The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1915-05-27
LACK OF CARE
BRINGS DEATH
TO = 'USANDS
Typhus Victims and 8 I'd Sol.
diers Lie in Camps of st. y. TIL
out Proper Medical Atte.. y
HUNDREDS ARE DYING DAl.
Situation Without Parallel-Physic-
ians Die While Giving Aid-Ap-
peal is Made for Material.
BY HENRY WOOD.

Nish, Serbia, April 24-(By mail
to New York. )-Fifty thousand ty-
phus victims and wounded soldiers
lie in hospitals and isolation camps
in Serbia today without even a bed
or cheap mattress to ease their suf-
fering, stretching out on the ground
or the hard floor Their condition
is shocking. Thousands Of those
diseased sufferers are still clothed in
the same germ-infested garments
they wore when they were first
brought in. There is nothing here
to replace them.
Hundreds of fever patients are
dying daily from lack of thermom-
eters to ascertain the seriousness of
their condition. There is a crying
need for gauze for the wounded, for
clean clothing for the typhus vic
Tins, for beds, for mattresses, for
blankets, for all sorts of medical
supplies and surgical Instruments
for the simplest thing that will give
the heroic little band of physicians
and Red Cross nurses an even chance
in the fight against death.
Lieut.. Col. V. M. Scubotich, head
of the Serbian Red Cross, detailed
these conditions to me today. He
asked the United Press to make an
appeal both to the American govern
ment and the American people for
additional aid for the disease raided
kingdom.
1.-The situation in Serbia is with
out parallel" said the Red Cross
leader 1--WE had in our hospitals a
few days ago 46,9O2 patients and the
number was steadily increasing OF
these 7,7O4 are soldiers recovering
from battle wounds. Nearly all the
remainder are typhus victims. And
these figures do not take into account
the sweep Of the epidemic through
the civilian population where there
must be at least 100000 cases. With
our independence at stake we must
look first to our army
Serbia does not lack food. But.
medical, surgical and hospital sup
plies needed to fight a tremendous
plague. We have 113 hospitals
where victims are under treatment.
Not one Of them has a complete set
Of instruments.
For both the military and civil
population we have had since the
beginning of the. war just 400 doc
tors. This number includes all the
Serbian physicians and those sent to
us by other nations OF this little
band, los have died of the typhus
The others are risking their lives
every day in an unequal fight lack
ing medical and surgical equipment
1--WE have urgent need right now
of 100000 yards of gauze. We
need 100000 pairs of white shirts
and drawers SO that when typhus vic
their infected clothing and give
them other clothing, clean and fresh.
We need $4,000 beds, the same num-
Der of mattresses and pillows, $1,000
blankets and $1,000 sacks that we
can fill with straw and use as beds.
Then, too, there is pressing need
for artificial limbs and artificial eyes
for the soldiers wounded in battle
. contributions of all kinds, both
in money and supplies can be made
to Prof. Pupinm, the Serbian consul
general at New York, who will ar
range for their forwarding. We need
money, need it badly"