106 THE ZEMSTVOS DURING THE WAR
From the front, the patient was sent to the clearing hospitals,
which were nominally under the absolute control of the army au-
thorities. In practice, however, most of them were equipped by the
Unions of Zemstvos and of Towns and soon passed under the con-
trol of the latter.
A description of the organization and methods of its clearing hos-
pital was given by the Kharkov provincial committee of the Zemstvo
Union in a report from which we quote the following:
At the request of the provincial zemstvo board, the administration of
the Southern Railways set aside spacious quarters for a clearing hos-
pital in a building near the station. Subsequently all evacuation work
was concentrated at this place, to which all the wounded and sick sol-
diers arriving from the front are taken straight from the station. After
they have had their hair cut they are given a bath. Their clothing is
sent to a disinfecting chamber, where steam and formaldehyde are ap-
plied. In the dressing-room the patients are provided with clean under-
wear and sent to the wards. They are then examined by the physicians,
their wounds dressed, fed, registered in accordance with the nature of
their ailment and according to birthplace, and then distributed among
the hospitals of the city and province of Kharkov or other provinces.
At first the patients were kept at the clearing hospital for a short
time only, just long enough to enable them to bathe and have their
wounds dressed, and to enter them in the registers, which usually re-
quired about 24 hours or less. Later, in order to register the patients
in a more careful manner, according to the nature of their ailments,
and in order to have a better opportunity of intercepting infectious
cases, the time of their stay at the clearing hospital was increased to
48 hours. In spite of its vast space, with accommodation for 923 pa-
tients, the hospital was found inadequate. The zemstvo therefore
opened an additional clearing hospital with 400 beds in what used to
be a liquor warehouse. The second hospital is likewise provided with a
bath-house, disinfecting chamber, and dental clinic. A special branch
of the street car line has been built to the new institution. At the first
hospital, which acts as headquarters, an information bureau has been
established where all the information necessary for evacuation is con-
centrated (the number of free and occupied beds in the hospitals, the
number of patients arriving and departing by train, etc.). Upon ar-
rival of the patients at the hospital, the information bureau enters
each case in alphabetical order and later the destination of the patient
is noted in the proper place. The bureau also writes letters for the pa-
