Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-07-19
WOMAN VETERINARIAN
IN CHARGE OF FIELD
HOSPITAL FOR HORSES
New Venture Near Battle
Lines in France Shows
Man Is Coming to Con-
slider That Animals Have
Right to Live.


"
Engiand's for the old-fashloned woman,
that pours tea and embrolders forget-me-
nots. and the voting booths no place for
milady, says Old England. But all the
same, IT'S a woman that's In charge OF
veterinary hospital not far from the
firing line, engaged in the unladylike busi-
ness Of handling Englands wounded
horses. and no mistake.
There are heroes and heroes There are
many nameless human heroes In the
Great War, though many who do great
deeds will have their names go down to
the future. imperishable. THE people VIII
remember them forever" But not the
name OF one horse will be remembered
though our very word "chivalry" meant
nothing more than "horsemanship' In
time gone by. There are many persons In
England who think of horse as some-
thing more than machine, and who arc
determined that as much care as is possi-
Bile shall be given the wounded steeds
But there is a more serious side to the
question. England is afraid that the
supply of horses will not be equal to the
demand, and with the permission of her
ally, has opened four hospitals in France
for the treatment of mounts that have
been injured in battle These veterinary
hospitals are located at Provins, Neuf-
chatel-en-Bray Troyes and Moret-sur-
Loing, and a woman wet" is In charge of
the first-named station.
CAMDEN WOMAN SENDS NEWS.
News of this departure in warfare
comes in a lengthy letter from Miss Wini-
fred de Mercier the Camden young
woman who was decorated by King
George for distinguished bravery on the
battlefelds of Flanders. Writing from
point in France, the name of which was
obliterated by the censor, Miss de Mercier
says:
Realizing that many of tho officers
mounts and those engaged in moving the
heavy artillery pieces from one place on
the long battle line to another needed
only little attention to render them fit for
renewed service after minor injuries,
Arthur j. Coke, Esq, organized the Blue
Cross Society, to provide the necessary
skill and accessories for the treatment of
horses that were disabled in action. His
efforts met with response from the titled
families of Old England and in time Lady
Smith-Dorrien, whose husband commands
division Of the English army, was elect
ed president of the organization. Funds
were raised and volunteer surgeons re-
cruited for the work.
Lord Kitchener induced the French
military authorities to allow the field hos
pitfalls for animals to be established as
close to the battle lines as possible, and
then got them to agree to collect ths
wounded horses and transport them for
treatment. As n consequence of this, the
work has taken tremendous strides, and
Captain Claremont, r. N, the director in
charge, has been allotted offices at the
French Staff Headquarters in the Elysee
Palace Hotel, Paris.
ARRANGING THE HOSPITALS.
Taking old buildings and stock farms
that once raised massive draught horses
for the United States, the Blue Cross or
ganization converted them into quarters
for the inflrm horses Pharmacies, kitch-
ems and wards have all been white
washed, disinfected and fitted up in a
thoughtful but economical manner. and
the staff, keen and capable. spick and
span, in their white overalls, give splen-
did impression of thoroughness.
when I visited Moret-sur-Loing ] saw
M. Froment Maurice. the noted sculptor,
who is giving his motorcar and exclusive
time to one of these hospitals Unfor-
tunately, an outbreak OF glanders has null
lifted, to an extent the work that this
hospital could do, for 1t is an ironclad
rule that no horses are delivered to these
hospitals unless they are guaranteed free
from Infection Entering the first ward
of this hospital, saluted the 30 or 40 odd
patients undergoing treatment The sight
of this line Of patient veterans, standing
still and silent in the dim light, had some-
thing accusing in it. 1 felt awed as
I thought of the ordeal through which
these dumb heroes had passed, and 1 am
not ashamed to say that / applauded
when saw men visitors raise their hats
Saber and bullet wounds are I'm the
minority. Absolute exhaustion is common,
but the majority of cases are deep and
painful saddle marks, that must have in
volved intense suffering.
WORK FOUNDED ON JUSTICE.
80 this splendid work goes forward.
Declared to be quixotic, even resisted in
some quarter, as was the Red Cross, it's
irresistible strength lies in the fact that
II is founded on the solid ground of jus-
tice. The war is a fight against the
tniquitous doctrine that might is right,
and the Blue Cross is the living example
that the time is past when man considers
that he has the right to the unrequlted
service OF dumb creation because he has
the might"
Miss de Mercier, who formerly lived AT
225 Cooper street, Camden, was secretary
to the State Dental Board for several
years and left her home in Camden late
in February to take service In the Red
Cross Society AS told exclusively In the
EVENING LEDGER a few weeks ago. her
conduct on the battlefield won her a
decoration Her letter detailing the es-
tablishment OF the horse hospitals was
passed by the British censor, but the
place from which II was written in