The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1910-07-10
DIR. WILLIAM A. WHITE

DR.. WILLIkl
duck OF man-of-war's man. and with
a frank smile. says:
Wants to Get Back.
How d you do? VIII you take a let
ter for me TO the superintendent? He
doesn't know I'm well yet and they
won't tell him. want to go to sea
again"
He seems perfectly rational, but 1t
turns out that he is always writing let
tiers. which is falling Of most Of them
when they have pen and paper. But.
after all. the sailors longing for the
sea does. seem perfectly natural. and one
wishes that be might go.
Then comes a Japanese demanding to
be let out He speaks in broken English
and Japanese, mixed Ia inextricable con-
fusion but he is very emphatic about II,
and Is led away by an attendant lest he
grow too excited. He was a cook in the
diplomatic service in Washington and
has been here for six years.
Just as you go 10 leave this ward, up
steps a neatly dressed man-one Is al
ways at g loss here for a moment TO
distinguish between patient and attend
ant-and says:
How do you do, sir. n am sent here
by God; specially sent here as His agent
TO do His work. That's who / am, SIR.
Now you know. That's all I wanted.
And so he steps aside with elaborate po-
likeness. on in the corner there is
gray-bearded man philosophieaily smok-
ing a pipe. He is evidently about fifty
years old
He vas a lieutenant in the navy"
whispers the attendant. He's been here
for about nine years. He never says
word" Just think Of tia lieutenant
Think how many who were Of this mans
grade in the navy who have gone on 70
promotion. Some Of them TO fame Yet
he stays here, a lieutenant That VIII De
his rank until the end comes.
once weIl-knOun Musician
A MISUNDERSTANDING old gentleman
with a Turkish fez adorning his brow
comes up and shakes hands. II is Curl
Gus how solicitlous these people are after
YOUR health: gives no evidences of alb
normality, and passes on. He was once
a weIl-known musician IN Washington;
he often talks TO the attendants about
the happy days" when he moved audi
enees by his playing. AS you leave the
ward YOU may notice an old soldier, gTiz-
zled and bent, enwrapt in Walter Scotfs
''Ivanhoe." and near him a man who
was once a well-known educator. equally
as interested IN a copy OF East Lynn
or 'The Earl's Daughter" But. per-
haps. such strange contrasts in literary
tastes are not altogether unknown among
those who pass for sane.
And one thing the visitor win notics IN
all the wards-the constant movement.
The floors are polished until they shine
Ike glass and are as treaeherous To walk
on as dancing floors, but in every ward
there are some of the patients who pace
I'D and down. up and down the length OF
the corridors pushing before them heavy
polishing tools, covered with wooden blan-
kets. externally polishing, pushing, polish
Ing as II ttlSlt oAis ii-o44Ao "0-' NtA~ -
cleanliness.
On the other side of the administration
building is the receiving ward for women.
Here a head nurse meets you ar the door,
and from behind her comes a lady very
nicely dressed, her golden hair done in
the latest mode and her fingers displaying
several rings. who bows. You bow in re-
turn and pass on only to wonder az you
hear the attendant say:
Cause Husband'z Death.
she's a patient. Caused her husband
IN hIovv his brains out She was dis
charged once as cured, but she asked TO
he allowed to stay That's why she's
here now. I guess the fact that any one
wanting 10 remain In this place shows
that they can't DO quite cured yet" i
aanient verdict with which most of US
will agree.
Aho,1t the halls and corridors other
women sit, soma Of them reading. some
aveino the visitors curiously. One old
lady with beautiful white hair, has it
divided into two strands, and she brushes
these assidiousiy, as If that were her
chief reason for existence.
Across from here. over the wide lawn.
Is .he 81" building. the Room OF the
800" as some have christened It. II is
where women who are not at all violent
live. and the place Is tastefully fitted up
with carpets and rugs. and there are
flowers on the table in tall vases and
evidences Of taste abound There is g
piano. too, and as we enter the woman
with the golden locks-she who would
not be discharged-is playing Nearer.
NY God to Thee with delieacy OF touch
and Is singing the hymn softly with
feeling
But after you have been in ones or two
OF the wards. there is a terrible same
ness about the rest. The same curious
facial expressions. the same stunning
and almost .noiseless step, the same
watchfui politeness. the same letters.
There is a difference when you come 10
the woman's ward. where the lower floor
IS given over to white women and the
upper to eolored women but IL IS a DIFF
ference that IS best not made clear. On
the sun-porches of this building certain
colored women. with strong voices. yell