The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-05-11
THE PLAGUE OF WOMEN
WHAT SURGEON TREvEs MEANT By
HIS RECENT CRITICISM.
Female Nurses Praised. but the SWARM
Of Society BUTTERFLIES Who Flew
TO south Africa Denounced
OF the Assoslatea press.

Correspondence OF the Associated Press
LONDON, May 2-The storm which the
eminent surgeon. Mr.. Treves, raised by
publicly declaring that the plague OF
women" at the Cape was worse than the
plague OF flies shows no signs Of abating-
Interviewed. Mr.. Treves has made the fol-
lowing reply to his critics:
How any reasoning person can possibly
have construed my remarks into a condem-
nation OF all women at the front ] cannot
understand for. of course. nothing half so
foolish or unjust was conveyed I'm what I
said. Probably no one living has deeper
sense than 1 of the good work the good
hearted women. professional and amateur
alike. are doing in South Africa. You may
remember that / was the only consulting
surgeon that took out staff Of nurses.
/ did so because L know that women are
indispensable TO that important branch
of hospital work. For the other women
the amateurs. IL you care to call them So
who have given up home. money and COM
fort TO help in the work OF all sufferers. 1
have the deepest admiration. That any
one should have attached any other mean
ing to my remarks / am. as said before.
simply astonished.
But" and here Mr.. Treves brought the
clinched right hand into the palm OF mis-
left, when 1 explain the condition OF
affairs at the Cape. where the other kind
of women are gathered. you may judge for
yourself whether was justified in making
strong protest against what / described
as the plague OF women Cape Town was
I then packed with women idlers the major
ity of them society or smart people. who.
yearning for excitements, had come
out TO South Africa TO make holiday. I
say, and say IL very earnestly, that the
condition Of affairs as brought about by the
presence of these ladies was an absolute
disgrace to the country. The hotels at Cape
Town U will say nothing OF Durban) were
crammed with these people I'm the enjoy
ment or what TO them was picnic on
large scale. The Mount Nelson Hotel was
packed with them, and IL a sick or wound
ed officer came down from the front In
search Of accommodation he had no chance
or getting Into a decent hotel These ladies
had not the faintest pretext for being In
South Africa beyond their desire to
make the campaign a means of obtaining
new pleasures and excitement.
That, however. was not the worst side
| or their presence. When dinner parties
| and other junketings grew wearisome they
would make up parties to visit the hospi-
tails. What shall we do to-day?' oh, lets
| go and see the wounded, would be the
preparation for an invasion of the hospi-
tails. Ofncers In charge of wounded would.
III the course OF tnelr duties, De inter-
rupted by ladies bearing permits signed by
persons whose requests the officers dared
| not refuse. You know, perhaps. what in
| huence means in the matter OF promotion,
and so the women would be taken around
the wards and shown the wounded, TO the
utter disorganization Of discipline and duty.
There We're cases I'm which the wounded.
aroused half a dozen times i'm succession
| by the intruders. turned from them at last,
| saying: Good God. shall ever have any
rest?' In another instance a certain med
| ical officer complained that IL was already
| late in the day and he had not seen one OF
his patients professionally, ewing TO the
| horde of busy-body women who had made
his hospital the show place for the day
These are the women TO whom Sir Al
| fred Miner referred and of whom / have
| spoken as a plague-women who are maxi
| ing the scene of war and suffering a place
/ in which to satisfy morbid curiosity and
| find new enjoyments. For the women who
| are giving everything In the cause of ten
| derness have profound admiration; for
| the other sort have only disgust
His remarks were generally considered
4 to be SANDER upon all women nurses. Not
| few thought IL was due to holding the
| same opinions as Mr.. Treves that the
Maine hospital ship committee decided not
| to send back their women nurses.