Sherborn, Mass.
April 6, 1920.Lady dear,
Your N.Y. letter makes me weep again that I missed you in Balt. You could have gotten my phone no. by calling or inquiring at the Hospital desk. Why did you stop at telling me your reaction to Miss T. & Miss L.? I know the former very well. She has more influence in the nursing world of the U.S. than any other single woman. She has Dr. S's private ear also as nobody else has. It was she who put Mrs. Burk into the soft Red Cross job she had during the war, & into her present berth in Phil. Mrs. B. was known as "the iron woman" when she was night supt. at the Phipps. She was universally hated while there, but stayed on because she was Miss T.'s "affinity." Mrs. B. is cold, materialistic & good for nothing but a slave driver. She is also a liar. Hopkins as a T. Sch. is a good a place as one will find, I believe, both from the standpoint of practical technique & theoretical stuff. At least it used to be. For the last year or so it has been attracting poorer & poorer head nurses. It pays head nurses on the ward except the Phipps. $45 a month & living (Phipps pays $60) there is no future for them. Consequently our best nurses are going into R. Cross work, or public health nursing or specializing, where they get more money, better experience, & a chance to rise. Poor head nurses on the wards are not only no inspiration to pupil nurses, but they cannot and do not teach the pupil nurses. I see nothing in nursing today to attract the college graduate. It ought to, but it doesn't.
Well, I go back tomorrow. Much love to you. Please write me.