a regulation. Would it be well to make a 
standing regulation to that effect, that where a man had entered as 
a contract surgeon under the age limit, and had stayed in continuously, 
that the accounting should be made from the time he first began 
serving the Government? 
General O’Reilly. I think the present arrangement has been per- 
fectly satisfactory, where the Secretary has the power to waive the 
age limit. 
Mr. Slayden. He is apt to do it ? 
General O’Reilly. Yes, sir. 
Mr. Holliday. Does the reserve surgeon under the proposed law 
get any emoluments from the Government while he is not in the 
service? 
General O'Reilly. Not one single thing. ORDNANCE AND MEDICAL DEPARTMENTS OF THE ARMY. 
17 
Another object of the reserve corps is that it gives us an eligible 
list of men who have already been examined, and of whom we know 
something, to call on in cases of emergency. 
The Chairman. They come in as first lieutenants? 
General O’Reilly. Yes, sir. 
The Chairman. Ranking below all the other first lieutenants of 
the corps? 
Mr. Parker. Is he called in permanently, or only for a time? 
General O’Reilly. Only for the time his services are necessary. 
The Chairman. General, your experience in the Medical Depart- 
ment ought to make your views of value. In regard to this propo- 
sition, do you believe that any considerable number of these reserves, 
after they have gone back into practice and established themselves, 
in cases of war would avail themselves of this proposition to come in 
as first lieutenants below all the other first lieutenants of the corps; 
or do you think that they would want a higher position? 
General O’Reilly. I think a good many would be glad to come in 
and do hospital work. I remember during the civil war that in 
Philadelphia some of the leading members of the profession there 
were doing that work; such men, for instance, as Doctor Gross. 
The Chairman. Did they give up their practice, or did they do 
that as an incident to their practice? 
General O’Reilly. As an incident to their practice. They were 
in their own native home cities. I happen to personally know about 
that. 
The Chairman. But this is for the field service. In cities like 
Philadelphia, Boston, New York, and Chicago, and other large 
cities, if there is a considerable number in the hospitals there they 
will always get civilian physicians and surgeons who would be glad 
to do what they can. This reserve corps is supposed to be a benefit 
over the contract-surgeon system. I was inquiring particularly as 
to the men who have gone out of the corps into private practice and 
have succeeded. Of course, those who do not succeed will all want 
to come back. The men that succeed might hardty give up a lucra- 
tive practice to come back in again. 
General O’Reilly. I think that patriotism and professionalism 
will count for a good deal. I think that plenty of men holding very 
good positions indeed will be glad to come in. I know that men did 
come in during the Spanish war who made great sacrifices to do so. 
Then, too, the special sphere of usefulness of reserve-corps officers 
will be at the base and general hospital, where the work is almost 
entirely professional and where there will probably be no other regu- 
lar officers than the surgeon in charge. Under these conditions rela- 
tive rank will be unimportant, and I think we can get reserve officers 
of mature age and experience to leave their practices in time of war 
for such work. In the field, of course, we would want young men 
for the few positions which would not be filled by regular medical 
officers. 
The Chairman. Came in mostly as majors, however? 
General O’Reilly. Precisely; but that is a mere matter of detail. 
It cost them a great deal to come into the service of the United 
States. I knew also some fine men who served as contract surgeons. 
The Chairman. Do you think the higher rank induced them ? 
O AND M—05 M 2 18 
ordnance and medical departments of the army. 
General O'Reilly. I think it would have been the same whatever 
the rank might have been. 
Mr. Hay. Do you think any man who has a full practice would 
come into the corps, excepting in time of war? 
General O’Reilly. I don’t think he would excepting in time of 
war. It would depend largely upon how popular the war was. 
Beside that, there would be a large number of doctors who are very 
much interested in surgery, and the particular line of diseases inci- 
dent to the war; and they, I think, would be very glad to offer their 
services, so as to have the opportunity of studying these cases. 
Mr. Hay. The object of this reserve corps is not only to get sur- 
geons when you may need them, but also to educate officers or men 
who may become officers in the Volunteer as well as in the Regular 
Army ? 
General O’Reilly. The volunteer question would be entirely inci- 
dental. There is nothing in this bill that practically touches the vol- 
unteer force. 
Mr. Hay. I understand that; but if a man has been in the reserve 
corps and had some experience it would make him a good officer for 
the volunteer service ? 
General O’Reilly. Yes; it would make him a good officer to be 
selected for that purpose. 
The Chairman. The medical reserve corps is intended to take the 
place of the contract surgeons, and I can see that the Government has 
no obligations to them any more than to the contract surgeon. 
General O’Reilly. All of that portion of the bill which appears to 
go into details is placed there, so far as we were able to do so, to safe- 
guard the interests of the Government. 
Mr. Hay. As I understand it, if this bill were put into operation it 
would do away with the necessity for contract surgeons ? 
General O’Reilly. As we get the corps full. 
Mr. Hay. You will not have any contract surgeons? 
General O’Reilly. No, sir. 
Mr. Young. In time of peace? 
General O’Reilly. Yes; and in time of war we will have men that 
have already been examined. 
The Chairman. It seems to me, though of course your experience 
has given you an opinion that is worth a good deal more than mine, 
that the contract surgeon is worth more than the reserve, because you 
have young men. In the reserve corps if the man has a good prac- 
tice he is not going to give it up. A contract surgeon may be a sur- 
geon of a volunteer militia company or a regiment right away, and in 
case of war he would go in as surgeon of the regiment in preference 
to going back as a lieutenant. That is the way it strikes me. 
General O’Reilly. We hope to get plenty of young men for the 
reserve corps also. We hope to have enough for both if the Govern- 
ment wants to take them in. Just now, of course, we have the ex- 
perience of the Spanish war, and we know something of the qualifi- 
cations of the men who served. Suppose a war should break out in 
the very near future. What is going to be the modus operandi ? All 
States will be called upon; they will furnish so many regiments, and 
the organizations will include medical officers for those regiments. 
Congress will undoubtedly provide for the volunteer force, including 
the medical force. ordnance and medical departments of the army. 
19 
The Chairman. We have that law now. 
General O’Reilly. Yes; and besides that there will be a number of 
contract surgeons required. Now, to get those contract surgeons we 
have got to go to work and organize boards right then and there or 
else take them simply on their recommendations, and you know what 
that is worth. We hope by this bill to have a waiting list of eligible 
men who can be called upon in time of emergency. 
Mr. Denny. Efficient men ? 
General O’Reilly. Men whose efficiency has been demonstrated by 
examinations. 
Mr. Holliday. Where do you expect to get your new officers—take 
them from private life? 
General O’Reilly. We take them from private life. The process 
is this: We take men who pass an examination on a certain portion of 
the medical curriculum. The examinations are held all over the 
country. We take those men and put them in the Army Medical 
School, which is run by medical and other officers here on duty. 
They are given lectures and kept Under observation for a period of 
eight months, and at the end of that time they have their final exam- 
ination. If such examinations are satisfactory, then the candidates 
are commissioned in the Regular Army. That is the present process. 
Mr. Y oung. Would it be likely that a good many of these new men 
would come from your present force of contract surgeons? 
General O’Reilly. Of the Medical Reserve Corps ? 
Mr. Y oung. No; not the reserve corps, but the regular corps. 
General O’Reilly. I doubt it very much. A great many of the 
contract surgeons that we have have already been examined for com- 
missions at different times; I mean those that want to come into the 
Regular Army. Of the contract surgeons that we had during the 
Spanish war who wanted to enter the Regular Army pretty well all 
have been examined. Of those that we have at the present time I 
don’t think any are desirous of entering who can pass the examina- 
tion. 
Mr. Hay. Do you have much trouble in getting surgeons for the 
Regular Army now ? 
General O’Reilly. We have a good deal of trouble. 
Mr. Hay. What is the cause of that ? 
General O’Reilly. W7e think it is because of this bill passed in 
1901. You will remember that Doctor Rodman stated his personal 
experience last week in regard to that; and we found that the num- 
ber of resignations from our corps increased largely after the passage 
of that act of 1901. That is not so much the case now, but I think 
that a very large factor in that diminution is the hope that Congress 
will do something. 
Mr. Hay. In other words, promotion is so slow that men of proper 
talent and ability do not care to enter? 
General O’Reilly. We are going into the market and trying to buy 
under the market price. 
Mr. Patterson. The main idea of this reorganization is to estab- 
lish a nucleus of officers, trained in military practice, to be used in 
case of war, is it not ? 
General O’Reilly. The idea is to have sufficient strength for the 
present organization of the Army and capable of expansion. Does 
that answer your question ?  ORDNANCE AND MEDICAL DETARTMENTS OF THE ARMY. 
Mi\ Patterson. Not exactly. The idea in establishing this regu- 
lar corps of 450 and odd members, regular commissioned officers, is 
not only to construct an effective organization, but to have a trained 
nucleus in the event of war. 
General O’Reilly. Oh, yes; just the same as with all the rest of 
the Regular Army. 
Mr. Slayden. It on may have stated this before I came in; and if so, 
I do not care to have you answer the question again ; but if you have 
not done so I would like to know what are the inducements for young 
medical men to enter the corps compared with those that existed 
prior to the reorganization, and also in comparison with that which 
you propose ? 
Mr. Young. You mean the regular corps? 
Mr. Slayden. Yes; the regular corps. 
General O’Reilly. The percentage is given in this brief. In 1898 
the percentage in the Regular Army of 25,000 men of brigadier-gen- 
erals to the whole corps was one-half of 1 per cent, or 0.57 per cent. 
Of colonels it was 3.4 per cent; of lieutenant-colonels, 5.7 per cent; 
of majors, 28.5 per cent; of captains and first lieutenants, 61.7 per 
cent. Under the reorganization of 1901 the percentage of brigadier- 
generals is 0.31 per cent, against 0.57 of 1 per cent; of colonels, 2.5 
per cent, as against 3.4 per cent; lieutenant-colonels, 3.8 per cent, as 
against 5.7 per cent; majors, 18.7 per cent, as against 28.5 per cent; 
captains and first lieutenants, 74.6 per cent, as against 61.7 per cent. 
Mr. Slayden. Now, under this proposition which is pending, 
what will be the inducement as compared to conditions prior to the 
reorganization. Is that shown also? 
General O’Reilly. It will practically restore them. The colonel 
is increased one-tenth of 1 per cent—that is to say, it would be 3.5 
per cent, as against 3.4 per cent. The lieutenant-colonel would be 5.3 
per cent, as against 5.7 per cent. The major would be 24.4 per cent, 
as against 28.5 per cent, and the captain and first lieutenant would 
be 66.6 per cent, as' against 61.7 per cent. That would make a lower 
percentage in the junior officers of the corps. 
Mr. Slayden. Substantially it is a reestablishment of the condi- 
tions existing prior to the reorganization? 
General O’Reilly. It is, proportionately. 
Mr. Slayden. But not quite as good as it was some twenty-five 
years ago? 
General O’Reilly. Not quite as good as it was in 1898, when the 
Spanish war broke out. 
Mr. Slatoen. Was not there a reorganization of the corps a num- 
ber of years ago by which the inducements were lessened for admis- 
sion as compared with what it had been prior to that ? 
General O’Reilly. I think the last reorganization before took 
place in 1876—that is, the one prior to 1898. 
Mr. Slayden. It seems to me that I have heard that prior to that 
reorganization which, as you state, occurred in 1876, that the condi- 
tions were more favorable for the candidates for promotion than it 
was even under the act which controlled at the time of the Spanish- 
American war. Is that your understanding? 
General O’Reilly. We have not figured that out. 
The Chairman. The bill provides for the promotion from the 
grade of first lieutenant to captain in three years; the law now says 21 
ordnance and medical departments of the army. 
live years, and in the Engineer Corps it is fourteen years. I wish you 
would give the committee very full reasons for that change, because 
there is no question but that when we report the bill we will have to 
give good reasons for it. 
General O’Reilly. The first reason why we desire that is because 
Congress has given that as the proper standard for the Navy. 
Mr. Slayden. For the Navy Medical Corps? 
General O’Reilly. Yes. A surgeon entering the Naval Medical 
Corps gets an advance in rank which brings him to a grade corres- 
ponding to captain in the Army in three years’ service. We are com- 
peting with them. Then that was the law prior to 1876. The reor- 
ganization of July 28, 1866, which was the organic act until it was 
amended in 1876, gave a promotion to the rank of captain in three 
years, and that is what we are proposing now. The main point in 
doing that is to increase the inducement, and put them on the same 
basis as that of the Navy. In regard to the Engineer Corps, four- 
teen years’ service makes promotion to a captaincy obligatory, but 
that law does not require that they shall have served fourteen years 
before getting it. 
The Chairman. If there is a vacancy they would get it anyhow. 
General O’Reilly. In one, two, or three years. 
The Chairman. That would also be in the Medical Corps if there 
is a vacancy. 
General O’Reilly. No; because the vacancy absolutely depends 
upon the length of service. 
The Chairman. Is there any case in the Engineering Corps short 
of that? 
General O’Reilly. I am not familiar enough with the register to 
be positive, but I think so. Besides, we think that there are other 
compensations. An engineer officer has the very highest grades in 
the Army open to him. He may become a major-general or a lieu- 
tenant-general, the very head of the Army, whereas the medical offi- 
cer’s opportunities are limited by the organic condition of his corps— 
there can only be one Surgeon-General at a time, and that is as high 
as he can expect to get. Only a small proportion of the corps can 
get it. 
The Chairman. The main reason, then, is that it places the two 
corps on equality—the Navy Medical Corps and the Army Medi- 
cal Corps? 
General O’Reilly. Yes, sir; so we can offer to young men the 
same inducements that the Navy does. 
The Chairman. I understand that there is a difference now in the 
zeal with which young medical students seek their respective corps. 
In other words, they are more anxious to get into the Navy than into 
the Army. How is that ? 
General O’Reilly. I can not answer that question positively, be- 
cause I do not know. I know that a short time ago it was the case. 
Mr. Slayden. They have a better reward. 
General O’Reilly. The prospect is certainly better in the Navy 
than in the Army. It is not only that they get the additional grade 
in three years, but the percentage of higher grades is very much 
greater. For instance, they have 15 officers who rank as captains, 
and they have 15 officers next below who rank as commanders. The 
Navy has about -17,000 men, and the Army is supposed to have about 22 
ORDNANCE AND MEDICAL DEPARTMENTS OF THE ARMY. 
65,000 men. The Navy would have 15 men ranking as colonels and 
15 ranking as lieutenant-colonels. 
Mr. Hay. ITow many has the Army ? 
General O’Reilly. Eight colonels and 12 lieutenant-colonels. At 
present there is one additional colonel who was promoted by special 
act of Congress for his service in Habana. 
Mr. Parker. Captains in the Navy get the same salary as colonels 
in the Army, General? Captains of the Navy get the same pay as 
colonels in our Army, and on shore duty they get 15 per cent less. 
General O’Reilly. I am not familiar with the intricacies of the 
subject, but I observe they are having some trouble about it every 
once in a while. The captain in the Navy ranks with the colonel in 
the Army, and the commander ranks with the lieutenant-colonel of 
the Army. I presume the pay is the same in both services. 
Mr. Patterson. Do I understand you that under this reorganiza- 
tion a lieutenant who has served three years will be promoted to the 
grade and pay of a captain whether there is a vacancy in the list for 
promotions or not? 
General O’Reilly. Yes; the number in each grade is not fixed by 
law. The number of captains depends altogether on the number of 
lieutenants wTho, having served the required time, have passed satis- 
factory examinations for promotion. That is now the law. The 
assistant surgeon has the rank of first lieutenant, and then when he 
has served for five years and passed the examination he gets the 
rank, pay, and allowances of a captain. The number that is fixed 
is the number of assistant surgeons, and the whole number of cap- 
tains and lieutenants can not be exceeded. That is to say, if we take 
a lieutenant tvho lias served five years and he becomes a captain it 
does not make a vacancy in the lower grades, provided the corps is 
full. 
The Chairman. The law provides that captains and first lieuten- 
ants shall be lumped together, so many captains and so many first 
lieutenants, so that they don’t wait for vacancies in the service. 
Mr. Parker. Is the Medical Corps now full ? 
General O’Reilly. No, sir. 
Mr. Parker. Where are the vacancies? 
General O’Reilly. Eighteen vacancies in the assistant surgeons. 
Mr. Parker. What rank ? 
General O’Reilly. First lieutenants. 
Mr. Parker. Have you any applications for those vacancies? 
General O’Reilly. I do not know; if so, we have not very many. 
The examinations take place in the spring, and I don’t know exactly 
the number of applications that are now on file. I do not believe 
we have very many applications. I can let you know later the exact 
number. 
Mr. Parker. I wish you would do so. I simply want to know 
whether there are any applications now on file to fill those eighteen 
vacancies. 
General O’Reilly. There are seven applications now on file, and 
experience has shown that out of this number it is not probable that 
more than one or two will pass. 
Mr. Holliday. Are these examinations for such vacancies held gen- 
erally throughout the entire country or restricted to one or two cer- 
tain localities? ORDNANCE and medical departments of the army. 
23 
General O’Reilly. The examinations are held at different places 
throughout the country, so as to induce as many people to take the 
examination as possible. There is no provision in the bill for paying 
the expenses of those who take those examinations, therefore we con- 
duct the examinations at as many convenient points as we can. 
Mr. Prince. Have there been any resignations from the Medical 
Corps since the reorganization act of 1901 ? 
General O’Reilly. Yes, sir. That information is contained, I 
think, in this brief. There have been 11 resignations. 
Mr. Prince. Eleven of what grade ? 
General O’Reilly. First lieutenants. That is also mentioned in 
the brief. Prior to that in the same period there was but one resig- 
nation. 
Mr. Prince. Is there a pressing necessity for these medical officers 
now. to look after the health and welfare of the soldiers? 
General O’Reilly. In my opinion there is. 
Mr. Prince. It is not a question of desirability, but it is a question 
of absolute necessity. 
General O’Reilly. In my opinion it is a question of absolute 
necessity. 
Mr. 1 Prince. Wherein is the necessity ? 
General O’Reilly. That is my best judgment as to the necessity 
of this reorganization. It is a necessity; otherwise I do not think we 
can fill the corps with the kind of men we need, and I do not think 
we can give proper attention to the troops that we now have, and in 
time of war 
Mr. Prince. Just state what the present necessities are now for the 
care, health, and condition of the present organization. 
General O’Reilly. We now have, over and above the organization 
of the corps proper, 165 contract surgeons—that is, we are 165 short 
of the number of medical officers that are required to give proper 
service in the Army. 
Mr. Prince. But you can use, as you have in the past years, these 
contract surgeons that will answer the present purpose? 
General O’Reilly. We can use them, but their service we consider 
is unsatisfactory and extravagant, and there is a very strong feeling, 
so far as we are advised, throughout the country in the proportion 
against the 
Mr. Prince. I am frank to give you, General, the question that is 
in my mind: Here we are to-day $26,000,000 behind in receipts, as 
compared with expenditures. That does not include the Post-Office 
receipts and expenditures. At the rate we are going it looks as if we 
would be in the neighborhood of thirty or forty millions of dollars 
behind at the end of this fiscal year. 
Now, I am frank to say to you that I am in favor of making every 
liberal appropriation that is required for necessities; but 1 am not 
in favor, under present existing conditions, of reorganizing any corps 
where they can get along without it, in view of the existing conditions. 
A year ago, under the conditions that obtained at that time, I think 
your request was a desirable one; but at the present time the ques- 
tion is, Is the necessity for reorganization so pressing that public 
work of another character should be stopped for the benefit of this 
reorganization ? 24 
ORDNANCE AND MEDICAL DEPARTMENTS OF THE ARMY. 
General O’Reilly. I think there is an absolute necessity for the 
reorganization. As for its relative necessity compared with other 
measures, of course you gentlemen are the judges. I will call your 
attention again, Mr. Prince, to this memorandum of the small expense 
entailed, which I think I have already read. 
Mr. Prince. That may go in the hearing, which I will read very 
carefully. 
STATEMENT OE THE HON. WILLIAM H. TAFT, SECRETARY OF 
WAR. 
The Chairman (Mr. Hull). We have before us the medical bill 
this morning, Mr. Secretary. 
Secretary Taft. T am very much interested in that bill. 
The Chairman. It is Senate bill 4838. 
Secretary Taft. It is useless for me to explain to the committee 
wdiat they have known for a long time, but what I have only recently 
come to know—that the general plan of the reorganization of the 
Army is not adjusted in its various branches in proper proportion 
for an army in the field of 60,000 men; but that army is a skeleton 
upon which to construct a very much larger army, having much 
greater in proportion than an army in the field would have those 
branches which it would take a long time to prepare for actual 
service. 
For instance, we now have in the Army a much greater proportion 
of cavalry to infantry than any army of 60,000 in the field would 
possibly need, because, should a war come on, it would be a great 
deal easier to increase the infantry than it would be the cavalry. 
And in the same way we have now a larger proportion of artillery 
in time of peace than we should have in war, though by no means 
so large a proportion as we ought to have in accordance with the 
general plan; because, first, we have a large coast defense, which is 
not a mobile part of the Army at all, and is hardly to be considered 
as a part of the Army in the field. In carrying out this plan of a 
skeleton army to be readily expanded it is necessary to maintain a 
Medical Corps that will be adequate to meet the needs of a much 
larger Army than the 60,000 men that you now have. Instead of 
that kind of a corps, you have one that in order to attend to the 
present needs of the Army of 60,000 men, you have to employ, in 
addition to the regular corps, 200 contract surgeons. 
This bill contemplates a formation of a Medical Corps which shall 
meet the needs of the present service and at the same time have the 
nucleus for an expansion into an efficient corps for a very much 
larger Army than the 60,000 men that are now on the rolls. The 
present permanent force of the corps is only 320 men. The bill 
contemplates an increase to 450 men. The present force, including 
the 200 contract surgeons, is somethng over 500. 
The Chairman. Right there—there were 165 contract surgeons. 
Secretary Taft. You are right about that; there Avere previously 
200, but the number is now reduced to 165. 
The Chairman. I only suggest that because I did not want your 
statement and mine to clash. 
Secretary Taft. You are quite right. One difficulty about these 
bills, or at least the papers written with respect to bills, is that they ORDNANCE AND MEDICAL DEPARTMENTS OF THE ARMY. 
25 
have been pending a long time, and statements that were true at 
one time have ceased to be true as of to-day. That is also true Avith 
respect to the matter of increased expense contemplated by the bill. 
The increased expense is different now from what it was when the 
first statement was made with respect to the bill. 
Mr. Hay. Have you any information from the armies in the East, 
say Japan, as to the importance of having a corps prepared before- 
hand for use in time of Avar? 
Secretary Taft. 1 have here an extract from a report from Capt. 
Peyton C. March, of the General Staff, and military attache Avith the 
Japanese army. He has just come back, after having been over there 
with the Japanese army at the battles of the Yalu River, Liaoyang, 
and through Manchuria. This is what he says on that general 
subject: 
[Extract from report of Capt. Peyton C. March, General Staff, military attache with Japanese 
army.] 
MEDICAL SERVICE. 
The sanitary problems arising on a modern battleiield are of the first mag- 
nitude. The tremendous number of wounded exhausts the capacity of the 
medical department not only to actually treat the cases, but to handle the admin- 
istrative problems arising from having to take care of the records and equipment 
of an army of wounded men. I desire to add that, whatever may be the theo- 
retical arguments offered in opposition to the increase in our Medical Corps 
asked for by the Surgeon-General last winter, my experience here has convinced 
me that the General Staff should put itself on record as approving and recom- 
mending such an increase. Our present Medical Corps, assisted by the volun- 
teer and State surgeons, upon whom we could rely in time of war, will, in my 
opinion, be wholly inadequate to the task of handling the sanitary problems 
of a great war, and in that emergency it will be extremely ill for the General 
Staff, if it can be stated with truth, that the number and grades of officers 
desired by the Surgeon-General to render his corps able to handle those prob- 
lems have not been authorized because of the opposition of the General Staff. 
Congress may or may not grant such an increase. That is another question. 
This was not written for the purpose of publication, but is his view, 
gathered from actual experience on the fields of battle. 
I will read also an extract from a letter of another American officer 
in Manchuria, Avherein he says: 
Perhaps I might add this conclusion I have reached, namely, that the immense 
losses sustained in modern battles require provisions to be made for medical 
service on a much larger scale than heretofore. I doubt if the medical depart- 
ment of any of the large armies are adjusted to this new condition. * * * 
I shall be with you in the future for such an expansive organization as will 
enable your department to meet the requirements of modern field service; that 
is, if I am in a position to render any aid at all along those lines. 
I ought first to say that the plan of the present bill to meet the 
demand of expansion is to create instead of the contract surgeons 
Avhat we call the medical reserve corps. In certain respects it is not 
very different from the contract service, except that it makes an eli- 
gible list of candidates for the Medical Corps that has not heretofore 
existed. The increase from 320 to 450 is properly proportioned be- 
tAveen the upper grades, with a view of giving an opportunity for 
promotion from the lower grades, which have been very difficult to 
fill. The increase in the upper grades is a strong inducement to 
young physicians of character and ability to meet the examinations. 
The opportunities in the Medical Corps of the Army under the pres- 
ent arrangement are by no means equal to those in the Navy, and 26 
ORDNANCE AND MEDICAL DEPARTMENTS OF THE ARMY. 
they do not seem to be strong enough by way of inducement to lead 
men to take examinations which are regarded as fairly stiff. 
Now, with respect to expense. When the bill was first proposed, 
it would have caused, under the th n law, or rather the application of 
the law to the then circumstances, no increase in cost for the first 
year. At the end of five years the increase in cost would have been 
$50,000 a year. As it is, however, the increased length of service of 
those whose must be taken into consideration now will make the 
increase in cost, I think, the first year some $12,600. 
There is a feature that I put into the bill of my own motion. I 
reached the Department just in time to have presented for my 
decision the question whether the recommendation of the Chief of 
Staff reducing very much the ranking officers under the bill—I mean 
the high ranking officers—or the recommendation of one branch of 
the General Staff approving the recommendations of the Surgeon- 
General that there should be 20 colonels and 20 lieutenant-colonels, 
should be approved; and it seemed to me that we might make a 
compromise, so that the bill, as presented, is for a total of 16 colonels 
and 24 lieutenant-colonels. What I brought into the bill was a 
requirement that every man in the Medical Corps should pass an 
examination from one rank to another. The trouble about the 
Medical Corps 
The Chairman. Right there now. A man is examined when he 
first comes in? 
Secretary Taft. Yes, sir. 
The Chairman. He serves five years’ continuous service and then 
he passes another examination to be a captain. No matter where 
he is he must be sent back to his post 
Secretary Taft. Wherever you can convene a board 
The Chairman. If he serves fifteen years you generally bring 
them here? 
Secretary Taft. No; I do not think so; they examine them in the 
Philippines. 
The Chairman. Do they examine them in Alaska ? 
Secretary Taft. I suppose those stationed in Alaska would have 
to come to San Francisco for their examination. 
The Chairman. Under your board here? 
Secretary Taft. No; they have a board for the examination of 
-officers for promotion in San Francisco and similar boards in the 
Philippine Islands. 
The Chairman. Then, after he has served ten years at least, he has 
to pass another examination. So that during twenty-odd years of 
service he has passed three strict examinations. Don’t you think if 
he has not demonstrated his ability up to that time that he had better 
be mustered out? 
Secretary Taft. I think that is the way to muster them out. I 
think examinations ought to be required to keep the older men, who 
are so likely to become deadwood, up to the mark, and if they do not 
pass examinations they should be retired. 
The Chairman. A man’s habits are formed by the time he is a 
major? 
Secretary Taft. Let him pursue those habits in retirement. You 
will never get a good corps or a good army if you do not eliminate 
the deadwood. I want him to keep up with the procession. The ORDNANCE AND MEDICAL DEPARTMENTS OF THE ARMY. 
27 
trouble with a rigid seniority system of promotion without a rigid 
system of examinations that tests and excludes—and this is true not 
only of the Medical Corps, but even more so in the line of the Army—- 
is the deadwood at the top. 
The Chairman. We passed a law some years ago to retire men on 
examination. Do you know of any examined man who has been re- 
tired as a result of such an examination ? 
Secretary Taft. I wish I did; but I do not. 
The Chairman. I)o you think you ever would ? 
Secretary Taft. Well. I think you can count more on the medical 
examinations as real tests than you can on any others, excepting those 
of the ordnance. 
The Chairman. I thought some years ago that we provided for 
getting rid of the deadwood by these examinations. I think one man 
was retired out of the whole list, up to this time. 
Secretary Taft. This bill says that a medical officer failing in his 
examination shall be barred from promotion. I think a man who 
can not pass to the next rank ought to be retired. 
Mr. Hay. I agree with you. 
Mr. 1’ arker. Do you not think it would be fair to have competitive 
examinations between three in each case, and unless a man came in 
first in the three the way they do in the civil service 
Secretary Taft. There is, perhaps, some ground for approving 
such a suggestion. But what we must consider is the strong feel- 
ing against selection and in favor of the seniority plan. Severe 
examinations by which incompetent, lazy, and unambitious officers 
are retired overcome some of the objections of the seniority plan. I 
do not think that even the strongest advocates of the seniority plan 
can advance any real objection, whereas if you have selections by 
competitive examinations an examination may show whether a 
man is fit to go up; but as between three examinations, it by 
no means is sure that the best examination is the safest test for 
determining the best of the three officers, especially after the appoint- 
ing power may have the benefit of the long experience with the three 
men in actual service upon which to base a judgment. 
Mr. Denny. That is true. 
Mr. P arker. That is true of all examinations, whether passed or 
competitive. 
Secretary Taft. It is not so much the case in pass examinations. 
They usually do show whether a man has kept up with the proces- 
sion. especially with respect to the science of medicine, because 
medical science is progressive. We ought to have in the field and in 
sanitary matters the advantage of real scientists, men who keep up 
with what is going on in the world in medical investigation and 
science. 
The Surgeon-General presents this paper, which I will read, and 
which reflects credit on the Medical Department as compared with 
other branches of the Army in respect to examinations: 
If eft nit of examinations for promotion, Medical Deparmcnt. I . 8. Army, 
since 1862. 
Found not qualified for promotion and resignation accepted 16 
Found not qualified for promotion at first examination; subsequently reex- 
amined and found qualified, 18 28 
ORDNANCE AND MEDICAL DEPARTMENTS OF THE ARMY. 
Found not qualified for promotion at first examination: suspended from 
promotion for one year; found qualified at second examination 2 
Found not qualified for promotion and retired or died before second exami- 
nation 4 
Found physically disqualified for promotion, and subsequently reexamined 
and found qualified 3 
Found physically disqualified for promotion, followed by retirement or 
death 9 
Found qualified for promotion, but to be reexamined physically 2 
Found not qualified for advancement to rank of captain, suspended from 
advancement for one year, found qualified upon reexamination 6 
Found not qualified for advancement to rank of captain, suspended from 
advancement for one year (period of suspension unexpired) 4 
Not physically able to undergo examination when ordered 2 
SUMMARY. 
Examination resulted in separation from service , 29 
Examination resulted in suspension of promotion 37 
Total 66 
I think that is a very much better showing than in any other branch 
of the Army, excepting possibly the ordnance. 
Mr. Y oung. When a medical officer, long before the expiration of 
his term of service, becomes deadwood, as you sav, inefficient, and in- 
competent, why, instead of retiring him, should not he be dropped 
from the Army—dismissed altogether ? 
Secretary Taft. I think that would be fair up to a certain rank, like 
the rank of captain or major. If a man has been permitted to remain 
in the service for twenty years, it is to be assumed in his favor that 
he has rendered some good service, even though he may have reached 
the point where no service is better than any service for him. Of 
course, we are dealing with human beings in considering the proba- 
bility as to the action of examining boards. It might be very difficult 
to get an examining board to find an officer wanting if the result of 
the finding were that after twenty years’ service he was to be thrown 
out on the wTorld without any means of support. 
Mr. Young. There.may be something in that; but the growth of 
the retired list seems to be a pretty serious thing in the Army, espe- 
cially in the higher grades. 
Secretary Taft. It is. The retired list grows for one reason, be- 
cause there is such slowness in promotion, and the retired list offers 
an opportunity for promotion. 
You have already made provision for men who have served in the 
civil war. A lieutenant-colonel came into my office the other day, a 
lieutenant-colonel of artillery, having had his hand shot off and one 
finger here [indicating], and had a bullet or two in his body. He 
worked all of his life for the United States, and he was going to 
retire as a colonel. There was an opportunity to make him briga- 
dier-general if a vacancy came on. lie certainly was as much enti- 
tled to reward as anybody who had served during the war, and the 
President’s heart is just as human as others. 
Mr. Young. He made him brigadier-general? 
Secretary Taft. He made him brigadier-general. 
Mr. Young. We have some 236 retired brigadier-generals. 
The Chairman. We have 240 now. 
Secretary Taft. And there are likely to be a good many more; but 
then, Congress did it, and you did it with your eyes open, because ORDNANCE AND MEDICAL DEPARTMENTS OF THE ARMY. 
29 
you made provision that men who had served in both wars should be 
retired at a grade higher than that which they held at the time of 
their retirement. 
The Chairman. Brigadier-generals do not go higher, but colonels 
and all ranks below that do. There are a good many yet to be made 
bri ga dier-gener als. 
Secretary Taft. But there is no doubt that many of them are doing 
more for the Government in a state of retirement than they would be 
doing in active service, so I do not think the Government is losing 
anything by that procedure. Of course, I respect the men who have 
fine records in the civil war, but the truth is, gentlemen, that in the 
course of nature they are not fit for active service. Of course, there 
are many notable exceptions, but the rule is as I state it. 
The Chairman. Would not the proposition to retire the men who 
do not reach a certain rank at a certain age compel the different 
branches of the Army to eliminate the deaclwood ? 
Secretary Taft. Yes, sir: I think that strict examinations will 
also do it. We have a lot of papers in the Department now filed by 
different officers, and I hope to take three months—that is a very 
short time for so great a problem—to see if I can not draft a bill of 
some sort to present to Congress at the opening of the next session 
with a view of mitigating the evils of rigid seniority promotion. I 
do not knowT that it can be done; I suppose every Secretary tries it. 
The Chairman. How about selections? 
Secretary Taft. I think the system of selection has so many evils 
in it that it would be very difficult to provide against them. In the 
English naval service they have just the provision that you mention, 
that of requiring a man of a certain age who has not reached a cer- 
tain rank to retire. 
The Chairman. That rule also obtains in the English army. 
Secretary Taft. I did not know that. 1 think, however, in the 
English navy they have a system of selection up to the post of cap- 
tain. After that the selections are by seniority with certain exami- 
nations. 
Mr. Holliday. Still it is complained that that is a bad system. 
The Chairman. Mr. Secretary, do you desire to make any further 
statements ? 
Secretary Taft. I think I have covered generally the reasons the 
Department has for supporting the bill. We are very anxious to get 
it through if we can. Then we shall have in the branches, at least so 
far as the officers are concerned, a condition meeting the demand 
should we have to form another army or increase the present organi- 
zation. 
Mr. Hay. You consider that this is absolutely necessary? 
Secretary Taft. I do not mean to say that we could not get along 
* as we are getting on now, but I mean the logical formation of an 
army on the plans that I first stated requires this bill. I think we 
ought to keep a corps which will bear expansion and be ready for the 
needs of the Army, instead of having the very unsatisfactory condi- 
tion that existed at the opening of the Spanish war. This bill will 
largely alleviate those troubles. 
Mr. Slayden. You think the great desirability of the plan of re- 
organization more than balances the trifling increase of expense ? 
Secretary Taft. I do. 30 
ordnance and medical departments of the army. 
Mr. Holliday. In estimating the increase in expense you have not 
taken into consideration what we call “ fogy ” pay, or the increase 
growing out of the three-quarters pay on retirement? 
Secretary Taft. ()f course men grow older each year, and when the 
period elapses that requires higher pay that will go on. It would not, 
however, go on with the contract surgeons, that is true. 
Mr. Holliday. As it is now they get no “ fogy ” pay, no retirement 
pay ? 
Secretary Taft. Of course the “ fogy ” pay would increase. 
Mr. Patterson. Would it be wise to extend the time for the com- 
pletion of this reorganization a year or two longer ? 
Secretary Taft. It now contemplates four years, and I think four 
years is moderate. 
The Chairman. There is another proposition which I did not men- 
tion, but the “ fogy ” pay attaches to the higher ranks. If a man is 
a major and has served twenty he gets 40 per cent of a major’s 
pay; a lieutenant-colonel gets 40 per cent of his pay, and the man who 
serves twenty years as captain gets 40 per cent. 
Mr. Denny. Your theory is that the service of the contract sur- 
geon is not to be compared with that of a skilled army surgeon of 
long experience ? 
Secretary Taft. I should think not. I have some personal knowl- 
edge of the unsatisfactory relations that exist between the contract 
surgeons and the Army. There are no persons who learn so quickly 
the difference between a real and a “ Mex ” officer, if you may call him 
such, as the enlisted men. The life of a contract surgeon, especially 
one who is at all sensitive, is taken up in resenting slights. It is 
not a healthy attachment to any branch, but a collection of men that 
are neither fish, flesh, nor fowl, and I think the esprit de corps of the 
whole service, that branch of the service, would be very much better 
if the contract surgeon could be entirely eliminated. Among the 
dental surgeons 
Mr. Young. I was going to say right there that this bill seems to 
have stored them all up. Do you think that the dental surgeons 
would be more efficient if they were army officers than under their 
present status ? 
Secretary Taft. That is a problem that I have not undertaken to 
solve yet. 
The Chairman. The dental surgeons are very anxious for a com- 
missioned rank. 
Mr. Hay. They do not have to command any men, or anything of 
that sort? 
Secretary Taft. No; they do not, but the contract surgeons do. 
They come in close contact with the hospital-corps men. I under- 
stand that the War Department has ruled that the contract surgeon 
('an not order men. I have not seen that ruling. It probably came 
from the Judge-Advocate-General’s Office and grows out of a statute, 
but I have never had occasion to consider it at all. 
Mr. Young. The dental surgeon has no administrative duties to 
perform ? 
Secretary Taft. None at all. 
Mr. Parker. And he has no dangers on the field of battle? 
Secretary Taft. Practically none. He presides over a chair. ORDNANCE AND MEDICAL DEPARTMENTS OF THE ARMY. 
31 
Mr. Patterson. You do not consider it necessary to put any pro- 
vision in this bill for the compulsory retirement of contract surgeons 
at the end of their service ? 
Secretary Taft. I do not think it is necessary. I understand that 
they are all quite willing to accept change to the present system—to 
go right in as lieutenants at less salary than they are now receiving as 
contract surgeons—which is a very marked indication of the advan- 
tage that there is in giving them this standing, though terminable at 
the will of the President, over a relation established by contract. 
May I insert a statement as to the increase in cost which has been 
prepared in the office of the Surgeon-General of the Army ? 
The Chairman. Certainly. 
INCREASE OF COST. 
The estimates prepared by the Paymaster-General a year ago showed that 
there would be no increase of expense for the next fiscal year and that where 
the increase was consummated on the fourth year the total added cost would 
be only $23,000 in a pay roll of $1,134,000. An estimate made yesterday by the 
Surgeon-General’s Office, based on data which is probably more exact, shows 
that the increase of expense for the next fiscal year will be $12,600, and that the 
total increase four years hence will be $43,000. These are outside estimates, 
which may be diminished but can not be exceeded. Thus the increased cost for 
the next fiscal year will be, by the Paymaster-General’s estimate, nothing; by 
the Surgeon-General’s, about 1 per cent, and the ultimate increase four years 
hence will be between 2 and 4 per cent. By this trifling expenditure we increase 
the Medical Corps by 130 officers and rectify the flow of promotion in the corps. 
As the efficiency of the service in time of war depends directly on the number 
of trained officers, it may he said that an increased efficiency of 40 per cent is 
gained at an ultimate increased cost of 4 per cent. The reason why so much 
can be accomplished at so slight a cost is that the pay of the reserve corps is the 
same as that of lieutenants of the regular establishment, which is two hundred 
a year less than the pay of contract surgeons, the total saving on this item 
being $33,400. Yet so unsatisfactory to themselves is the present status of the 
contract surgeons that they are apparently unanimous in their willingness to 
submit to this reduction in order to get the honorable status of commissioned 
officers. 
Thereupon, at 12.10 o’clock p. m., the committee adjourned.