Page:A short history of nursing - Lavinia L Dock (1920).djvu/148

132 A Short History of Nursing knew this was not true in medicine or teaching. Her theory was that the nurse must remain in such close relation with her training school that it would always continue to supervise her work and give testimonial to her training and ability, and that this would be all-sufficient. She was therefore logically much opposed to self-organization of nurses in a national self-governing society, and from her invalid's room prepared all the arguments against this which were used by the reactionary elements in hospital, medical, and press circles. Her thesis, though mistaken, was sincere, and her purpose was pure and high. Unfortunately her arguments were used by many persons whose in- tentions were the reverse of hers, and whose methods were crafty in the extreme. Miss Nightingale's protests could not prevent the younger generation from organizing, but her powerful support did enable the opposition to defeat, during her lifetime, the attainment of state registration. The Nightingale nurses never formed an alumnae association, though most English train- ing schools, in the decades of 1880 and 1890, de- veloped them under the name of "Leagues." Nor were the "Nightingales" encouraged to join nursing societies as individuals, and few of them have done so.