Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1918-04-12

of all army hospitals shows
M that an American woman
Mrs. Zalma Bradley Lee,
formerly Of Baltimore and
IlsSI New York-operates a hos
lTN pital having the lowest
mortality rate of all the in
situations In France.
Although the hospital of Mrs. Brad
lev Lee at Creil Is for contagious
cases-and nearly every patient is also
suffering from wound or from gas
besides-the death rate is only little
more than 3 per cent.
Having received the bronze and sill
yer medals Of honor for services for
la Patrie, Mrs. Bradley Lee has now
been proposed for the gold medal and
will be decorated with it when she
takes possession of her new hospital.
French army engineers are building
this hospital with a capacity of 800
beds, on the hill just south Of this
town, which is the principal base and
depot of the Army of the North ana
Centre.
Nearly 5000 men have passed
through Mrs Bradley Lees hospital
during the three years she has had it,
and the beautiful American woman
has been seen at the bedside of every
one of the hundred-odd men who have
died there, ministerlng to him until
the end.
Mrs. Bradley Lee Is the widow of
David Bradley, and a descendant OF
Gen. Robert K. Lee. She has lived in
France for some years, owning hand
some chateau near Chantilly. At the
beginning of the war she served as
a nurse and assistant on an army au-
tomobile carrying portable N-ray
machine.
In those early days of the great
struggle the hospital arrangements
for wounded had not been organized
and few X-ray machines were availa-
BILE anywhere near the front. SO they
were taken from hospitals and labora-
tories in Paris, mounted in big high
powered cars and sent tearing along
photographs were made of wounded
soldiers.
The X-ray ambulance squad to
which Mrs. Bradley Lee was attached
worked along the Flanders front dur
Ing the terrible battle of the User,
when the Germans were trying to
break through to the Channel ports,
Gnd during the first battle of Ypres,
when attempts We're made to drive a
wedge between the French army and
the British expeditionary force.
Wounded by She'll Splinter.
In November of 1914 Mrs. Bradley
lee was wounded by shell splinter,
t1st behind the User line, as her n
ray automobile convoy was approach
Ing a field hospital to photograph n
number of Belgian, British and
French soldiers in whom were frag-
ments of bullets and steel. After Mrs.
Bradley Lee was wounded general
order was issued by the allied armies
prohibiting women in Red Cross work
frofh going so near the fighting area
as to be under fire.
MIS-. Bradley Lees wound proved
only slight, and in January, 1915, she
opened her hospital for contagious
cases here, only a few miles from her
chateau at Chantlily. In the three
years that have elapsed she has not
slept once under her owR roof, and
has only visited her home score of
times year to inspect it and obtain
new outfits Of clothing and other
necessaries. She has been to Paris
only half dozen times in the three
years, and was then on business with
the ministry for health. She has not
taken single day off" since the hos
pital was opened.
Owing to it's Importance as a mill
tary base and army headquarters,
Creil is one Of the hardest towns
along the front for any civilian to 20
to. Before the war it was the juno
ton point where passengers from
England, who had come down by rail