2 Surgeons
1 Apothecary
1 Clerk
2 Chief nurses (men or women)
20 Nurses (men or women)
When several detachments are dispatched to one place, one Director, one
Superintending surgeon and one Superintending nurse are placed as
supervisors over all such detachments. Not infrequently, however, it
becomes necessary to divide one relief detachment into two or more. All
relief detachments to be sent to the front, it must be noted, consist of
men only; those at home of women nurses; and those on board the hospital
ships are of both sexes, namely, one detachment of women nurses and one
or two detachments of men nurses, the number of which is fixed
proportionately to the size of the capacity of the ships.
According to the regulations of our relief service in time of war, there
are Patients’ Transport Columns but never before have they been used
until the present war. We have now organized one such column on trial,
selecting the stretcher-bearers out of the retired privates, who had
once been trained in the Army and instructing them anew for two months;
and we have sent them to the battle fields in Manchuria. This column
consists of
1 Director
1 Surgeon
1 Clerk
2 Chief men nurses
3 Chief stretcher-bearers
3 Men nurses
We may form some more columns if this is successful and has good
results.
The total number of all the detachments as mentioned above and already
sent out together with women nurses amounts to 3,266 persons and,
moreover, we are prepared to dispatch as many more as are necessary at
any moment.
All the women nurses of our society go through scientific and practical
training for two and three years, the latter term being for the higher
course of nursing, whilst the men nurses are required to take a ten
months’ course of training.
Our Main Red Cross Hospital in Tokyo has now been appropriated to the
use of the Army. It is, therefore, made a branch hospital of the Tokyo
Military Reserve Hospital. Since the outbreak of the war, many
additional barracks have been built on the wide ground of the Red Cross
Hospital. Moreover, an estate we had purchased at Hiroshima for the
purpose of building our hospital there has been put at the disposal of
the Army and a temporary hospital has been erected.
* * * * *
The Ladies’ Volunteer Nursing Association of the Red Cross Society of
Japan has become more active in many ways, the members have applied
themselves with far greater earnestness and energy to the study of first
aid and nursing under the direction of our medical men. Moreover, they
are occupying themselves very busily every day making various kinds of
bandages and caps for the patients, looking after them at the relief
stations, which are prepared for those who are travelling, visiting them
at the hospitals, helping them to write to their families at home and in
various other serviceable ways. Theirs is a self-sacrificing work.
Since the outbreak of the war, the number of the members is daily
increasing. Princesses, the wives of the Nobility and of the diplomatic
staffs and other distinguished ladies have all joined.
Her Majesty the Empress has always been greatly interested in our relief
work. On the 20th of last June, for instance, she paid a visit to the
Ladies’ Volunteer Nursing Association and particularly looked at the
members making bandages. On the 3d of September, she summoned our
president to the palace and spoke to him very encouragingly about the
Red Cross Work.
* * * * *
Our sister societies abroad have earnestly and practically extended
their sympathy and kindness to us by offering gifts in various forms,
which we have gratefully accepted. The following are the details of
gifts we have received up to date:
9 cases of bandage materials and clothes from the Red Cross Society
of Germany.
515 cases of various kinds of wine and nourishment from the Red Cross
Society of Italy.
2 sets of necessary articles for a field hospital taking in 100
patients from the French Relief Society for the Wounded Soldiers.
Franc 1,000 —The Red Cross Society of Servia.
£ 100 —The Red Cross Society of Portugal.
Lire 40 —The Red Cross Society of Greece.
Krone 1,351 —The Ladies’ Association of Copenhagen
of the Red Cross Society of Denmark.
Franc 13,500 —The Ladies’ Association of France.
* * * * *
The Red Cross Society of Spain and the National Red Cross Society of
America have kindly offered us their assistance. Besides these public
gifts, many individual men and women have come forward and offered us
their services to nurse the wounded soldiers.
We deeply regret that we are not able to accept these kind offers at
present, simply because we have still a sufficient number of well
equipped relief corps to meet all the emergencies we have had as yet to
encounter.
However, the Government of Japan accepted the services of Mrs. McGee, an
American lady, with nine nurses, and Mrs. Richardson, an English lady,
to nurse the sick and wounded and instructed us to place them among some
of our relief detachments. The American nurses have been working in the
Hiroshima Reserve Hospital and on some hospital ships for a few months
and sailed for their homes recently with Mrs. McGee.
* * * * *
At the close of this statement, we take great pleasure in adding that
donations in various forms from every part of the world and from rich
and poor have ever been flowing into the coffers of our Society. We have
never failed to appropriate these gifts to our relief funds in
compliance with the donors’ wishes.
We shall be always grateful for these practical expressions of sympathy
and generosity which are extended to both belligerents, for whose
comfort and relief, when sick and wounded, we are most earnestly praying
and devoting ourselves. May Providence help our cause.
* * * * *
Since the issue of our last report on the Red Cross work, much progress
has been made in all the different ways of alleviating the sufferings of
the war-victims, seventeen Relief detachments on hospital ships and
twenty-two on land being dispatched in addition to those which had
previously been in service since the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese war.
The following are the details of the institutions in which our Relief
detachments are at present working:
Hospital Ships 2
These are owned and entirely managed by the
Red Cross Society of Japan.
Relief detachments serving on board eighteen 38
hospital ships owned by the Army
All these hospital ships together with the
two Red Cross hospital ships are constantly
in the service of transportation of the sick
and wounded from the front to Japan and from
one port to another at home. The number of
the Relief detachment serving on board each
hospital ship runs from 1½ to 3
Relief detachments according to the tonnage of
the ship.
Relief detachments dispatched to the hospitals at 78
home under both the Naval and Military authorities
Depot of Supply 1
This is at the base of Etape in order to distribute
various supplies as are necessary for medical and
relieving purposes.
Relief detachments at the front 32
These detachments consist of field hospitals
and relief stations in Korea and Manchuria.
Column of Stretcher-bearers 1
The members of the column are located separately
along with Etape lines serving in carrying the
sick and wounded with stretchers, wagons,
horses, etc.
In addition to such institutions, there are thirteen agencies at home
and one at the front established by the Headquarters of the Society in
order to facilitate the management of the whole Relief detachments at
home and abroad, numbering 152 Relief detachments in all; and of Relief
stations established in such ports and railway stations as are
convenient and necessary for giving rest and refreshment to the sick and
wounded on their homeward way and also medical treatment in cases of
emergency, to say nothing of renewing bandages. These are worked
voluntarily by the members of the branches of the Red Cross Society of
Japan, surgeons, nurses and the members of the Ladies’ Volunteer Nursing
Association.
The nurses of both sexes, dispatched up to date, number in all over
4,700, five Relief detachments out of which have been formed and placed
entirely in the Russian prisoners’ hospitals and stations. The
approximate amount of the expense for the work up to the end of this
year is estimated to be as much as 5,160,000 Yen.
* * * * *
The members of the Ladies’ Volunteer Nursing Association of the Red
Cross Society of Japan have constantly and strenuously rendered their
services ever since the outbreak of the war in making bandages and caps
for the patients, in looking after them at the relief stations, which we
have already mentioned, in visiting them at the hospitals, in helping
them to write to their families at home, in distributing among them
books, magazines, newspapers and various things they could collect, in
actually nursing the sick and wounded of both belligerents, if
necessary, and in various other ways. The members of forty-one branches,
together with those of the headquarters of the Association number nearly
10,000, including Princesses, the wives of the Nobility and of
diplomatic staffs and other distinguished ladies who have joined.
* * * * *
Their Majesties, the Emperor and the Empress and their Highnesses, the
Crown Prince and Princess have always been greatly interested in our
relief work. Especially the Empress has graciously encouraged the
members in various ways, giving, for instance, money to the Association
and visiting it to look at the members making bandages. When she
summoned Count Matsugata, the President, to the palace on the 3d of
September of last year, the following was graciously spoken to him:—
“_It is gratifying that the Red Cross Society of Japan has
dispatched a great number of Relief detachments, by whom both
Japanese and Russian sick and wounded have been attended. We
hope you will encourage these detachments in their work and that
the relief work, true to the principle of philanthropy, will be
thoroughly accomplished by them._”
Again, on the 4th of March of this year when Baron Ozawa,
Vice-President, paid an homage to the Empress previous to his
departure from Japan for the front to visit the sufferers
officially and to inspect all the Relief detachments there, she
spoke to him as follows:—
“_Over one year has now passed away since the Red Cross Society
has started its relief work. We can imagine how hard it must be
for the members of the Relief detachments at the front
especially at this coldest season of the year. Still, the care
of the sick and wounded concerns my heart evermore. We wish you
would convey to the Relief detachments my earnest hope that they
will endure all the difficulties and work hard in alleviating
the suffering of the patients._”
Indeed, it is not little that the Japanese ladies have done for
the prestige of the nation as well as for humanity during the
Russo-Japanese war.
* * * * *
Our sister-societies have earnestly and practically extended their
sympathy and kindness to us by offering gifts in various forms, which we
have gratefully accepted. The following are the details of gifts we have
received since last October up to this date. (Gifts from other
institutions or individuals are omitted here).
The Central Office of the Franc 1,000
International Red Cross
Society
The Red Cross Society of Medical materials,
Germany &c.
The Red Cross Society of Woolen caps, &c.
Germany
The Relief Society for Wounded Medicines, bandages
Soldiers of France and other materials.
The Ladies’ Association of Franc 5,000
France