The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1917-06-02
Woman War Doctor
Is a Contribution
Made BY England

"The woman war doctor is the pc
culiar contribution of England" we
are told by well-known publication
that has investigated the subject. The
history of English women on the field
in this war has been of hospitals
stated from the head of the medical
staff to the lowest orderly by women.
There have been literally thousands
of these women. OF nurses alone TO-
900 are spoken Of at one time and
there is no public record OF how many
there have been since. Besides the
stating of the hospitals women have
gone out as cooks and to work in
other capacities in the camps. In the
list of almost 5000 persons named by
Sir Douglas Haig last summer for
gallant and distinguished conduct In
the field are many women, and in rec
ognition of their numbers the king
ordered that in future the military
medal be given to women.
Like the French and German nurs-
es the English nurses and doctors
were killed at the post of duty. Nurs-
les in hospital ships torpedoed by
the enemy responded CALAMITY to the
order "Women first" by claiming
their privilege and duty Of seeing the
sick and wounded taken off first, and
SO, many nurses lost their lives.
itary titles are given. For the most
part the women doing the same work
do not have this recognition, though
a few do bear the title Of colonel or
captain. The titles were grudgingly
given, indeed the services of the
women were grudgingly accepted at
first by the British war ONCE. 1t was
not till the French accepted the Eng
lish women's hospital units that the
Eyya0 fa6 arlfhnrifioC IGATnAn their
value.
The Woman's Hospital corps is
another English enterprise. This
group first began work under the
French Red Cross in Paris.
Early in 1915 the English military
authorities awoke to the value OF
these medical women and their
by the French. They made them a
part of the British Medical service
and put DR. Louisa Garrett Anderson
in charge OF a large hospital at Bou-
logne. Subsequently base hospital
at Endell street, London, became one
of the Scottish Women's hospitals. or
DIR. Anderson's hospital, medical OF
fetal said: You have set standard
which is quite unknown even among
the auxiliary hospitals.
In most of these hospitals the whole
staff, housekeeping, ward service
business and medical, are women.
Among the doctSrs in this group Is
one of the few women bearing q MIL
ftary title, Captain Everett McClaren,
of the 3rd Scottish Military hospital.
The field hospitals are for the most
part within the range OF the guns, ana
nurses and doctors are sometimes shot
down at their work. Schwester Mar
ga van Falkenhausen, struck by
bomb in the hospital at Sissone, was
the first of many German nursing
sisters killed or wounded. Schwester
Elfriede Scherhaus was the nrst 70
receive the Iron Cross.
In December. 1915, the frst begin
ming of what is known as the Mill
cent Fawcett hospitals was made.
Two women were sent out to Petro-
grad to take care of maternity cases
among refugees in Russia from tne
care of these poor mothers tne WORK
spread to cover many otner cases
There are now, under Drs. May, King
Atkinson and other women, hos
nitals from Petrograd to Kazen, and
from Kazen to Galicia. They INCLUDE
an infectious hospital for children and
another for soldiers at Volhynia In
7alicia. In the latter place the doc
tors ferreted out concealed cases or
smallpox and prevented an epidemic.
one Enterprise of the Scottish
Wonen's hospitals group which has
been surrounded by danger at every
stem has been their work with the
Gerhians. The first of their Serbian
units was sent out by the French mill
itayv authorities at the end Of 1914
under DIR. Eleanor Soltau, TO take care
If surgical cases at Kragujevatz.