Omaha daily bee., 1918-12-15

When Aladdin gave new lamps fol
old he did nothing very wonderful
But when humanity, sympathizne
with the misiortunes of others, re
places war-torn, scared faces with
new-when it hides honorable dis.
fgurations gained in the defense Of
liberty-then there is story worth
while the telling.
This, then, is the story of "Old
Faces For New" 1t is a recital pa
thetic and pitiable; it is a tale OF
mems glory and woman's devotion;
it is song of sympathy and hui
manity-of practical Christianity
of materialized altruism.
Since time began wounds received
in battle were considered badges OF
honor. Men gloried in them; wom-
en- admired. But that was before the
coming of modern armament-of
shell and shrapnel-of mines and
poison gas. In those other, more
humane days, scars of battle wounds
were considered sacred. As the late
William Shakespeare-or was it
Bacon?-said: HE laughs at scars
who never felt a wound"
Things Have Changed.
But things have changed since
then. Not that scars are not marks
of respect, but some mutilations are
so repulsive as to evoke horror
mixed with pity. Wounds in the
face and head leave the ugliest
marks. In the present war hundreds
and thousands of fine men have
been torn and mutilated until they
scarce resemble human beings.
Photographs received in this country
show men with their lower jaws
shot away, with their lips torn off,
with half their face gone.
1t is these men who were a prob
lem for their fellow men. They
the mutiles, as the French call them
most aptly-had the sympathy of
their friends-of the grateful public
But something more tangible than
sympathy was Notwithstanding
which would hide their awful scars
and designations. To replace a
missing arm or leg or hand or foot it
is easy enough. But to replace a
face or the part of one-that was a
real problem.
And a woman solved that prob
leml 1t is true that mere man,
Capt. Derwent Wood, an English
sculptor, conceived the idea of max
ing masks for the mutiles, but it re-
manned for Mrs. Maynard Laid, an
American sculptor, living in Paris,
to perfect the work and to material
ize masks which would replace torn
and missing tissue so naturally that
the wearer would be able to live out
his life in comparative happiness.
Mrs. Ladd is an artist of interna-
tional repute. Born in Philadel-
phia, she was educated in private
schools, going to Paris and Rome,
where for more than 20 years she
worked with Profs. Ferrari and Gal
lori. She exhibited in the Paris
salon, in this country and in Lon
don. In 1918 she exhibited 40
bronzes at Gorham's gallery in
Washington. She received an honor
able mention for her work at the
Panama exposition. Incidentally
she is an author, having published
several novels.
Woman Solves Problem.
Captain Woods original concep-
ton was to make mask to fit those
portions of the face missing. If
the chin was missing then the mask
would extend only over the chin. If
the cheek was missing then the
Scared portion would be covered.
The question to be solved by Mrs.
Laid was in the manufacture of the
masks. They had to be light, yet
strong, of some composition which
would not tarnish and would retain
the color placed upon its exterior
surface.
After considerable experimental
ton Mrs. Ladd hit upon thin cop
per as having sufficient strength.
Then she decided to have the base
plated with silver to give it a better
finish. Next came the method to be
employed in fitting the masks. Con-
with surgeons brought to
light the fact that nothing could be
done with mutiles until several