Evening star., 1898-04-21
WOUNDED In BATTLE
Work Of Caring for the Injured on
Board Ship.
IN THE NEXT GREAT NAVAL CONTEST
Problems the Surgeons viii Be
Called Upon to Meet.
CHI A NGED CON DITIONS s

How best to handl, and care for the
| wounded in modern naval warfare is
problem that now confronts naval surgeons
1t IS thrust upon US by the energy and ac
co'nplishments Of experts in cons ,rGciion
| ordnance and engineering. While they hav,
so successfully fulfilled their mission oi
| destruction, must not be laggart!s in our
still more important work of succor to the
wounded and helpless. 1t is theirs to de-
siroy. II is ours to save
| The conditions under which We iipd our
selves IN the present day of battle ships
necessitates radical departure from our
| former methods of treatment of WOUNDED!
men in action, and their subsequent care.
| In the days of wooden ships. with flush
! guns and spar decks, admitting Of com
| parattvey easy transportation Of the
| led, there was very little difficulty in
| moving men injured in action to the sick
! bay, where they cOuld receive every need
! ed attention. The surgical staff was unit
| exercising its function in q circumscribed
| sphere. Tncn its work was brought before
it: now it must seek it.
modern battle ship is honeycomb of
| steel, each cell containing its quota Of
workers. al acting karmoniously and in
| concert toward the accomplishment of The
| desired end. The overthrow of the adver-
| s;ry. Separated from their fellows by steel
! decks and watertight doors. some means
fnc their aSSiSt aacu in time of distress mus.
| be devised bv navel surgeons: means that
will not interfere with the lighting eff
| cloncy of the whole, and Yet sutficiclt to
| assure the ccmhatants that if disabled IN
| the performance Of their duty ihey VIII
| no De cast aside as useless iucumtrances.
Different Methods.
Of a modern battle snip Will readily see
the impossihility Of caring for wounded
men as in the DAYS Of wooden ships The
o3ject of making closed compartments is
| t. have them closed in time of acton. The
Object Of battle plates is to have them
| screwed on in time Of battle by as much
| as these precautions are neglected, by so
rtuch is The efficiency of the lighting ma
chine decreased. In the tops in the super
structure and in some Of tn living Spaces
men may be reached and cared far, bl:t
never again N modern warfare viii the
sick bay be the place whcr.. an the wound
ed viii he brought during an action and
where the staff will eXpend all of fits ener-
gies.
Il is more than probable that future sea
nights Will he short and bloody and lie
| fought at short range. With modern rapid
ilr" guns. all EXPOSED parts of a vessel
would soon be cleared OF The living occu-
protection. The pt rSoral danger confront
lng the surgeon VIII be greater than ever
before. 1t viii he his object 10 do Tho
greatest good To the greatest number IN
cep- in limited NJ mbers. his patients cam
rot be brought to him: he must 20 to them
lie VIII scarcely ever be able to perform n
capital operation during an action; time
VII not permit. He must be here there
and o.cryH here.
Central Station.
If he can find a sheltered place anywhere
in the ship whore he VIII not be in tho
way of a gun, torpedo tube. IA trolley OF.
an ammunition hoist, let him there cstab-
lish central station and a line Of commu-
milton with all accessible parts OF the ship.
No particular part OF the ship can be here
designated as this central station: it must
vary in accordance with the construction
OF the vessel 1t should lie the place where
there would be the greatest protection
WITH the greatest accessibility. In ease OF
q lull in, or Immediately after an action
the wounded should be taken there and
such operations as are practicable per
formed
Some means of communication. vocal or
electrical. should be established between
each compartment or fighting space ana
the central station. 50 that the surgeon can
be informed where his services are required
Ii the wounded cannot be speedily removed.
Meanwhile the Importance of first aia
IL tIt siIlN manifest / he llSt ana only
De fenuered by comrades Tho thorough
instruction of the whole ships company
in the efficient manner of thus administer
iiis first aid cannot be too strongly urged.
First Aid.
One of the first duties Of the surgical
STAFF Of a newly commissioned vessel
should be the drilling of the crew in the
proper methods of controlling hemorrha ge
from different parts of the body. the re-
n,oval OF foreign bodies from wounds. and
the placing in proper positions of injured
o. broken limbs. They should also he
taught how to carry a man up or down
through narrow matches. over obstacles, or
through contracted or tortuous passa ces
with the least fatigue to themselves and
tie greatest comfort to the wounded. In
many instances it would b.. impossible TO
use a cot or any form of a stretcher: un-
der these circumstances the only alterpa-
tive Is that the disabled should be carried.
The fighting space allotted, especially in
turrets, is so contracted that the immediate
removal of a disabled or wounded man Il
OF the utmost Importance. There is no un-
occupied space in the turret where ne
could be LAID aside. out of the way of the
gun workers. until action is over. His
presence would temporarily disable the
gun. The only practical method of caring
for him is 10 lower him to tie partially
cleared space at the base of the turret,
either by the ammunition hoist or dashed
III hammock: even here be would receive
only temporary aid. as the space is too
limited fer the performance Of any opera
tiCn. Here he must remain until Il IA eor-
able opportunity arises. for his transfer to
the central station.
Simple and Effective.
Tie equipment of the surgeon and his
assistants must be the simplest and yet
the most effective They will have very
little immediate use for anything but
brandy, ammonia, morphia and the re-
quirements for the control of hemorrhage
With these they can quickly leave the
central station for any part of the ship
where their services may be required and
superintend the bringing back of the pa
tient.
The simplest method of transportation
and the one causing the least discomfort
to the wounded, Is stretcher on which a
n attres3 and pillow have been laid; but
there are very few places on a battle shin
where stretcher could be conveniently
used. 1t is not applicable for narrow or
tortuous passages. for going UP or down
ladders or Tor getting in or out of small
compartments.
Where the man is severely injured
that ne cannot be picked up and car
ried or where stretcher cannot be used,