Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-05-23
FRANCE IS PREPARING
FOR RUSH OF WOUNDED
More Accessible Hospitals Being
Cleared of Patients That New Ones
May BE Cared For.
EXPECTS HEAVY CASUALTIES
Planned to Have Base Hospitals and
All on Main Railway Lines Ready
to Care for Newly Inj,lred-EQuip-
ment Sadly Lacking.

LONDON. May 22.-France has for
several weeks been clearing hundreds
Of it's more accessible hospitals OF pa
ticnts in order to provide for the heavy
casualties OF the new offensive move
ments. Sick and wounded have been
removed 20 crossroads villages and
to hospitals in the country improvised
from former nonasteries and converts
Although already crowded. beds are
added to every hospital in order 70
increase the capacity. The plan is
to have the base hospitals and all
those on the main railway lines ready
to care for the newly wounded In
the errly months OF the war much OF,
the loss of life and limb was due TO
Eangrene resulting from slow trans
portation.
A report describing Frances prcpa-
rations for the new rush of wounded
and the difficult problems with which
her hospitals are already confronted
has been laid before the French Wound
ed Emergency Fund by Miss Daisy
Polk. of san Francisco, who recently
toured Brittany with Mrs. Partridge
klots, formerly of Baltimore. In the
Breton section OF France. Miss Polk
and Mrs. klots delivered supplies to
142 hospitals. of which they person
ally inspected nine-two. These sup
plies came in large part from American
contributions.
French provincial hospitals, Miss
Polk found. are poorly equipped as a
whole, some as primitive as one would
expect in Serbia. France failed to
anticipate the war by storing supplies
and cataloGuing possible hospitals. Her
entire energies for time were conCen-
trated on the military end. surgical
far short of the demand. Trained
nurses were few. When thousands OF
wounded began TO arrive from the front
daily. their housinc and care had
naturally TO be done in rough emery
ency fashion. Conditions have now
greatly improved, Vet there is not a
village in France without its quota OF
convalescents
The hospitals of Brittany Miss Polk
found often badly furnished ana over
CROWDED In the village Of Qumper
she visited n hospital without, either
gas or running water, without chairs
and without the necessary operating
equipment. The operating table WAS
OF plain wood. and the sterili2!ng had
to he done, as in many of the French
hospitals by improYised ovens. When
the patients arrived after dark, wounds
were dressed and emergency opera
tions done by candle light.
In one hospital at Brcst. the beds
were merely mattresses on boards. In
another. a windowlcss attic badly ven !
ti!ated through its skylichts contained
seventy-hve beds. There were IN all
5000 beds in Brest. but al! patients I
who could be moved were sent away
and a thousand beds added for the
spring quote of wounded.
The shortage in anesthctics and
antiseptics has now been overcome, hut ,
the lack OF instruments is still serious
" felt Miss Polk took descriptive
catalogue of INSTRUMENTS on her tour
and made notes OF the needs of various
hospitals This need WAS often filed !
Immediately by the supplies distr-
huted Pillows blankets, hospital
from the emergency fund have been /
God-sends. In many places even the /
cotton had run out and dressings Of .
used arain. Sterliaed absorbent cot /
ton is n rarity in all the French hos /
pitfalls. and cotton batting is ordinarily
Trained nurses We're few in the cary
part Of the war. apart from the sisters
OF mercy, as France has no training
system, Corresponding with the Eng
even of the hiches, society. have
worked with srea, devotion, doing the
most menial tasks while men and
trained 10 Supplement- the sisrers
Nuns banished by the church separa
ZION act have also been called back
from exile The nurses AZ the Village
or BrooHs were recalled from tho Is
lard O, jersey
patience - ,ik& French wounded sur
died as chttde,t Miss Pix f'S ~ " nan ON.
man WHO had hstn in eight hospitals
the past three months Vet he seemed
cheerful and con'eNfed although no
still had some uneXtracted lead in his