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Show PHYSICAL PERFECTION. Thero are comparatively few men and women in the entire world who would be pronounced physically perfect by the medical experts. Yet it must be acknowledged ac-knowledged that the young men who composed the American expeditionary force in Europe approached physical perfection, per-fection, and, insome eases, actually attained at-tained it. The examinations for overseas over-seas duty were rigid, and those who passed them successfully should take pride in the fact. It is true that the very best care was given the American soldiers from the time they entered the service until they were mustered out, and for the first time in our history tho number of thoso killed in battle or died of wounds exceeded tho number of thoso who died from disease. The record would have been truly remarkable had it not been for the epidemic of Spanish influenza, for which no cure has yet been found. Undoubtedly our losses from this cause would have been far greater had it not been for the prime physical condition of the soldiers, but they were bad enough to run up the mortality rate of the army to a high point. Wounds which would have caused death in former times have been successfully suc-cessfully treated during the present war. Medical science has developed to a marked degree and many wonderful operations havo been performed. Success Suc-cess in not a few of these cases may very properly be attributed to the fact that the American boys who were mowed down hy Hun shells w-ere in the best possiblo physical condition when they went into battle, and were therefore there-fore able to survive wounds heretofore regarded as fatal in practically all cases. The fact that there was less insanity in the American army than in any of the other allied armies is likewise duo to the careful selection of the men who went overseas and to the good condition condi-tion in which they were kept. According Accord-ing to Colonel Thomas Salmon of iew York, chief medical officer in charge of shell shock cases, 99 per cent of all such cases in the American army recovered. recov-ered. Only 1 per cent had to be returned re-turned to the United States for treatment, treat-ment, and only 4 per cent were put iu special hospitals for the treatment of nervous diseases. The others quickly recovered in the field or evacuation hospitals. hos-pitals. It is no wonder the Germans made up their minds' to quit soon after they made the acquaintance of the American soldiers in the shock of battle. The war department, training camp commanders com-manders and the generals at the front have been subjected to criticism from time to time, and various charges regarding re-garding the treatment of the soldiers have been made. But, if they were true even in part, tho outcome of the war was not in the least affected, for when the khaki-clad young men got started they never stopped until the armistice was signed and the central powers rendered harmless for generations genera-tions to come. Sick men or men of inferior in-ferior physical or mental caliber could not have turned the trick, and now that it is all over and the facts are coming to -light, the American people will have additional cause for taking prido in the achievement of the expeditionary expe-ditionary force. |