Am.  Jour.  Pharm.) 
February,  1920.) 
Status  of  Legislation. 
Service  Corps  practically  assures  its  enactment  into  law,  and  in  the 
establishment,  for  the  first  time^  of  proper  pharmaceutical  repre- 
sentation in  the  United  States  Army.  The  original  suggestion  of 
Dr.  Ireland  that  a  five-year  enlistment  period  be  the  pre-requisite 
for  securing  commissions,  was  criticized  by  many  pharmacists,  and 
it  was  pointed  out  that  those  men  who  were  best  competent  to  ad- 
minister the  activities  o^  such  a  corps,  would  never  be  willing  to 
serve  as  privates  for  five  years  to  secure  a  commission. 
In  the  recent  conference  with  Dr.  Ireland  and  Colonel  Darnall, 
these  facts  were  pointed  out  and  were  appreciated  by  the  Surgeon- 
General,  and  it  was  agreed  that  modifications  would  be  asked  for 
in  the  bill  establishing  the  Medical  Service  Corps.  The  suggested 
modifications  consist  of  the  change  of  the  five-year  enlistment  to 
three  years  as  a  pre-requisite  for  commissions.  Secondly,  a  recog- 
nition by  the  Surgeon-General's  office  of  previous  military  training, 
or  suitable  technical  training  as  a  part  of  this  three-year  enlistment. 
In  other  words,  a  commission  to  be  granted  in  less  time  than  three 
years,  if  the  training  previously  received  justified  such  appointment. 
Under  similar  rules  in  the  Navy,  commissions  have  been  earned  in  a 
short  time  by  men  who  have  had  suitable  training  before  enlistment 
and  it  is  proposed  to  follow  the  same  plan  in  the  Army. 
Another  fact  which  will  be  gratifying  to  pharmacists  was  the 
interest  expressed  by  Dr.  Ireland  in  the  establishment  of  a  reserve 
officers'  training  school,  for  the  prospective  Reserve  Medical  Ser- 
vice Corps,  which,  it  is  hoped  Congress  will  authorize.  The  plan 
would  be  to  arrange  for  special  training  for  those  graduates  in  phar- 
macy who  desire  to  enlist  in  the  Reserve  Corps.  This  would  be 
given  in  a  reserve  officers'  training  school  and  pharmacists  could  thus 
qualify  as  officers  of  the  reserve  corps,  and  be  partially  trained  for 
immediate  duty  and  commissions  in  time  of  war.  Dr.  Ireland  also 
expressed  the  hope  that  if  the  Medical  Service  Corps  is  authorized 
by  Congress,  and  the  Reserve  Corps  established  (and  this  he  will 
undertake  to  organize),  that  some  of  the  highly  trained  pharmacists 
who  have  had  military  experience  in  the  recent  war  will  be  willing 
to  enlist  at  once  as  officers  in  this  Reserve  Corps  and  be  placed  on 
active  duty  in  his  office  to  assist  in  the  organization  and  proper  es- 
tablishment of  the  pharmaceutical  section.  This  plan  would  give 
the  Corps  at  the  beginning  the  benefit  of  the  valuable  experience  of 
highly  trained  men  who  would  probably  be  willing  to  devote  a  few 
months  of  their  time  for  the  establishment  of  the  corps  on  a  scientific 
