236 
ARMY VETERINARY DEPARTMENT. 
and you had found that your recommendations as a professional 
man were either swept aside or ignored because you were simply 
a subordinate, with a position something like that of wagonmas- 
ter, you would not have felt like trying that proposition over 
very frequently. 
The Chairman— In time of war are the veterinarians ex- 
% 
posed in any way? Do they go in the field? 
Dr. Turner— Yes, sir; the veterinarians are not covered by 
the Red Cross. 
The Chairman— If the veterinarians were in this corps that 
you speak of in this bill, would they in time of war be exposed 
to danger ? Do they go into the field with the troops ? 
Mr. Slayden— Do they incur any personal hazard? 
Dr. Turner— Yes, sir; the first man who died in the Eighth 
Cavalry in Cuba from yellow fever was a veterinarian. He does 
not go into battle any more than the doctor does. 
The Chairman— I am asking whether or not the veterin¬ 
arian in time of war would incur any personal hazard? 
Dr. Turner— Yes, sir; he would be with his regiment. I 
suppose that if his regiment was ordered to make a charge, they 
would not put the doctor in the line of the charge. He would 
probably be back with the transport. 
Mr. Slayden— But he would not be required to perform 
duty on the firing line ? 
Dr. Turner —Yes, sir; the same as the surgeon. We have 
our ambulance to drag wounded horses to the rear, where we pass 
on the question of whether or not the horse should be shot or 
whether he should be sent to the veterinary hospital station for 
treatment. 
Now, we have nothing of this kind now. We have simply 
two men attached to the regiment that doctor the horses. They 
simply doctor the horses. Their instruments, their supplies, their 
books, and everything are purchased by some officer in Washing¬ 
ton, who has no technical knowledge along the line of their work. 
There is absolutely no semblance of an organization, and, what 
is more essential, there is no chief who can overlook the entire 
situation, and say, for instance, “ What is the cause of the great 
loss in this regiment this year; why has the Eighth Cavalry suf¬ 
fered from loss of horses; why are there so many diseases and 
condemned horses in this troop, and why is it that the First Cav¬ 
alry has such a low death rate? ” There is nothing of the sort 
provided; the veterinarian is simply consulted by the officers, and 
