The New York herald., 1921-09-25
of
Cures
Often fastened by Ocpaiona Therapy Which Weaving and
Are mporant Parts

ITS only hard on one of them" he said.
THE others glass;"
He didn't remember much about the war
lost an eye and a couple of other things,
had a helluva time all in all Didn't know
much what to do with himself until the girl
In blue came along and got him started on
bags. Now he was making one for the
wife. She came in to see him occasionally
and he thought it would be fun to give her
something instead of his letting her do all
the giving. He used to be a machinist In
his earlier civilian days. Not much chance
of doing that now with only one eye. No.
he didn't think he could make bead bags
for living. Didn't know much what he
would do If he ever got out of hospital
Just drift along, he supposed, somehow.
Passing down the line there were several
vacant cots, partly accounted for by group
OF congenial spirits who had hobbled out to
an anteroom> and were tossing the cards
around to the accompaniment of ingling
coins and heated arguments.
Over on the other side one of the girls in
blue was giving a demonstration of a loom
to a bed patient. She had quite an audience
of young men, all of whom were inhaling the
art of scarf weaving as though it were craft
that was going to establish each of them on
millionaires' row. For actually, in hos
pital, the man who can use up all of his
time is considered more or less of a mill
ionaire.
In room at the end Of the ward mini
ature shop had been arranged. There was
plenty of paraphernalia, but only two crafts
men working. One chap in a wheel chair
was decorating candy box with oil paints.
An aid had sketched in the design and he
using his own haphazard judgment
about color. It was a weird combination
that he set down and viewed critically, but
right arm was done up in heavy splints, was
using his good arm and part of his bad arm
to make leather pocketbooks.
Scattered about the place were other
products in the making. Some had
started a Noahs Ark. The ark was finished
and part of the animals were lined up on
the window sill Then there was a cigar
box partly carved. Reed baskets, lamp
shade, a painted tray and some other painted
materials showed that at times the work
shop buzzed with activity. Probably no one
was growing rich from the total product.
but 1t was using up a lot of time
Nearly All Mental Cases Work,
Most of Them at Looms
Miss Crolns took us in one of the mental
wards where there were only a dozen
patients in a room. Most of them were in
their beds or near them and under nearly
every bed was a loom.
Over in the far corner were two veterans,
apparently in the pink of condition. They
were sitting on the side of bed. of
them holding a roll of blue yarn, the other
winding 1t off on ball. We tried to talk
with them, but they weren't much on con-
versation. The bigger man had only a
word or two of English in his vocabulary.
ME no SELL" he growled. mo send home.
No send nothin' home. Why? What you
want?"
He was trembling from head to foot.
Something that had happened to him during
the war had made him that way. Perhaps
a mine had gone off too close to his ear. We
couldn't apologize for intrudng on his yarn
rolling party He didn't want sympathy; he
wanted to be left alone. With his yarn and
his loom and his bunkie, he was perfectly
happy. With strangers he trembled. The
nurse said he might be cured.