The Washington herald., 1914-04-21

II
in Washington at the Naval Hos
pital for over a year.
why should women vote when in time
| OF war only men 60 to the field TO de-
fend and die for their country This. is
an argument one often hears against
suffrage. Surely women had to rear these
soldiers and sailors and in time Of war
have always cared for the sick and
wounded. The United States has two es-
tablished corps OF nurses for this pur-
pose. The army and navy have their
own corps. These nurses go where duty
is assigned them in peace and war.
Having worked for four years with the
navy nurses, feel II a privilege to
write of their work, as so few people out
side of the service know Of their exist
ence. There are 100 faithful women in
the Navy Corps. stationed at the differ
ent posts. The Nurse Corps OF the
United States navy was established by
an act Of Congress in 1908 1t consists OF
superintendent, chief nurses and
nurses. The corps is under the jurisdic-
ton of the Bureau OF Medicine and
Surgery. Navy Department, Washington.
The nurses are required to be graduates
from good hospital training schools.
They are appointed and removed by the
Secretary of the Navy. The nurses care
for the sick officers and enlisted men in
the naval hospitals which are stationed
along the coast.
The Hospitals.
The hospitals in commission for nurses
at present are at Washington. Brooklyn,
Newport, Chelsea. Boston, Philadelphia,
Annapolis, Norfolk. Mare Island, Guam,
Samoa and Cavite, p. /. Other stations
are under construction at Portsmouth,
n. H., Chicago and Yokohama.
The nurses are transferred from one
station TO another. SO in due time their
duty comes at home and abroad. At
these various posts the nurses live in
weIl-equipped and comfortable homes un-
der the supervision OF the chief nurse.
The nurses In the navy must be willing
to adapt themselves to varying climatic
conditions at the different posts, but in
the end the life works like a charm and
all are satisfied sooner or later.
The nursing is not over fatiguing, as
the hours of duty are short. The unit
OF a days work consists OF eight hours;
the hours except in the tropics are from
a. m. to p. m: p. m. to 10 p. m, and
10 p. m. to s a. m. Night duty comes sell
dom and in turn so the stretch Is made
ten hours to shorten the day relays to
time of duty. to go on with their own
pursuits-some study languages while
others ride and enjoy out-of-doOr sports
While on duty their work lies chiefly
in teaching and supervising the work Of
the hospital apprentices. These young
men enlist in the service without the
slightest idea of what they are going
into or what is expected OF them. There
fore they must be trained to care con-
sick on the battleships where there are
no nurses.
UnIimited Field.
In this field of work, a woman has an
unlimited field for unselhshness and
good influence and any one going into
a navy hospital can at once notice the
difference between a ward in charge of
a nurse, and one without. These patients
whose lives have been disciplined in the
service are wonderful in patience and
gratitude and there Is something salts
factory in caring for people in the same
service; for the navy is a huge family,
and one Of the pleasures OF being trans
ferred to a new post lies in meeting old
friends and familiar faces.
In Annapolis the nurses live in a beau
tiful home situated on a blum overlook
ing the Severn River and Chesapeake
Bay. At the rear of the house there
IL a grove Of tall trees and from all the
windows one can see the sky line. From
the east We see far out into the bay
and in these early mornings. the dawn
and sunrise over the water are beautiful.
In the late afternoon. when we hear the
bugle from the Marine Barracks for colors
TO come down we find time TO relax and
watch the sunset. often more glorious
than the sunrise.
The nurses in the navy have much
to be thankful for: Good homes. short
hours, Uncle Sans never failing pay
roll. and above all. the most interesting
and appreciated nursing service in the
world.