colonel, and major created or caused by this section shall be filled by promotion according to seniority, subject to the examination now prescribed by law:

-service of assistant surgeons in Spanish war to be

And provided, That the period during which any assistant surgeon shall have served as a surgeon or assistant surgeon in the Volunteer Army during the war with Spain or since shall be counted as a portion counted, etc. of the five years' service required to entitle him to rank of captain: And provided also, That nothing in this section shall affect the rela tive rank for promotion of any assistant surgeon now in the service, or who may be hereafter appointed therein, as determined by the date of his appointment or commission and as fixed in accordance with existing law and regulations:

-relative rank of assistant surgeons.

pointed.

Provided further, That in emergencies the Surgeon-General of the -contract surArmy, with the approval of the Secretary of War, may appoint as geons may be apmany contract surgeons as may be necessary, at a compensation not to exceed one hundred and fifty dollars per month.

That on or after the passage of this Act the President may appoint

surgeons in

for duty in the Philippine Islands, fifty surgeons of volunteers with Philippines, etc. the rank and pay of major, and one hundred and fifty assistant surgeons of volunteers with the rank and pay of captain, mounted, for a period of two years:

Provided, That so many of these volunteer medical officers as are

-discharge of

not required shall be honorably discharged the service whenever in medical officers. the opinion of the Secretary of War their services are no longer

necessary:

Provided further, That assistant surgeons in the Volunteer Army -pay of assistof the United States commissioned by the President as captains, in ant surgeons. accordance with the provisions of an Act for increasing the efficiency of the Army of the United States, and for other purposes, approved March second, eighteen hundred and ninety-nine, shall be entitled to the pay of a captain, mounted, from the date of their acceptance of such commission, as prescribed by law:

Dental surgeons.

-qualifications.

Provided, That the Surgeon-General of the Army, with the approval of the Secretary of War, be, and he is hereby, authorized to employ dental surgeons to serve the officers and enlisted men of the Regular and Volunteer Army, in the proportion of not to exceed one for every one thousand of said Army, and not exceeding thirty in all. Said dental surgeons shall be employed as contract dental surgeons under the terms and conditions applicable to army contract surgeons, and shall be graduates of standard medical or dental colleges, trained in the several branches of dentistry, of good moral and professional character, and shall pass a satisfactory professional examination: Provided, That three of the number of dental surgeons to be employed -board to exshall be first appointed by the Surgeon-General, with the approval of amine others, etc. the Secretary of War, with reference to their fitness for assignment, under the direction of the Surgeon-General, to the special service of conducting the examinations and supervising the operations of the others; and for such special service an extra compensation of sixty dollars a month will be allowed:

-exemption

tion.

Provided further, That dental college graduates now employed in in the Hospital Corps who have been detailed for a period of not less from examinathan twelve months to render dental service to the Army and who are shown by the reports of their superior officers to have rendered such service satisfactorily may be appointed contract dental surgeons without examination:

Provided, That the Secretary of War be authorized to appoint in the Hospital Corps, in addition to the two hundred hospital stewards now allowed by law, one hundred hospital stewards:

Hospital stewards.

Provided, That men who have served as hospital stewards of volun-appointments teer regiments or acted in that capacity during and since the Spanish- in Regular Army.

-qualifications.

Nurse Corps, female.

-composition.

American war for more than six months may be appointed hospital stewards in the Regular Army:

And provided further, That all men so appointed shall be of good moral character and shall have passed a satisfactory mental and physical examination.

SEC. 19. That the Nurse Corps (female) shall consist of one Superintendent, to be appointed by the Secretary of War, who shall be a graduate of a hospital training school having a course of instruction of not less than two years, whose term of office may be terminated at his discretion, whose compensation shall be one thousand eight hundred dollars per annum, and of as many chief nurses, nurses, and reserve -reserve nurses. nurses as may be needed. Reserve nurses may be assigned to active duty when the emergency of the service demands, but shall receive no compensation except when on such duty:

-appointments and removals.

Provided, That all nurses in the Nurse Corps shall be appointed or removed by the Surgeon-General, with the approval of the Secretary -qualifications. of War; that they shall be graduates of hospital training schools, and shall have passed a satisfactory professional, moral, mental, and physical examination:

-transporta

tion.

-pay.

-quarters, etc.

And provided, That the Superintendent and nurses shall receive transportation and necessary expenses when traveling under orders; that the and allowances of nurses, and of reserve nurses, when on pay active service, shall be forty dollars per month when on duty in the United States and fifty dollars per month when without the limits of the United States. They shall be entitled to quarters, subsistence, -leaves of ab- and medical attendance during illness, and they may be granted leaves of absence for thirty days, with pay, for each calendar year; and, when -pay as chief serving as chief nurses, their pay may be increased by authority of the Secretary of War, such increase not to exceed twenty-five dollars -pay by Pay per month. Payments to the Nurse Corps shall be made by the Pay Department. Department.

sence.

nurses.

Veterinarian.

abolished.

1899, March 2, ch. 352, § 2 (2 Supp. R. S., 961).

SEC. 20. That the grade of veterinarian of the second class in cav-second class, alry regiments, United States Army, is hereby abolished, and hereafter the two veterinarians authorized for each cavalry regiment and the one veterinarian authorized for each artillery regiment shall receive the pay and allowances of second lieutenants, mounted. Such number of veterinarians as the Secretary of War may authorize shall be employed to attend animals pertaining to the quartermaster's or other departments not directly connected with the cavalry and artillery regiments, at a compensation not exceeding one hundred dollars per month.

-pay, etc. -number, etc.

Pay Department.

-composition.

SEC. 21. That the Pay Department shall consist of one PaymasterGeneral with the rank of brigadier-general, three assistant paymastersgeneral with the rank of colonel, four deputy paymasters-general with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, twenty paymasters with the rank of major, and twenty-five paymasters with the rank of captain, mounted: Provided, That all vacancies in the grade of colonel and lieutenantcolonel created or caused by this section shall be filled by promotion -appointment according to seniority, as now prescribed by law, and no more appointas major, etc. ments to the grade of major and paymaster shall be made until the number of majors and paymasters is reduced below twenty:

-vacancies.

And provided, That persons who have served in the Volunteer Army since April twenty-first, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, as additional paymasters may be appointed to positions in the grade of cap-limit in num- tain, created by this section. So long as there remain surplus majors ber of paymasters. an equal number of vacancies shall be held in the grade of captain, so that the total number of paymasters authorized by this section shall not be exceeded at any time.

Corps of Engi

neers.

SEC. 22. That the Corps of Engineers shall consist of one Chief of Engineers with the rank of brigadier-general, seven colonels, four

teen lieutenant-colonels, twenty-eight majors, forty captains, forty composition. first lieutenants, and thirty second lieutenants. The enlisted force provided in section eleven of this Act and the officers serving therewith shall constitute a part of the line of the Army:

-appointment

-vacancies.

Provided, That the Chief of Engineers shall be selected as now provided by law, and hereafter vacancies in the Corps of Engineers in all of Chief. other grades above that of second lieutenant shall be filled, as far as possible, by promotion according to seniority from the Corps of Engineers:

And provided also, That vacancies remaining in the grades of first and second lieutenant may be filled by transfer of officers of the Regular Army, subject to such professional examination as may be approved by the Secretary of War. Vacancies in the grade of second lieutenant not filled by transfer shall be left for future promotions from the corps of cadets at the United States Military Academy.

-examinations.

De

Ordnance -composition.

SEC. 23. That the Ordnance Department shall consist of one Chief of Ordnance with the rank of brigadier-general, four colonels, six partment. lieutenant-colonels, twelve majors, twenty-four captains, and twentyfour first lieutenants, the ordnance storekeeper, and the enlisted men, including ordnance sergeants, as now authorized by law. All vacancies created or caused by this section shall, as far as possible, be filled by promotion according to seniority as now prescribed by law.

SEC. 24. That the Signal Corps shall consist of one Chief Signal Officer with the rank of brigadier-general, one colonel, one lieutenantcolonel, four majors, fourteen captains, fourteen first lieutenants, eighty first-class sergeants, one hundred and twenty sergeants, one hundred and fifty corporals, two hundred and fifty first-class privates, one hundred and fifty second-class privates, and ten cooks:

Provided, That vacancies created or caused by this section shall be filled by promotion of officers of the Signal Corps according to seniority, as now provided by law. Vacancies remaining after such promotions may be filled by appointment of persons who have served in the Volunteer Signal Corps since April twenty-first, eighteen hundred ninety-eight:

-vacancies.

Signal Corps. -composition.

-vacancies.

temporary

Provided, That the President is authorized to continue in service during the present emergency, for duty in the Philippine Islands, five service of men in volunteer signal officers with the rank of first lieutenant and five Philippines. volunteer signal officers with the rank of second lieutenant. This authority shall extend only for the period when their services may be absolutely necessary.

Record and Pen

1899, March 2,

SEC. 25. That the officers of the Record and Pension Office of the War Department shall be a chief of said office with the rank of briga- sion Office. dier-general and an assistant chief of said office with the rank of major: ch. 352, § 8 (2 Provided, That any person appointed to be Chief of the Record and Supp. P. S., 963). Pension Office after the passage of this Act shall have the rank of colonel.

Permanent ap

tions, etc.

SEC. 26. That so long as there remain any officers holding permanent appointments in the Adjutant-General's Department, the Inspec- pointees, promotor-General's Department, the Quartermaster's Department, the Subsistence Department, the Pay Department, the Ordnance Department, and the Signal Corps, including those appointed to original vacancies in the grades of captain and first lieutenant under the provisions of sections sixteen, seventeen, twenty-one, and twenty-four of this Act, they shall be promoted according to seniority in the several grades, as now provided by law, and nothing herein contained shall be deemed to apply to vacancies which can be filled by such promotions or to the periods for which the officers so promoted shall hold their appointments, and when any vacancy, except that of the chief of the department or corps, shall occur, which can not be filled by promotion as provided in this section, it shall be filled by detail from the line of the

-vacancies, etc.

Army, and no more permanent appointments shall be made in those departments or corps after the original vacancies created by this Act -future vacan- shall have been filled. Such details shall be made from the grade in cies to be filled by which the vacancies exist, under such system of examination as the detail after exami- President may from time to time prescribe.

nation.

-return to line after four years.

Chief of staff

ments.

-vacancies.

bent.

All officers so detailed shall serve for a period of four years, at the expiration of which time they shall return to duty with the line, and officers below the rank of lieutenant-colonel shall not again be eligible for selection in any staff department until they shall have served two years with the line.

That when vacancies shall occur in the position of chief of any staff corps or depart- corps or department the President may appoint to such vacancies, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, officers of the Army at large not below the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and who shall hold office -rank of incum- for terms of four years. When a vacancy in the position of chief of any staff corps or department is filled by the appointment of an officer below the rank now provided by law for said office, said chief shall, while so serving, have the same rank, pay, and allowances now provided for the chief of such corps or department. And any officer now holding office in any corps or department who shall hereafter serve as chief of a staff corps or department and shall subsequently be retired, shall be retired with the rank, pay, and allowances authorized by law for the retirement of such corps or department chief:

-permanentap

pointees.

Vacancies caused

Provided, That so long as there remain in service officers of any staff corps or department holding permanent appointments, the chief of such staff corps or department shall be selected from the officers so remaining therein.

SEC. 27. That each position vacated by officers of the line, transby detail from line ferred to any department of the staff for tours of service under this to staff, how filled. Act, shall be filled by promotion in the line until the total number detailed equals the number authorized for duty in each staff department. Thereafter vacancies caused by details from the line to the staff shall be filled by officers returning from tours of staff duty. If under the operation of this Act the number of officers returned to any particular arm of the service at any time exceeds the number authorized by law in any grade, promotions to that grade shall cease until the number has been reduced to that authorized.

Vacancies in

cers.

SEC. 28. That vacancies in the grade of field officers and captain, grade of field offi- created by this Act, in the cavalry, artillery, and infantry shall be filled by promotion according to seniority in each branch, respectively. Vacancies existing after the promotions have been made shall be pro-to be filled by vided for as follows: A sufficient number shall be reserved in the graduates from grade of second lieutenant for the next graduating class at the United Military Academy. States Military Academy.

-persons who

war.

Persons not over forty years of age who shall have at any time served as volun- served as volunteers subsequent to April twenty-first, eighteen hunteers in Spanish dred and ninety-eight, may be ordered before boards of officers for such examination as may be prescribed by the Secretary of War, and those who establish their fitness before these examining boards may be appointed to the grades of first or second lieutenant in the Regular Army, taking rank in the respective grades according to seniority as determined by length of prior commissioned service; but no person appointed under the provisions of this section shall be placed above another in the same grade with longer commissioned service, and nothing herein contained shall change the relative rank of officers heretofore commissioned in the Regular Army.

-appointment of enlisted men.

Enlisted men of the Regular Army or volunteers may be appointed second lieutenants in the Regular Army to vacancies created by this Act, provided that they shall have served one year, under the same conditions now authorized by law for enlisted men of the Regular Army.

SEC. 29. That to fill vacancies occurring from time to time in the Enlistments to several organizations serving without the limits of the United States fill vacancies beyond United with trained men, the President is authorized to enlist recruits in num- States. bers equal to four per centum in excess of the total strength authorized for such organizations.

listed force.

Discharge of sol

SEC. 30. That the President is authorized to maintain the enlisted Maximum force of the several organizations of the Army at their maximum strength of enstrength as fixed by this Act during the present exigencies of the service, or until such time as Congress may hereafter otherwise direct: Provided, That in the event of the enlistment of a soldier in the Army for the period required by law, and after the expiration of one dier on account of year of service, should either of his parents die, leaving the other dependent parent. solely dependent upon the soldier for support, such soldier may, upon his own application, be honorably discharged from the service of the United States upon due proof being made of such condition to the Secretary of War.

Enlisted men at recruiting stations. -rank and pay.

Provisional

pro

SEC. 31. That the Secretary of War is authorized to detach from the Army at large such number of enlisted men as may be necessary to perform duty at the various recruiting stations, and while performing such duty one member of each party shall have the rank, pay, and allowances of sergeant, and one the rank, pay, and allowances of corporal of the arm of the service to which they respectively belong. SEC. 32. That when the exigencies of the service of any officer who would be entitled to promotion upon examination require him to motion of officer remain absent from any place where an examining board could be pending examinaconvened, the President is hereby authorized to promote such officer, subject to examination, and the examination shall take place as soon thereafter as practicable. If upon examination the officer be found disqualified for promotion, he shall, upon the approval of the proceedings by the Secretary of War, be treated in the same manner as if he had been examined prior to promotion.

tion.

Appointment of

SEC. 33. The President of the United States is hereby authorized to select from the brigadier-generals of volunteers two volunteer officers, two brigadier-genwithout regard to age, and, by and with the advice and consent of the erals. Senate, appoint them brigadier-generals, United States Army, for the

purpose of placing them on the retired list.

And the President is also hereby authorized to select from the retired -major-generlist of the Army an officer not above the rank of brigadier-general who al. may have distinguished himself during the war with Spain, in command of a separate army, and to appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, the officer so selected to be major-general, United States Army, with the pay and allowances established by law for officers of that grade on the retired list.

Officer serving

titled to bear title

SEC. 34. That all officers who have served during the war with Spain, or since, as officers of the Regular or Volunteer Army of the United in Spanish war enStates, and have been honorably discharged from the service by resig- and wear uniform, nation or otherwise, shall be entitled to bear the official title and, upon etc. occasions of ceremony, to wear the uniform of the highest grade they have held by brevet or other commission in the regular or volunteer service.

Instruction

-surveys to be

SEC. 35. That the Secretary of War be, and he is hereby, authorized and directed to cause preliminary examinations and surveys to be made camps. for the purpose of selecting four sites with a view to the establishment of permanent camp grounds for instruction of troops of the Regular Army and National Guard, with estimates of the cost of the sites and their equipment with all modern appliances, and for this purpose is authorized to detail such officers of the Army as may be necessary to carry on the preliminary work; and the sum of ten thousand dollars is hereby appropriated for the necessary expense of such work, to be disbursed under the direction of the Secretary of War: