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THE SANITARY CARE OF THE SOLDIER. 
England there have always been two armies, that is to say, one army 
worked hard-and-fast by the u Queers Regulations/' and another that 
rational and common-sense army wherein officers and others in the 
army do things in a much more common-sense manner. I have no 
doubt that there has never been a day when the Commanding Officer 
of a good type has not leaned to a certain extent on the advice of the 
Army Medical Officers with whom he has come into contact. I feel sure 
that there have been such Commanding Officers, and it would be a 
great mistake for any of the younger school of officers present here to¬ 
day to imagine that because the ruinous purchase system was in force 
and certain bad conditions existed in the old day, it did not produce 
many excellent and strong Commanding Officers. It would be quite 
unjust to think that the present men alone are perfect. Many of those 
officers, although they were not so scientifically trained, were men of 
great strength of character and had the fullest sympathy with their 
men ; but the times, perhaps, were not so favourable as they are to-day 
for carrying out reforms. Since 1858 this recommendatory power has 
been carried on by the Medical Officers up to the present day, whether 
under the regimental or departmental medical systems. 
The regimental system of medical aid ceased in 1873, and no doubt 
sanitary matters fell for a time into the background owing to the 
change of system in medical organisation, but whatever ground has 
been lost we must struggle to make good in the near future. 
I beg of you to allow me to say that it was absolutely essential for 
the army and for us as a military body to withdraw our officers from 
the various units of battalions and batteries ; it was absolutely essential 
that we should form our Medical Officers into a corps which would be 
ready to do war work. The whole reason for the existence of the 
army is not that we may have charming messes or excellent bands, or 
pleasant social life, be it ever so enjoyable and perfect. England has 
an army only for one purpose, and that is war and war efficiency. Once 
grant me that, and I will show you that every change which has taken 
place in our medical organisation was called for to achieve that aim. 
I would say to you, and I speak here to an audience largely composed 
of gunners, that when far away in the last century your great regiment 
of to-day was broken up into small detached groups of two galloper 
guns with each regiment of cavalry, and two battalion guns with each 
regiment of infantry, there assuredly were devoted men even in those 
past days who dreamt of a better day when the Corps of Artillery 
would take its true position in the army. If you can look back with 
me to that day when, in creating the Horse Artillery, the two galloper 
guns were withdrawn from every regiment of cavalry, I have no doubt 
whatever that the cavalry Colonel groaned deeply over the loss of them; 
and in the same way when the two battalion guns were withdrawn 
from all the infantry battalions the infantry officers no doubt deplored 
the removal and said, “ They have taken away our battalion guns, they 
have removed our good companions, our cheery friends; look how un¬ 
protected and defenceless the regiment is left." But you must remember 
that behind the cavalry regiments and behind the infantry regiments 
was something more than all the cavalry and all the infantry. What 
