The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-12-28
WOMEN NURSES IN THE WAR.
Their work and Its Acceptance i'm the
Army.
New York SUM-


of the woman nurse. The nurse question
was only one of the many serious prob
lens that confronted the Government at
the beginning of hostilities. but it caused
an endless amount of perpiexlty before
it's solution. Surgeon-General Sternberg
and other officials in the Medical Depart'
ment of ths army thought that the hos
pital Corps. as organized in the beginning,
would prove adequate to any emerge ney
that might arise. There also existed a
prejudice against the employment Oh
women in the army camps and hospitals
and strong feeling that if outside nurses
were needed men only should be en-
ployed. That these opinions were erro-
neuus was SHOWN when the camps and
| The male nurses employed when the
emergency came proved in many cases
incompetent and us result large nam
| bers of women we're pressed into service.
| 1t was cot until.the latter part of June
| tn at the Government agreed to accept the
services of women as nurses, but from
that time on till the wars conclusion
try by nursing its defenders. Everywhere
their conduct met with unqualified APP
prevail from the surgeons while their de
yotion and self sacrifice proved an inspi-
ration to their patients
When the War Department early in
juno began to consider the necessity of a
corps of nurses as an auxiliary to tho
Medical Department, one of the serious
questions which Immediately arose was
that of transportation. No special fund
for this emergency had been provided for
by Congress, nor had any other plan been
adopted in regard to the management Of
such an auxiliary branch. Che problem
was finally solved by charity, and to the
thousands of patriotic men and women
OF the country who contributed for this
object is largely due the credit for the
showing made by the nurses and the con-
sequent preservation of life. The first of
the large relief organizations to pay
special attention to the subject of nurses
was the Red Cross Society. At tho re-
quest of the Women's Committee on aux
iliaries of that society, an auxiliary
known as No. 3 was organized on May IL
to provide funds for the maintenance of
trained nurses. 1t was the original in
tention of the society to place the nurses
to be maintained by the auxiliary on a
hospital ship 60 be furnished by the Ma
tional Relief Committee. This plan WAS
abandoned early, it being found that
more good could 5e done by using the
funds collected in supplying trained
nurses to the camps and hospitals.
The Government soon after the begin
ming of hostilities, with view to meet
possible emergency, organized a COM
mittee of competent women to select
women nurses If they were needed. This
committee consisted of DR.. Anita New
comb McGee, Miss Mary Desha, Mrs.
Francis g. Nash and Mrs. Amos q.
Draper. The members of the committee
| were all members of the Daughters of the
American Revolution, and it became
known as the Hospital Corps of that
society. DIR. MCGEE, as director, and the
others as assistants, represented the Sur
| geon-General in all matters pertaining
| to the nurses. The Red Gross Society at
| first acted independently of DIR. McGee
| and her assistants, but without much sue
| cess. Gen. Sternberg for some time re-
| fused all outside offers Of nurses, and at
one time it looked as IL the plans of the
| society in regard to the nurses would fall
| through, An understanding, however,
with the Government was reached final
| Iy at conference held on July 10 between
| the Secretary of War, the Surgeon-t1ener-
al and the Red Gross Society. In a letter
from Gen. Sternberg to Mrs. Whitelaw
| Reid, the President of the auxiliary
maintaining the nurses, written the day
after the conference, the views of the
| Surgeon General were set forth. He said:
II am quite willing to employ female
nurses vouched for by yourself as Secre-
| tary of the Red Cross Society for Main
tenance of Trained Nurses. | had
previously made satisfactory arrange
ments for the employment of trained fe-
male nurses through a committee OF the
Daughters of the American revolution.
AS / said to you during our interview, l
recognize the value of trained nurses in
general hospitals, and expect to make use
| of their services 10 snoh an extent as
seems to be desirable But do not APP
prove of sending female nurses with
| troops in the field or to camps of instruc-
| ton. 1t is the intention to transfer the
| seriously sick men from our field hos
pitfalls to the general hospitals as soon as
| practicable; and we wish our enlisted
| men of the hospital corps to take care of
| the sick in the division field hospitals
and in camps of instruction, SO that they
may be fully prepared to perform the
same duties when the troops are in active
| operations.
Among these privates of the hospital
| corps who constitute the Red Gross orga-
nization Of the regular military service
| and who are non Dom batants in accor-
dance with the terms of the Geneva con-
vention, we have many medical students
| and even graduates in medicine.
81 have made an exception with refer
ence to sending female nurses to Cuba
in view Of the outbreak of yellow fever
at Santiago, land am now sending immune
nurses, both male and female for duty
at the yellow fever hospitals. In accor-
dance with our agreement you are au-
thorized to send ten female trained
nurses, selected by yourself, TO the
Letter hospital at Camp Thomas. Ga. ;
ten to the United States general hospital
at Fort Monroe, Va; and two to the hos
pital at Fort Wadsworth. N, T.. the I'M
Outstanding being that those at Fort
Monroe and at Fort Wadsworth shall be
boarded and lodged outside OF the hos
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