314 A Short History of Nursing gress might have come otherwise as well — perhaps even better — but it did not. It seems to require the horrid exigencies of war to shock public masses into a sense of realization of human values and abilities, especially those of women. The fearful demonstrations of men's destructive power and contempt of life in war has seemed to nerve all humanitarians, and especially women, to strenuous efforts of life-saving, and in the pitiless publicity of strife, defects and weaknesses in training and discipline stand out clearly, and the need of im- proved education both in medicine and nursing is acknowledged. Thi,s has all been true of the last and worst of wars, and it is undoubted that in every country better and more thorough teaching and preparation of nurses will result, not only for war service, it may be noted with gratitude, but for that wide human service which Henri Dunant believed would in time unseat war from its eminence. Though our country went last into the war, the probable calls coming to us had been clearly fore- seen from the outset by our nursing associations and their leaders, and their war plans were de- veloped with an originality and broad scope that make them a real contribution to the history of co- operative action. Moreover, the skill and wisdom
