Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1945-02-05
House May Get
Nurse Draft Bill
Late This Week
May Will Ask Rule
To Assure Speedy
Action on Measure
BY CARTER BROOKE JONES.

BY CARTER BROOKE JONES.
With the House Military Affairs
Committee ready to resume hear
ings tomorrow on legislation to
draft nurses for the armed forces,
Chairman May predicted today Z
bill would be reported out before
the end Of the week.
While the exact form Of the bill
Is uncertain: Mr.. May explained, q
majority Of the committee favors
a measure carving out the general
purpose Of President Roosevelt,s re-
quest for such q law. The Pres.
dent acted after the surgeon gen.
eral reported urgent need for 49,
600 more Army nurses.
Representative May plans to ask
the Rules Committee for a special
rule assuring immediate considera-
ton of the legislation. The Ken
tuckian feels the situation is too
critical to permit delay.
Group Heads to Testify.
Oflcers of nursing organizations
are among the witnesses slated to
testify tomorrow.
In. a statement made public BY
the War Department, Maj. Gen.
Paul Hawley, chief surgeon of the
European theater of operations.
pointed out that lack of nurse rein
forcements had forced the Medical
Corps three times to reduce the
number of nurses stationed at each
hospital.
In 1910, Gen. Hawley reported,
there were 100 nurses to a 1,o00-bed
general military hospital In 1884
the number was cut to los and in
1914 to 80. At the same time, the
bed capacity of many hospitals had
to be increased, so that today hos
pitfalls which had 1000 beds each
have an average of 1900 patients
each.
Unless We do get our replace.
ments," he said, I'VE shall be APP
proximately 1900 nurses short in
this theater within the next two
months.
Work IL to 16 Hours Day.
Nurses who have been over
seas for more than two years are
working IL and often as long as Is
hours day. The Army nurse is q
good soldier; she asks no favors.
But she is becoming tired. There
is only one solution. We must have
more nurses" ~.
Gen. Hawley said magnificent"
is the one word to describe the Job
the nurses are doing. He added:
"A steadfast, loyal ally of the
medical officer and soldier patient
in the fight against death and pain,
it is often personal interest of the
nurse, her pleasant and efficient
illustrations, that strike the spark
that starts her patients toward re-
covery."
In hearings on the independent
ondces appropriations bill made pub
lie TO-DAY by the House Appropria-
tons Committee, Brig. Gen. Frank
T. Hines, administrator OF veterans
affairs, pointed out the difncuIty
OF obtaining nurses for veterans
hospitals.
Wants STAFF for Veterans.
Gen. Hines said he had tried to
persuade the War Department to
place nurses In the same. status as
Veterans Administration doctors,
commissioning them and detailing
them on detached duty with vet
Grams hospitals. Two such requests
have been turned down, he reported,
and third Is pending.
II nurses are drafted for the
armed forces. he added, lit will be
essential that some provision be
made for fair percentage Of those
nurses to 60 to the Veterans Ad-
ministration hospitals, because the
situation would be aggravated that
much more if you draft them"
Gets Serious Cases.
Gen. Hines said the veterans IA
cilities were getting some serious
cases from the Army that require
careful nursing, such as spinal in
| juries.
u rather feel that number will not
decrease If the war continues" he
said. THE character of the warfare
is apt to increase that number. The
Army, in order to clear their hospi-
tails, turned those over to US rather
promptly They do the same thing
in the neuro-psychiatric and tuber-.
culosis cases"
Gen. Hines added that one sug-
gested solution was establishing q
nurse corps in the Veterans Admin
istration. Although he was not con-
vincedr this would furnish any more
nurses, he felt it probably would
make veterans nurses better salts
fed and their ranks more stable.
Il must admit frankly" he ex-
planned, that eur nurses are at q
disadvantage in that they are not
obtaining a veterans status equal
of that Of the WAVES, the WACS
and the SPARS, even though they
are serving In Offices. I doubt If we
can overcome that in any other way
than to give them a military status"
Wife Silent on Glass