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143 HISTOEY OF DENTiVL SUEGEKY

from dental and oral diseases, at that period so prominently before the country,
niiglit be mitigated, and the profession of dentistry recognized as a needful
adjunct to that of general medicine and surgery in maintaining the health
and physical efficiency of our armies in the field.
Surgeon General George M. Sternberg was unwilling to recommend to the
secretary of war the passage by congress of a bill giving a commissioned status
to dental surgeons, as lie felt sure that it would not at that time meet witli
the approval of the military committees of the senate and house of representa-
tives, but he gave assurances that should this liill pass, and the work of the
dental surgeons prove to be as beneficial to the service as it was hoped it
would, congress would undoubtedly look favorably upon a bill granting com-
missioned status to the dental corps, and that be would use his best endeavors
to secure the passage of such a measure.

REPOKT OF THE COMMITTEE ON ARMY AND NAVY DENTAL LEGISLATION.
At the meeting of the National Dental Association held in Milwaukee,
Wis., commencing August 6, 1901, a report was presented and adopted from
which the following is extracted :
In this the third annual report of your committee on legislation relating to dental
surgeon service for the army and navy, we respectfully report our work concluded for
the present, eo far as appertains to the army, by the act of congress approved February
2, 1901, which provides for the employment of thirty army dental surgeons "under
the terms and conditions applicable to Army Contract Surgeons."
As the provisions of this law are exactly the same, except that the number of
dental surgeons was reduced from one hundred to thirty, as the widely published bill
proposed by the secretary of your committee and submitted to congress through Senator
Pettus of Alabama and Representative Otey of Virginia, it is not necessary to in-
troduce it here.
In reference to securing legislation providing dental surgeons ' service for the
navy, we have to report that, in our opinion, the work already done directly and in-
directly by the effort made for the army dental surgeon corps, has made it quite a
simple and easy matter to succeed in securing legislation providing dental surgeons'
service for the navy. Something of Surgeon General Van Beypen's views was reported
last year. He has recently promised to consider and conclude the matter in time for
this committee to take action as it may deem necessary before congress meets.
We, therefore, recommend that the matter be left to the committee on army and

For the complete report see the ' ' Transactions of the National Dental Associa-
tion, 1901," page 217.