Anna Louise Tittman Memoir - University of Illinois Springfield

Anna Tittm 117
of the American Red Cross nursing activities in Siberia. Special cases
for discipline and so forth. Later in the day a cable w
iI
received from
Washington as follows: St. John-now ME. St. John was t nurse who was a
missionary in Japan and her eye injury on the train by t knitting needle
reqded her to go back to the United States. Well, thP %a a telegram
about her. "St. John remains chief nurse. Harrirgton, ttm, divisional
chief nurses. Advise of assi@ng Haxrington western d2$sion, Tittman
eastern division. Clear nursing records thm& Vladiv~sf,ok.~' The western
ones will have to clear throw-Vladivostok, not try to sent fkom where
they were.
Q. You lost me there. I don't quite understand. Who w& being cleared
throm Vladivostok?
A. The records. I1 11 read that again. ltSt. John ~rmirw &ief nmse. H ~ F
ring tor^,^^ that was the one that preceeded m with her wilt and was gone
from Vladivostok when I had arrived [she went ] to the we*, way west, with
her group. "St. John remaims chief nurse. J&rdngtm, !IBttman, divisional
chief nms. Advise assiping Hbrington to western divglsion, Tittman to
eastern division. Clear nursing records throw Vladivostok. 'I That; would
rean not trying to rrall them f'mm out there in the western part, where Mss
Harrdngton was. Just clear their records thm@ here bercause the postd
conditions were better. I think that was the reason.
Q. So she was to send her records back to Vladivostok?
A. That s ri@t. "July 15; P& appointmnt ax chief nme, eastern division
of SiberLa was announced, and I assmd office. I attended q flrst methg
of the finance codttee which is an advisory codttee 101 f'mction and presenting
weekly reports. On July 20, I moved into a shglreA mom in the hospital
side of the building. I surely am going to enjoy the privacy. mom
is quite attractive with an improvised dressing table, awash stand, a becurtained
wardrobe, a long table for books and papers and a small tea table
holding IQ' tea set purchased in Nikko, Japan. My bed is ecomfortable and I
have a nice lfght which I can carry amund about and fastlen over nly bed or
over dressing table. The temperature is very warm, in fact, hot at noontime.
The boys say it is as hi@ as 110 degrees some dm. I have no surm~r
suit and am obliged to wear only one-provided for wear. There is
ice from the storage plant, but this cannot be used
Occasionally
we have ice flmm the United States boat, the
the captain
of the Albany on a previous trip who reported the
the refugees and so:forth to Washington.
Q. He was the reason that you were all sent then?
I
A. Yes, that I s Tj&t.
Q. Do you have his narne in there somwhere?
A. I think it was Phillips. I think it was, but I'm "One ni&t
we had lemnade for dinner. lt Now wasn't that
of msentery -ng the person&l and populace.
be the flies. " Oh, they were awful and did they bite ! ey are present
i