790 
Military  Pharmacists. 
f  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
December,  1919. 
masters  at  our  general  hospital  and  as  commanders  of  ambulance 
companies.  They  did  work  of  a  nonprofessional  character.  It  is 
needless  for  me  to  tell  the  committee  that  the  quality  of  officers  we 
want  to  do  that  work  will  not  come  to  the  Medical  Department  in 
time  of  active  operation.  They,  of  course,  want  to  remain  with 
their  command.  That  has  resulted  in  the  medical  officers  command- 
ing the  ambulance  companies,  having  charge  of  our  transportation, 
acting  as  adjutants  of  our  hospitals,  being  the  quartermasters  or 
property  officers  or  mess  officers  in  our  large  institutions. 
"  It  has  taken  an  enormous  number  of  these  highly  trained  med- 
ical officers  for  nonprofessional  work,  which  is  a  great  wastage  of 
material,  as  they  ought  to  be  taking  care  of  the  sick  and  doing  pro- 
fessional work.  We  would  like  to  make  enlistment  in  the  Medical 
Corps  popular  by  offering  men  a  commission,  after  five  years'  serv- 
ice, in  a  service  corps.  They  must  come  in  the  Medical  Depart- 
ment and  serve  as  enlisted  men  for  five  years,  and  at  least  three 
years  of  that  time  should  be  in  the  grade  of  noncommissioned  officer, 
indicative  that  they  have  made  good  as  enlisted  men.  After  a  cer- 
tain length  of  time  they  could  be  examined  under  regulations  pre- 
scribed by  the  Secretary  of  War,  and  commissioned  in  the  service 
corps.  They  would  be  our  adjutants,  property  officers,  mess  officers, 
pharmacists,  and  perform  all  such  nonprofessional  work.  The  Med- 
ical Corps  is  willing  to  give  up  officers  in  the  grade  of  major,  captain, 
and  first  lieutenant  sufficient  to  organize  that  corps.  We  ask  for  one 
service  corps  man  for  every  two  thousand  enlisted  men,  and  we  will 
give  up  enough  of  our  seven-tenths  of  I  per  cent,  of  medical  officers 
in  the  Medical  Corps  to  organize  that  service  corps.  That  would 
make  enlistment  in  the  Medical  Corps  very  attractive.  It  provides 
a  future  for  the  enlisted  man. 
It  would  solve  another  problem  which  has  bothered  the  depart- 
ment for  a  long  time.  There  is  some  need  for  pharmacists  in  the 
United  States  Army.  They  have  them  in  the  Navy.  They  have  a 
pharmaceutical  corps.  There  is  not  a  sufficient  need  to  organize  a 
phrmaceutical  corps  in  the  Army,  but  if  we  have  a  service  corps  we 
would  take  care  of  a  certain  number  of  pharmacists  in  that  service 
corps." 
The  chairman  of  the  Committee  then  asked :  "  That  statement 
that  there  is  no  need  for  a  pharmaceutical  corps  in  the  Army  is  not 
admitted  by  the  pharmacists,  is  it,  General  ?  " 
General  Ireland  replied :  "  I  think  they  believe,  and  have  believed 
