The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1915-10-05
TEACH TRADES TO
CRIppLES OF WAR
Vienna Has Thriving Univer-
sity For the Manned.
new COURAGE IS INSPIRED.

vvVTNiVH nSObo W s'ShkotIOV WITT
tain Faculties For Thirty three Diff
fsrsnt Occupations.
A university for cripples has oeen
founded In Vienna to care intelligently
for wars most tragic output Branches
will probably be established. Crippled
soldiers come from all over the central
empire to study, no matter what their
race or profession. In the laboratories
they are equipped with the finest arti-
ficial limbs. in the gymnasium they
learn to use them, In the sun rooms
and baths the more sensitive wounds
are nursed, In the workshops the men
are taught, II possible, to continue their
old professions, and in the classrooms
they listen to lectures upon that sub
ject 80 important to them-the science
of living a full life with a depleted
equipment %
From everywhere they come, friend
and enemy, poor and rich. The chief
surgeon. kindly army doctor Of fifty,
examines personally each new arrival
as the master sculptor examines his
blocks and marble He considers what
he can make of each man and writes
his report. Then the repair work be-
gins.
New Hope Comes to Him.
Fancy the metamorphosis which
takes place. A one legged soldier IL
brought in upon stretcher He is in
clined to curse the bullet which. in
stead of killing, condemned him to mis-.
cradle existence. But vaguely he be-
gins to feel consolation In the precise.
confident remarks Of the doctor. He
is carried to the laboratory to be meas
ured for new leg. He sees his fel-
low soldiers who have suffered similar
misfOrtunes and who are already cheer
full. Every one is energetic and opti-
mistic. The next morning he sees his
leg being made. He watches the doc
tor carefully finishing off every rough
spot with file. The ft must be exact
up to the fraction of millimeter. He
sees the gymnasiums near by filed
with cripples learning to use their arti-
fetal arms and legs. He listens to a
lecture on the art of walking with a
wooden leg. the various dangers and
| the various cautions to be observed.
| New hope comes to his heart.
He must learn to walk just as child
learns. First he receives plain wood
en- stump. upon which he hobbies slow
ly and painfully. AS he becomes more
skillful he is equipped with an arti-
fetal leg. which follows the form of
the human leg in every detail. If the
leg has been amputated above the knee
| there is an artificial knee joint. which
he bends by means of Il string attac he'd
| ly as he walks. In a week he is hob
bling about quite well, to the inspira-
ton of those who are not yet out of
bed. His gloomy thoughts have turned
to ambition to resume his work. And
| gradually he becomes confident even
of doing this. No one despairs, for the
doctors and teachers have proved how
the one legged truckman can still drive
his truck, how the one armed joiner
can handle the saw and hammer, how
the one legged farmer can run the
! plow. how the one armed engineer can
draw and design. and, In short. how
every one Of them can accomplish Ger.
tain definite work for which the world
is willing to pay.
| Many Occupations Represented.
The working rooms contain facilities
for thirty-three different occupations
Every one learns or releaiahs q trade
A glance into the carpentry room
shows a throng of soldiers planning
hammering. saving and filing, to al
intents and purposes in perfectly
normal manner. Only upon close in
spectiOn are the defects visible. The
man. for instance, planning the board
has only one arm. With carefully
constructed hook attached to the am
putated stump he manages to hold the
board In position as firmly as ever ht
could before. Another man. with his
right hand amputated just above The
wrist. Is actually saving with his right
arm. He wears a nicely formed arti
fetal hand, which buckles tightly upon
the saw handle. He declares 1t is con
VChicnl DcSuUSt uc uoSo hOt nave u
bother about aching fingers and d
weakening grip. At the next table
stands Croat reservist. Early In the
winter he helped stave off Russian
attack. In the course of which bayo
net cut through his right hand. sever
ing nearly all the tendons After the
wound healed he was able to move
only his middle finger. He now wears
a special glove with the fingers linked
together, so that when he moves the
middle finger the Others move with Il
automatically. 1t was painful mt first
but he is gradually becoming Injured
the middle finger is growing stronger
and the other fingers are being grad
ually trained to move by themselves
There are scores of similarly ingenious
contriyances which speak much for the
Inv AuffVQ ability Of the doctors