The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1916-08-15
KANSANS IN AMBULANCE CORPS
RY HERBERT FLINT.
800 vovrnaI correspondent

/. = ;,tarested in the relleI "OiN
,oans are doing here in Paris Nis''o0
1,asterday the magnificent Aiiiei -
-,,,fntained hospital and ambulance
..s-,-,,;ce located at Neuilly on the osiiie
49, ;,,sti+,tion consists of a large nos
,i+s1 and two branches of ambulance
work. one locally in Paris to take carr
~ wounded sent here from the 1rohl'
sna mother section under fire at the
'front.' taking wounded away from eiie
first line trenches. ,.,,, after
tbe war started by prominent amer
cans in Paris, who have been aoiS ~
yat enough American money ~
finance what is really very Dig ~
5ertaLing. The directors secured va VIA
.,ar designed to be a small conese
- the west edge of the city. not then
mite ready for occupation, and there
thev have installed a modern hospltal
and the offices of the ambulance serV+
ice Everything had to be fltted CUT
before the place was Oh any use-
ofcal supplies beds, bedding, aInpu-
iances nurses, doctors, and so on, even
10 nutting an elevator into the build
ing to save carrying the WOUNDED up
stairs on stretches, at once a palhlu
and difficult task
Few Elevators There.
You see, there are very rev eIeva-
Il
hospital is able to take care OF at least
$50 patients, though at present 1t con-
tains about $50. On an average there
Is one attendant to every three pa
tients, giving the hospital a volunteer
force of about 200 people, principally
Americans with some French, Eng
lish. and Belgians included, particu-
larly among the nurses.
went through the hospital some
what hurriedly but would not be
afraid from what saw to trust myself
in its care if | were badly smashed up.
In fact. this hospital takes only very
serious cases from the front. On the
first floor l found nothing but the
wfckedest sort of compound fractures.
Boy From Toledo.
OF course 1 visited young Barrier of
the Verdun ambulance section, who
about d month ago got about thirty
fragments of a shell into his back and
was given up for dead at first. He
y is a college boy from Toledo and looks
like a II year old. OF course ne re-
ceived the highest war decoration pos
sibie for a soldier to receive from the
French government, but with Il all
he is a very modest and likeable chap
and very glad to see stray American
visitors. He is now able to operate a
wheel chair and will soon be out walk
ing around.
Among the volunteers, l found all
sorts of interesting people, many of
them from the ruined parts OF
now controlled by the Germans. One
fellow who formerly ran goods store
at Lille is here with his former Jerks
in charge of the bath room depart
ment where the wounded are hathed,
q rather responsible position for a
goods merchant and his tailor assist
ants. The Cockney has invented some-
thing new to military hospitals
stretcher on which badly wounded
men can be given complete bath in
a ha Wit least
disturbing their injuries. This is a
wonderful improvement over the old
agonizing method of bathing helpless
persons right in bed. Consequently
the Cockney has gained considerable
publicity by his ingenuity. another
helper in the operating room, the man
who showed me about. l took toT an
inferno trained to the hospital game.
found he is a tailor by profession,
but has been here for sixteen months
giving his services free
Ambulance Service.
she ambulance service is the most
'sDtacular part of the American aid
ing rendered in France. This has
- divisions, the Paris section and
ne one at the front. The boys in
Paris volunteer for three months end
imply distribute wounded from the
aims to the various hospitals ia the
~.
Among these boys is Alfred Wadell
OF Ottawa Kan, K L. 1914. ard a
preacher by the name of Nance from
Hutchinson. Clarence Castles. an
Atchison boy, now a Kansas Rhodes
scholar at oxford, has also seen serv-
ice here. but is at present in Italy.
Naturally the ambulance service al
the front is more of the real thing. Its
general director is A. Piatt Andrew
among other things former professor
at Harvard and treasurer of the Amer
lean Red Cross | may say that An
drew is the finest sort of fellow
and personally is doing much to show
the French that the whole American
nation is not ohlivious to the fact thai
France is fighting our battle. Andrew
directs some 800 American volunteers
in this service, principally from A.
different colleges. Harvard leads in
the number sent. with Yale, Princeton
University of Virginia. Dartmouth anC
Michigan high up. These fellows have
TO serve at least six months. buy theil
own uniforms, pay their own wa!
over, but receive their living here.
Adventures Not Wanted.
I asked Andrew why most of hi
men were college boys. rah rahs whom
one does not usually associate will
rough and dangerous work. In fact
his volunteers are not at all the classe
of adventures and reckless daredevil
that one might expect to enlist TO
work where one may at any time stol
a German shell. 1t turned out tina
these drivers are picked men wiz
must come with the highest recon
mendations.
Adventures strictly are not wanted
and those that creep in are soon weed
I'D out Andrews wants fellows VIII
are here for work for France. able t
stand a lot of hard work and at tn
same time truly representative. H
cited the case of a young fellow VIII
vas dropped from the service for to
much liking for booze. The adventur
or has tried in vain to re-enter tn
ambulance and now in desperation |
going into aviation as last chance
In other words. the young fellow
who drive Fords up to the iron
trenches at Verdun under cover Q