Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-09-09

are taken; special room for kidney
and bladder cases where everything
must be deliberately sterile a snecial
hydro therapeutic room and a thermo
therapeutic room. Besides this. there
are numerous other small rooms for
specia' surgical cases when an opera
'loh IL l!fc-apd -denth matter The
ship viii also contain bio,o,ic,I
laboratory, dental laboratory, and mn
animal yard where animals will be
Kept Tor testing out certain theories
or germ Infection. In an obscure cor
ncr OF the ship there is TO be a ,norxu,
I connected with the refr.gcratins plant.
where the bodies Of dead officers and
sailors may be preserved and hrough,
back 10 their families at home. instead
or being buried over the side OF the
snip. as was the former custom
me Clvil War marked the birth OF
The naval hospital ship in this coun-
Try During the period from 1862 to
1857. vessel called the Red Rover
was assigned to duty with the Missis-
hippt squadron and took care of almost
1000 patients This was considered
remarkable record at that time, and the
ship itself was believed to be model
in hospital equipment and construction
description of her runs an follows:
she had an ice-box which held 500
tons; bathrooms. laundry. elevator for
tn. sick from lower TO upper deck.
amputatInG-!oom, Iauze blinds 10 the
windows 10 keep c!nders and smoke
from annoying the sick, two separate
Kitchens for sick and well! q regular
corps OF nurses and TWO toilets on
every decki Resides the Red Rover,
many other hospital ships were en-
ployed by the army in the civil war
to remove the sick and wounded from
the scene Of coast battles Three OF
these. still remembered gratefully hy
civil War veterans. were the ID. a.
January. the City OF Memphis and the
Empress.
When the Spanish American War
broke out. there was again the same
lack OF hospital ships. Several were
supplied by patriotic organizations.
such as the D. = r., and the govern
ineut hastily converted small vessels
into hospitals. but the need for a big.
well-equpped hospital ship was evi-
dent \ large merchant vessel called
the Creole was purchased by the navy
and remode!ed with adequate quarters
Tor the wounded, proving especially
valuable in the naval engagement off
Santiago Her name was changed TO
Solace. and this ship is Sill doing hos
pital duty with the Atlantic Fleet.
There are at the present time several
hospital ships belonging 10 private
philanthropists and individuals In the
into the navy in time OF war. There
are. for example. the hospital ships
maintained at New York. Boston and
other large cities TO take care OF the
sick babies OF the crowded tenement
districts Every morning these ships
make detour of the coast and pick up
hundreds OF mothers and babies whom
they take FOR a days outing. bringing
them back at s o'clock, in time to get
another load for the evening. The
majority OF these ships are we'll built
and equipped for hospital duty.
There is one other source OF hos
pital ship, and that is the American
fisheries Within the last decade or
two. many philanthropic persons and
societies have become interested In the
hazardous lives Of American fishermen
and have supplied hospital ships for
the benefit Of these men. 1t is esti-
mated that there are 100000 men en-
ployed in the American fishing indus
try who are daily subjected TO the
risk from storm, accident and disease.
Often the villages are situated in re-
mote locations and the men are I'M
able to procure anything but the crud-
est medical attention. Lately. tho va
rious fishing nations of the world have
taken up the question of caring for
the fishermen, but the United states
has been the first government to con-
tribute equipment 1t has assigned a
revenue cutter with hospital facilities
to the care of its coast fishermen.
Thus the hospital ship is becoming
necessary factor. both in peace and in
war and one has visions of time
when the city hospitals are overcrowd-
ed patients will he hurried to the
wharvcs and hoisted to the upper deck
of n hospital ship. In the meantime,
the war in Europe is demonstrating
| what is needed in this type OF vessel,
and the United States is proiting by
the example. In the future. II war
| should descend upon us. we will have
at least one hospital ship built from
the keel up in our own navy-yard.
with all the cleverest devices that the
surgeons and ship constructors of the
Navy Department could invent for the
better treatment and transportation of
the wounded.