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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 25, 1917)
THE SEMI-WEEKLY TRIBUNE, NORTH PLATTE, NEBRA8KA. P ! I he fee) Cross Needs You j4nd above all things have fervent charity among your selves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins." -1 Peter 4:8 Agonized Europe cries for your aid. Make Christmas really worth while by answering generously the ap peal of the Red Cross Society. Read this stirring article by Charles Lee Bryson CHmiS DAKA CIMOJf In Til Kt4 Cm I Mijiilm T WILL take not fewer tliun 15,000, 000 members of the Amorlcnn lied t!roHH to tuko euro of the sick and Wounded soldlors, look after their families, and relievo the suITciiiigfJ of the women wnl children and old men of wsr-trodden laads. Fifteen million members 1 Tlmt menns 10, 000,000 new members, nnd the Hed Cross haH net out to Ret them heforo the nun Bets on ChrlHtnms day. 'i'liey aro to be known us Christmas members, these 10,000,000 now ones, and It is In the Christ mas spirit that they nro to bo recrultcd-rtho spirit of unselfishness, of caring for the afflicted, of Alleviating suffering. While It Is getting these now members, tho 5,000,000 who now wenr the Red Cross emblem flre giving all tho Christmas cheer they can to tho boys In khnkl. They need it. Tens of thousands af them, and it may bo hundreds of thousnnds, are now In France with Pershing, facing tho terrlblo Germans across tho desolate wasto of No Man's Land. Millions more nro to go after them, and other and still other millions until tho foo which claims the world for Germany is willing to go home and behave ns a civilized nation. They will have a cheery Christmas this year. Every man In Franco will hnvo a little packet from "home," with the lovo and good wishes of the American people nnd that means n lot to tho young fellow who perhaps never before spent Christmas away from his homo folks. It will put - 'irlt into him for tho task ahead. Tho men on this side, woltlng In tho training camps for their turn to go ncross, will also lmvo in merry n Christmas as tho Red Cross can pro vide. Christmas trees, with gifts of some kind, bearing a world of cheer nnd hope from tho grent henrt of tho American people, will greet every man in uniform, wherovor ho may be. This Christmas will bo n merry ono for tho wholo of tho nnny nnd navy. Tho boys hnvo not been long nwny from homo, they have had almost none of tho hardships of war, and thoy como to tho fenst with light hearts. War has taken almost no toll from them thus fnr. Relglum and France, Serbia and Roumnnla, Great Britain and her colonies, Ilussln and Italy, hnvo home tho brunt of frlghtfulncss and our hoys hnvo been spared. So it will bo a merry Christians for them. Next yenr It will bo different. Tho pinch of privation will bo felt 'In tho land voluntnry, to n great extent, but it will bo felt. There will bo loss lo cat and less to wear, and millions to bo fed nnd clothed who no longer produco, and nil the nation will snvo nil It can to give to those who are lighting, nnd to those dofctlsolcss ones on the slher side who hnvo nothing. And there will bo gaps In tho ranks, and thero will bo full hospitals. There Is whero tho Red Cross comes In wherever there Is disaster. The hospital buildings, the equipment, the surgical sup plies, tho surgeons nnd nurses nnd orderlies, the iirobulnnccs nnd tho drivers and tho stretcher smoulders of tho Red Cross. It will carry It, bo ;nu80 It has tho hocking of tho American peoplo ; Hnd In the tnenntlmo It must carry tho lond ot ho nntlonn which hnvo already suffered moro than thrco years of rightfulness. Here nro porno of tho things tho Amorlcnn Red Cross Is right now doing in Franco ; where it has gpctit $10,000,000. These extracts were taken from t report hy tho Paris headquarters to Henry P. 'Davison, ehnlrmnn of the Red Cross war council, which raised a fund of $100,000,000 for its work: "We lmvo Just given $1,000,000 for needy sick VI nit wounded French soldiers and their families. ' ""Our hospital distributing sorvlco sends supplies "io fM2il French military hospitals, and is lnylng In a largo stock for future needs. "Our surgical dressings sorvlco supplies 2,000 French hospitals, and Is preparing Immense sup plies" for our own armies. "We !. . iH-intlntj at tho front line, in co-opora-tlon with tho French Red c4oss, ten canteens, aid nro preparing for 20 more; and i-t six can teens for French soldiers at railway stations wo ,ro mrvlng about I'.O.OOO men a day. "Wo hnvo opened a children's refuge and hos pital at n point whero several hundred children , j '..mi timbered to keep them from danger of .s- and holl lire. At nnother point wu hnvo ptttnbllslMHl a medical center and a traveling dls jensary to accommodate 1,200 children. "We are making arrangements on a largo scale 10 help refugee families through the winter with Inthlng, beds, shelter, and for this work tho Mo devastated portion of France has been dlvliUn 1 1-, ' r.-lc'f" Willi a resident Red Cross dele gate in each. Warehouses hnvo been established 'it four points to which nro shipped food, clothing, oeddlng, beds, household utensils and agricultural Implements. "Wo hnvo n largo control warehouso In Paris, and distribution warehouses at Important points rroin tho Swiss border to the sea. Two hundred mus of supplies are arriving in Paris dally, and 125 tons nro shipped to branch warehouses," From other authorities word has como that tho Germans are driving back Into France, through Switzerland, tho ragged, sick, hungry ,nnd home less ivomen nnd children of tho conquered districts of Franco nt tho rnto of 80,000 n month. Held In rnptivlty for moro than three years, they aro now driven forth even from the ruins- In which thoy lmvo existed, so tlmt the Germans may no longer be responsible for their stnrvlng to deatli. The Red Cross would not be true to itself or to the peoplo who have founded it and arc supporting It, if It did not do everything It could to comfort nnd help those sorely tried ones. Tho relief of human suffering Is Its solo object, nnd It hns never withheld Its hund when thero was anguish to bo soothed. Rut In this case-there Is another object to bo attained call It selfish If you will. In bncklng up France, nnd making her people stronger to en duro, tho Red Cross is saving tho lives of Ameri can soldiers. This wns admirably expressed In tho great Chicago Red Cross conference by Henry P. Davison, chairman of tho Red Cross wur council. "You may ask how all this work among the French peoplo Is of any help to our boys how It Is saving their lives," said Mr. Davison. "I'll tell you: Wo ask General Pershing what ho wants, and ho says, 'I don't want anything, for our boys, but for God's snko buck up the French. Give them courage. Hearten them. They hnvo been lighting for three years, and if you want to do anything for me and our boys, mnko tho peoplo understand that wo aro here, und nro going to take our places In the line ns soon ns we can get ready.' " Then Mr. Davison went on to show tho strain under which the French have lived for more than three years, with tho German terror holding much of their land and hammering night nnd day nt their lines to break through and take Paris. "And If that French lino should break," he said, "you know whnt that menns. There's nobody but those hoys of Pershing's to stop tho Germans, nnd, rendy or not, they'll lmvo to fill tho gap. If wo can help tho French lino to hold, wo save our own boys until they are nil ready to take their part." Mr. Davison pictured tho weary French soldier coming out of tho trenches for a ten-day rest, ne Is tired half to death, covered with dirt and vermin, his clothing worn. Docs he go home? He hns no home, perhaps. His wifo and children wero, swept awny before tho German tide. Ills homo is gone, no says, "I can live in hell In tho trenches, but I don't sco why my family should be In hell too." Rut now the Ainerlcnn Red Cross Is-In Frunce. It meets tho soldier when ho comes from tho trenches, takes him to n hoqso prepared with your money, and ho Is mndo comfortable. Ho is given a bath, his clothing is cleaned and sterilized, his hnlr cut, his whiskers trimmed, and ho sleeps for an hour maybe ten hours. Then he Is taken to his family, if tho Red Cross has been nolo to find his family. Ho finds his wlfo nnd babes, or his old mother, In a houso or a shelter of some kind supplied und furnished by tho Red Cross. When tho days of his lenvo aro up, that soldier goes back to tho trenches n now mnn. Ho knows now that America, with her millions und millions of fighting men, nnd her billions and billions of money, nnd the tender euro of her Red Cross, arc behind him. And ho goes back Into tho war with n now determination, and says, "so long as I live, I will fight." And so long ns ho hojds that line, ho is taking tho plnco of some American boy who Is not yet trained to tnko tho trenches. That line, must bo mndo to hold for months yet, for General Pershing hns snld that If ho can help it, his boys shall not go Into the hard fighting before February. Whgn they do go in, then will come tho real test of tho American Red Cross then will bo the days of harvest, of which today Is tho day of sow ing. Kor when tho wounded begin to strcnm from tho evacuation hospitals back to tho bases, tho warehouses of bandages nnd pnds and gauze and splints nnd hospltnl garments and surglcnl sup spiles will melt away llko mist heforo tho sun. And In that day. if tho Red Cross have not a member ship of something near tho desired 10,000,000. trained to make and ship nil these supplies In a great, nover-folterlng stream, the American soldier will ho ashnmed of tho land for which he Is light ing, nnd mnny will loso limb or life which could have been saved. These aro not the opinions ot n novice thoy nro tho convictions of men who are now at tho front In Franco nnd Belgium, and who see, every day, tho horrors of war which it Is tho work of tho Red Cross to mitigate. It Is only n few weeks since MaJ. Grayson M. P. Murphy, an olllcer of tho regular nnny of wldo experience nnd grent ability, now Red Cross commissioner for Franco, cabled Ills convictions on this subject. And what ho said was, in substance, that unless tho Red Cross Immediately sent a vast supply of all man ner of hospital supplies, tho American nnny would stand In danger of disaster and disgrace. Ho used those words "disaster and disgrace." Fow who lmvo not been through n modern mili tary hospital can conceive what an enormous amount of supplies It requires. French surgeons report tlmt It-often requires an entire box of 7,000 gauze dressings for a single patient. Thero has been such a scarcity of dressings In Franco that they have boon driven to use these dressings over and over, trying tq boll and clean and sterilize them as well as they, can, Instead of throwing them nwny and putting on fresh ones. There has, at times, been such a dearth tlmt wounded soldiers lmvo had their bleeding wounds stanched with old newspapers, with the result that they have always'been Infected, nnd gangrene and lockjaw have claimed mnny n poor fellow who could have boon saved. Terrlblo as It Is to think of. they lmvo nt times been driven to opornto in France without chloro form or vthor none was to bo hnd. Thesew no doubt, are tho things which Major Murphy had In, mind when he said that disaster and disgrace awaited Atncrlcu loss tho supply of surgical necessities is hastened. Even 4 the lads who aro about to go Into tho fighting line were not our own American boys, tho Red Cross would he bound to do all It could for them. Rut they arc our own. We do not fully realize It yet, but we will Inter on. From every city, every vlllnge, every farming community, from almost every family n the whole land, one or more hoys will help fill tho lines In France and It Is for them, for your friends and mine, for your rein tlves and mine, that tho Red Crons Is working. It Is going to take men and women by tho mil lion, working all their spare time, and a good deal of time which they do, not now think they can spare. And It Is going to tnko hundreds of mil lions of dollars all wo can spare, and maybe all wo have, whether or not we think we enn spuro It. Belgium Is crushed, Serbia Is obliterated, Rou mania Is little more than u memory, Russia Is Im potent, Itnly Is bearing n henvy cross, Frnnce Is Immortal In spirit but growing thin. There nro left chiefly the British lion and tho Amorlcnn engle, nnd the English-speaking boys who benr them aloft. If they fall, civilization Is dead. Thero Is no longer any question that-civilization Is fighting for Its very life. Germany has set out to forco tho whole world to live under the German Imperialistic plan. President Wilson, In his now famous Buffalo speech, said: "It Is amazing to mo that nny group of people should suppose Hint any reforms plnnncd In the in terest of the peoplo can live In the presence of Germany strong enough to undermine or over throw them hy Intrigue of force. . . . Any man who supposes that tho free Industry nnd enterprise of tho world can continue if the Pan-German plnn Is nchleved und German power fastened upon the world, Is ns fntuous as the dreamers of Russia." There never has been uny question thnt the Amerlcun soldier will fight to death, If need be, when once ho begins the Job. It Is the tnsk of the Amorlcnn RCd Cross to so supply nnd fortify those boys thnt Just as few of them us possible may bo sacrificed. That Is what tho Red Cross has In mind when It comes to your house, or your office, or your kitchen door, or wherever you may be found, nnd asks you to bo ono of the 15,000,000 Red Cross members to stnnd .hnck of those boys In khaki. This is not to be a money campnlgn. Money is the least Important matter of this moment. Whnt is wanted is members. .The Red Cross wants theso 15,000,000 men, women nnd children bnnded to gether In chapters, organized Into committees, and trained to tho minute to do wlmtever Is needed for the boys In Frnnce and for their fnmlllcs nt home, and for those suffering ones who have lost every thing but bare life. If the cull Is for warm clothing, It wnnts these 15,000,000 trained to mnko and turn out the kind of garments needed so that they may go by trnln load and shipload at once. If It is for knitted goods there hns already been n call for 0,000,000 knitted articles and It Is nlmost or qulto filled by now theso 15,000,000 must bo organized to get yarn nnd knit, or get others to knit, nnd deliver tho goods nt once. And If it is for bandages and gauze dressings und other things for tho wounded, ns assuredly It will bo many n time, thero must bo n trained Red Cross membership to get them mndo and In tfio hospitals In time to save life. God help the American army in thnt day if the people have not been quick to unite with the Red Cross nnd supply the things the wounded boys must have. And God pity you and me in tho dnys when tho boys como back from over there such of them ns come home nnd listen to the excuses we will try to mnko If wo fall to keep them sup plied with everything they need in their fight for us. Thero will bo nnother call for money before long. When the country guvo $100,000,000 to the Red Cross wnr council Inst summer, the grent men nt tho head of It estlmuted thnt, by careful spend ing, they could mnko it last six months. Tho next call probably will be for a larger sum, may bo us much as a quarter of a million dollars. If so, tho American peoplo must glvo It. Every cent goes for relief work. In what he termed his "pub lic nccountlng," Henry P. Davison, chairman of the Red Cross war council, said in n recent speech that of every dollnr given tho Red Cross for relief work, nhout $1.02 Is spent for relief. What ho irittint is that not , one cent goes for overhead expanse, which is cared for In nnother wny, but that tho whole fund, together with nhout 2 per cent Intorest which it nccumulnted whllo In bank, goes for relief. All that will como lntor, when tho Red Cross needs moro money to enrry on Its work of mercy. What It needs now Is members 10,000,000 add- ed to the 5,000,000 It now hns. Every member should bo nt least of the class culled "Magazine Members." It costs $2 a year, and entitles tho members to the really wonderful Red Cross Maga zlno every month, filled with news and colored pictures of what tho great order Is doing nil over the earth. If you aro a member, renow; if not, becomo ono when tho Red Cross committee comes. It Is mere ly trying to get you to help win your wnr. and care for the unlucky who mny be some of your own lnmlly. HAD LITTLE DESIRE TO ROAM Tho Americans have contributed largely to the European spirit of patroimne. Eneh vonr in hordes, they traveled to Europe, brenthloss with curiosity una witli linste. curious of dress and bearing (to European eyes) and nasnl ns to speech, wnn reverence anil iamiunrity umnzlng contend lug. "Why do the Amerlcnns lovo so to inr m-n. tho world?" I onco hoard an old French lady ask. It wns lucomprohcnslvo to her, this munla for leaving Home, tier desire of happiness was Btuy forever in ono place. Exclmngo to ELIZABETH STUART PhELPi I The Christmas Fire forking In the Name Of the Christ Child SOME thirty years ago there lived In the city of Washington n young girl, the daughter of Rlchnrd T. Merrick, a distinguished lawyer, says the Survey. A serious Injury, due to nn accident, hnd left her an Invalid, confined to her couch. The Christmas season wns fast approaching and amid the preparations for tho holidays, which the happy family were busily making, this young Invalid, renred in luxury, conceived the desire of clothing In the nnmo of the Christ Child some poor babe who was to como into the world In poverty. She made a simple but complete layette, sent for a friend who she knew could Hnd the very mother who needed such nsslstnnce, aj(l one small child was clothed in tho onme of the Christ Child. The Christ Child, society, founded 7 years ngo, distributed 139 layettes lust year. Not ono request bus ever been refused to nn applicant indorsed by its visitors. - And from this hus developed tho material relief depart ment, which clothes and shoes chll dven, furnishes a fortnight's outing, a brace for a crippled leg or n book from the library. Thero arc no religious qualifications. Active members con tribute n definite number of hours' work each week, and nnyone may be- amo a member by promising to an swer the Christmas letter of n poor child. Washington numbers 1,000 mem bers, nnd there nro more than 4,500 In ell, Including the branches In 22 cit ies. From her couch, where she has lain for moro than 25 years, Miss Mer rick directs and leads all tho socl ety's work. St Nicholas Day and Christmas. A writer In tho Pall Mnll Gazette thus speculated concerning the amalga mntlon of Christmas eve and St. Nlcho- ls evo: "Perhaps tho amalgamation of tho two festivals wns brought about by motives of economy, tho giving of presents on December 5 and again on December 25 constituting too heavy a toll on parentnl purses. That this was tho case nppcars to be proved by the custom prevnlllng In Catholic Germany, whero St. Nicholas duly appears In each homo on December 5, and, lnqulr ing Into tho conduct of the children, rewards the worthy with fruits and cakes and lectures the unworthy on tho duty of obedience. Ho then asks the Christ Child to bring them at Christ mas, and on tho morning of that day they usunlly find the desired articles In tho shoes which they placed overnight on the hearth. This variation of tho original Nicholas eve custom, for so long obsolete in England, probnbly ac counts for our possession of Santa Claus in his present form. Ho Is supposed to lmvo been nn Importation from Americn nhout 40 years ago (us a llttlo earlier wo had derived the Christmas treo from Germnny on the Initiation of tho prince consort, hus band of Queen Victoria.)" T On Christinas Eve. Oh, llttlo babo, oh, gentle babe, That In a manger ilea, A-llstenlng to the choral sweet Which lloats a-down the sklea, Wo, through tho year, who only hear Tho world's harsh thundering, Listen that wo, dear babe, with thee May hear the angels sing. 3h, llttlo babo, oh, gentlo babe, Who looltest toward tho star And seest when they bear their gifts, Those wlso men from afar, From wandering wldo back to thy side, Woary and worn, wo floe; Dot hearts that bleed and hands that need Aro all wo have for theo. Oh, .llttlo babo, oh, gontle babe, Our hearts wero hard and cold; The star we loved, tho star of fame The song tho song or gold. ' At tho manger's side this Christmas tide Wo llston and wo long To see that star shlno from afar And hear tho angelH 'song. Ulchard P. Souter, By HARRIET PRESCOTT SPOFFORD HE tree grctv green in the forest, Grow green in the sttn and tho dew; His branches reached for the shadows, He feathered his tops in the blue, And happy the air about Mm Wherever Ms balsams flew. Drenched with the rains of tho sum mer. Fine from his stems spun the showers, Soft dropped the snoio on his mantle, Dream work of silver and flowers, And over him white light trailing The stars swam through darkling hours. Groping where great rock pillars Stand shouldering rank on rank, His roots at the cold sweet sources The ancient juices drank, And he swept with the earth compan ion As the vast skies rose and sank. His boughs brushed low on your fore head As a passing wing might brush, When night winds made shrill music In the heavens, arid hush, oh, hushl For deep in his depest covert He hid the hermit thrush. Loio have they laid the giant, And they hale him home with mirth, And they fan the fires that twinkle, And sing round his mossy girth, And make with a mighty magic The life of the Christmas hearth. For his flames give the spicy fragrance Of the summer atmosphere, While the breath of the woody hol lows, The luster and light of the year, The blossom, the bird song, the breezes, He sheds through the Ohristmat cheer. ' And the message of peace and bless ing In the great fire's glow they wiarfcj With the lad from the war and tht sailor Home from his tossing bark Ere the Christmas bells come chimina Like the touch of the frost on tht dark. And widely on pane anl ceiling Sparkles a fiery foam, And the children dance with theU shadows Like the forest sprite with tht gnome, While the great log roars and blazer The heart of the joy of home. And the cheek that has long been with ered With an old rose blooms once mort As memories glow like the embers Whose flashes sink and soar With the Christmas fire's warm glon Where the log burns red at the core, Woman's Home Companion. The Christmas Spirit. nowever It mny be, when Christmas comes it finds us nil to n greater or less degree ready to cry "A merry Christmas to all" nnd to the best of our ability keep It with good cheer. Deep down In our henrts every one of us cherishes what may be called tho Christmas sentiment. Even If we go, ns so mnny have done of past years, outside of the walls of our own homo wo still observe our Yuletlde In a moro or less conventional manner. We mny escape our relatives, save ourselves tho bother of home preparations, pretend that wo have cut adrift from the old fashioned methods, but It all amounts In reality to tho same thing. We nro animated, after all, by the same spirit, whether we are in n country house, a flat, a restaurant or hotel. A Joyful Yule. Then drink to the holly berry. With hey down, hey down derry; The mistletoe we'll pledge also. And at Christmas all be merry. Christmas Joys-UnderlheHisfidoe pk t v