Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 266, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 November 1914 — Page 2

HEROINES of the BATTLEFIELD

HEN the first shock of Wan unexpected war had abated a little the mind of the world turned for CTSjSprSFS relief to the one bright sppt in the dreary pic- * ture, the red cross on a white sleeveband, the symbol of comfort to those who had been denied the kindly boon of sudden death, those who had been left wounded and suffering on the battlefield. It is now half a century since the work, begun by Florence Nightingale during the Crimean war, was incorporated and made of international importance, and the accumulated experience of 50 years will be none too great to meet the strain imposed on the brave women who have gone out to do more than a soldier’s duty. The nursing of the Vounded is the one great service which woman can perform, in times of war, and from all over the world come the announcements of women of rank and wealth who are eager to learn something of the hardship imposed by international strife. In the main, these earnest pleas for a chance to do something practical and useful are gently but firmly rejected, -since the woman who makes them would be a hindrance bather than a help. The requirements for membership in the Red Cross ranks are exceptionally severe. The' candidate must not only be a graduate of a reputable training school and a registered nurse in the state in which ,she is practicing her profession, but she must give

satisfactory evidence that she is • strong, both mentally and physically. One of the royal leaders who was accepted for real work was the second daughter-in-law of the kaiser, Princess Sophie, who has not only taken actual training as a nurse, but who has devoted all her leisure, time, since her 8 marriage, to philanthropic, and especially hospital work. All the other princesses; have offered their services; but the best they could do was that of organizing sewing societies feu* the making of bandages, to be sterilized and sent to the war zone. In Paris, our American novelist, Edith Wharton, has established an institution in which the poor women whose husbands have gone to the war can earn enough money to keep body and soul together. Their work is that of making garments for the soldiers, and they are paid from funds received by popular subscription. One of the first suggestions, coming even before Mrs. W. K. Vanderbilt and a score of other expatriated American

KNEW MORE THAN THE VETS

Dog Acted as His Own Surgeon After the Doctors Had Failed to Effect a Cure. / "Medical degrees are not conferred Upon canines/’ remarked H. T. Gal* v »pln, owner of the life-saving Great ;Pane, Jim, ’’but if they were my dog Jim wight to have one, summa cum Unde. ' ’ "When Jkn was struck by a big Automobile some months ago and

women volunteered for service, was that of transforming the entire country of Switzerland into a great hospital to which the wounded of all nationalities could be conveyed. This would be fitting in the extreme, inasmuch as Switzerland was the country in which the Red Cross had its birth,' in 1864. It was a Swiss, Henri Dunant, who wrote the famous pamphlet, “A Souvenir of Solferino,” setting forth the horrible side of Var as he had witnessed it duritig the fighting between the French and the Austrians, In northern Italy in 1859, and it was this pamphlet that led directly to the formation of the Red Cross society, founded under a treaty in which 2? sovereign states were invited to join for the sake of insuring absolute neutrality to the wounded, in case of war. a

The most important elements in the foundation of the society were the Geneva Society of Public Utility, the American sanitary commission and the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, of which Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia was grand master, and which had descended directly without a break from the old military nursing order that came into existence at the time of the crusades. With the exception of the basic principles of neutrality and humanity, the societies in the various countries haye little in common. Each nation has worked out its Red Cross according to its own ideas and needs. In France there are three sections, the Societe de Secours aux Blesses Militaires, the Union des Femmes de France and the Association des Dames Francaises. These three societies maintain more than ten thousand beds, in addition to the auxiliary field hospitals which can be established between the fighting army and its base of supplies, and they have established emergency hospital service in the waiting room of railway stations. The one serious defect in the French system is the training of the nurses, in whioh particular it is not to be compared with the American,

The German Red Cross is a direct branch of the military service, and it is organized for efficiency to the last degree. Its strongest points ate the excellent training of its nurses and its unlimited supply of hospital stores. The Red. Cross' society of Germany comprises more than 500,000 members, and in addition to its regular military hospitals, it maintains 196 auxiliary hospital, 600 railway medical rooms and 521 convalescent homes. There are thousands of trained male nurses, ambulance corps and stretcher bearers, and there is one section of the ’female nurses to which special training is given, so that they may act as assistants to professional nurses in emergency work. The Austrian system is similar to the German, although less extensive,

crippled in the hip, besides receiving other Injuries, I sent him to 4he' dog hospital for a week and he had the attention of two veterinaries. They got him all right except the hip, and that £ept him lame until last week and seemed to get no better. ‘‘Two weeks ago I took him up the state with me—he loves an auto even if one. did nearly kill him —and one morning Jim showed up with two holes gnawed in his ham, one about six inches lower than the other, over the affected spot and so situated as

THE EVENING REPUBLICAN, RENBSELAER, IND.

and many of the Red Cross nurse* wear the costume of a sister. • The Russian Rgd Cross is a state institution, drawing a large part of its funds from the sale of passports. During the Russo-Japanese war the organization Was unified and made efficient, after the fighting had been in progress long enough to show the futility of the two branches which had long shown the keenest rivalry. The Japanese Red Crops came to the notice of America especially at the time of the Russo-Japanese war, when it was assumed by most of us on this side of the-world that Japan knew nothing about military nursing. A corps of trained nurses was organized, under the direction of a woman physician of Washington, a ship chartered and a relief expedition sent to Tokyo. The mikado received the ladies kindly, but informed them that it would be just as well for them to go back home, since they could not be permitted either on the battlefield or In the hospitals. The care of was so well provided for that no outside help could be accommodated).

In Germany, France and Belgium there is another interesting creature who goes forth in search of the wounded, bearing the symbol of neutrality and humanity. It is the Red Cross dog, trained to search for the wounded who have fallen into-ravines or are concealed by sbrubhery. Of greater interest to us than the organizations of the countries directly involved in the war is the Red Cross that has developed in the tJnited States, since the organization, at the outbreak of the Civil war, of the sanitary commission. When the Geneva convention was called our country was in the throes of the! most cruel war of modern times. Although there was a representative of the sanitary commission at the Geneva our government did not the Red Cross treaty, and in 1871 the American organization lapsed. Ten years later the American Association of Red Cross was forme s d in Washington with five members— Clara Barton, Wiliam Lawrence, Joseph K. Barnes, A. S. Solomons and Alexander W. F. Garnett. A year later the treaty of Geneva was ratified, but the society was given no official status by congress. Until the outbreak of the Spanish-American war the T society made little progress, and its activity was confined to looking after flood sufferers and the victims of fire, rail and mine disasters. It was not until 1905, when the society was reorganized by congress and given a distinct place in the affairs of the nation, that the Red Cross began to make real strides. Ex-President Taft did much to establish this valuable institution in the esteem of the people, and in no other land has such progress been made as that wUich our Red Cross can show, as the result of nine years of systematic development.

to act as a drain. They were not good to look at; but Jim was in better spirits than usual and within two days he was walking almost as good as new, and now the wounds have healed and I guess it won’t be much longer before his leg is all right "He did what the vets couldn’t do, or didn’t do, and just how he knew how to do it is more than Pcan tell you.”—New York Press.

The United States makes the steel pens for about fifty countries.

FREIGHT CAR SERVICE

ItOOM FOR IMPROVEMENT IN IMPORTANT MATTER. Many Suggestions Have Been Made, Among Them That a “Clefring House" Might Help to Bmooth Away Difficulties. The subject of car shortage has for years interested railway officials, but as yet no general policy has been adopted. Every harvest season, and every season for the shipping of great quantities of winter fuel, (finds the railroads more or less unprepared because of a scarcity of cars. This condition has Jed to investigations and numerous recommendations. The Interstate commerce commission, several years ago, endeavored to correct the demurrage rules, but some railroad men felt that thereby the situa-' tion was made more difficult. J. R. Cavanaugh, an Indianapolis railroad man, recommends, in the Traffic World, the pooling of freight cars, that is that a freight car “clearing house” should be formed to take over all the freight cars in the country. Ownership would remain the same, but management would be centralized. The clearing association would operate under the rules of the American Railway association, would receive reports from every part of the country and would be enabled to act nationally instead of locally. The idea is to equalize car interchangev There are many thousands of cars idle in one place when they are needed in another. It would be the new association’s purpose to remedy this condition.

The proposal is in line with ideas expressed by other railroad men. It is said that for at least two-thirds of the year 100,000 freight cars stand idle on the sidings. These represent an investment of perhaps slEio>Mo,ooo. The average daily freight car is estimated to be but twenty-dye miles. Under the present complicated system of demurrage, it Is declared that, out of every nine days, a car is in actual transportation service only two days. The other seven days are takqn up in loading, unloading or storage.

One investigator, writing in the Technical World Magazine last year, gave it as his opinion that there are too many freight cars —that is, too much capital Is invested In this sort of equipment considering the returns. It is evident that the railroads lose millions of dollars annually* because of the lack of system in car handling. Perhaps this loss has something to do with the “hard times” which the railroads are experiencing.

Titanium-Steel Rails.

Titanium-steel rails for railways were first made experimentally seven years ago. The results then shown led to their manufacture by several steel companies, and about five years ago their manufacture was undertaken upon a commercial scale. Experiments on the New York Central have confirmed those made elsewhere in showing that these rails wear several-times as long as those made of ordinary Bessemer steel. Titanium has a great affinity for nitrogen and this property makes it desirable for railway purposes.—Popular Electricity.

Railroad Porters’ Complaint

“Mister Porter” must be the form of address used by passengers on the Great Western and the London and Northwestern companies in the Warwick and Leamington district, when they address the railroad porters. The men are of opinion that they are not treated with proper respect by the officials of the company, and consequently have passed a resolution asking the -union to agitate that they should be addressed as “Mister,” similarly to the clerks, and not merely by their surnames.

To Discover the Deserving.

The Canadian Pacific railroad has added to its staff a "scout,” whose duty it will be to travel over the system and discover those employees who are especially worthy of advancement. Incidentally he will report those found wanting; but it is Significant that his function primarily is not to make complaint, but to make doubly' sure that the deserving are recognized.

A Veteran.

W. Hanley of Barlby, near Selby, England, a signalman on the Northeastern railroad, has been forty years In one signal box, and has walked to and from his work a distance of 61,000 miles.

AMERICAN GOVERNMENT-OWNED RAILROAD _rl " 1 *-• Type of passenger equipment in use on the railroad built and operated by the United States government In Idaho. This railroad, which Is 22 miles long, is employed In transporting passengers' and freight between ton and the great irrigation dam under construction across the Boise canyon at Arrowrock. It Is operated by the reclamation service, as indicated by the Initials “U. 8. R. 8.” on the locomotive tender. —Popular Mechanic*

BUILT FOR MILITARY PURPOSE

Millions Poured Into Trane-Siberian Railroad Have Had a Very Definite Object. There is a railroad from the North sea to the Japan sea. It was built by a nation to capture nations. It has failed of lts purpose so far. The" TransSiberian, all things considered, is the most gigantic railroad task that ever was performed. $n money it will eat up more than $1,000,000,000. In lives, it has destroyed thousands. Its earnings are practically negligible. Yet, at this time, the Russians .are laying double tracks on it from end to end! Moreover, they are building one branch of it that would reach from New York to Chicago and leave 300 miles for sidings, and that will cost more than $150,000,000. If that were only a railroad, it would be the greatest railroad mystery of the ages; but it is not only a railroad. It is like the army and the navy of Jtussia., It is a national expenditure for the conquest of Asia. Some day, no doubt, when the coffers of Russia are filled again with gold, the rest of the story, of the Trans-Siberian will be written. Probably the men who are doing the dreaming will not live to see the writing.—C. M. Keys in the World’s Works.

LIGHTS WARN DAY TRAINS

Simple System Which Eminent Signal Engineer Believes Will Be Found to Be Effective. With the recent developments in lenses for signal purposes, according to Thomas. S. Stevens, signal engineer for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroad, it is now practicable for the different colors to be readily distinguished in daylight at a distance of 2,000 feet. All the complicated mechanism necessary for the mechanical operation of signal arms are eliminated and replaced by simple electrical circuits which are far more efficient and economical to maintain. In the majority of cases two 25-watt lamps are used behind an eight-inch lens. Indeed, It appears that the problem with this type of signaling is to provide a light signal sufficiently visible in bright sunlight which will not make the signal too prominent at night.

New Motor Plow.

An English firm is putting out a new plow that is propelled by a farm-horse power motor, that is much like the horse-drawn implement, and can be used successfully for any of the ordinary agricultural tasks, such as plowing, cultivating, scuffling, skinning, hoeing and drilling. As it is only three feet high and two feet four inches wide, it can be used in places, where horses cannot work, between fruit trees in orchards, in vineyards and hop gardens, and in rubber, tea and coffee plantations. Unlike other motor plows, it has only two driven road wheels, and the attendant who walks behind it runs the engine and guides the plow by means of star wheels. With one wheel running in a furrow, the plow virtually steers Itself, and needs little attention except at the end Of the furrows. The makers assert that the machine will do nearly twice as much work a day as a horse-drawn plow, at about one-half the cost , anacre. The correctness of the assertion naturally depends somewhat upon the nature of the land on which the njac chine is set to work.

Public Too Careless.

People are incredibly careless in regard to crossing railroad tracks. A statistical study of accidents states that out of 32,079 casOf only 298 persons in vehicles or on foot fully obeyed the “Stop, Look and Listen’’ sign, or waited for the watchman’s signal before crossing the tracks; 8,776 persons looked both ways, but neither listened nor stopped. The “safety first” campaign is surely a timely one in the face of such conditions.

Electro Magnets on Steam Cranes.

An electro lifting magnet would frequently prove very serviceable for use with railroad wrecking cranes of the usual steam operated variety, but the necessary electric current is lacking. In such cases it has been suggested that a small turbo-generator could be easily fitted, and would be a valuable addition to the equipment.—Scientific American.

Travel on British Lines.

In .the year 1913 the railroads of Great Britain carried 1,228,316,000 passengers. By far the greater number of these (933,498,000) traveled third class. The number of season ticket holders is estimated at 695,000.

NOT SUCH DEADLY ENEMIES

*Bloody Chasm” That Separated Nationalists and Might Have Been Bridged. As all the world knows, international war has proved a great conciliator In Ireland. As a contributor to the Bystander says, you cannot give much attention to the dismemberment of the empire whea you are not certain whether you will have an empire to dismember. There Is a geniality about tbe Nationalist volunteer that makes you 1 know that he would rather fight some .one else—Germany in this ca&§ —than Ulster. A few stories ate current that help to show how very ripe Ireland was for Not long ago a company, of Nationalist volunteers, passing a company of Ulstermen, and being uncertain as to tbe enstomary etiquette between deadly enemies—saluted. In a northern district there was only one* field suitable for drilling, and as the two opposition armies wanted It, the owner began bidding them .against each other. Northern canninesß asserted itself. The commanding officer of (me battalion approached the enemy, and they agreed to rent the field in common, and use it on-alternate days! A third anecdote relates that while some Ulster volunteers were drilling a Nationalist was spen sitting on a fence watching them. When he was Questioned by an Ulsterman he explained that his own company had mislaid their rifles and could not drill; “but,” he added, "we were waiting to see if we could get tbe loan of when you’ve done with them.”

Not Due to ignorance.

Doctor Briggs received a note from a farmer living back quite a way in the country, requesting him to come as quickly as possible to see bis child who waß very sick with “a very bad cold.” The doctor examined the child and then turned to the mother. “Don’t you know,” he asked, "tbat your little girl is coming dowq, with the measles?” "Yes, doctor,” was the woman’s reply; “I kpew she was.” "Then why in the world,’[Asked the doctor, “did ywb write me that she had a very bad'cold?” Tbe woman hesitated, for a moment, then, looking at her husband, said, with sullen frankness: “Neither him nor me knew how to spell ‘measles.’ “—National Monthly.

Not Particular.

A prisoner in one of the Irish police courts the other day was asked his occupation. He mentioned several callings that he followed from time to time. “And among other things," Inquired the prosecuting lawyer, “do you pick pockets?" "No,” he retorted; "I don’t pick them; I just take them as they come.”

An Emotionalist.

“So i you’re hanging around broke again?” said the policeman. “Yes," answered Bill the -Burglar. *T haven’t a cent I broke' into a bouse night before last and the poor mark of a taxpayer told me such a hard luck story that he had me sheddin’ tears an’ lendin’ him my last cent’’’ A widower never invests in a guitar for the purpose of serenading a spinster. He begins right where he left off at the end of his first courtship. A maid of twenty tries to act like a widow of forty, a widow of forty tries to act like a maid of twenty—and there you are. Every little helps—especially littla kicks when you’re going down hill. Gold may be the key to society, but poverty is the strongest bar.

Tone Up! Not Drugs— Food Does It —wholesome, appetizing food that puts life and vigor into one, but doesn’t clog the system, j ,, Such a food is Grape-Huts The entire nutrition of wheat and barley, including the vital mineral j salts —phosphate of potash, etc. — Long baked, easily digested, ready to eat; an ideal food with cream or milk, and fine in many combinations. “There’s a; Reason” _ for Grape-Nuts —sold by Grocers.'