Ripley County democrat., 1917-03-23

" 105QO0 troops were mobiliEed for
service, there developed In the various
camps 20.700 cases of typhoid feYer. re-
shifting In many deaths. Last summer,
when 148O00-almost twice as many
troops were mobilized for service along
the Mexican border, only IA cases OF
typhoid fever developed. The circum.
stances, In d general way, were similar.
Men were taken from a temperate cli-
mate to warmer climate and were as
sembled In large camps.
The remarkable decrease IN the num-
Der Of cases Of typhoid fever was due
to nothing more nor Less than the
adoption Of proper methods Of sanita-
tion. The medical corps Of the army
saw the mistakes of the Spanish-Amer-
lean war and proflted by them, It IL
for the further development Of such
improved methods that the medical
section is now striving.
Lessons From European War.
in this connection object lessons are
being derived daily from the war In
Europe. Hundreds Of reports are be-
ing received from medical officers.
mostly Americans, who are at the bat
tie fronts and In hospitals. as mem
bers Of the American ambulance corps
and with various Red Gross units
These refer to the new ways of hand
ling the III and wounded, the treatment
of wounds on the battle fields and In
hospitals. AL Of these suggestions ere
being tabulated for use In the future.
Out Of them the committee hopes to de-
yelop a thoroughly up-to-date system
Tor the United States.
For example, one Of the suggestions
which is regarded as highly practical is
that for conveying wounded soldiers
back from the battle lines to far dis
tant hospitals without removing them
from the stretchers on which they first
are placed. This Is accomplished by
an Interchange of stretchers, q very
simple method which never had been
put In operation before. In this way
the strength Of the patient, an impor.
tant factor for the assistance Of his
recovery, is conserved.
When soldier is placed on O
stretcher Of the battle line he 10 car
ried to a waiting ambulance. The am.
bulance. in turn, receiving the patient,
does not place him on one of Its owp
stretchers, but gives o stretcher to the
men who have carried the man. II the
ambulance drives to q hospital train.
which is the general custom where the
railroad lines are intact almost to the
trenches, the train gives the ambulance
a stretcher. accepting at the same time
the man and the stretcher on which
he Is being carried. This system works
throughout the system Of transporta.
ton, so that q British soldier arriving
In London, perhaps on the same day
he Is wounded, arrives on the same
stretcher that was at the battle front
It also Is the aim of the commission
to work out system Of modern hos,
pital trains, carrying wounded soldiers
as far from the battle front as possible,
out Of the why of the operations and
to place where his recovery is most
likely. Delicate operations cannot al.
ways be conducted on these trains, but
IT is possible to do certain things which
are important In saving Q mans life
such as stopping the dow Of blood
from broken artery, the amputatiop
llof an arm or leg or the like
To Learn Full Medical Rssourpes.
When the commission obtains full
list Of medical officers throughout the
country they will be asked to supply
elaborate statistics on the medical re,
eources Of the various states. hospitals
schools for the re-education Of wound.
ed soldiers, and factories equipped
to manufacture medical supplies. The
question Of finding schools is one Of the
great eonaldeyations. Men who have
been blinded will be taught to become
self-snstaining at some new line o.
work; men without arms win be In.