The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-05-04
POLICY OF THE Beers
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OIiUI VI I'LL UUllIU
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he will effect the same swift, sudden
transformation which followed the cav
airy evOlutions two months ago. AS
cording to last accounts, he was push
ing on successfully. Every day the
Beers remain at Wepener improves
General French's chance Of success.
To put girdle around the $4,000
Beers estimated to be in the southeast
ern part of the Orange Free State, Lord
Roberts has evidently taken large
chances. The British critics differ re-
garding the result, some DECLARING 1t Is
impossible for the Beers to escape
from the net, while others reserve
their opinion until more definite news
Of General French's progress is re-
ceived. There is general impression
that the main advance upon Pretoria
will be taken up without any reconcen-
tration at Bloemfontein, as with more
than half the British army stretched in
echelon across the Orange Free State
such change in directions would in
definitely delay the accomplishment of
Lord Roberts main objective.
MASERU, Basutoland, Tuesday,
April 24.-On the breaking up of the
bivouac this morning, Generals Bra
bant and Hart discovered that the
Beers who fell back towards Wepener
yesterday had advanced during the
night several miles nearer to Strauss
Farm, which is favorable position for
resistance.
Colonel Dalgety was severely attack
QH ot ci " mo hi Ivy
with view to preventing him assisting
the relief column. 1t seemed yester-
day that Dalgety had practically been
relieved, but the offensive attitude as
sumed by the Beers this morning shows
the idea to have been erroneous Gen
eral Hart is now a few miles behind
General Brabant's division, which Is
waiting for the former to come up.
Thirteen British wounded were re-
moved to Mafeking at midnight and
placed in the English church.
Hospitals in South Africa.
LONDON, April 1.-THE Cape Town
correspondent of the Times continues his
analysis of the army medical system and
his review of its workings up to date.
This week he deals with the private and
philanthropic ventures in the way of hos
pitfalls that have been sent out in which
money and men and women from Am
erica have taken such prominent parts.
Eat first declares this correspondent.
no rules were too rigorous, no blue paper
! manual too exclusive to be applied to
/ these offers. Granted that all must be
under some sort of military control, and
their movements here subject to military
| direction, was it necessary to set up a
cGstiron framework. into every stiff joint
of which each detail of the enterprise
must fit? War establishments were as
the laws of the Modes and Persians; red
| tape must be respected, If it throttles
its victims. But not for long; as with the
offers of military assistance a change
| to build a hospital up the country, where
in fine air and healthy climate the wound
ed could recover without being sent down
800 miles to the base. No, 1T must be alb
| solutely a section of a base hospital;
nothing more and nothing less could be
accepted; the committee had said it and
the law allowed it. But now the latest
OF these hospitals is going straight up
the country to render exactly the service
which the earliest offered and was re-
fused Another wanted female nursing
| instead of male. No; the manual said
nine nurses to every $40 PATIENTS No
more than that proportion could be al
lowed. Eventually, Dy a terrible effort
| this was stretched to four nurses for
| every 105 patients. Now one of these vol
untary hospitals is permitted forty
| nurses.
The convalescent accommodation here
is limited to the Officers Home at Clare
mont. containing forty six beds. and the
| room for 100 privateS-together drop in
the ocean of requirements. The former il
an admirable small institution. carried or
voluntarily by Mrs. Pitcher, the wife Of
! the well known commander of the ex.
petition to Douglass. The latter is in g
healthy situation, but subject to terrible
Sand storms, which in five minutes choke
up mouth, eyes, ears and nose, rendering
these organs worse than useless and max.
ing face quite unrecognizable. With
| beautiful sites in the suburbs of Cape
iStr I
tie way up the railway, there seemed &c
be a special opening for an extensive
system of convalescent homes. 1t is un-
gracious to criticise philanthropy, and as
difficult to conduct il into the most use
full channels as it Is to turn the course
OF trade; but the observation can hardly
| be avoided that if some of the many pri-
vate efforts referred to above had been
devoted to this purpose instead of tC
the incidence of relief would have beer
! more justly apportioned and the aggre-
gate of benefit largely increased. Indeed
/ the advantages, both economic and mill
tary. are SO obvious that it would almos,
| appear to have been the duty of the
| army medical department to take an in
| itiatiye in this direction. But the secret
| pages of the manual contain no men ton
| OF conValeScent homes, SO there the mat
| tel ended. At present at least one-thrd
of the beds in a general hospital are oc-
| cupied by conValescentS who require nc
nursing and hardly any medical treat
ment. who sit about all day chatting,
| reading and smoking, make their own
beds and generally do themselves
! Gases of serious injury to men who,
| Though their wounds are healed, have
received the nervous shock of a bullet
| through the body, are properly sent home.
Thirteen days after the battle of Spion
kop l saw five men, wounded in that dis
astrous engagement, lying side by side in
their beds at Wynberg. One was shot
through the upper back-there was a cross
fire from three sides-the bullet going
out in front close to the heart; in another
case the bullet had entered the thigh and
come out through the middle of the stom-
ach. They had been transported all the
way from the Tugela by road and rail
and sea, and again by rail and road, to
where they lay. Both wounds were per-
fectly healed and only showed small
round scars; but the shock to the nervous
system remained. Such men can take NJ
more part in this war. OF many others
their fighting days are finished. Their
right place is al home amongst their fam
lilies and friends.
With the vast majority of the wound
ed the case is different Whether 10 fine