Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1907-05-31

the great catholic order of knights
and the orders of sisters who were
affiliated with them. On the continent
| of Europe to-day, although a large
majority of army nurses are men, yet
in most countries there are a few
sisters of catholic orders who not only
continue to follow the troops in time
of war, but who serve as head nurses
in large army hospitals in time OF
peace.
About the beginning of the last cen.
tury the idea of systematic training
in the principles and practice of car.
ing for the sick had it's origin in Ger,
many, where one of the earlier stu.
dents of the art was Florence Night.
iugale. Like untold thousands OF
women before her, she went forth
to the great batrle with death in the
hospitals, taking with her to the
Crimea So women, of whom is were
sisters of catholic or protestant or.
ders. Other nurses joined her later.
This war gave a great stimulus to
the idea of training nurses, and ii
ultimately led to the introduction into
the British army of regular corps of
women nurses. These sisters" as
they are called. are of course grad.
yates of hospital training schools and
their work consists essentially in the
supervision of the nursing in large
hospitals where the details are car
ried out by men enlisted for the pur-
pose. In some respects the English
system is well organized, as the rules
are explicit regarding increase of pay
with length of service, with provision
for retirement and pensions. The most
important post in this service is that
of woman superintendent of Netley
hospital, there being no woman at the
head of all the nurses. There exists
also an Independent Indian nursing
service of secular sisters"
At the outbreak of the South
African war the number of English
sisters was fixed at 79, of whom So
were employed in the British isles
and 16 at Gibraltar, Malta and Egypt.
In addition to this small number pro-
vided for peace times there was a
corps of reserve sisters, although ap-
pointments to it were unfortunately
not under the control of the war Of
fee. AS the nursing sisters of the
reserves numbered only SO, hasty ap-
pointments were made, and some
women who were entirely without
knowledge of a nurses duties sue
ceeded in obtaining appointments.
OF course the trained nurses who
were sent to the Transvaal worked
nobly and well, though the investiga-
ton of army hospitals has shown a
most distressing insufficfency in their
number.
The United States is looked to as
country whose system of women
nurses may, in many respects, be
used as an example.
Our nurse corps is matter of quite
recent growth. There were, of course,
a large number of women employed
during the civil war, most of them ap-
pointed by Miss Dorothea Lynde Dix,
who was then superintendent OF
women nurses, but their services, as
well as the work of the helpers who
held no regular positions, came to
an end at the close of the war. A
vast amount of good was done by
these women individually, but there
was no lasting effect on the army
itself.
In our country, with its prevailing
Independence, army assistance may
be rendered by any one who chooses
to offer it and no organizations are
recognized as these through which
alone such assistance will be re-.
ceived. II is true that there was be-
fore and during the Spanish war
committee acting under the name of
the American National Red Cross"
which was allied with the interna-
tionai committee. but 1t had no ex-
elusive recognition from cur govern
ment, nor had 1t any organization as
a general society.