Alo cuSer  ^9*  9""  )  Pharmacy  in  the  Army  and  Navy.  655 
PHARMACY  IN  THE  ARMY  AND  NAVY  DISCUSSED  BY 
THE  N.  P.  S.  A. 
A  meeting  of  the  National  Pharmaceutical  Service  Association 
was  held  on  the  evening  of  August  28  at  the  Hotel  Pennsylvania, 
during  the  Convention  of  the  American  Pharmaceutical  Association, 
and  everyone  was  cordially  invited  to  be  present. 
The  President,  Dr.  Frank  Cain  of  Cincinnati,  presided,  and  read 
an  address  urging  the  joint  effort  of  pharmaceutical  organizations, 
working  in  harmony  with  physicians  toward  the  proper  recognition 
of  pharmacy  in  the  Army  and  Navy.  He  also  presented  the  follow- 
ing letter  from  the  Surgeon-General,  which  was  received  with  ap- 
plause and  recognized  as  the  beginning  of  the  cordial  relationship 
which  will  undoubtedly  result  in  the  adequate  recognition  of 
pharmacy : 
WAR  DEPARTMENT 
Office  of  the  Surgeon-General 
Washington 
August  14,  1919. 
Professor  E.  Fullerton  Cook, 
145  North  Tenth  Street, 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
My  dear  Dr.  Cook:  I  now  desire  to  give  you  in  writing  the  substance  of 
the  observation  we  had  on  August  n,  in  regard  to  commissions  for  pharma- 
cists in  the  medical  department  of  the  Army.  I  think  it  is  most  important 
for  the  future  welfare  of  the  medical  department  to  have  a  service  corps  for 
commissioned  officers.  To  become  an  officer  in  this  corps,  it  will  be  necessary 
for  an  applicant  to  enlist  in  the  medical  department  and  serve  for  a  period  of 
about  five  years.  During  this  time  he  will  be  given  an  opportunity  to  perfect 
himself  in  hospital  administration,  quartermaster's  duties,  motor  transport 
service,  mess  management,  registrar's  duties,  pharmaceutical  work,  and  the 
general  duties  of  the  hospital  corps.  It  will  be  one  of  the  requirements  that 
an  applicant  for  a  commission  in  the  service  shall  be  a  non-commissioned 
officer  for  three  years  of  his  five-year  enlistment.  The  duties  of  the  officers 
of  the  service  corps  will  be  to  act  as  adjutants  of  our  large  hospitals,  property 
officers,  mess  officers,  transport  officers  for  the  ambulance  companies,  and 
various  other  duties  of  non-professional  character,  connected  with  the  medical 
department,  for  which  we  now  have  to  use  a  highly  trained  medical  officer. 
I  have  recommended  to  the  General  Staff  that  a  service  corps  for  the 
medical  department  be  incorporated  in  the  army  reorganization  bill  now 
before  Congress,  and  I  sincerely  trust  this  corps  will  be  authorized. 
I  am  perfectly  willing  that  a  limited  number  of  vacancies  in  the  service 
corps  shall  be  set  aside  for  men  who  specially  qualify  themselves  as  pharma- 
