Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1908-04-12

the Idea OF training nurses. and II
ultimately led to the, Introduction into
the British army of irregular corps or
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
rled cut by men enlisted for the pur
pose. In some respects the English
system Is well organized. as tho rules
are explicit regarding increase OF pay
with length of service. with provision
for retirement and pensions Tho most
important post in this service is that
OF woman superintendent OF Netloy
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 80. Of whom G3
were employed I'm the British isles
and 16 at Gibraltar. Malta and Egypt.
In addition TO this small number pro
yided for peace times there was n
corps OF reserve sisters. although mp.
pointments TO II We're unfortunately
not under the control OF the war OF.
flee. AS the nursing sisters OF the
reserves numbered only %. hasty ap-
pointments were made, and some
women who were entirely without
knowledge OF nurses duties sue.
ceeded in obtaining appointments.
or course the trained nurses who
were sent to the Transyaal worked
nobly and we'll. though the investiga.
ton Of army hospitals has shown n
most distressing insuflicTency in their
number.
The United States is looked to as n
country whose system OF women
nurses may. in many respects. be
used as an example
Our nurse corps is a 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 thon 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 1887 congress authorized the en-
listment OF men in what is named
the hospital corps for the purpose OF
serving as nurses and attendants in
army hospitals and camps and on
the field OF battle. This corps is com.
posed of privates. who are the prac
teal equivalents of undergraduate
nurses In the civil hospitals and or
stewards and acting stewards, who
are virtually graduate nurses. At the
outbreak OF the Spanish war there
were 723 men In the hospital corps, n
number barely adequate for an army
OF $4,000 men in time of peace. but.
OF course. wholly inadequate in time
of war for an army 10 times that size
Although effort was made TO supply
the deficiency as far as practicable by
transfers of men from the regiments,
there arose in the summer Of 1898 a
great need for trained nurses to care
for the vast number of seriously sick
men. AS nursing has always been
essentially woman's work 1t became
necessary TO send great numbers OF
women to our army camps and hospi-
tails.
Had such an emergency arisen In a
continental country its government
would have called upon those aid So
cicties which had organized and
equipped themselves for such work
and which were officially recognized
by being placed under the control of
IL government officer Some of these
organizations abroad are religious In
character and some OF the others are
allied with the International Commit
tee for the Relief of Wounded in War.
which meets at Berne. Switzerland.
and which committee is here com.
monty. but enormously, spoken OF as
an international Red Cross society.
In Time of war these various official
aid societies are told where their nelp
Will be expected and among other
things how many nurses they will be
called upon to supply for the govern
ment.
In our country. with its prevailing
independence. army assistance may
be rendered by any one who chooses
to offer 1t and no organizations are
recognized as those through which
alone such assistance will be re-
ceiyed. II is true that there was be,
fore and during the Spanish war a
committee acting under the name OF
the American National Red Cross. -
which was allied with the interna.
tinnal cnnlmiiten hut Il bod NJ a.