The Chattanooga news. [volume] (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 1891-1939, 1919-09-02

time and vitality OF the nurses that
should be given their patients Is wasted
In struggles with unframed orderlies
over whom the nurses; without rank
have no recognized authority.
TAFT and Others support Claim.
The nurse corps is not alone In be.
lieving that the possession OF rank VIII
help this dangerous weakness In the
nursing system of our army.
E-President Taft. for four years
for three months a patient In military
hospital in the Philippines. says:
Army nurses deserve and need rank
In order to work more efficiently
Why withhold III Let us brush Mr.
lite Barnacle aside" So strong Is his
belief In the need OF rank for the army
nurse corps that he has become hon.
orary chairman OF the national COM
mittee to secure military rank for army
nurses.
Gen. Gorgas. surgeon-general OF the
army throughout the late war. many
o. the e. medical s AL, officers a,. high on nh, his
dation; Cabot. OF Massachusetts,;
Vaughan. OF Michigan; WEIGH. of Johns
Hopkins: the Mayos. or Minnesota. all
fsyST rank for n Srsrsv Dr. ,.x SGo
rank for nurses. They did more than
| we. the doctors, did. As we are OFF,
| GERS. they should be-"
All the nursing associations OF the
| country. the medical board OF the
| Council of National Defense. prominent
lay organizations such as the woman's
committee OF the Council of National
| Defense. the General Federation of
| Women's Clubs. hundreds of chapters
| OF the Red Cross. the suffrage organi-
cations, have expressed their approval
OF request so patriotic. so unselhsh.
| The nurses, Notwithstanding the
| gratitude they have earned from their
country. are asking nothing for them
| selves. They are asking for relative
rank only-which means rank without
commission. emoluments or increase in
I pay. The wisdom Of their request
seems proven by the fact that Canada
and Australia have found that relative
| rank granted their Army Nurse corps
| several years ago has accomplished just
! what our nurse corps claims 1t will
I accomplish.
Surgeon General Fetherston. OF the
Australian army, on his visit to ths
country last year. declared that the
Australian Army Nurse corps had been
greatly increased bN the giving OF
relative rank to the nurses. And"
added Gen. Fetherston. remember, no
matter how much you give the nurses.
| 1t will be none too good for them They
are the noblest class OF women in the
| world"
Purely on Desire to Serve.
This noblest class of women today is
| asking modestly only for the lower
grades of rank. those to be carefully
subordinated to the medical corps
In spite OF the wide popular demand
that these women be granted a request
based purely on desire to serve, In
spite of expert testimony proving their
request TO be a wise one, In spite OF
the proofs of success offered by Can
ada and Australia the war department
UP to the present time has failed to
give the nurses the asked-for recogni-
ton. In the army reorganization bin.
after enumerating the many officers OF
the medical, dental and veterinary
corps. the department says: 1.-THE nurse
corps shall be constituted AS now pro-
vided by law" This means. in plain
English. that the nurse corps. body
of highly-trained professionals. Is left
on the standard OF the enlisted man.
1t means also that the nurse corps Is
the only corps in the army to which
rank Is not given. Still II is given even
TO the army bandmaster. Also the
standard set for tho nurse corps Is
higher than for any other corps In the
army. They must meet not only u
physical test as do the enlisted men
not only a physical and mental test as
do the officers. but also n moral test
such as no other corps in the army hal
to submit to.
During the war almost %. 900 nursei
entered the service OF their country
There still are 10000 In the service
caring for the SO. 900 sick and wounded
men still In our military hospitals.