The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-04-27
AMBULANCE SHIPS.
The Navy Department Has Arranged
for a Novel Hospital.

for a Novel Hospital.
From the Philadelphia Times.
The United States government has taken
steps to secure a unique addition to our
navy. 1t is an ambulance ship which will
take care of the wounded IN action as our
modern cruisers are eignaly deficient in
providing any hospital accommodations
for those injured in battle. 1t win be no
light task that the ambulance ship and
her men will have to perform. 1t is dam
gerous to be in the. vicinity OF shot and
SHE'LL even though not the target. The
crew, however, viii have TO face death In
order to save life, and courage. Will be
quite as necessary a requisite for the men
attached to the ambulance ship as for any
member or any mess on board a cruiser.
IL has always been the case, even under
the most advanced methods, that during
battle on board ship it has been impossible
to render immediate aid to the wounded
1t is just this sort of aid that saves life
for never Is delay more dangerous than
when It. prevents a wounded man from re-
| ceiving the necessary attention. AS mat
| ter of fact the handling of wounded on
| ships of war is a subject which is engross-
| ing the attention of the naval authorities
| of the world The vessels to be utilized
of fairly good capacity as far as room
| for the sick is concerned, and yet not of
| too large size to prevent quick turning ord
/ rapid darling around and among a feet
| of vessels The treatment of the crew of
| such craft would be precisely that ac-
corded the Red Cross Brigade. It is an
unwritten law of every civilized nation
| that a wounded man and the man who
| aids him are both to be protected.
Again, It is always the case in naval
| conflicts that a large member of the men
| who are injured are blown into the wa
| ter. Oftentimes it. also happens that tn
| injured men fall from the rigging into the
ocean, Ut Is a. curious fact that three
ffths of the sailors in the different navles
cannot swim, and, therefore, in many In
stances, to drop from the rigging or to
be accidentally forced overheard during a
| battle is just as sure death as to stop a
| bullet. Now the men. on board the am
bulance ship will be looking for just such
accidents all the time, and boats crews
would be instantly dispatched II such cid
were needed.
AN instance of the percentage of life
that would be saved by having boats in
| constant readiness TO aid men who have
| fallen overheard and are drowning is
shown by the fact that during the last
naval battle between the Austrian and
Italian fleets, thirty years ago more than
100 men were drowned who could easily
have been saved had an ambulance ship
been in attendance The facilities for saw
ing men who 20 overheard during bat
tie are no greater now than they were at
that time The methods of naval warfare
have become more deadly. and the percen-
tage of killed is frequently greater, but
there is no abatement of the confusion
existing on board a vessel while in action,
and no matter what ideas are suggested
there is nothing that will change the at
titude of men In naval battles from what
il has been for century
There facts taken into consideration. il
is held by the most competent naval au-
thoritles that the necessity for the amDu-
lance ship is so plain that he who sails
NAV see As stated the vessels used for
this purpose must be swift ana easily
handled OF necessity they must also be
, ,drst class sea boats, and there is many
a merchant steamer running out OF Amer
lean ports to-day that will answer inns de-
scription to the letter
The>plan that is suggested for the shlr
is to devote the spar deck, that is the
deck where there is the greatest amount
| Of air 10 the most serious cases OF Doth
: | Officers and men. The additional wards
will be located on the remaining decks o.
, the vessel. As it is always more or less
close between decks artificial venuiatior
Z | will be PROVIDED us hAceAAiH u . $500
, spray extracting apparatus, as well as
steam fan blast that will pump in ar
adequate supply of pure air. In this way
the atmosphere of this gigantic sick bay
will be constantly changed ana purined
and thus one of the greatest aids 90 ma
ture for the restoration Of health be Sc
cured.
There Is no questioning the fact WIKI
even a semblance Of truthfuiness that TN
: percentage OF recovery OF injured men OF
hoard an ambulance ship properly equip
/, ped would be fully a half greater than a
Z present Admitting that there might 2
Isolated cases OF ships that would ma
= Impossible to give the wounded proper az
the ainerence IN the quarters assigned q
me injured. which are known on boar
sb.c as the sick bay, and those Of the am
bS,ie,tce saip Is so great as 70 render com
" ment unnecessary. ~
n OF course IL would be absolutely imposSl
. ole for an ambulance ship 20 care Tor a
J. the wounded during an engagement unles
n that engaeemeut was between two Fessei'
4 The truth OF this statement IS shown
5 the fact that the ORDINARY pattleshli
l. whose complement Is 500 men- wiA nav
\ within a few minutes Of tine time actlo
= begins 3, kiiled and iQ wounded This
n not "A theery but a careful calcuiaIlQ
a from facts that have been collected oy 81
h ncsrs Of the navies of the world. For in
saf