1919] on One Side of War 409 



Macedonia or a desert country like much of Egypt. The work of 

 hospitals and hospital ships was illustrated and explained, and a 

 tribute paid to the nurses, who here laboured under very trying: 

 conditions. The difficulties connected with the transport of sick and 

 wounded and the methods taken to overcome them by the employment 

 of the machilla or hammock were shown on the screen. 



Before proceeding to the last of the war areas described, i.e. 

 Mesopotamia, a striking photograph of the British Military Cemetery 

 at Bloemfontein was exhibited, showing the long lines of graves of 

 those who died, chiefly of enteric fever, during the Boer "War before 

 preventive inoculation had become a general measure. Colonel 

 Balfour stated that happily on no front could such a sight be 

 witnessed in this war, and then exhibited a fcAv photographs demon- 

 strating the method of preparation of anti-typhoid vaccine employed 

 at the Kasauli Institute in India. Large supplies of anti-typhoid 

 and anti-cholera vaccines were sent from this Central Eesearch 

 Institute for the use of the troops in Mesopotamia. Turning to the 

 latter area, the lecturer explained the difference existing between the 

 southern portion of Mesopotamia and that through which the troops 

 had to pass on their way to Baghdad. Special attention was paid to 

 the measures taken for dealing with the ubiquitous fly, which was a 

 veritable curse in Mesopotomia, and pictures were shown ranging from 

 Nasariyeh on the Euphrates to Ahwaz on the Karun River and from 

 Basra to El Sinn. Illustrations were given of cases of scurvy, and 

 occasion was taken to point out that our lack of accurate scientific 

 knowledge had resulted in a waste of much money in the provision 

 of lime juice. Recent work had shown that lemon juice is four 

 times as efficacious as lime juice in the treatment of scorbutic 

 conditions. 



The last picture shown was one of the Tree of the Knowledge of 

 Good and Evil growing at Kurnah, the reputed Garden of Eden. 

 This is the Mesopotamia wild plum, and apparently to it should be 

 attributed all the troubles and disasters of the war. The lecturer, 

 however, remarked that he could not realise how anyone could imperil 

 his immortal soul for the sake of a Mesopotamian wild plum. 



He concluded his address in the following terms : — 



" Through it all, ladies and gentlemen, through all the toil and 

 tribulation, the sickness and the stench, the filth and flies, muddles 

 and mistakes, waste and wounds, heat, thirst, discomfort and death, 

 the British soldier has been splendid. So, in most cases, have also 

 been the Indian and the African under our leadership. 



" I think I have shown you enough to prove that the Side of War 

 which we have considered is a hard and difficult one. It has, believe 

 me, its heroes and victims, quite apart from those who gain the laurel 

 crown or the wreath of cypress in the battle zone itself. 



"But who, man or woman, would not strive and labour for men 



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