New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-10-30
DRESSING WOUNDS BY The SCORE.
A BUSY MORNING IN A HOSPITAL WHERE "oCT'
SIDE PATIENTS" ARE RECEIVED.

A BuSY MORNING IN A HOSPITAL WHERE "oCf'
SIDE PATIENTS" ARE RECEIVED.
ala there ANYBODY under seventy" They are
all under seventy far age Is concerned pu' 'na'
Is not what the surgeon Is crying about. - 'ne'e
ANYBODY under seventy" he repeats and then, very
rapidly, "Seventy-One, seventy-two. seventy -hrce
seventy- So here you are' And he takes man.
seats him on n STOOL flashes pair OF scissors arouna
a bandaged arm, aud In twinkng has laid the nesn
hare and is examining It. Then without asking any
questions he washes, dries, cleans, annoints, runs
bis rlbbOn.ike bandages around the wOunded h"'"
opo,n with swift and skIlful fingers and HITS the man
from the stool. 1t Is all done In flash.
"Come again tomorrow" he says. and then aga'h
:" Is there anybody under seventy AnyDoay """e'
seventy, seventy one, sevcntv'twO--t
That Is the way II goes on for honn ihterm"aoy,
!, gems 10 the watcher is there anybody under-F
II Is in the surgeons room OF hospital "nere
tho daily flood OF wounded humanity Is being car1rd
nm by the tide Of TO he cared for ana DehuHEV
There are dozen surgeons there. ana Always WV
score or more Of patients. The owners OF cr"sh'"
skulls broken limbs, bruised faces and slash"d or
burned flesh arr let into the room In "Mtch"s.
They are numbered ut III" door like checked nas'
and they nrp cared for their number comes around
No is first: No. SIS has something OF wnit, ana
No. 1872 finds q long interval between the time ne IL
" checked" at the hospital door ana the Nih"'r ne
finds himself In a busy surgeons hnndS. ~ is nF'
come first served, and TINT Is why that mo"o'oho"S
cry constantly arises from the surgeon - nrie MY
body lndcr--?"
II E, a sorry side OF life that sees here. The
people arc nearly all OF them poor, desperately poor
They cannot aFord the luxury OF private PHYSICIAN
however severe their wounds or however eager uey
ar, n get back to their work: and so they come anu
stand In line waiting for thAr numbers to be called
that they may go up and suffer. perhaps great W.,
that af;erward they may suffer less. They arc OF
ou I'm Of
on cru,rhc some of them with their heads ma faces
swuthed deeply in bandag"S. sem" OF them Win hahds
wrapped around and around until they are as "R ns
feather pillows some o. them With feet crushed ana
mangled and nj! OF them miserahl" ana SUFFERING.
And among them are tho wheAp roned. swift fingered,
hurryng surgeons. dressing wounds by the dozen,
dressing some OF them marve!lously quick. ana
always going m 10 the rext without pause. with
no trrnor At the touch OF nny wound, however deep
or foul and with no twi,ch OF the lips at any cry or
nnchng from pnin.
Is there anybody under dghty-fve Eighty six.
eighty .srvcn 50. here you are! No. 20 to the next
table You can't BE- dressed here; you are Infected
Is Their" anybody under eighty -Hght :"
There IS short pause: then. sharply, Eighty npe!
Is there anybody ode. ninety All hero yOl are.
Let mo your card" for every patient has card.
on which Is written little history OF his reception
mt the hospital. his trouble and how he has been
treated Where's your card 7"
No answer to this.
"Whprp's your card. card. cardi"
still
Can't speak English. on -
Then follows Il >rr. Of pantOmms. Tho card Is
nshed out the patient Is placed IN the STOOL and on
the handag'-, from his hand. The surgeons
fingers > lightly and rapidly that before one
knows that the man has been touched he has slipped
of his stool to the moor and on his knees with his
stomach pressed close 10 the stool. his eyes shut.
tcpth ked
and Qu,vcrius he fights his pain while his wound Is
dressed. lie has not opened his mouth for these
people nScd 10 suffering they have W bear II;
but when he gets mp. five minutes later. with spot
c,ly white and clean lookhc bandage his hand. he
looks !! h. had marched into the valley Of torture
md had only crnwcd out again.
Come ogru day after TO morrow Gays tn" sur
YtDn. AMI thfI thu old us there anybohy--7'
1t Is a boy this time When the Nnen strips nre
removed from his head. you that be has deep
cash his eye. lie IS little pole. but he does
not wmmper, for he has been through It all
before and knows what mus; be. must DO.
Now when was little boy" says the surgeon.
taking til" bov between his knees and booking down
into the Young eyes. "you should have the cut
had. That was cut and he rattes nlOng with his
cheerful tax. all the while his akll fingers Hitting
around that wound until hc l"ahs buck. gives half
s'gi and says Ion needn't come III next Monday"
II l. all over -'flrr the boy knows II.
The next mnn mas forgotten or lOW MS cara ana
the surgeon Is yrxrd.
g You'll have 10 get one from the surgeon who first
attended Won" ~ says and sends him away.
Then after the drawing out OF the numbers
comes powerfully built man Of middle age. HIS
and legs like those OF Ifrrrmles His chest
Is full and deep lie Is m"Enihcent'lookins sp"ci-
when The knife Is In his wound he bellows and roars
Ike n bull and then writhcs miscrably and shame
fully.
Hurt. Ays the surgeon sternly. You mustn't
d. that here. There. It's all over now Then H.
whisper: :. II" couldn't help It; there isn't any pon
In The world worse than his
At the next table however. Is slight. Whit" faced
man whose cheek bones are painfully high and whose
mouth T. drawn with long suffering lie looks 81
weak and slight that II seems as II breath could blow
hin away. l.u. while they digging deep In
wound in his hani. that Won can seq the nerves and
-,rainng hi hare! 'ha; they sss'm 20 be blind
Then lis wound Is handag'd.
It's doing nicely, SiyS III" surgeon. chPerlully ana
the man goes ont walkng with weak lncr.
They up nv the dozen and 60 ont one after the
other and still they keep coming. The surgeon has
lust finished dr sing leg OF whloh there seems 10 he
o'hirc left but n bone.
rs busy tny today" i" saws brightly. and then
Is there yhody below 140l Is Their" anN1dy---'
nnd the" yom -, and walk thiOmgh into the open
mir which Is sweet and pure and refreshing. But
something seems TO follow yOu II Is the Odor OF car
lSjli. acid and odoorm and II sends di7zying sen
ZION through yonr brain that out In the street
where whrrls pounding on the pavrmrnts and men
are MI ,hng and hurrying can almost hear u-that
monOtOnous, never ending !" is there ANYBODY
nndcr-'
THE EEWrORK GTRL
Fran Arro