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CHAPTER XXV

HOSPITALS—SCHOOLS—EDUCATION AND THE NATIONALIST WRITERS—THE DAYS PASS, BUT THERE IS STILL MUCH TO BE DONE AND SEEN


One's first impression of Angora would lead one to imagine that everything could be seen in a very short time; but the days pass, and there is still much to be done. I have visited the Governor, and congratulated him on the progress of the town's development, which has advanced steadily, even since my arrival. If there were only peace, one could soon hope for completion.

My guide, Vely Nedjdat Bey, understands what will interest me most; and the efforts of the Red Crescent, disclosed on our round of the hospitals, have given me a most agreeable surprise. The sanitation leaves much to be desired from our Western standards, but progressive Turks have now learnt the importance of such matters, and are determined to change their old ways, after the peace. It would be a formidable undertaking, at the moment impossible, to carry out the drastic alterations that are essential in these primitive buildings, with no modern heating apparatus, and so few well-trained professional nurses. Under such conditions they have done marvels with serum, and have actually kept down cholera, typhus, typhoid, and small-pox with extraordinary success. It is only unfortunate that they have adopted the French method of typhoid-inoculation right into the breast, which, though often effective, is certainly dangerous for women.

The military hospital at Broussa—formerly the