WORK OF DISABLED MEN.
LIFE IN FALSE ARMS,
WONDROUS PROGRESS
(FROM OTO OWN CORRESPONDENT.)
LONDON. May 28.
A remarkable and interesting exhibition has been in progross at the Central Hall, Westminster, arranged and promoted by the Ministry of Pensions and held in connexion with the InterAllied conference on tho After-care of Disabled Soldiers and Sailors.
A year ago a conference was held in Paris, and a permanent committee to promote interchange of views as to tho best methods of educating disabled lighters and training them to take their place in civil life was formed. The work of that committeo has justified the expectation that an interchange of views and experiences would stimulate great improvement in methods.
A WONDERFUL STORY. The provision of artificial limbs naturally played an .important pait, and tho exhibition vividiy illustrated tho 'great progress that has been made. Sir vy'illiam MacEwen, in charge of the exhibit, sent by tho Etskine Hospital, at Glasgow, had a wonderful story to tell. It was said when artificial limbs began 'to bo required in considerable numbers that they could not be made here, and that aliens would have to bo emp.oycd. Sir William at onco tent for a fetv prominent engineers, and shipbuilders, explained to them what was wanted, and in 48 hours they produced models. Today those limbs aro being made in munition works and shipyards, and they are equal- to any made in any part of the' world. Under Sir William's guidance, too, "provisional" I limbs are being made. The idea of ! theso is to avoid the use of crutches by [fitting an artificial limb that can be i used during the period of shrinkage and is easily adjustable to the changing sizu 'of the truncated limb. The limbs aro ! being supplied by the. shipyards and ' engineering shops "at cost price, and tho 1 Government, now knowing the cost ! price, have been able to rcduco the amounts they were paying from a j standard of £25 to £15.
Another interesting exhibit in tho treatment section was the telephone bullet detector, which has invented during the war by a few doc- ; tors at tho front who prefer to remain anonymous. It has been used in France | with great success. It has two earpieces like an ordinary telephone, and two transmitters attached to wires. ! When theso aro placcd on the wounded I man's body a characteristic sound is heard by the doctor when the bullet is , detected, and its position can be fixed i to the sixty-fourth part of an inch. Still another now instrument is a pa- • tent for localising a foreign body in the eye. j The pattern-shops of the Clyde co- ' operated in tho undertakings of tho Princess Louise Scottish Hospital for Limbless Sailors and Soldiers at Erskine. A neb'e housp stan-ling in 400 acres of park receives 400 patients. They are fitted with'artificial legs or arms made on a standarised plan. Tho first rough skctch in wood comes from the Clyde, shops, and from this the limb-fitters learn tho size needed, and : it is carefully accommodated to the pa- : tient. A letter was rccont'y received i from a patient snying that ho had that j day walked five miles and cycled twenty miles with the aid of a standarised leg. ' A2f ITALIAN TRIUMPH. Professor V. Putti, of Bologna, said it was Dr. Giuliano Vanghetti who conceived tlie means of tiansmitting voluntary movements from the stump of an amputated limb to an artificial I limb. The muscles are allowed to overlap the bone of the stump and aro ; so arranged as to stick out like two small fingers. This can be done at the time of the amputation or on healed stumps. The muscles aro arranged to give alternately the floxion and extension movements or a rotary movement, so that a man could shave himself and use a knife and fork. The artificial limbs in vogue in this country arc simplv support for the stumps, whereas artificial limbs can bo used by tho stumps. We are still at the first steps of this advance. Cinematisation, as the now system is called, promises to be one of the most brilliant successes of orthopffldic surgery. Five countries were conspicuous for exhibits relating to the orthopaedic treatment of wounded soldiers—England. Scotland, Canada, Italy, and
France. Italy displayed abundant evidence of the care taken for her disabled sons by hospitals and societies in Home, Florence, Leghorn Milan, and other ccntres. France told of her "re-educa-tion" schools at Paris, Havre, Lyons, Marseilles. The Military Orthopaedic Hospital at Shepherd's Bush showed a varied collection of slings, canvas boots, knee cases, elbow splints, walking callipers, and tho like_, made by the 250 crippled men working in the shops of Ihe hospital. The Canadian section included a series of masks designed to show how a man's face is restored from a state of mutilation to a normal ap-1 pearanee. TRAINING. To tho layman, an interesting part of tho exhibition was that devoted to illustrating tho various methods of training tne broken soldier for a new occupation. A man whose former work in civil life entailed continuous standing could hardly go back to that work if ho had an artificial le". It was therefore necessary to tcach liim some other occupation if he were to remain a selfrespecting and self-supporting member of tho community. All the Allied countries had exhibits illustrative of this part of their work , Speakincr at. a sectional meeting on After-Care" Major Robert Mitchell, tho Director of Training, said that the great difficulty had been to know what to do for the one-armed men and men who had iost a leg. and what openings there were for tuberculous or heart trouble cases. He maintained that many occupations were quito_ satisfactory. Various elcctric corporations were pleased with one-armed men, who had been trained for switchboard work. Six months ago also at Rochampton they tried wholesale tailoring for men with one leg. Tho wages list showed that one of the six men was now earning £4 a week, and nono of tho others was getting less than £3. It had been ar- . ranged for a hundred men thus disabled r to be trained. ; NEW ZEALAND'S PAItT. English schemes of employment, of , course, outnumbered any of the others. France, Italy, Belgium, and Portugal '• had fine exhibits. Among those from ; British Dominions or their \ workshops here, Canada's was especially _ distinguished by its scope and technical ex--1 cellence. and the New Zealand exhibit was so attractive that ono wished all ■ New Zealanders in London could have visited it. In one large bay there were ■ specimens of the work of disabled men ■ in the commercial school, book-keeping, writing and shorthand done by men » obliged to use the left hand, and type- > writing and joinery done by men who r had lost the use of ono hand. There I was a very promising photograph of the wool-classing school for disabled men,' - with specimens of wool classed, and this ! idea of employment so profitable to the ■ men themselves and to their country, l especially interested colonial visitors. s Another exhibit of immense interest, as showing what essential work was ) within the powers of men who before the war could have been considered only . fit for light and trivial occupations, , was the display of engineering done by New Zealanders in English workshops. » This included an armature made to a New Zealand order which had happily chanced "to be executed by one or our own men.
It would Be impossible to enumerate all the classes shown, but among articles sent by the trained patients at Brockenhurst, Codford, Hornchurch, "Walton, and Oatlands Park, which together made up an exhibition of saleable articles unrivalled for fineness of design and attractive appearance, were beautifully worked raffia baskets, carved furniture, and decorations, and a host of knick-knacks in platinum ware. One felt, indeed, that a shop in Regent street stocked with the work of New Zealand soldiers might easily establish a reputation worthy of that famous street. Major H. S. Richards is the man responsible for the completeness of tho New Zealand exhibit, and he received many congratulations on the result. The keynote of the whole exhibition was its hopefulness. It is realised that the great army of tho maimed must be taught and encouraged to live 'their lives, that they will not be happy unless they can develop their powers to the utmost, and thnt they should, if possible, do constructive work. It has been proved that ari intelligent man can adapt himself to the strangest occupations. and can be trained to the most difficult, dextrous work. His future is full of hope for himself and for his community. The Lord Mayor gave a dinner at the •Mansion House to meet the delegates to the conference, those nresent includes Brig.-General G. S. Richardson, C.M.G., the High Commissioner, firvl Col. the Hon. R. Heaton Rhodes, M.P.
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Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16263, 13 July 1918, Page 10
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1,478WORK OF DISABLED MEN. Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16263, 13 July 1918, Page 10
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