Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1916-01-19
TOMMY IS A STO|C
Battle Wounds Fail to Shake
British Soldier.
Doctor Gets New Conception OF WORD
Patriotism in Caring for Wounded
at the Front-Medicai Service
Highly Efficient.


Chicago.-"The Miracle of the
| Fighting Men, suggests itself as
| pretty good caption for the following
interview, writes Charles N. Wheeler
in the Chicago Tribune.
Doctor Chancellor was one OF the
| Chicago unit that crossed over last
| June to take charge of base hospital
I'D near the French fighting line. Only
English wounded and sick were
brought to this hospital.
The doctor had six months of it
not all of the time in the base hos
| pital.
In the sector in which Doctor Chan
| cellor was working they had accom-
modations for some 10000 wounded
and sick. In his own base hospital,
forty miles back from the first line
of trenches, they cared for 1000 I'M
der normal conditions.
After one of the drives they
crowded it up to 1,500.
THE human mind is a wonderful
thing" said Doctor Chancellor while
resting at his club.
Il don't know just how many thou
sand wounded we handled. But in the
six months did not hear single con-
seious man groan. 1t was the same
with the seriously wounded-not a
| sound or protest. Only those who
had been rendered unconscious gave
expression to the shock. 1t was in
voluntary.
THE English boys took their medi-
| cine quietly. 1t was strange revela-
tion-this modern type of the Spartan.
I'm the six months, working all the
time among the wounded and the sick,
| / didn't hear a single man swear. /
didn't hear single loud voice.
And there was no fear anywhere.
II thought l knew what was meant
by the word patriotism. had no con-
ception of it until we got to work be-
hind the trenches.
Some of the men were badly hit
| The wounds made by shells were
nasty. But not a whimper out of one
of them-except the unconscious.
They asked no questions, offered no
protests-simply did what you told
them-did it with no thought of the
| death that was all around them.
For their country was the only
| thought that possessed their minds
| The ordinary human thoughts had left
them almost entirely.
Il have no idea Of how long the war
is going to run. l have no means of
| knowing what the resources of the bel
| ligerents are or what the programs
! are.
"All l know is that the British on
this front will fight as long as they
get ammunition and food, and they
will fight, if they can get ammunition.
without much concern about the regu-
larity Of the meals.
THE whole world seems to know
now about the French. Wonderful
people they are. Their inspiration is
beyond us ordinary mortals They
die gladly and quietly. Their invo-
cations are all for beautiful France.
Il was educated for time in Ger
many and l know something of the
great efficiency of the German medical
staff. But / don't think Germany out
classes in this war the French and
English medical department, for the
latter is about as near perfect as hui
man brains can make it.
I'VE had no typhoid. That is very
important statement at this time. How
is it accounted for? Vaccination and
patriotism. The men stand in muddy
trenches, but they are out in the open.
They think only of their country-of
the empire.
THAT was the big surprise for all of
us-no typhoid. The medical organi-
cation of the r. A. M. c. is most ex-
traordinary. 1t is simply efficiency
built on commor-sense methods, We
had no new method, no new an
| esthetics, no new antiseptics. We
used chloroform on the battlefield and
ether back in the hospitals.
| But every trench vas supplied with
| pure water, mostly artesian We used
some river water. but it was all fl
/ tered.
No raw vegetables or fruit were al
lowed.
| Everything had to be cooked. Ev-
cry pint Of milk was boiled before 1t