THE SANITARY CARE OF THE SOLDIER. 
215 
were really the bad old days; then she moved out of that, and then 
they gave up the barrack-room to four or five families; that existed in 
my daj 7 , in Chatham, in 1865. Then they went from that into a single 
room built as married quarters. Next year when they will go into the 
New Brookhill Quarters, and I think the demands of the most exacting 
sanitarian will have been met for the time being. 
We have spoken about the percentage of baths, one bath being 
allowed per 100, and four foot-baths per 100 ; but the soldier has also 
the right to go to the latrine. But it may be full at times, and I have 
seen great trouble in that matter. What accommodation do the regu¬ 
lations give to the soldier in that respect ? They allow five latrine 
seats and five urinal spaces per 100 men ! The question came before 
me the other day, and how did I find it out ? I searched book after 
book, and suddenly by good luck I came across a most valuable book, 
I will tell you the name of it; it is called “ The Synopsis of Barracks 
and Hospitals,” and it is kept up in the Commanding Royal Engineer’s 
Office. I maintain that there is no book that I know of that ought to 
be more in the hands of Commanding Officers. I have not got one, the 
Principal Medical Officer has not got one; not a single officer has got 
one, and I do not know who has except this one copy in the Command¬ 
ing Royal Engineer’s Office. This gives us all details about the baths and 
latrines; it is not in any of the regulations. We have volumes of military 
books, but this very vital book is not there at all. I would say that 
the Government or the Military Authorities would do well by publish¬ 
ing this book; it is not anything confidential, it is the number of baths 
and basins, of latrine seats, and the amount of cubic space, and many 
useful things about hospitals. I was thinking about blinds for my 
hospital and how I could approach the Commanding Royal Engineer, 
when I found in this book that blinds for hospitals are allowed, and at 
once I applied for them. But we do not want to be fighting these 
kind of questions all over the Empire; we ought to have this book 
given us. I applied officially, through my superiors, to get a copy, 
and the reply was that this book is only supplied to the Commanding 
Royal Engineer. It is the family secrets, as it were, of the Royal 
Engineer Corps. Why, I do not know, as it is needed by the whole 
army. I hope it will be made an official book. 
The question, then, of latrine accommodation is important in this 
way, that last year in India (and when I think of the charming young 
officers who have died in India it is most sad) we had 1380 cases of 
typhoid amongst the young soldiers in India, and we lost by death 380 
of the Indian garrison by typhoid alone. The question, therefore, of 
the removal of latrine matter is a most important question, and you 
must not look at these questions as beneath notice. I cannot, tell you 
how painful it is sometimes to go round on a barrack inspection. You 
come round by the Principal Medical Officer’s direction. The Medical 
Officer goes to inspect the barracks, and who goes round with him ? 
I have myself gone round with the Quartermaster, and have been met 
by a casual Subaltern, who looks upon the whole thing as a very great 
bore perhaps, and when you go to the latrine this Subaltern stands 
aside and the Quartermaster and the Doctor walk in. Believe me, 
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