776 
ARMY VETERINARY LEGISLATION. 
Mr. Bingham. I do. The veterinary surgeon not only does 
this work for the benefit of the animal, but for the protection j 
of millions of dollars of Government property. 
Mr. Green of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chairman, it seems to me, 
from the remarks which have been made by members of the 
House in opposition to this amendment, that the value of the 
horse and mule in the Army is not at all appreciated. I call the 
attention of gentlemen to the fact that the fighting of our Army 
is to-day on an entirely different principle from the fighting of 
twenty years ago, or even of ten years ago. The long-range guns 
of the artillery and the infantry require the utmost celerity of 
movement. We shall find in the future that the victories will 
be gained as often by the rapid movement of our cavalry and 
our^infantry as in any other manner. In fact, the army horse 
and mule rank second only to the soldier and the gun. 
This proposition seems to me an exceedingly fair one. Any 
man who has watched the movements of even an infantry regi¬ 
ment must have seen the absolute necessity of having some re¬ 
sponsible, qualified person in charge of the horses of a regiment. 
Why, sir, an infantry company can be delayed not only hours, 
but days, by having a few of its mules out of condition. Almost 
every part of the impedimenta of an infantry company to-day is 
moved by the company wagons, and the movements of the com¬ 
pany are entirely dependent upon having the horses in condition 
to move rapidly. If there is any valuable provision that could 
be introduced into this army bill—one which will pay the nation 
in time of war for its adoption, one which would help in winning 
victories, whether on this side of the ocean or on foreign shores 
—I believe that this amendment, if adopted, will be one of the 
most valuable improvements that can be made in the framing 
of an army bill. 
I ask the members of the House to consider the fact that 
most of the military work, not only carried on to-day, but which 
will be carried on by the United States in the future, will be in 
foreign lands. We all know that the sickness which has pre¬ 
vailed among our troops in the Philippine Islands and in China 
has been shared by the horses and mules of the Army. ^ Any 
man who has watched the war in South Africa has had forced , 
upon his attention the fact that the trouble with the English 
troops has been that they have been constantly hampered b^ 
the sickness of their horses everywhere. Thousands and. thou¬ 
sands of horses and mules have recently been purchased in this 
country for use in Africa, simply because of the terrible amount 
