The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1898-08-02

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crowded the streets to see. calling for a
speech at every pause in the music.
Though they got no speech they shouted
themselves hOarse in "hurrahs for Bry-
an" Stretching away for more than a
in a mass of humanity. the center
Of observation was the one commanding
figure. who sat on the south piazza Of
the Windsor Hotel. engaged in conyersa-
ton with General Lee.
BRYAN was making his first appearance
in public in this city. since he has donned
the uniform Of the great volunteer army.
and the event was Il notable one. lie
came at the head of his regiment, proud
Of his men. which is farthest from home
Of all that are gathered in Camp cuba
Libre. 1t was one continuous ovation
from the time Colonel Bryan reached the
city at s O'Clock until he went away
at II.
Not 1T any time during. his campaign
for the Presidency was the Nebraskal
the recipient Of greater enthusiasm than
was that accorded him here Tuesday
night. Hundreds of people wanted TO
shake his hand and many succeeded,
though il was made courtcouSly plain
by Colonel Bryan that he was in moro
serious business now and did not care
10 hold a popular levee. To their shouts
and hurrahS he listened with the calm
sclf-DoSeeSsiOn Of the trained soldier and
the calls for a speech fell upon deaf ears.
For the first time since he has been
here General Lee was forgotten. That
hyra-headcd monster. the people. that
sets up an idol only to knock it down, had
eyes and ears for only one man and
that man was Colonel William j.. Bry-
an.
Writing about the Division Hospital
yesterday | neglected to state that its
greatest shortening is the i?ck of proper
nurses. Ordinarily. in 4 small hospital.
the regular corps would be Insufficient
but III 4 great hospital like the one here
the enlisted nurse or private in the
hospital corps is n failure. 1t takes
time to train nurses. In private practice
most surgeons require q nurse to whom
they commit the care of their patients
to have Mt least one years professional
training before practicing that gentle art.
Is it possible to take an unSkilled man
ont Of the ranks and simply by trans
ferring him TO the hospital corps make
Il competent nurse out of him! Time
and facilities do not permit it ever if
the men were by nature fitted for such
duties. Then again it must be considered
that under the present system not all the
volunteers for the hospital corps are the
right sort OF material. Men enter the
hospital service for various reasons: One
is attracted by the reputcd ease of hospi-
tai life as compared with the ranks an
other by the pay. while still others arc
men whom their captains are glad to get
rid of. A very small proportion have
the proper ambition and talents for hospi-
tai and field work.
Women make the best nurses. They
are naturally adapted to such work
men are not. But female nurses are
excluded from all army hospitals-eNccpt
at Chickamauga. There DIR. Carter has
taken the bit in his teeth and admitted
lthcm. orders to the contrary notWith-
|Stlnding. The time has come when 1T
should be universally broken. The GOV
eminent has abundant offers from volun-
tecr female nurses: why should it not
accept them? There arc scores or soor
women in North Carolina who would
be glad of an opportunity to come here
and nurse back to life the fcyer-stricken
and malaria-racked soldiers. who have
given up homes of luxury at their coun-
try'S call. That the mortality among
them could be greatly lessencd can hard
ly be disputed. The Red Cross Society
has established a supply depot here and
is not only hOnoring acquisitions Of army
urgcons for drugs and supplies. but it
stands ready at any moment to put its
nurses at the service of the sick sol
diers.
Speaking on this very question Of nurs-
ing DIR. G.. Frank Lydston. author of
several standard books on medicine and
until recently in charge of the surgical
ward at the Division Hospital here. says:
"A ease Of meningitis at the Division
Hospital was under treatment by ice
bags applied to the head. | found one
morning that the bag was filled with
warm water. the ice having evidently
long since melted. On inquiry | was
told by the nurse that he had not sup
Piled fresh ice because the man who
preceded him hadn't told him to do so.
The warm water treatment had been
in use for about five hours. With an in
t~olli@ont woman nurse, such a thing
could not have happened. | will declare
myself most emphatically rs being in
favor Of female nurses, first. last and al
the time. If the government cannot be
made 10 see the matter in a proper light
let competent and experienced male
nurses be employed rs the only war
rantahle compromise"
Let it not be inferred from what I
have written about this hospital and its
shortcomings hat l charge criminal neg
ligence on the part Of nyonc. That
is not my intention. | have no other
desire than to state the truth. Many
Of the men in charge of this hospital.
from the chief surgeon down. are hard
workers. efficient and conscientious.
Having made tremendous sacrifices to
como here they are trying to do their
duty. But they are 'over-croppcd." As
| have previously stated. the hospital of
which they are in charge is too large
for a camp in time Of peace. The fault
is III the system rather than in the sur
goonS. OF curse here and there you
will find Il shirker; moro often though
it is lack Of system and deficiency of
preparation. Lieutenant Colonel l.. NJ.
MaHs. the head of the medical depart
ment of the Seventh Army Corps. is not
only conscientious and painStaking. but
he is also eminent in medical science.
Between him, though. and the sick sol