238 
Editorial. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
April,  19 1 8. 
the  service  asserted  its  rights.  A  struggle  arose  to  secure  rank  for 
surgeons  on  a  parity  with  that  of  the  fighting  arm.  Finally  this  was 
achieved  in  part,  yet  grudgingly,  and,  as  yet,  inadequately.  Now, 
in  all  the  armies  and  navies  of  European  and  Asiatic  nations  of  the 
first  class,  the  medical  officer  is  clothed  with  authority  parallel  with 
that  of  officers  in  command  of  armies  and  ships.  Immediately  and 
automatically  betterments  thereupon  arose  in  the  conservation  of 
health  and  efficiency.  Why  was  this  achievement  of  rank  so  ab- 
solutely essential  a  measure?  This  query  could  be  best  answered 
by  citing  numberless  gruesome  episodes  oftentimes  involving  waste- 
ful destruction  of  man-power  caused  by  entirely  preventable  scourges, 
occurring  in  recent  wars. 
These  obstructions  to  medical  precautions,  serious  enough  in 
themselves,  were  often  aggravated  by  the  intolerable  and  despotic 
arrogance  of  certain  blindly  prejudiced  commanding  officers.  Space 
forbids  narration  of  instances  but  any  one  old  enough  can  recall  the 
humiliating  circumstances  occurring  in  the  Spanish-American  War 
of  1898.  There  holocausts  followed  successful  blocking  of  the  best 
efforts  of  surgeons  to  enforce  precautionary  agents,  e.  g.,  in  typhoid 
fever.  Due  to  these  nullifications  of  medical  authority,  thousands 
died  and  other  thousands  were  invalided  for  life  by  a  readily  pre- 
ventable disease,  whereas  only  hundreds  died  of  wounds  or  injuries 
in  battle.  Now  this  old  struggle,  apparently  ended,  breaks  out  again, 
while  striving  to  render  our  life-saving  and  health  measures  more 
nearly  perfect.  Is  human  life  worth  saving  in  even  so  hazardous  an 
occupation  as  war?  On  merely  the  gross  basis  of  financial  economy 
the  life  of  a  trained  soldier  is  worth  close  upon  $10,000. 
Never  was  the  medical  arm  of  a  service  so  well  organized  and 
perfected  as  it  is  in  the  United  States  Army  and  in  the  War  now  really 
just  beginning.  It  has  been  demonstrated  beyond  all  doubt  that  the 
Medical  Department  must  be  invested  with  adequate  authority,  not 
only  to  demand  and  enforce  precautionary  and  curative  measures 
agreed  upon  as  essential,  but  also  that  the  individual  medical  officer 
shall  be  empowered  to  carry  out  his  rulings,  provided  they  do  not 
jeopardize  the  military  conduct  of  the  War. 
Rank  he  must  have  to  secure  attention,  to  hold  conferences  with 
other  military  officers ;  also  to  get  privileges,  powers,  even  products, 
supplies  and  equipment,  when  and  where  essential,  or  of  hospital 
supplies,  etc.    He  must  have  quantivalent  rank  with  those  in  com- 
