A Tlan 
 
 to Turn a Nation's Offering to 
 their Wounded Heroes into 
 Permanent Blessings 
 to Our Country 
 
 A Contribution Offered at the Meeting of 
 Southern Medical Association 
 
 MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE 
 November 12-13-14, 1917 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2014 
 
 https://archive.org/details/plantoturnnationOOcohn 
 
A Plan 
 
 Turn a Nation's Offering to their 
 Wounded Heroes into Permanent 
 Blessings to Our Country 
 
 EVOLVED BY: 
 
 Robert Cohn, Honorary Chairman, 
 Memphis Chapter 
 AMERICAN RED CROSS SOCIETY 
 
 WITH ASSISTANCE OF 
 
 Dr. Marcus Haase, Chief of Staff 
 General Hospital 
 MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE 
 
 Jones & Furbringer, Architects 
 
 MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE 
 
 SUBMITTED TO THE ASSOCIATION BY 
 
 DR. WILLIAM KRAUSS 
 
 MEMPHIS, TENN. 
 
C. TOOF * CO., MEMPHIJ 
 
THE American people have given lavishly to 
 the War Fund of the Y. M. C. A. and Ameri- 
 can Red Cross Society, for service and use in 
 foreign countries for the benefit of our young man- 
 hood and for solace and comfort, help and assist- 
 ance to our heroes on European battlefields. 
 
 In a spirit of unselfishness and self-sacrifice we 
 are taking upon our shoulders the fulfillment of a 
 task, the like of which the world has never seen. 
 
 We are practically taking over the Red Cross 
 Service in France, building hospitals and recreation 
 grounds over there which will remain as lasting 
 monuments long after the war has been brought to 
 a successful conclusion, as a token of friendship to 
 our Sister Republic "France," a monument to true 
 Democracy. We are doing all this in a spirit of 
 giving by voluntary contributions. 
 
 Right that is! As long as we have decided to 
 make the world free for Democracy, it is also our 
 duty to see to it that our children and children's 
 children are not burdened unnecessarily with bonds 
 and taxes, which might mean slavery and not a free 
 democratic country. 
 
 It occurred to me that something might be found 
 to turn some of the calamities and terrors of war 
 from a blessing of immediate necessity to an ulti- 
 mate lasting benefit for our country. 
 
 Thousands and thousands of our wounded heroes 
 will have to be returned to our shores after they are 
 partly restored to health on foreign soil, and as soon 
 as they are transportable. Homesickness and lone- 
 liness retards recuperation and healing more than 
 anything else. Nothing helps more for quicker 
 restoration of health than our home country, the 
 very air we used to breathe in conjunction with the 
 
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tender help, care and watchfulness of Mother, Sis- 
 ter, Sweetheart, Father, Brother, Friends and Rela- 
 tives. 
 
 Under present conditions are we able and in a 
 position to take care of these exigencies? Have we 
 hospital room and beds enough in America to take 
 care of our wounded and sick boys returning from 
 the battlefields of Europe? We have hardly hospital 
 accommodations enough to take care of our every- 
 day needs, not to speak of War Requirements. We 
 might meet and overcome these difficulties by build- 
 ing hospital barracks here and there. This make- 
 shift should by all means be avoided, and can be 
 avoided if my plan, as outlined below, is accepted 
 and made a reality. 
 
 As a blessing for the present and for posterity, I 
 beg to propose the erecting of Permanent Hospitals 
 all over the country with a capacity of at least two 
 hundred and fifty (250) beds each. The Building 
 Fund is to be raised by voluntary contribution 
 through the War Council of the American Red Cross 
 Society. These Hospitals are to be known as Red 
 Cross Hospitals and to be conducted now and here- 
 after under the supervision of the Red Cross Society 
 in Washington, in this war and all wars hereafter 
 as well as during peace time. 
 
 These Hospitals to serve at the same time as 
 schools for male and female nurses. 
 
 It might even be advisable to form Special Red 
 Cross Nurses Societies under Headquarters Control, 
 to serve as training grounds for efficiency and as a 
 parallel to Officers Training Camps. 
 
 From one to five of these Hospitals should be 
 built in every State of the Union, in accordance with 
 the population of each State, its quota of men fur- 
 nished to the Army and Navy and other branches. 
 
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A further consideration should be the amount of 
 money subscribed by the Individual States. 
 
 There is no doubt in my mind that the raising of 
 the money will be an easy matter. A people which 
 subscribes over a hundred million dollars for Red 
 Cross Service in France, will only be too glad to 
 give four times that much for Red Cross Service 
 within their own borders; especially when it means 
 something of permanent benefit and lasting value. 
 
 Hospitals will have to be erected anyhow. Why 
 not go ahead in a thorough way and build them for 
 eternity? This plan will appeal to a great many 
 and find liberal responses from people whose pock- 
 etbooks so far have had a narrow opening. 
 
 Enough bonds will have to be issued to cover 
 most of this war's expenditures. Why not go ahead 
 and pay cash through donations for these hospitals 
 and present them to our children as the truest token 
 of our affection? 
 
 The matter of Building Fund properly settled and 
 provided for, I beg to suggest that the Hospital 
 grounds have at least ten acres and more if possi- 
 ble, and should be donated by the larger cities who 
 desire to harbor one of these Red Cross Hospitals. 
 The donation of these sites should be insisted upon 
 not only to stimulate the interest in the campaign 
 in a general way, but to keep alive and create addi- 
 tional interest and "ardour to help" in the smaller 
 and rural communities, who, of course, can be bene- 
 fited by these hospitals only in an indirect way. 
 
 It would perhaps be advisable in consideration of 
 future developments of cities and after war require- 
 ments, to have locations selected at the outskirts of 
 the cities with easy access to railroads with spur 
 tracks. 
 
 In order to obtain the best results for these pro- 
 
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posed hospitals on the economic side, a uniformity 
 of buildings should be agreed upon, suitable for all 
 climates of our country, to get the best results at 
 the lowest cost. 
 
 It is my privilege to attach a preliminary plan of 
 a hospital, such as I consider feasible and advisable 
 to build and estimate of cost excluding real estate. 
 Labor and material might differ somewhat in the 
 various parts of the country. The estimate attached, 
 however, might be considered a fair average. My 
 idea is that on an average of three (3) hospitals per 
 State will be required, which of course does not 
 preclude New York, Massachusetts or Pennsylvania 
 from building more, and New Mexico, Arizona and 
 other States with a small population from building 
 only one. 
 
 On this basis we will have to build one hundred 
 and forty-four (144) hospitals at a cost of about 
 $350,000 each, or a total of about $50,000,000 as a 
 Building Fund. 
 
 If my plan or any similar one be accepted, we can 
 provide facilities for about 50,000 beds, which we 
 can equip easily with all modern requirements for 
 an additional sum of about $50,000,000, or a grand 
 total of $100,000,000. 
 
 For maintenance of these hospitals a sum of $27,- 
 500,000 per annum will be required, provided all 
 beds are occupied. During war time these expenses 
 will of course have to be borne by the Federal Gov- 
 ernment through the Military Department in con- 
 junction with the Red Cross Society. 
 
 It has been my intention to call for the creation 
 of a Fund known as The Red Cross Hospital Home 
 Endowment Fund of seven hundred million dollars, 
 which, at 4%, would yield the necessary means. 
 Considering the changed conditions for after-war 
 
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requirements, sucli a plan has to be relegated to 
 the scrap heap; the more so, as the required amount 
 is too large to be considered. Besides, these hospi- 
 tals can easily be made halfway or wholly self-sup- 
 porting. All deficits to be borne, 50% by the Red 
 Cross Society or the Federal Government; 2.V, by 
 the State and 25% by the City in which it is located. 
 Details to be worked out at the proper time. 
 
 To bring this plan to a successful and quick con- 
 clusion, a special Committee as part of the Red 
 Cross War Council should be appointed. 
 
 The Hundred Million Dollar Red Cross War Fund 
 has been a tremendous success. A Hundred Mil- 
 lion Dollar Red Cross Hospital Fund should be a 
 greater one. 
 
 Any oversubscriptions might be applied to the 
 equipments of Hospital trains. 
 
 In conclusion, don't let us forget that the treating 
 of our wounded soldiers at home means a great sav- 
 ing in other directions. Besides it enables us to 
 keep hundreds of physicians and nurses at home, 
 thus multiplying their usefulness beyond descrip- 
 tion. 
 
 It is our duty to prosecute this war with all our 
 might, but part of our duty is, at the same time, to 
 conserve the man-power, the resources of our coun- 
 try for our home-land. 
 
 This plan is intended to form a small part of these 
 duties which I hope will prove acceptable. 
 
 Respectfully submitted, 
 
 R. COHN. 
 
 It matters not whether the buildings arc erected 
 as per attached draft, but it matters much that these 
 Hospitals are built quickly. 
 
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