Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1918-07-06

al ONeT dChtt uN lutSe SHAT stAhSS+
leould not scratch myself for fear of op-
Iening up the pimples, but slapped the
places affected, which in truth, was my
entire body.
/ then hastily dressed and ran for a
hospital. On entering the waiting room
of the place found line of perhaps
POO officers waiting, and from the way
they behaved | judged that they were
all affected by the same disease. Many
of them were suffering such a degree
of pain that they were going through
all kinds of gymnastics. And few of
them were rubbing their affected parts
against the WALL like an unwashed ve-
hicle horse.
Ny turn did rot come until l was
ther, well over three hours. On en-
tering the operating room 1 was surpris-
ed to find a score of brother officers, all
of whom were suffering with that dis
ease but at an acute stage of it. Es-
pecially one officer was the victim of
the most cruel stage of the past. His
body from head to foot was lowered
with pale green, dry looking pimples.
The experimenting medical officer or
dered him to another room, from which
room We heard within ten minutes un-
describable cries of agony.
However, | was in the earlier stage
of the disease. l was led to another
room and there saw five tables, four of
which were occupied. Let me make it
plain. These tables are rot tables on
which one can lie; they are no more
than two feet square and only two feet
high. The patient Il. oroeted to stand
ON this table, on which there is pair of
sandals, firmly fastened, while the table
itself is likewise fastened to the floor.
Then the patient is ordered to hold his
arms horizontally, forming the body
into the shape of a cross. An attendant
with brush in hand puts a coat of
some substance around your wrist about
three inches wide. Over tins coating
on the patient s wrist a handcuff about
two inches and a half wide is put. These
handouts are suspended from the low
ceiling with a rope from pulleys, and
the ends of the ropes are fastened to
poles three feet high which are in turn
fastened to the floor, one on the right,
and the other ON the left. Then the
patients arms are hosted until the
body feels as though it is being stretch
ed. Then the same attendant puts g
coat of that abominable substance all
over your body, as though you were o
dirty old statue and he was -kalsomining
you for exhibition. The pain caused by
this brushing is almost beyond human
endurance as it is beyond descriptions
The. body is held so tight, up and down,
that is is impossible for the patient to
twist or wiggle. But the tragedy of it
all is that even after this most horrible
process of torture only very small per
centage of the victims are ever perman,
netly cured. This terrible disease first
appearing in the vicinity of the knees,
spreads all over the body until it reache)
the eyes, the ears, the nose, the mouth
and other raw portions of the body. 1t
Is then that the victim becomes helpless
and the most agonizing death follows.
| submitted to three such torturous
treatments. Even the thought of them
now brings back to my mind the most
horrible mental agony.
II the meantime in the midst of all
these abominable diseases and pestil
ences how some of our higher officer
behave! One would not think that OIL,
ly forty miles from the mainland such
barbarous immortality could be just
fled.
| have heard my friends say that it
costs us more in human life to maintain
the island than we would have lost had
England decided to annihilate it by
dropping several tons of high explos,
ives on that place.
Altogether / was kept on the island
about five weeks. The day before leav-
ing the place | paid visit to the
Dune, a much smaller island situated
about twothirds of a mile to the east of
Heligoland. This smaller island is shan
ed like a club that is slightly ben,
where the handle begins. At the ex
treme east OF the handle there is a pest
house and at the west end of if there is
a madhouse. Both institutions are occu
pied to the full of their capacities. On
the north of the Dune there is a pic.
ture house with sitting capacity of