The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1914-11-27
METHODS Of RED
CROSS WORKERS
DURING WARFARE
How the Wounded Soldiers Are
Cared for Promptly on the
Field of Battle.
GOOD BANDAGING IMPORTANT
Every Man Carries First Aid Outfit
Surgeons an6 Nurses Attend the
Sufferers on Firing Line and
Then Send Them to the
Hospitals.

= There was a time when wounde,
= men were left unattended and exposes
on the battlefield until the fighting
IS was over. Often it was the day aftel
an engagement, or later, before surg
d ical assistance reached the scene, ant
i soldiers were for the most part ig
e norant of the first principles of caring
Z for themselves.
o The ambulance organization now
s prevailing in all civilized armies Off
: indeed, one can apply the word civil
). liked to anything connected with war
E fare) dStes only from the end of the
e eighteenth century. Gradually it has
been enlarged and improved until to-
: day every army has moving with its
, men on the field complete hospital es-
ablisbnent-variously modified in de-
tails for the collection, treatment and
care of the wounded until they can be
removed to hospitals of more per-
manent character.
In 1892 a system of so-called flying
field hospitals was introduced into the
French army by Baron Dominique
Jean Larrey. 1t provided for giving
the necessary first surgical treatment
and removing the wounded quickly
from the field. Napoleon supported
this system enthusiastically. Some
what later another Frenchman, Baron
Pierre Percy, organized a corps of
stretcher bearers-men trained e.d
equipped for collecting the wounded
while a battle was in progress, rem
dering aid Immediately necessary and
carrying them to a place of safety
where they may be further attended. |
The American Civil war marked the |
beginning of the modern ambulance
system.
One of the greatest steps toward the
wounded was the outcome of the con-
vention held in Geneva in 1861
treaty by the terms of which the
wounded themselves, as well as the
official staff of ambulances and their
equipment, should be under the pro-
lection of a neutral flag-the flag of
the Red Cross.
But not only has this ambulance sys-
tenn reached high state of perfec-
ton. The modern soldier is carefully
trained in first-aid work, part of this
education being a thorough under
of human anatomy. The value
Of this knowledge is at once apparent,
are now being fought in Europe, where
thousands are wounded in a single en-
yagement; for no matter how efficient
nay be the relief service it is i'm
possible for the Red Cross workers to
are for these men as rapidly as they !.
all. Many a soldier, however, is able
o save his own life or that of a COM .
ade by stopping the flow of blood I'M
II help comes.
Soldiers First Aids. II
Each man has with him when he en- I
FRS the battle package of first-aid {
upplies-a sterilized bandage, an an a
Iseptic pad, a bottle of water acidu- t
lted with the best quality of wine Z
inegar Ito assuage the terrible thirst 1
nat comes to wounded SOLDIER, and
nourishment enough for '
6 hours in a tin the size of an ordi- t
airy cigar caso. These supplies vary b
lightly in different armies. t.
An ordinary shot wound is frequent
: not felt by fighting man, the sight r
[ trickling blood usually being his
rst intimation that he has been
ounded. If he is able at once to b
pply the antiseptic pad (thus pre- c.
snting the entrance of germs and Il
elping to stop the flow of blood and tt
lrther to bandage the injured part n
he has taken long step Il
ward recovery. al
Proper bandaging plays so import 81
1t part in war surgery that the ut fe
ost efficiency In it is required of Red So
ross workers. In tue German army re
e bandage most used on the field p;
i'd in emergency work is one that tt
.ars the name of its inventor, DR.. 81
hannes Won Esmarch. Every SOL til
er carries ole Of these with him into 81
tile. 1t is a threecornered piece
linen and cotton, of which the pr
Sc measures four feet and the sides til
o feet ten inches. 1t can be used nj
ded or open and applied in 81 diff be
rent ways, az shown clearly by illus Fl
atoms which accompany 1t. The La
icially manufactured Esmarch band &C
g has these illustrations stamped to
Early on one side, but 1t Is pos re
lie to make such a bandage out ne
old linen, sheets or similar materi- to
ct hand. Doctor Esmarch, who
ID in 1908, served as junior surgeon OF
the Schleswig- Holstein war OF 1913, ne
8 director Of the surgical clinic at hl
Al and later head of it's general hos ar
al and professor at the university co
re. After the Schleswig- Holstein ca
: OF 1854, during which he rendered on
endid service in field hospitals, he be
. called to Berlin to take charge OF eq
, surgical work In the hospitals n