An epidemic of pneumonia began at Camp Wheeler about Oct. 5, 1918, and continued through the months of October, November, December and part of January, 1919. It appeared coincidently with an epidemic of influenza which swept through the camp at that time.
As two radically different methods of management were employed in the treatment of these pneumonias during this epidemic, a study of the results offers a fruitful field of observation and some helpful suggestions. It offers an opportunity to make a fair comparison between the so-called open air or open ward treatment (Group 1), in which the patient is kept practically in the open air, and the close ward management (Group 2), in which the patients are kept in warm, comfortable surroundings, well protected from cold and chilling, from currents of cold air sweeping over them through open corridors and doors, and from bathing, changing bed linen, caring for