The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, June 5, 1898, Page 21

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, JUNE 5, 18¢8. DR. ANITA NEWCOMB McGEE. Drawn from a photograph. s to the volunteer t just been charged with the selection of all the war nurses for the Government during the present ch of the service, and is something entirely new in the military line. She The other ladies on the board are Miss Mary Desha, Miss the only member of the board possessed of medical train- ses from the hundreds of applicants. for th > just been chan ast supplying won in the hos d, and Dr. paid Sani d but $12 their tender ser- ent war will n to take and the hospital- York. in the late isted in the ‘om the y Com- s those who will nurse v of $30 a month. S one as being ank at the head of avy would enlist any the war's “angels of mercy.” W , the young and . ual magneti language. estors, defended stru spec She is arming, possessing unus- vivacity and gift of Moreover, she has the blood f patriots coursing in her veins, be- g able to boast of three Revolutionary the best known of perhaps, was General John Bull, who Philadelphia e for liberty. courses of Cambridge, the University of Geneva whom, during our She has pursued udy abroad at and elsewhere on the Continent. Returning to this country, she equipped herself for the sciences, and Hopkins. studied medicine at Columbiaand Johns She is the daughter of Pro- fessor Simon Newcomb, the great as- tronomer, who has been more honored abroad than any other of our Ameri- THE WOMAN WHO HAS JUST BEEN HAPPOINTED TO SELECT WAR NURSES For the first time in the history of the United States women are being enlisted in the military service. triotic Washington woman, has just been charged with the sel The surgeons-general of the army and navy regard her office as a tion with the Government, except in a volunteer capacity. can scientists, and is the wife of Pro- fessor W. J. McGee, the well-known ethnologist and geologist. She is one of the vice-presidents general of the Daughters of the American Revolution, having been previously elected sur- geon-general and librarian-general of that society. As soon as the present war was an- ticipated she conceived the idea of the society co-operating with the War and Navy Departments, and both Surgeon- General Van Revpen of the navy and Surgeon-General Sternberg of the army indorsed the project. In consequence, she received the appointment which she now holds, being at the head of the board of “Daughters” having the selec- tion of the war nurses in charge. The other ladies of the board are Miss Mary Desha, Mrs. Francis S. Nash and Mrs. Amos G. Draper. Dr. McGee is the di- rector of the board, and being the only member possessed of medical training, performs the responsible duty of se- lecting eligible nurses from the hun- dreds of applicants. Already 1500 women have volunteered their services as war nurses, their let- ters being addressed to the President, the Secretary of War, Secretary of the Navy, and to various other high offi- cials. All of these applications, which are now pouring in at the rate of about 100 a day, are turned over by the de- partments to Dr. McGee, who replies by mailing blanks to be filled out and returned to her. Before they may be placed upon the list of eligibles women applicants must prove that they have been graduated at reputable training schools for nurses. They must be between the ages of thirty and fifty, and it is preferred that they have had practical experience, and that they be without family ties. They must be strong and healthy in order to cope with the unusual hardships of a military hospital. Only surgicz] nurses are being called for, since women trained in the care of general diseases would have practically nothing to do in wards filled with men mangled by shot and shell. Although during the last war Miss Djx, who per- formed the duties now conferred upon Dr. McGee refused to appoint women who were prepossessing in appearance, no such regulatiol. has been' made for this war, and our brave hoys may hope to be inspired to strength by ‘woman’s comeliness as well as healed by her ten- der skill. Great care is being taken, however, to select only women of the very high- est moral character, and to insure this individual members of the Daughters of the American Revolution are co-op- erating in all of the States. No one will be appointed an “angel of mercy” without the written indorsement of some “daughter.” Thus it will be seen that women are managing the affair entirely, and perhaps no other associa- tion of women could undertake such responsibilities as the Daughters of the American Revolution, numbering twenty-five thousand members, scat- tered in all of the States. There is a great demand for women nurses who have had yellow fever and who are immune from the disease, but so far not a single one has been found. Women of various nationalities are making application, but only citizens of the United States are accepted. Trained colored rurses have been placed on the eligible list to be called upon when needed. fl32838289&88883!80‘28382838383838282838382888288828‘25282839398982823928 COSTOF THE PRESENT WAR NYBODY who thinks that war is a little diversion should Tead the interesting reports of Chairman Dingley of the House Ways and Means Committee in presenting his waxr Tevenue measure. He frankly admits that the expenses of the preparations for defense made by the United States recently have been at the rate of twenty-five million dollars per month, or three hundred million dollars per year, and he adds the interesting statement that ‘“the expenses of actual war will bs much more.” The increase of the regular army from a peace basis of about 15,- 000 men to a war basis of 60,000 enlisted men, and the increase in the pay cf privates from $13 to 315 60 per month, with a corre- sponding increase in the pay of non-commissioned oficers, shows where a part of the money will go. It is estimated that it will cost to feed the 60,000 regulars and 125,000 volunteers nearly $40,000 a day, or 20 cents per man. This, of course, does not include the cost of arming, clothing and equipping of the troops. After the war has been fought and the victory won the victor will have the right to claim an indemnity, but the question is whether Spain would be in a pésition to pay us anything, in view of the fact that its 4 per cents are selling at a little over 30, and it is straining every nerve to raise the money necessary to carry on the war. She may pay us by offering us some of her territorial posses- sions in the Atlantic. In that event, unless we could ssll these possessions for cash, our war debt would be left unpaid and would be added to the existing permanent obligation of the Government. Government bonds have been the basis of the circulation of our national banks, and the rapid payment of these bonds since the close of the war led to fear that within a short period our banking sys- tem would need to be radically changed. The present war will probably put an end to this fear, and also to recent efforts to change the basis of security for the issue of national banks. Senator Hale said yesterday that he wished to put himself on record by stating that should the war last a year it would cost between seven and cight hundred million dollars. Politics now enter into the Congressional discussions and delays matters greatly. As soon as the Senate took up the war revenue bill Hale declared that the war would cost seven hundred millions or eight hundred millions a year. Jones of Arkansas said that much may be spent, but there was no necessity of spending over four hundred million dollars. He said that the most extravagant esti- mates of the Secretaries of War and Navy would not exceed three hundred million dollars a year, and they have replied that none of the estimates were much more than half the actual cost. The late war was never so expensive. No wars were so ex- pensive as those involving the sending of troops to other coun- tries. 8 b e 8 b i & s e 3 8 b 8 2 3 2 (i i s B Eid F I & 3 & i b i e B3 8 b & &8 b 88 [ 8 e & e & kel ks s * e s b B s ERE R AR R R R R R R R R R AR AR R R R R AR R R R AR AR R AR R R AR AR AR R AR AR AR AR AR AR AR R R SR RS R R R R R A s b LR R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R AR AR AR A ‘circle of blue enamel. Dr. Anita Newcomb McGee, a pa- ection of all the war nurses for the Government during the present conflict. branch bureau of their departments, though in reality it has no official connec- These war nurses will be uniformed in white dresses, caps and aprons. Each will wear a badge in the form of a red cross of enamel, surrounded by a Upon the cross will be inscribed “Hospital Corps,” along the blue circle ‘“Daughters of the American Revolution.” TUpon each apron will be neatly stenciled the wheel insignia of the Datighters of the Amer- ican Revolution. Unless Spain disregards the treaty signed by her, the United States and sixteen other vernments,. in 1864, whereby it was reed that in all fu ture wars the sick and wounded their attendants would be conside as neutrals, -the, red cross badges w by these women will be’ sufficient pro- tection against the ememy. The red cross flags surmounting all of our hos- pitals,. whether they be general, field or floating, must be as strictly.respect- ed during the war as though they were flags of truce, and any attempt against tHe safety of any one protected thereby would be frowned upon by every en- lightened nation of the world. > No women nurses will be sent to Cuba. If any are delegated to field hospitals they will do vice only in this countr: Of course, none will be permitted aWbard any of the naval ves- sels, since the gentler are forbidden quarters on all ships in action. Speak- ing of naval nurses, it may be of in- terest to add that Congress must make some appropriation before any ) male or female, may be appc such. Some male listed in the nav. E they may draw the nurs performing his duties. be taken aboard the naval ship Solace. Dr. McGee will take pains that her corps may be the best equipped woman war nurses ever employed. When the Civil War broke out there wasn't a trained nurse in the country to answer the call of the Sanitary Commission, whose nurses were mostly women who had simply practical experience in hos- pitals or at home. Almost every large city, especially of the North, now boasts of several training schools for nurses. Twenty-five nurses will be attached to each regiment in the field, and if all of these nurses are to be graduates of training schools a great many of them must be women. Many of the women who have already volunteered are doc- tors of medicine willing to perform any duties, and some are sisters of charity. P Rev. Dr. Alvah Hovey has resigned the presidency of the New ® No woman will hospital- Theological institution (Baptis resignation to take effect on the 1 E - “For forty Watchman, wton as a teach- - t completed thirty. years in the pri ney.” Queen Wilhe come of age Augus then her betrothal with Prin nhard of Saxe-Weimar will be publishe The young Queen has not been v entertain the notion of ma some think it may be Salic law yet prevails in part in the Netherlands, and bythe constitution of the kingdom she must give up the throne to her son, should she have one, when he shall be 18 years old. Holland will ‘El\,/oN"' NE (ermemeot D A ,“Egg oceEANI. \ | STANCE THANIC YOU: SPECIAL SHELL FIRED AT SPAIN BY THE CARTOOHISTS LAST WEER: ¥