Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1916-08-23
Marvellous Nep Cure
in French Hospital


l have been to a hospital mot here. but
IN Paris. before my return here) where L
saw the most wonderful cures wrought
on suffering men that ! have ever seen IN
my life. Indeed. the whole thing Is such
a miracle that 1t is hard to write collec-
lively about II, and l know you WILL ac-
cuse me in any case of eXaggeration until
you see the photographs ] am sending.
They don't lie! Unless you see them or
the men with your own eyes you think the
one who tells you must be drawing upon
a vivid Imagination. l did until l went
myself.
1t is q small annex of an immense hos
pital where burns and frozen hands and
feet are treated, and there ! saw II men
(here were more) who had had burning
tar played upon them by the most recently
perfected device of their so-called civilized
enemy. CThe allies won't use IT'D When
they reached the hospital. the tar was still
burning, their clothes We're burned Off.
Don't think l went out Of curiosity.
Heaven forbid! l went to see this marVe-
lous cure and to try to interest others In
1t. And l went moving that 1t would be
Intensely painful to witness. Mr.. w. said
yestcrlay-he went to visit the hospital
at my suggestion-that he considered 1t
The greatest discovery since chloroform.
and every other person with whom l have
talked has come away marveltng.
l hardly know where to begin.
We went first to see the dressing done
upon those whose feet and hands had been
frozen at Verdun, men who had been lying
on watch, mmobi for days. moving
neither hands nor feet for fear of being
discovered by the enemy, along a part of
the lines where trenches are impossible
because OF swarnpy soil. Have you ever
seen g~angrenous feet or hands? Do you
know what things OF horror they can be-
come? Do you know what the odor of
gangrene is? And do you know that al
most always the foot or hand, If not the
whole limb. must be amputated? Then
you viii know something az the wonder
when L tell you that OF all the dozens and
dozens sent to this surgeon only one had
to have his legs alnputated. and of the
others only a few lost their toes, and these
because they had been first treated In 9TH
er ways at other hospitals. and time had
been lost before they reached his. We saw
the dressing being done. 1t took great
courage to look. Ordinary wounds are
nothing to these. But not a man flinched
or cried out, because not one suffered
pain! And that was why I could stand 1t.
One man talked to me in English. He
had been a waiter In a New York hotel.
He talked calmly and smilingly while his
dreadful feet were being painted with a
white. waxy liquid. (This is the wonder OF
which l am to tell you later). Another
lay on q stretcher rolling a bandage un-
concernedly while they dressed his
stumps. Does 1T hurt?" 1 asked. mo- al
ALL" he replied; but before l reached
here" There were others and others. all
with the same sort Of hands and fetal
cheerful and interested in their own cases
all witnessing to the fact that they felt
no pain, all fast recovering.
And then we came to the burning tai
cases. One doctor told me hat 1t was
considered the most terrible form OF sui
fering. j fear you could not stand 1t II
should describe them In detail. When
caught sight OF the first of them. I coulc
not believe my senses. l could not believe
that any man In such a state could be hv.
ing. My Indignation vas the one feeling
uppermost, and l exclaimed aloud to the
nearest surgeon. WI did you not free
him from suffering?' (Meaning, why
cid you not kill him?" And he knew what
meant). His reply was. w have frees
him from his suffering" And do 70
know, will you believe. that very man.
tina apparent wreck, every feature OF