Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1910-02-24
Woman's Relief Corps News
Edited by Cora E. Harris, Evansville
Cora E. Harris, Evansville


illinois, commanded by ColoneI
Turchin, was mustered in and was
ordered to rendezvous at Camp Doug
las. A detachment OF the cake ana
pie brigade, as the rollicking fellows
called them, paid the regiment an
early visit and were received by the
men who were not under drill. en-
navelock. AS the sturdy fellows
emerged from their tents, all wear
ing the white nightcaps, as they had
irreverently christened the ugly head
dress, their appearance was so Iu-
dicrous that shout went up from Of
icers, soldiers. and the lady visitors.
They were worn in every imaginable
fashion,-as nightcaps. turbans. sun
bonnets, bandages, sunshades,-and
the fate of the havelock was sealed
NO more time or money was wasted
in their useless manufacture.
Entirely unacquainted with the
requirements of war and the needs
of the soldiers, 1t was inevitable that
the first movements of women for
| army relief should be misdirected
They could not manifest more ignor
ance, however, nor blunder more alb
surdly, than did the government In
its early attempts to build up an eI-
fective and disciplined army. Both
learned by laundering.
The decline of the havelock fever
was followed by lint-and-bandase
mania, which set in with great fury.
For time it was the all-absorbing
topic. Knowing now how insignif.
cant in value these items of relier
proved in the actual experience OF
the war, one cannot forbear a smile
when reading the sapient discussions
of the time. What is the best ma
terial for lint? BY what means can
it be best. gathered, in the largest
quantities. These were the ques-
lions of the hour, discussed gravely
by professional men. And the New
York medical association for furnish
Ing hospital supplies actually held
meetings to discuss the lint question,
and finally opened a lint and bandage
depot. Thus stimulated, every house
hold gave it's leisure time to scrap
ing lint and rolling bandages, till the
mighty accumulations compelled the
ordering of halt. A little later, the
making of lint by machine relieved
women of any further effort in this
direction.
so determined were the people
that their citizen soldiers should be
we'll cared for, that relief societies
were frequently organized in the In
terest of regiments, as soon as they
were mustered into the service They
proposed to follow the volunteers or
their neighborhoods with their bene-
factors-'to provide them with home
comforts when well. and with hos
pital supplies and nurses when
wounded or sick. 1t would have been
an admirable plan If it could be car
ried out; but numerous difficulties
and failures soon brought these meth
DDS into disrepute. The accumula-
ton of perishable freight for the SOL
diers became fearful. 1t demanded
instant transportation, and the man
ayers of freight trains and expresses
were in despair.
"Women rified their storerooms and
preserve closets of canned fruits ana
pots of jam and marmalade, which
they packed with clothing and blank
cts, books and stationery, photo
graphs and comfort-bags. Baggage.
cars were soon flooded with ferment-
ing sweetmeats, and broken pots OF
jelly. Decaying fruit and vegetables,
pastry, and cake in a demoralizec
condition, badly canned meats ana
soups, whose fragrance was not that
Of Araby the blest, were necessarily
thrown away en- route. And with
them went the clothing and station
cry saturated with the effervescing
and putrefying compounds which
they EMBODIED. Added to this discoul>
agement was the frequent loss Of tho
packages; for the constant move
ments of troops rendered 1t impossl'
BILE for express agents to forward
boxes to special regiments. For
time there was great waste OF the
lavish outpouring of the people. 1t
did not, however, check their hber
atty, but compelled wiser methods.
For out Of this chaos of individual
beneyolence and Astounding patriot
ism the Sanitary Commission finally
emerged. with its carefully elaborated
MANS and it's marvellous system"