588 
OLOF SCHWARZKOPF. 
[Written Specially for the American Veterinary Review.] 
THE TREATMENT OF THE U. S. ARMY HORSE IN 
THE LATE WAR. 
By Prof. Olof Schwarzkopf, V. M., Flushing, New York. 
No doubt the people of the United States may well rejoice 
at the brilliant victories achieved by the army and navy, and 
should be proud of the magnificent results obtained, which de¬ 
serve everlasting gratitude towards the leaders and bearers of 
our arms. But the time has now arrived to calmly study the 
causes of the deficiencies with which our military organization 
and administration has been charged. Many of these charges 
will be found to be groundless, because suffering and death are 
inherent to the exigencies of war. But other charges have a 
true foundation, and can be readily explained by the unpre¬ 
paredness of the United States for a foreign war, and especially 
so by an antiquated system of military organization. 
There can be no objection to such investigations by either 
the War Department or the heads of army departments, if they 
are undertaken in a just and unbiased spirit, and by those who 
are in a position to judge as experts in special military branches. 
In fact, such investigations should be welcomed, because it is 
only 111 this way that suggestions for improvement can be for¬ 
mulated and a repetition of avoidable mistakes be averted. 
The treatment of the United States soldier in the late war 
has already come in for a more than just share of criticism 
by philanthropic men and women all over the country, and the 
grievances of the “boys in blue” are being looked into by a 
board of honored and experienced warriors. But no voice has 
as yet been raised against the silent sufferings of the other ani¬ 
mate beings that help to constitute an army in the field, and on 
whose work so much depends in war. It appears from reports 
of trustworthy correspondents, and from the writer’s own obser¬ 
vations, that within a few short months thousands of horses and 
mules have been unserviceably crippled or killed in camp or 
during transportation, from needless exposure, neglect of care 
