free, are subject to postage at the rate of one cent a pound. Under Order No. 875, on the contrary, such publications may continue to go, postage free, to subscribers within the county who were patrons of the discontinued nonfree-delivery post-offices.

"Because of its conflict with the law, the paragraph quoted should, therefore, in my opinion, be rescinded, or so modified as to accord with the statute.

"It must be true, as remarked in the memorandum of the chief post-office inspector, and for the reasons given by him, that the 'lettercarrier offices' contemplated by the Act of 1879 are exclusively those at which 'letter carriers are employed within the city for the free delivery of mail matter;' and likewise true, therefore, that the establishment of a rural free-delivery route from a post-office does not in any proper sense render it a letter-carrier office.

"The status of patrons of the rural free delivery is properly to be fixed by reference to the post-office from which the route emanates, and the question whether or not the post-office through which a patron formerly received his mail was a letter-carrier post-office is irrelevant in determining the rate of postage which shall be charged upon second-class publications going to him as a subscriber.

"The view of the chief post-office inspector, that if the rural route emanates from a post-office having free city delivery, postage should be charged on second-class matter going to patrons of such route at the same rate that would be charged if it were to be delivered through boxes or the general delivery, and that if the route starts from other than a 'letter-carrier post-office,' second-class publications within the county are entitled to free transmission to patrons of the route residing within such county who are subscribers therefor, is entirely in accord with my own.'

Other comment was of the same import, and Mr. Cortelyou, with a view to securing remedial legislation, went so far as to call the attention of Senator Penrose, chairman of the Senate Committee on PostOffices and Post-Roads, to the anomalous conditions brought about under the law due to changed conditions since the act of 1879 was passed, but no action was taken. Thereupon Mr. Cortelyou promulgated Order No. 135 as the correct interpretation of the law governing newspapers delivered on rural routes emanating from freedelivery offices. Thus you will see that the anomalous situation is fully realized, and was realized before Order No. 135 was signed. The order reads as follows:

"Ordered, That paragraph two of Order No. 875, issued July 26, 1900, be amended to read as follows:

"Publications of the second class, one copy to each actual subscriber residing in the county where the same are printed, in whole or in part, and published, shall go free through the mails and be delivered free by rural carriers; but the same shall not be delivered from postoffices having city delivery, unless postage is paid thereon at the rate of one cent a pound."-(Signed) Geo. B. Cortelyou, PostmasterGeneral.

Many criticisms of the Department have been made for permitting second-class matter to be mailed free of postage when transported a considerable distance from the mailing office to another post-office, and taken from the latter place by the rural carriers to the addressee, while matter deposited in a city letter-carrier post-office for delivery

by rural carriers directly therefrom is subject to the pound rate. This, however, is due to the law, and can be remedied only by legislation.

I am frank to say that I can not see how any other interpretation than that given herein could logically have been made in the first instance.

I intend to recommend most strongly, in my forthcoming annual report, that Congress amend the present law as to the payment of postage on publications mailed for delivery by carriers, whether city or rural, so that the charge may be more nearly uniform and in keeping with the service rendered, bearing in mind the evident intent of Congress to encourage the dissemination of news and literature among the people.

Postmasters and publishers are in position to cooperate with the Department by urging upon Members of Congress the importance of the proposed legislation.

MEMORANDUM RELATING TO COMMAND OF HOSPITAL SHIPS.

Mr. GALLINGER presented the following

MEMORANDUM RELATING TO THE COMMAND, GENER AL ORDERS, REGULATIONS, ETC., OF HOSPITAL SHIPS.

JANUARY 28, 1908.-Referred to the Committee on Naval Affairs and ordered to be printed.

MEMORANDUM RELATING TO THE COMMAND OF HOSPITAL SHIPS.

1. PRECEDENTS.

UNITED STATES ARMY AND NAVY.

General order issued by the Secretary of War February 6, 1865:

Hospital transports and hospital boats, after being properly assigned as such, will be exclusively under control of the Medical Department and will not be diverted from their special purpose by orders of local department commanders or of officers of other staff departments.

Red Rover, Fleet Surg. Ninion Pinkney, U. S. Navy, commanding, Acting Master Welles, navigating officer. Used as hospital ship in the Mississippi during the civil war. (Authorities, Surgeon-General O'Reilly, U. S. Army, and Medical Director Parker, U. S. Navy.)

SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR.

Vigilancia, Maj. George H. Torney, surgeon, by order of May 3, 1898, in Special Orders, No. 103.

Relief, Maj. George H. Torney, surgeon, May 25, 1898, in Special Orders, No. 122. Relieved by Maj. Alfred E. Bradley, brigade surgeon, U. S. Volunteers, in Special Orders, No. 212, September 8, 1898. Relieved by Maj. H. O. Perley, surgeon, U. S. Army, Special Orders, No. 181, August 4, 1898.

Missouri, Maj. William II. Arthur, chief surgeon, U. S. Volunteers, captain and assistant surgeon, U. S. Army, Special Orders, No. 188, August 11, 1898.

Bay State, Capt. A. N. Stark, assistant surgeon, Special Orders, 273, November 18, 1898.

Olivette, Maj. A. K. Appell, Medical Department.

FOREIGN.

Italian hospital ship Washington, 1866, Medical Inspector Giovanitti, Italian navy, in command.

British hospital ship Princess of Wales; medical director was also military commandant; navigating officer under his command.

British Red Cross ship Maine, commissioned during the Boer war, in command of a retired medical officer. (Authority, Capt. Julian M. Cabell, surgeon, U. S. Army (retired), who was attached to the Maine.) German hospital ship Gera, commanded by Surgeon Major Arendt. (Authority for the foregoing, Rho-Annali di Medicina Navale, 1901, Vol. II, p. 18.)

Japanese naval hospital ship Saiko Maru, commanded by Fleet Surgeon Ota.

Japanese naval hospital ship Kobe Maru, commanded by H. Ishikawa, surgeon.

Japanese Red Cross Ship Hakuai Maru, commanded by F. Mitomi, Red Cross surgeon.

Japanese Red Cross ship Kosai Maru, commanded by Red Cross surgeon. (Authority, Report on the Japanese Naval Medical and Sanitary Features of the Russo-Japanese War to the Surgeon-General, U. Š. Navy, p. 12.)

Russian Red Cross ships Orel, Mongolia, and Nostrome, commanded by chief surgeons, merchant officers being employed to run the ships. (Authority, Report on the Russian Medical and Sanitary Features of the Russo-Japanese War to the Surgeon-General, U. S. Navy, by Surg. Raymond Spear, U. S. Navy.)

2. GENERAL ORDERS AND REGULATIONS RELATING TO HOSPITAL SHIPS.

(United States Army Regulations, with amendments to December 31, 1905.)

1467. General hospitals will be under the exclusive control of the Surgeon-General, and will be governed by such regulations as the Secretary of War may prescribe. The senior surgeon will command the same and will not be subject to the orders of local commanders other than those of territorial divisions and departments to whom specific delegation of authority may have been made.

1468. Hospital transports, boats, and railway trains, after being properly assigned as such, will be exclusively under the control of the Medical Department, and will not be diverted from their special purposes by orders of local or department commanders or officers of other staff corps.

(Manual for the Medical Department, United States Army, 1906.)

Paragraph No. 565 provides that hospital transports, boats, and railway trains, after being properly assigned as such, will be exclusively under the control of the Medical Department, and will not be diverted from their special purpose by local or department commanders or officers of other staff corps.