Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 177, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 August 1917 — Red Cross to Prepare Surgical Dressings For Battle Ships [ARTICLE]

Red Cross to Prepare Surgical Dressings For Battle Ships

At. the request of William C. Braisted, Surgeon General of the United States Navy, the American Red Cross has called upon ten of the larger chapters of the society nearest New York to supply at the earliest possible moment surgical dressings for each 188 battleships and destroyers. Each ship will require thousands of compresses and bandages, the entire consignment making a total of more than six hundred thousand surgical dressings. The surgical dressings are to be prepared by the women workers in the Red Cross Chapters at Chicago, Cleveland, Pittsburg, Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, Atlanta, Boston and the northeastern division, these chapters being chosen because their proximity to New York will expedite delivery. It is expected to fill the order within the next ten days. Women qualified in the various chapters to make surgical dressings are working night and day for the rapid completion of the work. Only women who have taken the Red Cross course in the making of these bandages are eligible to engage in the work. With the declaration of war there has been a rapid increase in the number of women taking the Red Cross surgical dressing courses. In June 4,144 certificates Were issued to women who had taken the course of eight lessons of three hours each, and in the first ten days of July, 1,279 certificates were issued. —Each chapter will supply the battieship named after that particular state and others in which they might have a geographical interest. Thus the Chicago chapter will supply the Chicago and the Illinois. New York will supply the New York and the Albany. These boxes as completed will be shipped by chapters direct to the Bush Terminal at New York for distribution to the ships. The making of surgical dressings is especially suitable work for young fingers and eyes and affords a splendid opportunity for the young girls and women of Rensselaer to prove their patriotism. The number of supplies sent from our local chapter could soon be doubled and trebled if the girls would devote only a few hours of * their time each week. Our women who can knit are busy with their needles every spare moment, the women who can sew are making shirts and pajamas as rapidly as is consistent with good work and yet most of these women have the responsibility of homes and families. If the young girls will help carry on the work of making surgical dressings, our combined efforts will bring splendid results and the women and girls of Rensselaer will have their part in winning this war. Do we want our boys* wounds dressed with, newspapers and straw as they are compelled to do now some places Jm France?