man, because no young man can obtain the appointment as chief surgeon. A chief surgeon must be an older, experienced, responsible man. The local appointments, with few exceptions, do not pay enough for fulltime work. The work is ideal, though, as a side line to a general practice. Many opportunities arise for one to demonstrate his skill and aptitude in surgery. This work will, besides offering good experience with small compensation, help him to establish himself in private work. The very fact that one is employed by the railway corporation as a surgeon gives him prestige.

Transatlantic steamships also have medical men on their regular staffs. These positions are not unlike the positions which are offered by hospitals to young graduates of medical colleges. The men receive, in addition to their maintenance, small salaries.

The life-insurance business has developed by leaps and bounds within the last twenty years, and all companies must depend upon physicians for the examination of their risks. In each community where a lifeinsurance company does business, it has a medical examiner. Each company employs its own, and in some communities nearly all physicians are examiners for one or more insurance companies. Other communities have one or two physicians who do all the examining.

These appointments in themselves are not sufficiently remunerative to be depended on for an income, but they give one prestige and an opportunity for acquaintance that helps in building up a private practice.

Then there are examinations to be made for the fraternal insurance associations, as for the Modern Woodmen, The Foresters, The Red Men, The Knights of

Pythias, etc. These examinations are usually made by physicians who are members of the orders.

The fees for old-line life-insurance examination are from $3 to $5; for fraternal or assessment orders, from $1 to $2.

The passage of workingmen's compensation laws, under which employers are compelled to pay directly or indirectly for the accident insurance risks of their working men, makes it necessary for practically all manufacturing corporations to retain the service of a physician, who serves them much in the same way as the doctors serve the railroads.

Many large corporations employ physicians on full time, and this opens a field which young men may well consider. It must be remembered that there are many commercial organizations and industrial concerns which employ a thousand or more people whose efficiency is determined by their physical condition. The managers of these corporations are organizing medical departments for the service not only of the employees, but also of their families very much after the plans of the medical departments of the army posts. This field should prove attractive to the young medical graduate. For winning the highest success he should be informed on the methods of welfare work in all of its various aims.

CHAPTER XXII.

THE RED CROSS.

It was Jean Henri Dunant who after witnessing the apparently unnecessary suffering of the wounded on the battle field made such an effective appeal as to lead to the organization of an international association for relief with branches in all civilized countries. The banner of the organization was a red cross on a white field. In 1881 the American Red Cross was organized with Miss Clara Barton as its president. For twenty-four years the organization has held itself in readiness to assist in relief measures in every kind of calamity, whether war, or fire, or flood, earthquake or epidemic. In 1905 a reorganization was effected and governmental support was accorded to the American society. Its activities are carried on through many subdivisions of the association. We are here concerned only with the medical service. This service supplements the work of the army medical service and the federal health service.

The Red Cross base hospital unit is composed of 22 physicians, 2 dentists, 50 nurses, 25 volunteer nurses' aids, and 15 civil employes. The base hospitals are under the direction of some parent institution, that is the staff officers of some hospital who select the physicians and nurses for this work. During times of peace there is no remuneration to the members of these units, but during times of war they are mustered into service and given commissions and pay according to their re

spective positions, as colonels, majors, captains or lieutenants. Three months after the country entered the European war forty-one of these base hospitals were organized and ready for service. It costs about $75,000 to equip one of these hospitals. The experience which these base hospitals afford is not unlike that which is obtained in the army medical service but those engaged in the Red Cross work are not exposed to the hazards of those in service on the front battle lines. The hospitals are usually located in the rear of the fighting lines. The buildings are of more or less permanent kind and the quarters of the officers are usually comfortable. When these units are mustered into military service, all of the officers, of course, come under military discipline. From the officers in these base hospitals special teams are organized for emergency service in the field.

Ninety days after diplomatic relations with Germany were severed, forty-two ambulance companies were organized by the Red Cross for service in the field and the number of these organizations is being extended as rapidly as funds become available. These ambulance units form relief divisions ready for emergency service on the firing line or in the thickest of the battle to render first aid service to the injured. Each unit is composed of a director, three surgeons, one head nurse, six assistants and a clerk. These units are expected to respond to any emergency calls and their work is most hazardous and strenuous. No more brilliant exploits of daring are recorded in history than those which have been performed by the Red Cross ambulance corps in our recent

wars.

It is true that by the Geneva Convention all the signatory powers agreed that in times of war the work