The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-07-24
IN WOMAN'S REALM.


q. c. Rowland, stan correspondent of the
New York Mail and Express, gives what he
the Red Cross in war times. Col. Maus Is
chief surgeon of the hospital corps at Camp
Cuba Libre and has refused the request of
DIR. Kent, who wants Red Cross women
nurses admitted to the army hospital camp.
The main discussion. however, turns upon
the position which the Red Cross is to
sumo.
Col. Maus considers that, owing to the
organization of the medical department of the
army. it is an impossibility for the Red
Cross to operate on the field of battle in
caring for the sick and wounded independent
ly. His reason is that triplicate reports of
every sick and wounded soldier must be kept
by the government in order to prevent the
pension frauds which followed the Civil war.
The pension list Of the army in the future
Will be made up from these report. The
surgeon general Of the army, who has be-
come painfully aware of the lack of exact in
formation during the War of the Rebellion,
has decided that there shall not be repet-
ton OF this loose and careless way of doing
business. For this reason every soldier who
is taken sick is placed upon the reports Of
sick and wounded. and his case is accurately
described and carried on until its terInna-
ton. One record is sent TO Washington city,
one Is left with the regiment and one with
the hospital
During the War of the Rebellion there We're
no records whatever kept in many of these
regiments and the result was that. years
after, the soldier. when trying to get PEN
sion. would write TO his comrades or any
body who with him in the war, and IN
this way get information as evidence that he
was the and that his present trouble
was contracted in active service in line Of
duty. 1t is alleged that millions and millions
OF dollars have been paid out in fraudulent
cases TO men not entitled to it, because there
were no records kept in those cases.
Expert medical officers claim that it would
have paid the government much better to
have sent every soldier to the Fifth Avenuse
hotel in New York city, and paid visit
ing physician $40 a day. rather than have
them turned over to the benevolent societies.
because the government, on &C
count of lack of records, Is
paying millions of dollars annually to men
who are undeserving, whose names never ap-
peared on the sick report. and who, perhaps
never were sick during their time of service.
Mr.. Rowland maintains that the Red Cross
carries no complete report Of its SICK that
mo disposition is made of the cases and that
there is nothing TO show whether a soldier
died or was discharged. The writer insists
that the function of the Red Cross is to act
as an auxiliary, supplying to the sick what
the government cannot supply and not to
attempt to act Independently. AS to women
nurses, he says:
The field hospitals not suitable places
for women, for many reasons. The sick SOL
der prefers a soldier nurse, because he en-
tertains for him a feeling OF comradeship,
and the hospital soldier cares for his brother
in-arms with tenderness and vigilance for the
same reason. The Red Cross nurses should
be used IN nursing the sick of reconcentra-
dos the poor. and others for whom no medi-
cal provision has been made.