The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1918-05-07
Wounded Men Coming In From mo Mans
Land" Depend on Care Of Red
Cross Nurses
WOMEN ARE PUT
TO RIGID TEST
$500 Volunteers Wanted From Five
States in Southwest for Heroic
Service; Is WOman's War

e-7~-----4
st. Louis, May 7.--That the great
! world war in which America is en-
gagged is a womans war is being
proved every day by American wo-
men themselves; it being proved by
the brave and tender-hearted nurses
of the American Red Cross, the wo-
men who are going across the seas
to minister to the boys in khaki who
fall in that most terrifying of hells,
the dread territory known as No
Mans Land.
Tho nursing department of the
American Red Cross was the only de.
partment Of this great organization
that was organized for thorough SER
vice when war was declared. Since
the beginning of the war the depart
ment has supplied full nursing per-
sonnel to each of the hospitals i'll
every cantonment, has placed in ser
vice in France 100 nurses with each
base hospital unit; has modified
since January 1, 1918 an additional
1000 nurses for European service
and has placed about 70 public health
nurses in sanitary zones surrounding
the camps.
When consideration is given Che
fact that every Red Cross nurse in
France and Italy saves 500 additional
soldiers the tremendous responsible
ity resting upon the department of
nursing may be realized. That this
figure is correct is attested by COM
manders of the French, British and
American armies in the field who
even now are sending calls to Ameri-
ca for more nurses Two thousand
five hundred nurses must be sent
from the southwestern division of
the American Red Cross by January
] next; COS must be sent from this
division comprising the states OF
Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, Oklaho-
ma and Texas, before June l.
This most remarkable opportunity
for women of the southwest to serve
their fellow man was summed up to-
day in an interview with Miss LYDIA
Anderson, director of nursing service
of the southwestern division. Miss
Anderson lives Red Cross nursing ser
vice. In the war zone when war was
declared, she yisualized conditions as
they are and her whole time and eff
fort is given to enlisting another
nurse to save Il certain 500 men
whom she visualizes in the trenches
| then another nurse for another 500
and so on to the end of the war
! Speaking Of the absolute necessity
for the enrolment of Cos nurses in
the southwestern division before
June and $500 before January /
Miss Anderson said:
"The southwestern division ha;
5S46 registered nurses, of these 110(
are enrolled in the Red Cross and oi
the 11O6, 519 are in service. AS the
knowledge of the great need fol
their service reaches the nurses they
readily respond Many are physic
ally disqualified and though they may
be well able to remain active in theil
private practice cannot pass the rig
! id physical examination for army ser
/ vice. This eliminates such a larg'
number that it becomes evident tina
every graduate American nurse VIII
is eligible physically and meets 9th
er requirements of the Red Cros
must prepare herself now to give ac
tive military service within the mex
few months. We MUST meet thi
demand of our government and thi
means that every eligible nurse o
our country will be in military ser
vice. here or in Europe, by Januar
1, 1919.
"The nursing department to dis
charge this most vital duty put upo
! it, namely, providing nursing care t
the wounded and at the same tim'
as near as possible, keep the hom
: line unbroken, urges the closest c'
operation and support Of every patr
otic American.