Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1898-08-30
RED CROSS CHARGES.
Surgeon General of the Army
Says There Is No Truth
in Them.
ITS ASSISTANCE NEVER REFUSED.

Charges That He Has Done So Emphatic
| ally Denied-Has a High Opinion OF
Trained Women Nurses-says the Society
| Has Had Full Authority to Visit the
| Camps-0uotes from Various Letters to
Justify His Course.
| Washington, Aug. 3o-The following
1 statement regarding the medical corps
of the army and the American National
! Red Cross Society was given out by
| Surgeon General Sternberg yesterday:
/ owing to the pressure of my official
! duties 1 have not heretofore felt justi-
| fed in taking the time to make an ex-
| plantation with reference TO my attitude
| towards the American National Red
! Cross. 1t has been repeatedly charged
/ in the newspapers that 1 am hostile to
| this organization and have refused to
accept its assistance in the care of our
! sick and wounded soldiers and sailors
and that as a result of this refusal there
! has been unnecessary suffering. These
charges are without foundation, except
insofar as 1 have objected tothe sending
Of female nurses with troops in the
field engaged in active operations. We
have a Red Gross hospital corps in the
army of enlisted men whose duty il is
to render first aid to the wounded upon
the field Of battle and to care for the
sick ~ our division field hospitals and I
have been of the opinion that female
nurses would be an incumbrance TO
troops during active operations; bat so
coon as serious sickness developed in
our camps and IL became necessary to
treat typhoid fever cases in our field
hospitals l gladly accepted the services
Of treined female nurses for the u vision
field hospitals and in our general hos
pitfalls we have employed them from tina
first.
Their Services of Great Value.
The general testimony from the sur
geons in charge of these hospitals has
been that their services have been of
great value. Very many of these trained
nurses have been obtained through the
kind assistance of the Red Cross So
ciety for maintenance of trained nurses
auxiliary No. and desire to express
my high appreciation of the valuable
services rendered to the medical de-
partment of the army by this organiza-
ton. My attitude towards relief or
CARNATIONS is shown by an indorse
ment. dated May upon a letter ad
dressed by Rev. Henry c. McCook. OF
Philadelphia. to the president and
referred to me for remark:
Best Not tn Give Exclusive Privileges.
o.
to the adjutant general of the army:
The plan propoEed for the organization
of a relief association appears to have
been we'll considered and the object in
view will commend itself to every
patriotic citizen. But it is n question
whether the president should give spe-
Cial privileges 10 any particular organ
iZation. Other prominent individuals
in different parts of the country may be
such proposition has come from Chi
cago. While ! approve in a general way
of organization for the relief work pro-
posed, it appears TO me that it will be
best not to give. in advance. exclusive
privileges TO any one particular organ
ization. In case Of need assistance
shou0 be accepted from any organiza-
ton prepared to give it.
Has Been His Guiding Principle.
This has been my guiding principle |
throughout, that relief when needed |
should be promptly accepted without |
reference TO the source from which 1t |
comes. The relief afforded by the Ma |
tional Red Cross at Siboney was
promptly accepted by the surgeons on |
the spot, but il is evident that it was
entirely inadequate to meet the emer-
gency. \ committee Of the American |
National Red Cross association called |
upon me in my office in Washington |
some time in advance Of the landing of |
our troops in Santiago. making an offer |
of assistance. 1 received them most |
eourteously and advised them TO use |
their resources in fitting up n hospital |
ship, telling them that a hospital ship |
was now being fitted up for the use OF |
the medical department., but that ii was |
not at all improbable that an emergency |
would arise which would overtaX our |
resources and that in such an event a |
hospital ship pAbperly equipped. having |
on board a corps OF doctors and nurses |
would be a most valuable auxiliary.