104 MEMOIKS NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. [Vol.xv. 



power as contrasted with man power in the ordinary sense rendered more satisfactory early in 

 the emergency. 



When the armistice was signed and the examining of drafted men for the sake of mental 

 classification ceased, the results of psychological examination were being used to excellent effect 

 in the majority of camps, and there was every reason to predict rapid increase in the extent 

 and effectiveness of practical psychological service during the remainder of the war. A general 

 order, such as that presented on pages 56 and 57, carrying brief, comprehensive instruc- 

 tions concerning the profitable use of these ratings, would undoubtedly have placed the work 

 upon a wholly satisfactory basis and would have assured very great increase of military efficiency 

 through the proper placement and effective use, from the standpoint of brain power, of every 

 soldier. 



Because the psychologist is necessarily biased in favor of his own work it is essential that 

 other evidences of military value than the assertions of those immediately responsible for this 

 service be presented. Among the most significant of these evidences are the opinions of com- 

 manding officers. These were secured from the majority of stations in which psychological 

 service existed after the work had been thoroughly organized and the officers had been given 

 opportunity to acquaint themselves with its organization, relations to the military situation, 

 and its practical usefulness. Whereas the reports from commanding officers received by the 

 War Department in connection with the investigation of psychological service were predomi- 

 nantly unfavorable, those subsequently secured, in many instances from the same officers, by 

 special request of the Surgeon General, were almost invariably favorable and contained con- 

 structive suggestions. The reason for this radical difference in the nature of the opinions is 

 the prematureness of the original request for report. The psychological service had not been 

 organized at the time, and where it did not exist, it was naturally enough assumed by respon- 

 sible officers that report on psychiatric work was desired. 



Since it is impossible adequately to summarize the opinions of commanding officers, section 

 4 of this chapter is devoted to them, and they are quoted at sufficient length to assure both 

 fairness and adequacy of presentation. 



Section 4. — Official opinions concerning the military value of examining. 



In the preceding chapters considerable material bearing upon the topic of this section has 

 been presented. 1 Letters and reports, already referred to, give evidence of the good general 

 impression created by the initial and intermediate stages of psychological examining. Fortu- 

 nately there are available also expressions of opinion of commanding generals and others at a 

 much later date, when longer experience under much more varied conditions had furnished a 

 thoroughly sound basis for judgment as to the net value of the work. The further fact that these 

 later opinions are greater in number and that they form a complete and entirely unselected 

 series, makes certain that the following account is quite unprejudiced. 



In September and November, 1918, a letter substantially as follows was sent by the Adju- 

 tant General of the Army to the commanding generals of camps in which psychological exam- 

 ining had been in progress for a considerable time: 



The Division of Psychology, Office of the Surgeon General, especially desires your opinion on the value of psycho- 

 logical examining in your camp, and suggestions concerning ways of increasing the value of this service. 



Eleven letters and 12 indorsements were received in reply to this request. In so far as is 

 practicable these replies are reproduced exactly. In several cases where inclosures of con- 

 siderable length accompany the replies and especially when they recite facts already embodied 

 in this report instead of opinions, the inclosures have either been omitted or summarized. 



Seven letters had been received from commanding officers of camps or divisions prior to the 

 issuance of the special request mentioned above. These added to the 11 letters and 12 indorse- 

 ments give a total of 30 responses from commanding officers. Of these replies 27 (approximately 



1 See reports of Col. Shaw, pp. 19ft\; summary of company commanders' reports, p. 25; report of the training committee, pp. 25f; quotations 

 from Mr. Dorr's report, p. 45; and quotations from Col. Burt's report, pp. 46f. 



