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DYNAMIC RED CROSS MONEY~[
By FRANKLIN K. LANE,
Secretary of the Interior.
OUT of the $100.000,000 given last June by the
American people to the Red Cross, nearly
one-half ($45,000,000) has gone to help the
refugees, the orphaned children, the repatriates and
wounded of the French. Belgian, Italian, Serbian,
Roumanian and other peoples.
The Red Cross has spent more than $30,000,-
000 in France alone in the establishment of canteens
for the poilus, the reconstruction of devasted dis
tricts, the care of homeless children, the housing of
refugees, the sending of food, clothes and supplies
to the sorely burdened civilian population. More
than $2,000,000 has been spent in fighting tubercu
losis, one of the worst of war's by-products; $1,149,-
000 has been expended for the shelter of war orphans.
$2,709,736 has been appropriated for the reconstruc
tion of villages and general relief work in the dev
asted areas.
In Italy a great work of relief was organized
after the Austro-German drive of last fall, and the j
thousands of refugees that came pouring over the
Po and the Piave were aided by a business-like and
far-reaching supply and canteen service, improvised
out of the existing organization. More than
$3,000,000 was thus spent for Italy.
American funds will soon make the plain of
Monastir fertile once more through the importation
of seeds and agricultural implements. In this section
of Serbia more than fifty thousand refugees have
been on the verge of starvation for nearly two years.
It should be a source of daily pride to every
American that our own Red Cross is adding new
glories to the American Name in the Mother
Continent. Our full support is essential if its pres
ent mighty work of succor and human brotherhood
is to be continued on an ever increasing scale.
Smith Serves the Red Cross
By T. J. EDMONDS,
Director of Civilian Relief of the Potomac Division.
L 1
"Well," said Smith as he walked j
Into my office, "I've wound up all my
business interests."
"What for?" I said as I rose to <
sreet the man I had known in my <
home city years before.
"So I could offer myself If I'm worth !
having. I've got to get Into the game. ■
Anything useful and human. I'm 1
ready for marching orders." <
"Worth having?" I echoed. "You've 1
dropped like a God-send. We've got 1
the biggest man-sized job you ever
tions. You're going straight with the
Home Service. Something us.eful and
human? Why, in a week this thing
will be gripping you so that you'll eat: (
and sleep it I" ■ \
H. (
The Home Service Section of a big
Red Cross chapter was in session As <
Smith and 1 arrived they were discuss- j
ing the problem of a soldier's # wife and (
six children found living in two tene
ment rooms in a building that rad been ,
condemned because of a leaky roof,
mouldy floor and lack of fire protection.
They had sold most of their furniture
piece by piece for current li"lng ex
penses. The children had no change of
clothing. There was no income and, lie
cause of the mother's condition, no pos
sibility of one, except the expected allot
ment and allowance, which even when
it came would not entirely meet the cost
of living in the city. The Home Service
worker had eiven a generous sum of
money to meet the urgent needs, and
now the committee was planning to
rent better quarters, move the fami
ly, secure medical and nursing atten
tion for the woman, outfit them all
with clothing and furniture and keep
regularly in touch with the family.
m.
In Smith's next case the Home Serv
ice Section and the tuberculosis society
hrd arranged hospital care for a man
discharged because of tuberculosis
contracted "in the line of duty."
Some attorney had told him he would
Set compensation for him on a fifty-fif
ty basis, but the lawyer-member of the
Home Service Section helped him fill
out the proper form which the Red
Cross office supplied and assured him
that no discharged soldier or soldier's
beneficiary should ever pay for col
lecting either compensation or insur
ance.
rv.
A member of the women's uniformed !
corps drove us in her machine out to a
camp where there are 30,000 men.
Here we met the Red Cross Home
Service man. We didn't take his time
—we just watched him. One moment
he was helping a man to fill out dupli
cate allotment blanks; the next he
was arguing the merits of insuring to
the limit; the next he was wiring a
Home Service Section to visit a man's
family; next he wa«. soing with a boy
who had received s tragic telegram
from home to see the commanding offi
cer about a leave of absense; then he
was speeding on his way a poor fellow
discharged because of permanent in
jury : then we saw him talking to a
soldier and a girl wife at the hostess'
house; and as the shadows fell he was j
closeted with a worried chap, who was
telling him about an impending mort- i
gage foreclosure and an expected baby. !
V.
Later the same evening we saw hiir
stand up in the Liberty theater and,
his eyes glowing with the service pic
ture in his own mind and his voice
ringing with the conviction of his own
enthusiasm, tell a thousand young fel
lows what TIor::e Service is. He paint
d homes made happier by Home Serv
ice—told of friends for fighters' fami
lies found by the Red Cross—pictured
devoted Hope Service workers fight
! ing the country's battles this side the
trenches. When he ended some fellow
struck up "Keep the Home Fires Burn
ing."
We were silent for a long while on
the way home. Smith and I. Finally
Smith broke out:
"Can 1 do it? The sort of thing
camp service, you call it? Why, that's
where I want to be—at the point of
first contact with those living prob
lems. Pershing was right when he
said. 'The thing most needful to the
American fighting forces overseas is
anything and everything that will con
tribute to the morale of the men in
service.'
; "Home Service— I see it now—
means morale. When can 1 go to
[ work?"
.
Grecxt Net of Mercy drawn. tKrou<gK
arvOceaivof UrvspecJkable Pcarv.
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THE SUN THAT NEVER SETS
INVEST IN HUMANITY
By JOHN OLIVER LA GORCE
Associate Editor, National Geographic Magazine.
SUFFER Little Children to come unto me," de
clared the compassionate Christ.
But never since He dwelt in flesh upon the earth
have there been so many "Little Children" in need of
compassion as now.
There are the "Little Children" who have gone to
France for you and me ,and for Christendom and by
going have given their all. Can you do less? Shall
you keep from your boy or your neighbor's boy that
which is symbolic of the Compassionate One by neg
lecting the call of the Red Cross Mother?
Then there are the uncounted "Little Children"
of our allies who have fallen wounded and ill in de
fense of their home fires. Who but the Red Cross
Mother can know the suffering, the anguish, of the
shell-torn, thirst-stricken soldier who lies upon the
ghostly bed of No Man's Land? Will you deny him
the life-giving cup?
Think also of the "Little Children" of devastated
lands. Some are "Little Children" in size and tender
years. Others, alas, are mature in stature and age,
but none the less "Little Children" in their helpless
ness—-their abject need. Can we in our plenty with
hold from them the bare bread of existence? Can
we still our inner voice with the thought that others
will bear our burden, when in our heart we must
know that there are no others?
The Red Cross helps no one who does not need
help a hundred times more than we need the money.
Therefore, let us give, give until we feel it, give until
it pinches. Then and only then we shall know that
we have indeed offered the "Little Children" of the
war the tender compassion of a nation.
What the Italian Premier Thinks of
the American Red Cross
When the Austrians last October
routed the Italian Army by trickery
and drove before them half a million
refugees, the part which the American
Red Cross played in this stupendous
tragedy will go down in the history of
Italy and the world as one of the most
magnified** of relief work that
has ever come to light.
Listen to what the Italian Premier
said of this work in his address at the
opening of Parliament early last De
cember :
"Our soui is stirred again with ap
preciation and with admiration for the
magnificent dash with which the Amer
ican Red Cross has brought us power
ful aid in our recent misfortune. We
attribute great value to the co-opera
tion which will he given us against the
common enemy by the prodigious
activity and by the exuberant and con
sistent force which are peculiar to the
American people."
And this, mind you, was only a little
over a month after the American Red
Cross made ita triumphant dash into
i Italy I
LIKE MOTHER
USED TO MAKE
Khaki Clad Boy With a Lump in
Throat Welcomes Home
Cooking.
Imagine your boy on a troop train
bound for some United States seaport
where a transport lies ready to take
him and his regiment "over there."
He never felt healthier in his life—in
body. In mind? If he finds moments
when his thoughts begin to race back
toward you, wondering what you are
doing, can you blame him if occasion
ally something lumps In his throat
about as comfortable as a billiard ball?
And then the train grinds to a stand
still. Some one yells, "Big eats; oh,
boy!" as several Red Cross uniforms
flash out in the crowd on the station
platform. For here is a Red Cross
emergency canteen. Here he can get
coffee —good, hot coffee—sandwiches,
candy, tobacco, fruit, postal cards and
almost anything that he may have for
gotten.
Does it help his spirits? Does it?
Does it cheer him to get these snacks
of good home tasting food served by
women like those in his own family?
Probably the most valuable part of the
Red Cross canteen service work is the
effect of the smile and cheer from the
women who are in charge. Soldiers
write frequently such messages as the
following, indicating their apprecia
tion of this branch of Red Crosa
work:
"The Red Cross of Chicago met us
with coffee, sandwiches and post cards.
I hope the Montana women are all do
ing the same. Chicago sure is a big
city and plenty of pep. Join the Red
Cross and help the boys who have vol
unteered their lives."
There are now more than 500 of
these Red Cross canteens or refresh
ment units located at the Important
railroad centers in the United States
Every commander of a troop train has |
a list of these canteens, so that he can
call upon the Red Cross for this serv
ice at these stations en route.
Women Give $36,000,000.
Thousands of patriotic women in all
parts of the United States are freely
giving their time to make surgical
dressings, knit goods, hospital gar
ments, comfort kits, socks and sweat
ers. The value of this labor given by
American women is estimated at $3<V
000,000 a year.
The Red Cross operates In France a
motor truck transportation service
with 250 motor truck*.
- *- ' mi
************
ARMY BARRACKS
FOR NURSERIES
One of Them Houses More
Than 800 Children
Under Ten.
Within sound of the deep throated
guns of the French firing line, guns
that are ceaselessly telling the Ger
mans "thou shalt uot pass," live bun*
dreds of happy, healthy children.
At the beginning of the war tha
buildings in which these kiddies now
live and play and study were barraeki
for French boys training to he sol
diers. Today these boys—those who
are left of them —are veterans. Thesa
barracks are good modern buildings,
j and they are set amid beautiful scen
ery. There are several of these groupi
of barracks scattered throughout
France, and all of them have been
turned into homes for the nation'!
homeless children.
At one of the barrack-nurserlea
there are more than 800 children.
Some are babies of a few days old,
and the oldest is not over ten years,
Most of these children are orphans,
Some few of them have mothers who
are working in fields and factories to
help France win the war.
And these little folks are receiving
the first intelligent care of their lives,
Skilled American doctors are in
charge of the kitchens, and e .perl
enced teachers are Instructing thosfl
old enough to attend the barrack
school. The older girls and boys ar«
being taught useful trades as well a*
the usual classroom lessons, and with
It ail these children are learning th€
joy in healthy play.
France laid upon us a sacred servict
in this care of its children. And how
noble has been the response of oui
American Red Cross I
Out ofNo Man's Land
By
HARRY IRVING GREENE
; Father:
This wonderful letter that 1 am writ
ing you—a miracle letter. I was hurt,
badly, but lam going to get well. It
happened like this —you know I am
not allowed to name place or date.
No Man's Land ! We were raiding
it by night, fhree of us—scouting,
prowling. It was as dark as the dun
geons of Inferno, hut often they sent
up signal shells —roseate, bursting
things that bathed all that evil land
in a blood-red light. When their glare
flared over us we had to stand as w«
were caught, hand or foot upraised—'
moveless objects In the red glow until
the light snuffed out and all was dark
once more.
We reached the German entangle
ments and began cutting them with
our oiled clippers. We were careful,
very careful, but we were not careful
enough. They heard us. Over cam*
two bombs.
The three of us went down In a row.
Jack and Tom never knew what hit
them. I was hurt too badly to be able
to get up.
I lay there —all night—groaning—
calling for help. Twenty feet away I
could hear the boches In their trench
laughing at me, cursing me.
Morning!' My last. I could endure
it no more. I was dying —bleeding. I
said my last prayer.
And then I
Since the dawn of tlme-1 do not be
lieve the world has seen a more glori
ons thing. From the hill tops our ar
tillery laid down a box barrage
and under It, heads raised like em
perors and shoulders squared, came
six men, stretcher bearers. As though
they bad been on parade they came
forth In broad daylight into the very
i teeth of the enemy and picked up
what was left of Jack, Tom and me.
As though we had been their owa
brothers they bore us back, swiftly,
gently. Then do you know what those
Huns did?
Opened fire on us—the dead, tha
bearers of the dead and a man who lay
quivering at the threshold of death.
Two of the six bearers went down.
The other four brought them back
along with what was 14ft of Jack, Tom
and me..
And when I awoke in the hospital
after the operation, deathly sick but
back fii>m the nightmare-land and
with the sunlight upon me, whom do
! you think I saw bending over me, the
red cross upon her sleeve, babbling,
laughing, crying, kissing me?
JANE!
And I had never known that she had
come over! Had never got her letter.
And we are here together and I am
going to get well An hour ago she
held out her hand, and upon one finger
was still the little ring I gave her be
fore I left. lam going to have a stone
set in it —you kno%v what that means.
Though somewhat disfigured 1 am still
In the ring.
And so Is Jane; JIM.