Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1917-05-08

however, successfully organized under
this scheme. and its failure Is believed
certain non-military ideas> and pre1u-
dices into matter which is essentially
military, The nondescript units then
Of military titles and OF the essentials
of military organization, had no place
in any scheme of medical mobilization
organization before they could be made
of use.
The Proclamation Of the President of
made sTea sssp e
WSich should s"nssP SsSe deniss place IL
tar tar Service. It provided that the per-
sonnet rendering aid to the land and
naval forces would constitute q part OF
the sanitary service thereof; that they
and regulations, and should not render
service in the zone Of the front except
in cases of great emergency: This was
ganization Of the central office Of the
American Red Cross so as to divide all
of it's external activities into two de-
han sssvd OF s Sf Wh ha
manitarian activities which had hereto
fore largely monopolized it's attention;
and that of Military Relief; which
should undertake to organize the units
and trainsthe personnel which the medi-
cal departments Of the Army and Navy
should desire to call to their assistance
in time of war.
The military service for the rescue of
the wounded Of armies in the field is di-
vided into three zones. called respective
Base, and that of the Home Country.
The medical service of the zone of the
front is one of first-aid, temporary shell
ter, and transportation of the wounded
to the rear. 1t is manned by the trained
sanitary soldiers of the army. and re-
quires for it's service nearly the entire
personnel of the peace establishment.
The Red Cross units and personnel are
not admitted to this zone.
The medical service of the second
zone, the military base, consists of sick
transport trains and base hospitals. and
is largely manned by a personnel from
civil life, recruited either by the Red
Cross or the Medical Department of the
Army. Its base hospitals are the first
true hospitals encountered by the
wounded man in his journey to the rear.
There for the first time he finds a good
bed with mattress. instead OF cot !;
trained nurses instead of sanitary SOL
diers: and the highly-trained and spe-
cialized practitioners from civil life.
Here he finds quiet and rest. and the
conditions suitable for recovery.
The third zone, that of the home coun-
try. receives the overflow and the con-
valescents from the base hospitals near
the theater If war. In its the civil hos
pitfalls Of the country are sailed into ! use
the medical department may establish
It's medical staff are, with the exception
of few trained administrative officers,
life.
OF this structure the base hospital is
the central span. and tho most impor-
tant contribution which the Red Cross
can make for the safety and comfort of
the wounded. 1t is Immediately and
urgently needed as soon as war is de-
clared; yet because Of its numerous
personnel and massive and costly equip
ment it has never heretofore been pro-
vided in time Of peace Yet. so large
and complex an organization cannot be
personnel. when brought together re-
quire time and training to fall into or
derry adjustment and efficient opera
tiOu, and a chance aggregation of doc
first to be an efficient hospital than a
thousand armed men collected from the
streets can be regarded as an effective
regiment. Likewise. its elaborate equip
ment cannot be purchased in day or a
week. nor vet in a month, especially in
time of war.
We have attempted to shorten this
period of organization by going to a
civil hospital of the largest size and or
ganizing from it's staff of physicians
and of nurses unit in which the in
customed to work together, and can
thus be expected to do team work from
the beginning. This scheme has neces-
sarly limited the creation of base hos
pitfalls to the great cities, where there
are great civil hospitals. and where also
there are rich and active Red Cross
Chapters which can raise the money, for
their equipment. We are undertaking
to provide the purely medical equip
ment, which does not include the hous-
ing of the hospital or the housing of its
personnel. for each base hospital which
is organized. This medical equipment
costs about $4,000. not including the
supplies of hospital garments. hospital
linen and surgical dressings which are
rihllttal nv committees of women
and which have a money value of from
$1,000 to $4,000 for each hospital. Base
hospitals are Immediately necessary as
soon as war comes and active military
operations begin, and the Field Service
Regulations require that every Division
of troops shall have at least one of 500
beds. Yet at the beginning of the pres
ent year no base hospital was organized
or i'll process of organization in this
country. 1t is for this reason that the
organization of these units was the
first request made by the Surgeons Cen
eral of the Army and Navy of the Red
Cross as soon as the new Department
of Military Relief was organized on the
18th of January of this year.
This request has been met by the Gre
alton of Il base hospitals for the Army.
whose organization is either complete or
have been authorized but in which
progress has for one reason or another
been delayed. Fifteen of these hospitals
have already the money subscribed for
needs are much less because being the
first line of defense it is always on a
war footing and but little capable of
expansion, three base hospitals have
been authorized, at Brooklyn. Philadel-
phia and Los Angeles. respectively. of
which the first has its organization COM
plete and it's equipment in course Of be-
ing purchased.
The equipment of an Army base hos
pital, with its beds, mattresses. furni-
ture. and all the utensils for housekeep-
ing. is very bulky. When stored it oc-
cupies. with the necessary alleywayS. a
little over 10000 cubic feet. Its stor-
age, therefore, Is serious problem.
AS this elaborate equipment has been
Medical Department of the Army in war
it has appeared to the National Office
only reasonable that the War Depart
ment should furnish it storage room
and protection. and this has been urged
persistently upon the military authori-
ton. The War Department, however, is
only provided with storage room for
the military supplies of very much
smaller army than that now author lied
and anticipates also the necessity of u.s.
ing all of the buildings under its con-
troll, even in the abandoned posts. for
the housing Of the enlarged Aarmy: so
that there has been much difficulty in
arriving at a satisfactory arrangement
Recently. however, a good beginning
has been made by the permission given
by the War Department to the Red
ungarrisoned post of Fort Schuyler
in New, York. on Long Island Sound
These buildings, after certain neces-
sary repairs. will accommodate the
equipment Of the New York units
and possibly those now assembled at