488 
graph to these physicians by the Public Health 
Service, and within forty-eight hours groups 
of physicians were on their way to some of 
the stricken communities in New England, 
where the epidemic at that time raged most 
severely. Soon after, similar medical units 
were sent to New Jersey, New York, North 
Carolina, and to Phenix, Ariz. 
The problem of supplying nurses was much 
more difficult, for it was found almost im- 
possible to discover nurses or trained attend- 
ants who were not already extremely busy on 
urgent medical work. Nevertheless, a limited 
number of nurses and trained attendants was 
secured by the American Red Cross and 
mobilized for emergency service in the com- 
munities most severely affected. In addition 
.to this the attention of local communities was 
called to the valuable nursing work which 
could be rendered by intelligent volunteer 
workers, such as school teachers, especially 
when they are directed by trained graduate 
nurses. In many communities the organiza- 
* tion of this group of nursing personnel has 
done much to relieve the serious emergency 
eaused by the lack of trained nurses. 
It was made clear from the outset that the 
United States Public Health Service desired 
to aid and not supplant state and local health 
authorities in their work. Accordingly, in- 
structions were issued that all requests for 
medical, nursing, or other emergency aid in 
dealing with the epidemic should come to the 
United States Public Health Service only 
through the state health officer. Moreover, as 
soon as possible all this epidemic work was 
organized on state lines with a representative 
of the United States Public Health Service 
detailed to each state to secure the best pos- 
sible organization and coordination of health 
activities of the service, in others the executive 
of the State board of health has been given 
appointment in the United States Public 
Health Service as field director. 
While the activities of the doctors and 
nurses working under the Public Health 
Service are generally limited to those ordi- 
narily regarded as preventive health measures, 
emergency conditions in some communities 
SCIENCE 
[N. S. Vou. XLVIII. No. 1246 
have been such that much medical relief work 
has had to be undertaken. This was the case, 
for example, in several communities where 
the few practicing physicians were themselves 
stricken and where the people were in urgent 
need of medical attention. 
FOREIGN DELEGATES TO THE AMERICAN 
CLINICAL CONGRESS 
A PARTY of eminent surgeons from abroad, 
who came to the United States to attend the 
Clinical Congress which was given up on ac- 
count of the influenza epidemic, has been 
making a tour accompanied by Lieutenant- 
Colonel George E. Brewer, M. C., U. S. Army, 
New York City; Colonel William J. Mayo, 
M. C., U. S. Army, Rochester, Minn.; Colonel 
Franklin H. Martin, M. C., U. S. Army, Chi- 
cago, and Dr. Pilcher, New York City. They 
have been entertained and have delivered ad- 
dresses on various phases of military surgery 
in St. Paul, Rochester, Philadelphia, Chicago, 
New York, and other cities. The party con- 
sists of Colonel Sir Thomas Myles, Dublin, 
Treland, Major G. Gray Turner, New Castle- 
on-Tyne, England, Colonel George E. Gask, St. 
Bartholomew’s Hospital, London, Professor 
Raffaele Bastianelli and Major Pouletti, Rome, 
Major Pierre Duval and Lieutenant Henri 
Beclere, Paris, and Major Poillet, Ambre, 
France. 
On November 6 they were the guests of the 
New York Fellows of the American College 
of Surgeons at a dinner at Delmonico’s, pre- 
sided over by Dr. J. Bentley Squier, the fea- 
ture of which was the conferring upon the 
visitors of honorary fellowship in the college. 
According to a press notice Dr. Squier, 
presided at the dinner. He reminded the 
gathering, including several hundred of the 
best known medical men here, that the clinical 
congress was to have undertaken important 
work in this country in October, but that the 
formal sessions had to be abandoned before 
the congress was convened because of the in- 
fluenza epidemic. 
Dr. Squier then introduced Colonel Frank- 
lin Martin, who related briefly the incidents 
of the delegates’ journey. They went first to 
