The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1918-09-10
MISS NIGHTINGALE'S WORK
INSPIRED THE RED CROSS

She died only four years before
this great war and she was called
the Lady with Tampa lamp des-
tined to shine for ages at time.
When British soldiers were dying OF
neglect in military hospitals and the
British nation was startled with the
horror of the cry Of the perishing at
Scutari, 1t was a beautiful, cultured
woman that answered the cry.
And from this woman's inspiration
has grown all the Red Cross societies
of the world. May 10, was the 9Sth
anniversary of her birth.
Florence Nightingale went out ike
an angel to the Crimean war. She
scourged corruption and uncleanli-
ness from the hospitals, she gave
food to the starving, clothes to the
naked. comfort to the sufferers. She
made the hospital place OF heal
ing, not a foul couch on which fam
ished, fevered victims We're thrown
to death.
1t was a wonderful work that she
did, this quiet, scholarly woman from
a secluded English drawing room.
One can almost believe that as Joan
of Arc heard spiritual voices calling
her. so Florence Nightingale, too.
heard voices speaking to her soul.
For all that she did was done against
probability, against the wishes of her
friends and against puglc opinion.
Born In Florence In 1920.
She was born in Florence on May
l5, 1920, and was named after her
birthplace. and she died eight years
ago on Aug. 10. 1910. at the age of
rich
Her mother was kind, clever and
charming, bu. she did not In the least
understand her daughter.
Florence did not really understand
herself. She was brilliantly educat-
ed; she became an accomplished lin
guist and musician, witty and
graceful letter writer, and she
thought deeply about politics and re
ligion. She travelled in Europe, she
went to Egypt, studying not only the
treasures of art unveiled before her,
but human life and suffering. too.
1t was this study OF suffering that
moved in her the desire TO take up
nursing. She saw the enormous
need for organized nursing. There
was her call. But her parents would
not hear Of it. The idea that deli
cately nurtured young lady should
go out as a nurse was preposterous
and horrifying to them and so it
seemed to everybody she consulted
about it. In spite Of great opposi-
ton she managed to study at various
hospitals in England and Paris. At
last she approached her hearts de-
sire by securing an appointment as
principal of a sanatortum for COVER
nesses in Harley street. She was
there when the Crimean war broke
out.
The English troops were sent to
the Crimea and such a wretched apol-
ogy for hospitals as they had was
established on the spot, but the
Turks made over to them certain
buildings at Scutari, on the eastern
shore of the Bosphorus, opposite
Constantinople. To get the sick and
wounded from the battlefield to
Scutari took eight days, and quar-
ter OF the men who made the voy-
age died on the horrible ships. At
Scutari the commonest appliances OF
a workhouse sick ward were want
ing.
Two FatefM Letters.
One day a strange thing happened.
The British army had neved recog-
nized the existence of women nurses,
but one morning two letters on the
subject crossed in the post. One was
from Florence Nightingale, suggest
ing that she should go out with two
or three nurses at no cost to the ma
ton: the other was from the hus-
band OF the lady she was writing to
and was addressed to Miss Nightin-
gale, suggesting that she should go
out at the expense of the govern
ment. The man who wrote to Miss
Nightingale was Sidney Herbert, a
IN ember of parliament, who held an
appointment at the war office. He
and his wife were friends of Miss
Nightingale, knowing her ambitions,
and they felt that her hour had come.
She was appointed superintendent
'of the women's nursing establish
ments In the English hospitals in
Turkey. She started with thirty
eight nurses. some well trained some
not-good, bad and Indifferent, the
best that could be got in the time
available. Her mastery organizing
powers asserted themselves at once.
After travelling across France she
took ship at Marseilles and there laid
in a great store OF all manner of
needful things
The task before her would have
appalled, most women, but 1t only
served to inspire her with firmer
determination. There were several
hos pitfalls at Scutari, some bad, others
worse, none good. Their were five
more hospitals to which she after
ward went, all hon -ible. Her own
description of the hospitals at Sou
tart may suffice.
Hospitals Were Pesthouses.
The hospitals were 7esthouses and
beneath them were open cespools,
through which the wind blew sewer
gas into the wards and corridors. The
beds and clothing teemed with in
credible vermin, the place abounded
with rats, and one of Florence Night
ingale's first achievements was to
make herself an epert rat catcher,
silently killing the rodents as they
scuttled along the beams over the
heads of her patients at night.
The first thing the lady-in-chief did
was 10 go down on her hands and
lynaac and ecr1tl1 the floors and then