Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 125, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 June 1918 — Page 2

Caring for Wounded Front Overseas

Great Armu Hospital in New York Already Filling With the Soldiers From Battle Front

AMERICA’S closest link with the \ battlefields of Europe Is the United States army hospital No. 1, situated at Gun HUI road and Bainbridge avenue, the Bronx, New York. Down the path from B I J V the hos P ,tal to the Gun HiU sta ’ 1$ wl tion of tlie subway Ilmp woundVjULx W ed soldiers who are entitled to JgsL be ranked with veterans of the 'vest front. They are in the minority as yet because not more than three-quarters of the patients of this hospital have been members of the .American expeditionary force, and of those who have been on overseas duty manyjiave returned to this side because they were found unfit for active service rather than for treatment of wounds. Nevertheless this country comes more closely into touch with the actualities of war on this little stretch of road where the men sun themselves % on pleasant days than anywhere else on this side of the Atlantic. Sometimes a man with one leg makes his way along the road adroitly balancing himself on crutches; sometimes it is a sturdy lad with his arm in a sling or his head bound up. There are eye cases and men otherwise wounded, and here and there in the procession a soldier comes along

in a wheeled chair propelled by a khakiclad comrade. Less than a year ago there was nothing but vacant ground, used as an athletic field by Columbia university and known as iToluiubia Oval, where the hospital now i stands, says a writer j in the New York World. Today a wooden city occupies this r ground. In part this city testifies to the ready patriotism of Columbia university and in part it is a monument to the efficiency of the war department. A modest distaste for publicity is characteristic of

the hospital. Its growth was so quiet as to seem magical. Although more than five million persons, all of whom, with the possible exception of a few of the most militant pacifists, cherish a patriotic interest in all such institutions, are residing just • to the south of it, it attained completion without the general public being aware of Its existence and was taking care of men who had been across and been wounded in battle while most of the residents of New York continued to regard it as merely In course of construction. Every afternoon from two jo’clock until four the high tide of sympathy sets in from the outside world toward the hospital. It was at this time that armed with a letter from the war department I approached the entrance. It was necessary to fall in with a long procession of women, most of them burdened with bumpy packages which contained oranges, apples, bananas, homemade chocolate cakes, apple pies, cream puffs and other articles of food suitable to the dietary of an invalid and calculated to relieve the tedium of hospital life. • The wooden city which constitutes the hospital is set upon a hill. Fresh winds sweep over it and it Is flooded with sunshine. Spotless cleanliness and perfect order prevail from end to end of the plant and the most meticulous housekeeper at the end of a prying visit might very well sigh and admit that men even keep house better than women do. It was due to the initiative of Columbia university that this large hospital was so soon established. The university idea was to organize and thoroughly equip a hospital for the use of American troops, which hospital, construction and all should be put up in New York and afterward carried across the ocean. The hospital was to be officered by physicians from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the medical school of Columbia university. Ground for the hospital was broken May 18, little more than a month after the declaration of war. The first building was finished in June. But when the hospital was offered to the government in July it was decided that the project of transporting the plant, buildings and all to France was impractical and that the hospital would serve a very useful purpose if it remained on Columbia Oval. Thirty-nine buildings were Included in the original plan as presented by the university. The government has since increased the number to 00, but the type of buildings has remained the Each building is a Jong, low rectangle, one *tory high and with the sides made up so largely of glass that all the wards resemble sun parlors. The executive building is two stories high, but it, like the others, is of the simplest possible construction, unpainted without and unplastered within. The buildings are lined with heavy paper, with the object of making them warmer. Otherwise they are as simple as the wooden sheds which served as headquarters for the first officers* training camps. The entire group of buildings is somewhat in the form of the letter H, the executive building serving as the cross piece of the 'H. On the second floor of this building are the executive offices of the hospital, as simple as the parts of the institution. The office of Adjutant. Dean F. Winn, fitted out mostly with unpainted furniture constructed by the enlisted men, at one side and next are the offices of Col.

Douglas F. Duval, in command of the hospital. Colonel Duval has as members of his staff many physicians from private life who have given up their practices to take service with the army. In round numbers the hospital is now able to afford 1,100 beds for patients. If it is enlarged, as is contemplated, there will be provision for caring for 5,000 men. These men come from all the camps from Long Island to Norfolk, X a., as well as from overseas. They suffer from a great variety of illnfesses which are discovered during a last examination in camp before they are sent to the other side. Then they are transferred to the Gun Hill Road hospital either for treatment or for examination for discharge. The hospital is fully equipped and can give definitive treatment of every sort if necessary. But as it stands at the point of embarkation. and at the point of debarkation as well, as the war progresses it is supposed that it will more and more be used as a clearing house. There are 42 wards in the hospital altogether. The number devoted to’ surgical uses is usually sd far nine or ten, including nose and throat cases. The wounded men from the other side are still too few to constitute an important feature of the surgical work. More than half of the surgical cases up to the present are due to nose and throat troubles, many of which have existed for a long time and have been exaggerated by life in. camp during the very cold winter. There is a psychopathic ward and a neurologic ward, sometimes more than one of each of these. The rest Of the wards are for medical cases. The variety of these is as great as in civil life. There are many “heart cases.” These include men who have of course had some heart affection before entering the army. This has been augmented under the strain of army training. “They have slipped in through a dozen different channels,” explained the officer of the day who accompanied me upon the rounds of the hospital. “Sometimes, for instance, a boy has got in through the good offices of the village doctor whom he has known all his life. The physician wanted to do the boy a good turn and has been oversanguine about his holding up under the increased strain of army life. A boy who reallj wants to go to war is sometimes able to overpersuade a physician who really doesn’t mean to fail in conscientiousness. Then, too, there are many cases which would get along well enough in civil life,, and a„physician may be honestly convinced that the trouble is unimportant. But somewhere along the line the boy breaks down, it may not be until he gets to Camp Merritt and Is about to be shipped out In a day or two. Perhaps it will not be. until he gets over on the other side. There Is a great effort on the part of the nrmy to weed them out before they get across, but it hasn’t always been accomplished.” When we stepped Into a typical ward and looked around'us I wished that it might be possible for the army to give a • public demonstratiori of a United States military hospital. One usually thinks of such a place as rather dolorous, but United States Army Hospital No. 1 Is one of the most cheerful places In New York city. Perhaps It is because the buildings are new wooden ones, so much less ponderous than those of other hospitals, that Hospital Nor. 1 seems to bid one to take courage and look on the brighter side of life. Only youth and hope have been sheltered

THE FVFNTNG REPITRKTCAN. R RNHSFTj A FT*. TNT>.

within these fresh walls and have looked through these long,rows of windows. There are 24 beds to a ward, ranged opposite to each other. Beside each bed is a little table on which there are usually disposed entertaining magazines and books, a vase of flowers, perhaps, or some fruit. In one of tl|? wards a group of patients wrapped in their dressing gowns had gathered around a low table at one end of the room. They sat in the very comfortable rocking chairs which are provided. There was a large bouquet of daffodils in a vase on the table. As they sat and rocked, peacefully talking as if all time were before them, they presented a picture of extremecomfort. “These boys are rather petted, aren't they?” I suggested to the officer of the day. “There’s nothing too good for them.” “Oh, no, they’re not petted at all,” said the officer of the day firmly. “But it is true that there’s nothing too good for them.” At one end of each ward building there is a sun parlor and at the other end there are the bathrooms, the ward master’s room and the kitchen and the serving room. The food is brought from a general kitchen and kept hot on steam tables in the ward kitchen, which is also used for making t,he special dishes which are prepared for men who are on individual diets. We found two members of the kitchen police force examining a large bread pudding which one of the nurses had just concocted for some of the men in her ward. The members of the kitchen police, who yvere convalescents and well enough to help out with the work, said that although they had never meant to take up dish washing and food serving as a career they didn’t mind It. In fact, they found the work quite pleasant. “And we’re here to do whatever is needed,” said one of these khaki-clad youths. “That’s what the army means.’’ The other youth said that he had only one regret in the matter. As he looked very noble when he said this, I thought he was about to* add that his only regret was that he had but one’life to give for his country, dish washing, kitchen detail or whatever It was. But instead of this he added that the only trouble was he was too well to get any of the bread pudding. There were many rheumatism cases In the wards. Most of these young men will soon get well and be fit for return to duty. The camp conditions of this very bad winter are responsible for their contracting the disease in most cases. The hospital has two operating rooms, both excellently arranged, and the larger so well lighted from the top as well as the sides that surgeons regard It as unexcelled in this particular by any operating room In New York. Convalescent patients as well as/the soldiers who have been assigned to the wofk of the hospital take their meals in the mess hall, and the call to mess made ft quite evident that a large proportion of the patients of this hospital will soon be returned to active duty as well as even a soldier need be. Capt. James W. Decker, mess officer, and Sergt. Lem Cain, menu maker, have achieved wonderful results in setting savory dishes before the patients without exceeding the 60 cents a day allowed by the government for* the purchase of food for each man. Physicians from civil life, as well as those who have been in the service for many years, constitute the staff of the hospital? Many of them are noted surgeons-or medical practitioners who have given up large practices to take up the army work. Every man on the staff has a specialty, so that while he regularly performs routine ward duties he can be called upon to treat any patient requiring his specialized skill. All this enormous hospital, even to the laundry which turns out 12,000 pieces of laundry a week, is managed entirely by the army. It is a matter of pride with some of the hospital enthusiasts that the only person not in khaki or In war nurse uniform who helps to make the wheels go around in .any of the departments is the laundry seamstress.

A Bird in the Hand

(Special Information Service, United States Department of Asriculturs.) GIVE WEANED CHICKS PLENTY OF SHADE.

Comfortable Back-Yard Quarters for Brood of Chicks After Weaning.

YOUNG CHICKENS NEED ATTENTION

Birds Are Very Sensitive to Change and Moving Will Retard Proper Growth. BEST TO KEEP SAME RANGE Separating Males and Females Will Be Found Advisable In Smaller Breeds—Make Grain Ration of Cracked Corn and Oats. For those who are growing poultry in back yards or other small space, perhaps the most serious problem from this time on will be the handling of weaned chicks. Where artificial brooders are used, this problem does not become acute quite so early, but chicks brooded by hens in many cases will be weaned before they are well able to care for themselves. '"The best results are usually obtained when the chicks given, at weaning, sufficient coop and land room to serve them until they are well grown. Chicks, in common with all kinds of poultry, are very sensitive to change, and growth is retarded by being moved. It is well that they be allowed to keep the same quarters and range throughout the period of growth. Separations and new combinations are also objectionable. Chicks grouped at weaning should be allowed to remain together until they go to the fattening coop or into winter quarters. Necessary Separations. Some individual separations will be found necessary, and this will serve to render adequate a space that would be too small for a brood of well-grown birds if all were allowed to remain. If the chicks are of one of the smaller breeds, like the Wghorn, it is advisable to separate the cockerels from the pullets at weaning, as most of the cockerels are precocious and begin very early to domineer over other Cockerels and among the pullets. In the Asiatic breeds, the sexes may safely be kept together until well grown, and in the general-purpose breeds, like the Plymouth Rock, it will only be necessary to remove an occasional precocious cockerel. Feed After Weaning. The feeding of chicks after weaning will not differ materially from the practice before weaning. The best basis of the grain ration, since wheat must not 'be used for chicken feed, is rrackqd corn and oats. The growth of the chickens will be hastened if they are given sour milk, skim milk or buttermilk to drink. It may be desirable to feed some beef scrap, though the need for this may be supplied by table scraps. The chickens should always be supplied with green feed, such as lettuce, sprouted oats, alfalfa, or clover. With most back-yard flocks this need can be largely met by utilizing the waste from table vegetables. Fine charcoal, grit and oyster shells should be kept before the chickens at all times, and when they are kept In small bare yards cracked or ground bone should be fed. The growth of the chickens will depend largely upon the measure of comfort that is accorded them. Particular care be exercised to be sure that they have plenty of shade to protect them from the sun during the heat of the day, and that the ventilation of coops is sufficient to keep them comfortable at night. It is of the greatest importance, of course, to see that the chickens are kept at all times free of lice and mites. Increase 'Production. Upon the declaration of war In April of lost year the organizations of poultry keepers, the poultry and agricultural press, the poultry departments of state agricultural colleges and experiment stations and the United States department of agriculture en-

gaged in co-operative efforts to stimulate increased production of poultry and eggs. At present 39 poultry extension agents appointed by the United States department of agriculture are at work in 35 states, under the state directors of extension work, ana 11 poultry club agents are co-operating with the poultry departments of the agricultural colleges in 11 states. The poultry extension agents are expected to make the greatest effort in the grain-producing states, where the possibilities of large increase at low cost are greatest. Their special work is to organize new forces which will directly assist in poultry'production. The poultry club agents alm especially to organize and instruct the boys and girls. About 15,000 boys and girls are already enrolled in poultry clubs and helping to produce eggs and poultry. Community poultry breeding associations have also been organized among the parents of these boys and girls.' The community breeding circle is intended to direct Interest to the • varieties of poultry best adapted to the farm conditions in the community and to encourage the production of the classes of poultry products which sell best in the most accessible markets. To meet a demand for information resulting from a widening interest in poultry, the service of the office of information of the department of agriculture has been, extended to n large list of general newspapers. Th rough these it is expected not only to increase the army of poultry producers but also to Increase greatly the consumption of poultry and eggs in cities.

HENS AND THE HOME.

■> . With a proper back-yard flock, you do all the crowing. No need to keep roosters —no need to rouse your neighbors at daybreak. Roosterless flocks after the hatching season produce the best eggs—infertile eggs. Back-yard egg raising needn’t be noisy.—U. S. Department of Agriculture.

Need More Poultry in 1918. Two causes combine to make the necessity for raising more poultry this year, say officials of the United States department of agriculture in a recent publication. One is that the war needs of the nation make larger average stoqks of productive poultry important. The other is that the number of fowls on farms, from a multiplicity of causes, has been reduced during the past year. A succession of sharp advances in prices of poultry feeds in 1917 and uncertainties in supplier of feeds because of congested transportation caused many poultry keepers to curtail production or reduce stocks on hand. As was Inevitable under the circumstances, the sections.of the East where poultry keeping was most highly specialized were most affected. Shortage of feed in drought-stricken areas in the West and Southwest also led to reduction of poultry stocks on general farms in those areas. Elsewhere flocks appear to have been maintained at about normal numbers, and In some places slightly increased. Reports of heavy selling in sections where feed insufficient have in many cases failed to take into account the disposition of the stock sold. It has usually , been assumed that all stock sold went to slaughter. Some reports, however, state that many , hens and pullets sold by poultry keepers who were short of feed or of capital passed to others who were in a position to hold them. The Volume of receipts of eggs at certain markets seems to bear out this statement. -

May-hatched chicks of (moderate size and Smaller varieties will make good winter layers If grown well. Keep the chicks of different ages separate from each other.so that the older will not “boss” the younger