AVn°eU,ri8P7h8arm"}        Hospital  Stewards,  U.S.A.  309 
tions,  in  fact  performed  all  those  duties  connected  with  the  medical  department 
which  require  intelligence  and  responsibility.  At  that  time  our  pay  may  have  been 
ample.  But  now  all  this  has  changed,-  gradually  all  these  duties  have  been 
assigned  to  the  steward,  until  at  the  present  time  nothing  remains  to  be  done  by 
the  Post  Surgeon  but  visit  the  sick  once  daily,  write  the  prescriptions  and  sign  his 
name  to  the  official  papers  and  reports  required  of  him. 
This  is  all  very  well,  the  surgeon  should  not  be  hampered  with  all  the  minor 
•details  of  his  calling,  he  should  have  ample  time  for  study  and  reflection,  so  that  he 
may  be  able  to  keep  abreast  in  the  rapid  advance  which  medical  science  is  making 
in  these  days.  At  the  same  time  it  is  no  more  than  just  that  the  pay  of  stewards 
should  be  increased  in  proportion  to  the  increase  of  their  duties  and  responsibilities, 
and  their  rank  made  commensurate  with  their  calling  and  social  condition.  We 
do  not  want  a  liberal  salary,  nor  a  sinecure,  if  such  a  thing  is  possible  for  Hospital 
Stewards, — all  we  ask  for  is  justice. 
Apothecaries  of  the  navy  receive  $60  per  month,  yet  their  duties  are  not  to  be 
compared  with  those  of  the  stewards,  who,  in  addition  to  the  great  disadvantage  in 
their  pay  as  compared  with  the  "apothecary,"  are  changed  from  post  to  post  more 
frequently  than  any  other  class  of  men  in  the  army.  As  two-thirds  of  the  stewards 
are  men  of  family,  their  small  savings,  if  they  are  able  to  make  any,  are  absorbed 
during  these  frequent  changes  of  station,  and  often  their  slender  pay  has  to  be 
mortgaged  in  order  to  obtain  transportation  for  their  families.  To  illustrate  what 
straits  they  are  often  put  to  I  will  relate  a  case  which  came  under  my  observation, 
and  which  would  be  amusing  were  it  not  a  shame  to  the  government  which  permits 
such  a  state  of  affairs  to  exi>t  : 
The  wife  of  steward  G  had  been  sick  for  two  weeks  ;  the  soiled  clothes  of 
the  family  were  laid  aside  the  first  week,  as  G.  had  no  money  to  have  the  washing 
done.  As  his  wife's  health  was  no  better  the  second  week  steward  G.  concluded 
to  pitch  in  and  do  the  washing  himself  5  for  this  purpose  he  selected  a  day  when  he 
knew  the  Post  Surgeon  would  be  absent  from  the  post,  believing  that  then  he 
would  be  more  likely  to  finish  his  laundry  duties  without  being  discovered  or  inter- 
rupted. When  his  work  was  about  half  finished  he  was  summoned  in  great  haste 
to  see  one  of  the  company  laundresses.  On  visiting  her  he  became  convinced  that 
in  less  than  two  hours  there  would  be  an  addition  to  the  family.  Hastening  back 
to  the  wash-tub  he  finished  his  work  and  returned  to  his  post  at  the  bedside  of  the 
woman  and  saw  her  safely  delivered.  (This  same  steward  is  now  a  prosperous 
druggist  in  Chicago,  111.) 
I  could  mention  numerous  instances  of  a  similar  nature  if  space  permitted. 
It  is  well  known  and  conceded  by  all  who  are  conversant  with  the  facts  that  the 
Hospital  Stewards,  as  a  "  class,"  are  superior  in  knowledge  and  ability  to  any  other 
class  of  enlisted  men  in  the  army.  But  at  the  same  time  we  cannot  close  our  eyes 
to  the  fact  that  worthless  and  incompetent  men  have,  by  favoritism  and  otherwise, 
obtained  entrance  to  our  corps. 
The  remedy  for  this  lies  in  the  hands  of  the  government.  No  one  should  receive 
the  appointment  until  a  careful,  systematic  and  impartial  examination  shall  have 
determined  his  fitness  for  the  position,  and  candidates  should  be  limited  to  graduates 
of  Pharmaceutical  Colleges  in  good  standing. 
