Durango semi-weekly herald., 1901-01-24
The RED CROSS IN JAPAN.


pan-China campaign of 1S94-5, as well
as in the expedition to relieve Pekin.
the arrangements made for the care
OF the sick and the wounded by the
Japanese war department We're much
eulogized by foreign experts. 1t
would seem, indeed that this part of
the organization of the Japanese army
is exceptionally excellent, all the lat
est improvements having been adopt
ed iii the surgical department and a
most thorough system having been
arranged not only for affording relief
within the fighting line but also for
bandaging stations, field hospitals,
standing hospitals in belligerent ter
ritory and-s special hospitals at home.
Each division of the Japanese army
has permanent staff of 100 sur
geons-or roughly speaking. ten to
every 1000 men-one of whose first
duties is to see that every necessary
provision is made for furnishing, es-
tablishing and transporting the field
hospitals at moments notice. The
efficiency of the arrangement was sub
Jected to n severe test in the recent
north China campaign with thorough
ly satisfactory results. Another fea-
ture of the organization that appears
to have been much lauded was the
transport of invalids from the field
to the reserve hospital in Hiroshima.
Each boat of the flotilla that travelled
up the Peiho from Tientsin laden with
supplies for the troops had stock
OF medical comforts so that she might
carry sick and wounded on her return
voyage. and as soon as these invalids
reached Tientsin the serious cases
were taken into hospitals there. while
those deemed capable of bearing the
voyage We're sent to Hiroshima either
by transport or by one of the Red
Cross society's hospital ships-the
Kosai Maru (Savior) and the Hakuai
Maru (Mercy). These ships were
specially built for the Red Cross So
ciety of Japan and are veritable
floating hospitals, where the patient
can be as comfortable as in first
class institution on shore, and where
he is attended by trained staff of
nurses.
The Red Cross society further sent
seven parties of women nurses to the
reserve hospital in Hiroshima. Up
to the early part of November its ex-
p nditure on account of the war had
been 600 900 yen ts3OO,OOO), and by
the time of the soldiers final return
the total will probably reach 100000
yen ($500.000). but the society. hay
Ing an income of $4,000, 900 yearly.
can AFFORD to incur liberal outlays.
The Savior and the Mercy made ten
voyages between Taku and Ujina be
tween July ] g and Oct. II, and carried
ed to Hiroshima in that time. 1t had
been anticipated that the service of
the Hiroshima hospital would he re-
quired for the foreign troops as well
as for the Japanese. and arrangements
were made with that view. But ulti-
mately the French alone availed them
selves of the facility, the Russians
sending their men to Inasa, near
Nagasak. where they have a special
concession of their own the British
theirs to Wei-Hai-Wei, and the Ger
mans theirs to Kiaochau, while the
Americans continued to use their own
on board ship or at
the United States naval hospital at
Yokohama.
The total number of French officers;
and soldiers admitted to Hiroshima
was ia, of whom So were wounded
and sc were suffering from disease.
From the letters written by these
patients on leaving the hospital it is
easy to see how throughly they ap-
preciated the care bestowed on them.
One officer speaks OF feeling as
though he had found second native
province in Japan" and sergeant
major. after oulogizng the skill of
the surgeons and nurses and the gen
erosity of the Japanese people who
loaded him and his comrades with
presents, declares that he will never
forget the treatment he received nor
ever cease to talk with his family
and friends of the happy hours spent
by him In Hiroshima.