Nebraska Newspapers

    THE SEMI WEEKLY TRIBUNE, NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA.
W
JL JL " y
KED
t j5y Charles Lqq Brysorv,
Very briefly atnted, the American Red Cro It an
organization to relieve human auffering, and lit aim li to
prepare, In time of peace and quiet, for iu relief work
In war, diaaater or pestilence.
It work under the protection and with the aid of the
government, and, being International in ita acope, la rec
ognized by and worka In harmony with aimilar organ!
zationa in all civilized countries Out Ita atrenglh cornea
from the people directly, who glvo of their time,
their money and their Uvea to it.
Ita reaaon for being la the tame that haa called into
exlitence our hotpitali, our aayluma, our charity organ!
zationa even our phyalciant -because It atanda for a
work which mutt be done and which cannot be done
except by preparation in advance. Until the Red Croaa
was organized, the wounded on the battlefield and the
vlctima of civil diiatter alike had to go without care until
amateur relief could be organized afttr the need had
become imperative, '
S NOW constituted, Hip Amnrlcitn lied Cross Ih but 12 yours
old. It was chartered by congress In 1I0.', anil Ih protected
by various laws passed since tlmt date. Hut It owes ltn
('Xlst('ll('(! to flll'I'imvimMfin if fiiinnvii linlrl In 1R(t'l nml tin.
treaty often called the Itcd Cross treaty of 180 1, at 'which
a number of civilized nations agreed that eacli should form
an organization for the relief of the wounded In war, and that
Ibis organization of each should bo respected by all the others.
The most powerful Immediate force making for this
treaty was a little paper written by Henri Diinnnt, a Swiss,
describing the horrors of the battlefield of Solferlno. Ho
visited that battlefield after the French, Itnllan and Austrian
iirtnles had fought over It and Inn! loft Iinmifl
.(rtl.1 m...-.( ...... ... ... '
iiKuni.H nun pnnnoi no toiti. iNoitner stir
Kcons. nurses nor comrades paid any heed to those
H0.000 whose tortured bodies lay for days on the
Held, until duatb relieved those who could not
crmvl away.
Hut Dunant saw and hoard tho horrors there,
nnd he told so much of It that ho was able to got
tho leading nations to send delegates to tho Go
hovii convention, and so started tho movement
which has now developed Into tho Rod Cross. A
lino account of this achievement Was In tho Ited
Cross Magazine of May, 1017.
Though now acclaimed a loader In humani
tarian work, the United States was then so little
Interested In the Hod Cross that the treatv was
iot signed until 1882. Uut In 11)05 tho government
nwoko, at least In part, to the opportunity, and
chartered tho American Ited Cross as It Is today.
The president of tho United States Is the active
bead of the Red Cross, and presides at Its meet
ings. Uut so llttlo Influence has politics In this
work of mercy that former President Taft Is
chairman of the central committee, by appoint
ment of President Wilson. And the present writer
wishes to say that, though he has been connected
more or less closely with headquarters of tho
central division for two and n half years, bo
(.dually does not know tho politics of another
officer of either national or local orgnnlzntlon.
Like snakes In Ireland, politics In the Red Cross
In not.
Tho government of tho Ainerlt-an Red Cross Is
vested In o central committee of eighteen mem
hors, six nppolnted by tho president of the United
Rtntes, the others elected by representatives of
tho members. And since tho president himself
h chosen by tho people, the policy of the entire
Ited Cross Is united very closely alike to the gov
ornmont and to the people' Since n central com
mltteo of eighteen Is too unwloldly to trnnmict
routine business with dispatch, power Is further
concentrated In an executive commltteo of seven
members, of whom flvo constitute a quorum. Tho
chairman of the executive committee must, by
law, bo tho chairman of tho central committee.
ITow closely the Rod Cross Is Identified with tho
government Is Bhown by tracing, brlelly, tho posi
tions held by Its olllcers. As has been said, tho
president of tho United States Is president, nnd
ho appoints tho chairman of tho central commltteo
nnd six of Its members. The chnlrman of (ho cen
tral commltteo Is nluo chairman of the executive
commltteo of seven. Tho treasurer of tho Red
Cross Is John Skelton Williams, comptroller of tho
currency of the United States, nnd the counselor
of the Red Cross Is John W. Dnvls, United States
solicitor general.
Under former President Tnft on the central
commltteo nro such men ns nrlg. Gen, Chnrles
Bird of tho United States Army; Rear Admiral
William O.Kralsted, surgeon genornl of tho United
States navy; MnJ. Gen. Wllllom 0. Gorgas. sur
fioon genernl of tho United States army; Robert
I.anslng, United States secretary of state ; Frank
lin K. Lano, secretary of tho Interior, and Judge
W. W. Morrow.
Tho work of tho natlonnl organization Is carried
on under three great departments:' Ono for mili
tary rollef; ono for civilian relief, nnd cine for
chnptors. Tho composition of each will bo briefly
outlined.
Tho department of military rollof Is under Col.
Jefferson Randolph Kean, United States army
piedlcal corps, a grnndson of Thomas Jefferson.
Under him nro tho medical bureau, In chargo of
tho medical personnel of base hospitals, tho first
Hid Instruction; tho nursing bureau, In chargo of
nurseH and nurses' aids for baso hospitals, and
women's classes In trnlnlng; the service units to
enro for soldiers nnd sailors umhulnnc.0 com
panies, baso hospitals, nurse detachments, sani
tary detachments nnd general hospitals; and tho
Rod Cross supply service, for tho buying, storing
nnd shipping of all kinds of Huppltos.
Tho department of clvlllnn rollof Is undor Ernest
P. Bfekncll, director general, with a long record
-of personal sorvlco In disaster relief. Ills depart
ment controls nil relief work at domostlc and for
eign disasters of lire, Hood and pestilence; tho
tellof of noncombntnnts In war, both here and
abroad; tho caro of tho families of soldiers and
Bailors; tho town nnd country nursing service;
nnd tho salo of Christmas seals for tho stamping
out of tuberculosis.
Tho department of chnptors Is uudor E. II.
Wells, dlroctor of chapters. It deals, through tho
directors of tho nluo territorial divisions, with tho
organization of now chapters, and tho momhcrshlp
campaigns In thoso already formed.
ThO'Rcd Cross Mngnzlup. nt llrht little moro
than n monthly bulletin which told, brlolly, tho
doings of tho organization, has now grown Into
n splendid publication valucd recently at $1,000,
OUU), which tells by clear pictures nnd vivid
ntorles tho history of tho Rod Cross for each
month all over tho world.
Each member of tho Red Cross nhovo tho one
dollar class gets the Red Cross Magazine free,
part of tho dues going to tho publication. Tho cir
culation, which wus only 25,000 threo years ago, Is
now nbout 200,000, nnd growing by lenps of 50.000
at a time. It has been predicted by men In the
position to know- best that within a few years It
will bo making $250,000 n year clear profit for tho
Red Cross, instead of costing $10,000 a month, ns
I did until n short tinio ago.
Undor tho national organization at Washington,
tho territory of tho United States Is divided Into
seven great divisions, each under tho supervision
nf a division director, responsibly to Washington,
,1,1 utiimtini? between tho national blllcors nnd tho
t'. Kjnirt and local organisations. tho hi
i hauler of the Red Cro?H fA'tom Is tho chapter, jnonts
'i 1 .V; '' r.n.'n .......mi.. ' i
ji.-. l ays covcrs Hoiuo ueuuuu'icruiui, uoiiiuij-
n large city or a county sometimes several coun
ties. The chapter Is governed, on a smaller scale,
very much ns tho Red Cross as a whole Is gov
erned. It has Its chairman and other ofllcers, Its
board of directors and lis executive committee, In
whoso hands tho active work Is carried on. In
large chapters an executive secretary usually does
most of the active work of tho executive commit
tee. Kach chapter Is divided Into n section for mill
tnry relief and a section for civilian relief, much
as tho national organization Is divided. And each
section has lis committees to carry out tho various
activities. '
The section for military relief has Its commit
tees on: Red Cross; Instruction; hospital sup
plies; warehousing and shipping; supplies for
fighting men, and special committees for such
work ns organizing hospltul companies, sanitary
detachments, surgical sections and supply depots.
The section for civilian relief has Its commit
tees on: Caro of families of soldiers nnd sailors;
relief for noncombatants; care of discharged sol
diers and sailors; trnlnlng In volunteer civilian
rollof, and special committees as needed on local
disaster, care of refugees and other kindred sub
jects. How tho Red Cross operates Is perhaps best
told by citing some of tho concrete examples of its
work. To begin with, two of tho most recent In
stances of civilian dlsnstor rollof, take tho torna
does which dovnsted Newcastle and New Albnny,
Ind., nt Intervals of about two weeks.
When Newcastle was laid In ruins with the loss
of a scoro of lives, and several hundred persons
made homeless and thrown out of work, tho pres
ent writer, lenrnlng tho sltuntlon through tele
graph and long distance telephone messnges to
tho press, notified Division Director John J. O'Con
nor of Chicago. Within ten minutes Mr. O'Connor
wns calling for Red Cross nurses, surgeons,
trained investigators, nnd arranging with Wash
ington for whntevor funds might bo needed to
start tho work of rescuing tho survivors, feeding
nnd housing them, getting them back to work, nnd
collecting, identifying nnd burying tho (lend. All
night long, from his room In Chicago, ho was put
ting this, Hint nnd the other ngency to work at the
end of a wire, and tho dnwn of the next day saw
order coming out of chaos.
Then, nnd not before, Mr. O'Connor took- trnln
for tho scene, and when ho arrived, found his or
ders being carried out. Ho took personal charge,
nlded by the chairman nnd committees of the In
dianapolis and other nearby chapters, and tho
work of rehabilitation went swiftly forwnrd.
, Whllo the director was still at Newcastle ho
received a message thnt an oven worse disaster
had befallen Now Albany. Again sending orders
by wlro for surgeons, nurses, investigators and
supplies, ho took train for tho scene of tho latest
calamity, and again he arrived to find tho system
alrcndy at work. Tho living wero cared for and
work found for them, tho dead burlod, nnd all
with tho lenst possible dolay and disorganization
of the dally llfo of the community.
The June number of tho Red Cross Mngazlno
contnlns n succinct account of the splendid relief
work accomplished.
The work of organizing bnso hospitals Illus
trates the forehanded methods of the Red Cross.
With a clarity of vision 'for which tho country
now blesses him, Colonel Kean cnllcd last autumn
for the Red Cross to organlzo for tho army nnd
navy with tho least possible dolay .10 bnso hospital
units. Ho did not want hospltnl buildings what
ho wanted was .10 units of surgeons, dentists,
npothecorlos, orderlies, nurses and assistants, with
nil tho cots, mattresses, bedding, laboratory appa
ratus, bandages, splints, surgical shirts, bed
gowns, and the thousands of things thnt must bo
hnd boforo a single wounded man can bo properly
cared for. ICach of those 30 base hospital units
wns to he enrolled and trnlned, all tholr perma
nent equipment bought, and nil their consumablo
suppllos bought or mnde. boxed, labeled and
stored, ho that tho whole could bo shipped by trnln
or steamer on notice of a day or two.
Instantly, all over the country, tho division di
rectors passed tho word to their chapters, and tho
various committees took up the work of forming
bnso hospital units. Undor tho supervision of
Washington Itself tho surgeons and nurses woro
chosen and enrolled. Purchasing ngents bought
at tho lowest possible price tho equipment. Un
dor each chapter engaged In tho work n commit
tee on hospital supplies got standard patterns nnd
specifications from the war department, nnd sot
luminous nnu uiousanits or women to sowing on
tho bandages, wound dryings nnd hospital gar-
All that; was lo'ng boforo tho United States
gnvo up hope of pence. When, llnnlly, tho nation
declared war, the .10 base hospitals were complete
ly organized, wiulnned nnd
them was a great body of men nnd women trained
io wie woric or keeping them supplied.
Thnt Is how the Red Cross works In till lt tmm
Ifold activities. Tho heads of tho organization
and thnt means tho heads of lh nation deter
mine whnt Is needed, nnd through the division
directors to tin- hapters goes the word of what
Washington wants nnd Instantly the people, on
whom rests tho Red Cross, begin to supply It.
Belgium wns violated, and ten millions of help-
iunh civilians lert starving nnd freezing. The Red
Cross to tho rescue, nnd nt President Wilson's
call money nnd supplies were raised and sent
over, to bo there distributed hv Ti.ni
Sorbin was crushed, and stricken with typhus
iover. mere went the American Red Cross, with
strong and capablo surgeons nnd skilled nurses,
nacKcd ny money and medicines nnd supplies fur
nlshed by the Red Cross. It cost the lives of
some of tho finest of tho Rod Cross workers, but
typhus wns stamped out nnd thousands upon
thousands saved.
There was an enrthquako nt Messlnn, Italy.
Tho Amerlcnn Red Cross wns there with surgeons
and nurses," food nnd clothing yes, even with
portable frame houses "mnde In America" to
house the victims until they could rebuild their
homos.
There wns n grcnt famine In China. There, too,
wns tho American Red Cross, not only helping
feed the stnrvlng, but with n commission of somo
of tho most famous engineers of tho wnr depart
ment, to whom Chlnn Intrusted the task of spend
ing $50,000,000 on n system of works to prevent
the overflow of tho great river which yearly de
stroyed crops and caused famine.
Thnt Is how the Red Cross works.
Why the work Is done by the Red Cross is
enslest of all to explain, though perhaps lenst un
derstood by the public. It Is becnuse tho work of
preparing beforehnnd to meet unforeseen emer
gencies, and of allovlntlng humnn suffering, has
never boon undertaken by any other ngency. In
tho words of the old snw, "everybody's business is
nobody's business."
It seems nlmost incredible, but nfter nil tho cen
turies of wnr and agony, no nntlon In history ever
went to war with an organization capable of car
ing for tho men wounded on tho battlefield, to sny
nothing of the victims of rnplno, dlsense, famine
nnd pestilence that stnlked ncross the lnnd nfter
tho armies.
Never, until Nils present yenr of grace, has
there ever been n bnse hospltnl orgnnlzed, In time
of pence, to caro for the wounded nfter a bnttlo.
There Is a small medical corps with the army, yes ;
but It can merely pass tho wounded back to field
and evacuation hospitals, giving only a temporary
dressing often not oven thnt. There nre always
home hospitals, too. But tho gap between them,
now flHcd by bnso hospltnl organlzntlons. has
never heretofore been filled until thousands lay
on the field dying of thirst nnd fever nnd loss of
blood for lack of that very thing.
After the battle of the Marne, in tho present
war, tho Red Cross facilities wero so limited thnt
men lay In the scorching sun on tho bnttlefleld for
two, three, four, nnd even five, days with not
even n drop of wntcr, nor n bnndago on their
wounds. It cost thousands of arms nnd legs that
could hnvo been snved. cost many n llfo needlessly
spent, nnd tho anguish endured enn never bo
voiced.
That Is why tho Red Cross Is here. It may be
Mtld that the governments of tho vnrlous coun
tries should have met tho need. True but they
never did. All governments nre moro or less
bound down by precedent, constltutlonnl and leg
islative limitations, politics and short-sightedness.
And It hns now been found thnt tho Red Cross,
protected and encouraged by tho government, can
do quickly nnd well mnny things which the gov
ernment could not do for Itself,
Speaking locally nnd selfishly, there nre strong
personal reasons why every Amerlcnn should help
tho Red Cross. In this wnr, It may bo you or mo,
your brother or mine, whoso llfo Is saved by tho
bandages tho Rod Cross Is making. ITero nt
home, It mny bo your house or mine blown up or
storm-wrecked or flood-swept ; your family or
mlno left destitute by any ono of a scoro of disas
ters. And In thnt caso wo ourselves would benefit
by tho ministrations of the Red Cross.
From the standpoint of the business mnn, n
strong and active Red Cross Is an Insurance
policy. , When dlsnstor comes, It Is nlwnys the
business man who is called from his offlco or storo
to tnke up tho unfamiliar task of- raising funds,
Investigating cases of destitution, overseeing the
purchnse of supplies nnd their distribution, nnd
getting tho survivors bnclc to where they can enrn
their living again. But with n trnlned Red Cross
tho disturbance of normal llfo Is at n minimum.
Almost beforo n citizen's commltteo could bo
called together, cnpnble and experienced men. di
rected by the head of a division, himself undor
orders from Wnshlngton, lays a firm nnd steady
hand on nffnlrs, and relief Is given surely, swiftly,
Justly, nnd the business mnn dos not have to
spend vulunhle days nnd weeks at work for which
he haa no trnlnlng.
Natlonnlly and loenlly, the Red Cross Is tho
best nccjdent Insurance' nny people can hnvo.
PROMINENT IN Y. M. C. A. WORK
ISN'T THIS SILLYT
"Arch," she of the high nrchos and nrchod eye
brows said, nrchly, "ao you love mo?"
"Why, of course, why shouldn't I, Gladys?
You'vo got tho Gladys rags In this town nnd when
1 know you'ro tny owh little Glad, I'm Gladys 1
can bo." I"
v4" i,
Credit for tho successful $4,000,
000 wnr fund campaign recently made
is given to John R. Mott, general sec
retary of the lnternntloual commltteo
of the Y. M. C. A. Just before ho wns
appointed with Ellhu Root on tho
American mission to Russln, Mr. Mott
hnd mapped out the general schemo
und was preparing to put nil of his
energy Into tho work. President Wil
son, by selective draft, placed n hcuvy
strain on the association by taking
him on the Russian commission. Mr.
T r .. 1 1 .1 ..!.,. ! A ... 1
.'lUlk 11 un OU IMU1 UUtll J uniuuimuu
with Russlnn conditions, ns n result of
his student talks and other association
activities there in the last 18 years,
that It was believed he could represent
the United States in tho present crisis
better even by going to Russia than
by working here.
Mr. Mott has given practically his
whole time to the relief nnd comfort
of the men on tho battlefields of Eu
rope during the Inst three years. Among his friends he Is known ns tho
creative genius of the work In prison camps. It was he who recognized tho
need of doing something to remove tho misery of Idleness, with Its tendency
toward vlclousness, among tho prisoners. Ho went to Germnny in the fall of
1014 and succeeded, after some difficulty, In getting permission to send Amer
ican Y. M. C. A. secretaries to tho prison camps, where all sorts of organiza
tions wero effected to keep the men physically nnd morally sound.
r
t ui w a
BOER SOLDIER AND STATESMAN
Gen. Jan Christian Smuts, the min
ister of flnnnce and defense of the
South African Union government, who
Is now in Englnnd and nroused grent
enthusiasm there by n recent speech
in support of the empire, has achieved
reputation alone ninnv different lines
of expression and nctlvlty. In the first
x iuuub u iiuuiu xur iiiiiihi'II ns
n soldier in the Boer wnr, where he
took up nrms under his friend Gen
eral Bothn nnd became known ns ono
of tho most capable and dashing env
nlry leaders in that wonderfully re
sourceful army thnt hold the nrttish
squares so long nt bny, fighting them
arter tne American fashion In the days
or. uoncoru and Lexington.
Then, nfter the war was over, ho
wns the ono man who dnred in sfnnri
up before his fellow countrymen nnd
spenk In praise of Cecil Rhodes, rim
empire builder, who was the worst ex
ecrated man In Boer land, nnd rn nlne
Mm alongside of Oom Paul ns a man who had the best Interests of the South
A f wllnn n . 1. a.
He Is looked unon nH tho Intripoi cnf.t -nfirt i ,ti
tiv.t..ooui. ui, 1U L11U filial UVM "1
premier, nnd he stnnds today ns the distinctive connecting link between the
old Boers nnd those striving for democracy of tho Rnnd nnd the champion
of those who nut the welfare of the TYn
- - ...... ... i v. luiutoia ul tuniliu-
polltan finance. Stanch nnd trim tn tho rrnrimnno , 1 .
regarded by the English government as n progressive leader and n safe nnd
I . ii 1 ..... .......... ... . I .... a . .
iv n;iiicmuiiYe ul me new tuspensntion.
WOMAN IN HIGH FEDERAL POSITION
Mrs. Frances C. Axtcll was on
January 1 appointed by the president
to serve upon an executive commission
the first womnn to bo chosen for
such n post.,
Mrs. Axtell Is a Western woman,
coming from Washington, which gives
women tho privilege of equal rights
with men, and she has served her etafo
In many public capacities. For her,
therefore, it was no new thing to bo
called upon to take nn Important po
sition upon a nntlonnl board.
The position which Mrs. Axtell
wns cnlled to fill is thnt of United
Stntes employees' compensation com
missioner nnd the commission, which
has its headquarters in Wnshlngton,
begnn active work this yenr. Tho
United States employees' compensa
tion commission is a new division of
the federal service. It is Composed
of three commissioners, nppolnted by
lift rifucllnri 4- OM nnn . i t .
T..., i""m' j.eac uumnussnners
nro R. M. Little, Mrs. Frances O. Axtell nnd John J. Keegan. Mrs. Atell
brines trained oxnorleneo tn li
i ,1 oiiu iiuw but in sinte
legislature nnd served on state boards for the past ten years. As n member
if tllfi Wnohlnnnn ntntn lnlntn...... I i rn r
"iuniuu nuuu tuKioiuimu m VUJ sue wns conspicuous for efforts
which resulted In tho nnssniro of a law estnliiisiii nrr n ri ( ti I t-i 1 1 ... ..... ..
women In that state.
RECOGNIZED AERONAUTIC EXPERT
Gen. George O. Sauler Is n mnn
who nchleves things. Whllo in tho
signal corns as n colonel ho was nlnced
In charge of aeronautics and with hut
n limited amount of money to expend
ho started out to dcvelon this sorvlco
for tho United States nnny.
Ills idea was to sneclallzo In tho
various branches of this arm nf th
service nnd to put tho members of his
corps through a most Intensive train
ing. The result wns that when con
gress finally nwulened to n true real
ization or wnnt aeronautics meant to
nn army nnd Increased his appropria
tion. General Souler found himself tn
u position to expend this npproprlntlon
judiciously. The result Is thnt tho
American flier todnv ranks foremnst
umong the filers of the world.
United States being the last grent
nation to ndont nlrnlanes for wnr.
Goneral Squlor wns confronted In tho
nresent conmct with tuo roniiznHrm
unit American rannurncturers wero not prepared to turn out air machines
fast enough, no immediately perfected arrangements whereby tho machines
for this purpose will bo procured in Franco. All of tho machines for tho
tf,i(iilnf nvlnlnra ...111 I f AnmljinH . .. .1
.Genornl Smilor Is recnrdeil nn n hrlltinni. t.i...ii. . .....
... .,... u,.,ulu cttciuiai. uuu is creCiiuxi -rui
several modern-day. Inventions in telegraphy nnd other means of transmission-