HOSPITAL SHIPS

belong to one of three cla es, (1) naval or military; (2) Merchant marine; (3) Civil. Military hospital ships usually exist only during a state of war, and are used for transport wounded soldiers from the country where military operations are in progre to hospitals overseas. or instance, during the Huropean war, hospital ships were used to transport wounded Ameri- ‘HOSPITALS ~ can and British soldiers from the French and other fronts to England and America. Naval hospital ships may be permanently attached to a navy, to care for sick, injured or wounded sailors, or for ship-wrecked persons. In the U. S. Navy, a hospital ship is commanded by 2 naval medical officer not below the rank of surgeon.. Under him, are merchant officers and crew for navigation, and doctors, nurses and orderlies to care for the sick and injured. The merchant officers have full control over the navigation of the ship and the main tene ance of discipline among the crew. According to an agreement of the second Geneva Convention, of 1868, merchantmen or hospital ships having wounded on board, or boats rescuing wounded or shipwrecked, are immune from attack or capture. A hospital ship must carry no arms or ammunition, except such as are nece ary for protection of the wounded or for maintenance of order on board. U. 8. Navy hospital ships are painted white with a broad green horizontal stripe. If the ship belongs to an organization, such as the Red Cro , the stripe is red instead of green. They fly the Red Cro fiag as well as the national ensign. An example of a merchant marine hospital ship is the U. S. coastguard cutter Andro scog gin, which was converted into a hospital for caring for the men of the north Atlantic fishing fleet. ‘Two well-known civil hospital ships are the Bellevue Hospital ship for tuberculous children from New York City, and the Boston Floating Hospital.