Richmond Palladium (Daily), Volume 43, Number 162, 20 May 1918 — Page 11
THE" EICHMONIX E&ELADIUM AND SUNTELEGRAJt MONDAY, MAY, 20. 1918
PAGE ElVEN
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ONE HUNDRED MERCIFUL MILLIONS
By HERBERT KAUFMAN
NE Hundred Millions for the Red Cross and not one
penny of it for red tape.
The mightiest charity, the noblest and broadest
volunteer movement of history.
The Red Cross shares no enmities, serves no flag but its own. It is God's agent, His healing, merciful will the
answer of twenty ever-gentler centuries to red barbarism.
Twelve million orphan children are wandering about Europe twelve million frightened little boys and terrorized little girls, sent adrift to sob alone and perish in the wastes to live' like swine and die like curs, unless magnificent
America ransoms them from death and worse.
How many of your pitying dollars will search the deso
lations und save them for Tomorrow's works ?
The Red Cross needs another Hundred Million, to glean the battle areas for this precious seed before it rots in mind
and body before grief and horror and disease and unre stralnt irrevocably blight them.
One Hundred Millions to prevent famine and stifle pesti
lence, to stamp out hideous fevers, to check an earth-wide wave of tuberculosis, to destroy shuddering filths where
verminous plagues feed and breed and threaten all the uni
verse
One Hundred Millions to found hospitals and build rest stations, to send nurses to the Front and refugees back, to forward surgical units and furnish artificial limbs, to buy
medicines and operating instruments, to re-educate the muti
lated and show the blind where Hope still shines. &t
One Hundred Millions to maintain communication with detention camps, to provide war prisoners with food and decencies, to take messages out and bring letters in, to negotiate comforts and privileges for the captured, to buy
blankets for them and clothes and books and tobacco. One Hundred Millions for No Man's Land for stretchers and ambulances, for anesthesia and bandages and antiseptics; to train nurses and orderlies, to outfit and transport skilled specialists, to make sure that a dear one shall have a clean, sweet cot and a sweet, clean girl from home beside it. One Hundred Millions to keep the world sound and wholesome, while the armies of Justice hold it safe.
Am the Red Cross HENRY PAYSON DOWST (With acknowledgments to Robert H. Davis, author of "I Am the Printing Press.") I am the Symbol of the pity of God. I burgeon upon the flaunting banner of victory and the drooping guidon of defeat. ' I am the token of peace in the midst of battle, of gentleness shining through the sombre mists of hate. I am a chevron on the sleeve of mercy, an honor mark set high upon the brow of compassion. I am the color of blood spilled for democracy, the form of Christ's tree of agony, and my followers, at need, crucify themselves to make men live. I carry the hope of life into the red pits -of death, and a dying soldier salutes me and smiles as he goes to touch the hand of God Almighty. I stand for the organized love of mankind, the co-ordinated impulses of young and old to do good, the sacred efficiency of human service. I mark the flag under which are mobilized, the forces of industry and finance, of church and school, of capital, of labor, of genius and of sinew. I am Civilization's Godspeed to those who defend her; I am the message from home. I am the Symbol of the pity of God. I AM THE RED CROSS.
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Contributed by Jno. CasseL
GET
THE
RED
CR0SS
HABIT
The Story That Private Leach Told
7SO Children Herded In Dirty Dilapidated Building Typical Red Cross Case
An official of a French city that was being filled with gas bombs by the Germans found himself confronted with the problem" of looking after 750 children. He telegraphed the American Red Cross In Paris for help. Fifteen trained workers were rushed to the relief of these children. Here is what the Red Cross workers found: Twenty-one tiny babies under one year old and 729 children under eight years. They were herded in an old, dirty, unfurnished building, without a suggestion of sanitary convenlonce. It was the best and safest the French official could find at such a moment, but you would not think it fit for a dog. And here Is what the American Red
Cross workers did In two days: They thoroughly cleaned and transferred to new buildings outside the city the entire 750 children. Red Cross doctors attended the sick ; nurses were secured for the babies. Suitable food was provided for all, and they were so classified as to provide against the separation of families; also an organization for the permanent care of these children. Including their education, was started and has since been put Into operation. So much for the 750. But how about the thousands upon thousands of others. Right now the little children of France are at your doors crying for food, shelter, protection against German brutality and dying as they cry.
The United States has now been at
war for more .than a year. But up to the present time the Red Cross has made but one national appeal for help
Its $100,000,000 drive in the summer
of 1917. Now it is about to make another appeal Its second. And upon the heels of the Third Liberty Loan. For, great as are the re
sponsibilities and the opportunities of the Institution whose blazing symbol is recognized by civilized nations the world over as a symbol of peace and of comfort, its expenditures are but a small fraction of those required for
our governmental expense for the con
duct of the war.
Organization of Service. The Red Cross has never permitted
Itself to encroach upon the functions
or the necessities of the government, although there are many times when
it might Justify Itself in so doing. In
the single important instance of transportation it 'has refused to burden the army or navy with the carriage of its
vast supplies of stores, even though
these were destined for the relief and the lives of the soldiers and the sailors themselves. On th? contrary, after it had builded and fully equipped a great
By EDWARD HUNGERFORD Of the Vigilantes. v dispatching depot on the West Side of New York for the preparement of Its stores for shipment overseas, and the wtr department found Itself so pressed for warehouse facilities that it was compelled to take the Red Cross plant for army needs Davison and his fellows of the Red Cross gladly moved out nnd quickly assembled and builded another dispatching depot for their own needs. The spirit of the organization is that of service. And I have seen enough of its workings to convince me that it is something a little more than mere service perhaps service plus efficiency would best describe it It seems- to me that the time has come when there should be an. even larger national appreciation of the Red Cross. Today it has only begun' to touch the surface of the American people. Continued fighting and extended casualty lists will force it far beneath the skin. It cannot be embarrassed
for lack of funds. You and I cannoti
afford to have it embarrassed, to be compelled to turn any of Its energies from the saving of human life to mere grubbing for cold cash. It Is time that America formed a new habit. We have some big and fairly expensive national tastes al
ready, movies and motoring, for In
stance, to say nothing of smoking and
drinking. A little reduction on ail of these and the proceeds turned to an en
tirely new habit would be a mighty good thing at this time. And for that fifth habit I am going to propose the Red Cross-the Red Cross habit, if you please. It will be a habit the gathered money of whieh will go to the credit, not of yourself, but of the greatest charity that America ever has known,
which makes this new habit more than
a habit a real virtue the virtue of
self sacrifice. Our Country the Richest.
Try being ready for the Red Cross collector not merely the next time he
comes, but on each subsequent call.
Do not face him with the reproachful suggestion that he has seen you be
fore. Our country is a big land, in many ways the biggest and richest in
the world, but It is not big enough- nor
rich enough that folks with money can
escape with but a single invitation to
contribute.
That Is why I suggest the Red Cross habit the continuous setting aside of definite sums of money by patriotic Americans against the Red Cross
drives. It is a habit which I canqot commend too heartily to you.
"I say, there," called Private Leach, sitting up weakly, "where you goln' vlth me bllnkln' "at?" The dog cast a look back across his shoulder, wagged his tall pleasantly and continued to trot away, carrying Private Leach's cap In his jaws. "'E's got a bloomln' cheek, not 'alt !" observed Private Leach apd lay down again. What difference did it make? He had clicked a bullet in his righ thigh, and, what with the loss of blood and pain and hunger and all, a chap might as well "go west" without a cap as with one. Now that he'd managed to get a dressing on the wound and a bandage to hold the dressing in place, the bleeding was less, but the end of the smashed bone was grinding in the torn flesh. It wasn't a bit cushy, out there In No Man's Land, six hours In a shell hole with a busted leg. The dog had popped up from nowhere at all,, with his alert eyes and sensitive, searching nose. Girt tightly about his body was the broad white band bearing the flaming sign of the Red Cross. ,He stood quite still while Private Leach painfully unfastened the first aid package from his back and, still more painfully, applied the disinfectant, gauze pads and clean cotton tincture. Looking up, he whined a
friendly, sympathetic whine, and the soldier patted him gratefully. "Good old chap," said Private Leach. "You've been knocked about a bit yourself, eh?" He touched the dog's ear where a recent hurt had left a scarcely healed scar. And then the rascal had seized Prl vate Leach's cap and made off with It toward the lines, paying no serious attention to the wounded man's remonstrances. "Rum little bloke!" remarked Private Leach and fainted. Private Leach sat on a sunny bench In the small courtyard of the convalescent hospital and explained matters to a compatriot, likewise recovering from the effects of boche courtesy. "And the bloomn' surgeon, 'e says them dawgs is trained like that. The one that found me, 'e don't mind bullets no more than buns, 'e don't, a-w'izzin' past 'is 'ead. And whenfinds a wounded chap 'e tykes 'is cap or anything that's loose. 'e can get ls teeth In, and away e goes to report to 'is K. O., like a good soldier. So then the stretcher bearers, they goes out and brings in the chap, same as they did me, d'ye see? Red Cross trains dawgs by 'undreds. preat, eh, wot?" "Righto, agreed Private Leach's companion. " 'Spect you'd like to meet that fellow again, r Dawgs'U look a bit:
different to me when I gets back to Blighty. , Bll-me, I awlways 'ated dawgs, but not now I don't" "Look l" said Private Leach. "Ere comes one of the little beggars." A wiry, short haired dog with a deal of bull in his makeup came limping along on three legs, the fourth held stiffly In front of him by an ingenious arrangement of sling and bandage.
"Clicked a bit o' Fritt's lead 'Is
bloomln little self, e did, eh, wot? Ere, Bill. Nice old blokey." The dog went and laid his head, friendly fashion, on Private Leach's knee and looked up Into the soldier's face, whining sympathetically. " 'E knows 'oVir it feels," observed Private Leach. Then, "I say, there, old timer, look at that ear!" "Scar,"-aald his companion. "Been fightln', like as not" "Bll-me!" cried Leach. "'E's the syme chap. 'Ere4 now, where you goln' with me bllnkln' at?" The dog, holding Private Leach's cap at a provoking distance, viewed the two convalescents with a mischievous eye. , . . . . " 'E's a cute on. Wish e was goln back to Blighty wlf me, not 'alf. Eh, wot?" , - "Sure." agreed the other. 1 always 'ated 'em, but not now I don't. Red Cross dawgs Is bloomln' humans. Strafe me If they ain't!",' i
THANWAR? Consumption Four Times Mere Deadly Than Bombs and Machine Guns. , Pierre Hamp, a French medical authority, estimates that of the 38,000,000 people of all ages still living in France 4.000,000 must die of tuberculosis. The war will have killed about 1,000,000. This means that man with all of bis inventiveness Is far less efficient than Nature as a man killer. There have been over 400,000 new cases of consumption in France since the war began. This Is why, despite the number of new hospitals, there is still not sufficient space available for tuberculosis cases. The Question of Pensions. Of course first consideration Is accorded to the ever popular wounded men. Therein lies the tragedy of the consumptive soldier. With the new cases coming in dally from the trenches the consumptives are not as helpless as the wounded men. When discharged from the army the severely wounded are allowed a pension by the government. The consumptives, however, receive no allowance unless they can prove that their illness is entirely due to their service in the army. This is not an easy thing to do, and consequently comparatively few consumptives receive governmental assistance. - Until the American Red Cross began to extend its aid the plight of most of these men was often pitiful. When discharged from the hospital they are given certain Instructions which would eventually bring them back to health.
nut conditions are hard. Tney are usually unable to earn much and so do not get proper or even sufficient nourishment. Very often they are In no condition to look after themselves, still
less to safeguard the health of others. To meet this difficulty local committees have been formed to look after the discharged patients and see that they do not pass on their disease to members of their families. The task
is well nigh hopeless. Even if proper living quarters are to be had sanitation and hygiene cannot be taught
overnight. They sleep In air tight
rooms, kiss their babies, drink out of the same cups and use the same towels
as the rest of their families.
In spite of these appalling difficul
ties, however, the rapid spread of the
disease must simply must be checked. Even to attempt this would be an
impossibility without the tremendous
facilities and aid of the American Red
Cross. No other agency could conceivably face, much less hope to accomplish, such a task.
WHAT IS WORSE BESSIE LYONS'
INSURANCE DUE
The Home Service of the Red Cross, Backing Up Our Soldier. Boys, Came Instantly to
the Rescue. '
HOT DRINKS FOR TIRED FIGHTERS
The Red Cross Rolling Canteen.
In six months the American Red
Cross supplied a million French'poilus
with hot colt ee, tea, chocolate, bouillon,
at the time they needed it most just
as they were entering the communica
tion trenches for a tour of duty under
boche fire or coming out, tired and worn, after their grueling vigil. If you were dragging the tiredest pair of feet in France through the mud,
and if you were greeted by a cheery
voice and a steaming pint of beef tea, wouldn't it be "a grand and glorious feelin'? Oh, boy!"
Now, this is the work of the "roll
ing canteen," and some day a Kipling
will sing "the story of the tanks"
tanks of broth and bouillon that the
Red Cross "Special Front Line Serv
ice" trundles up to the lines. The Military Sanitary Service supplies the wagons and utensils. The Red Cross
unit does the work. It supplies these
hot drinks at a cost of 50 francs ($10) per thousand men, a cent apiece I
Think of that the penny your little
girl sepds the Red Cross can buy a big
hot cheering drink, a good natured
greeting, for a fighting man who desperately needs just that ! One penny I
Red Cross Rolling Canteens to the
number of 15 are now behind the lines In continuous service. Their crews are exposed to shell fire and often have to put on gas masks.
Eugene Hale, brother of United
States Senator Hale, served six
months with a rolling canteen In France, and he says :
"While the men are glad to have the
hot drinks, their chief satisfaction con
sists In the sense this service gives them of a friend being there with a
helping hand in a critical hour." .
And now the American army has
asked the Red Cross to maintain this front line service directly In ; touch
with the medical relief stations nearest the Yankee front and this the Red Cross Is eager to da
In a few minutes Sam Lyons, private, TJ. S. A., was going "over the top" for the first time. No fear of the foe possessed this stout hearted young American soldier. Then came the order, "Three mil otes to go!" - .. ' Lyons at the Front. As he crouched at the baso of th trench ladder waiting for the signal that would brine him to rrlDs with
death Itself Sam's thoughts went home, "Wonder what Bess and the kids are
doing?" He glanced at his wrist watch. "Sleeping, bless them." Suddenly the' day and date came to him, Wednesday, the 3d. "Gee, it's little Mary's birth day!" And then, as though a malevolent fate had been awaiting this crucial moment to unnerve the young sol. dier, Sam remembered that the morn ing Mary was born he had taken out his first life Insurance policy and to day the premium was duel "Good God !" he groaned in agony of spirit, "How. could I have forgotten such a sacred obligation at this time? How could I? What will the poor things do if" A shrill whistle blast galvanized Sam into action. "Spare me for their
sake," he prayed as he scrambled up
the ladder. In a Midwestern Town. Lines of anxiety seared Bessie Lyons
smooth brow as she read the card the postman had just left. This was her second notification that her husband s
life insurance premium was due on the 3d. Today It was the 2d. One day to pay! What possessed Sam to neglect r matter so vital to herself and the chIR dren? Could anything have happened? Ah, no! His remittance was delayed.. But the premium was due tomorrow. It must be paid. Bess turned to enter the house. "Good morning, Mrs. Lyons," called a cheery voice. Bess wheeled to find Mrs. Leighton, the home service worker, coming up the walk. "Why, dear, child, you look worried," the older woman exclaimed anxiously. "What is it?" Bess handed the home service worker the insurance notice. "It falls due tomorrow, and Sam hasn't sent the money to pay," she said. Mrs. Leighton became all business. "Tomorrow? Well, It must be paid today, and It will be. Put on your things mid we'll go right down to the Red Cross and have this matter settled at once. Come, child; it's all right, so cheer up." An hour later Bess returned home. The children ran to meet her. Tenderly she -kissed them. Any day might find them fatherless, but at least they would not be destitute. . "God bless the Red Cross and Home Service," she whispered, "and dear God watch over my soldier boy." ( Home Service Is the phase of Red Cross work that looks to the welfare of the soldier's family so that the wholesome standards of American home life will be maintained and the family resources supported In every crisis that presents itself with doubly forbidding aspect when the father or husband is away.
LIKE THAT OLD DUMP A? THE FOOT OF MAIN STREET
The Friends are doing a wonderful work in rebuilding France. The Red Cross wisely has co-operated with them almost from its first appearance in France. It has sought to fur-' ther every enterprise the Friends have launched there and to help with all Its resources, financial and economic. Here Is an extract from the letter of a young Friend, which shows the kind of work they are doing : "Tuesday morning we took some men In the truck to a little place called Tugny, six miles from the lines. They are putting up portable houses there. There are ten up already, and a woman, the only Inhabitant of thej 1 place, lives In one. That poor village was the worst wreck of all hardly a . stone left on top of another. The church was spared, but its walls were all full of holes ready for the explosive. I guess the Germans had to leave In a hurry, but they managed to take the pipes out of the organ. : "And farm implements of all sorts have been burned or rendered useless ' in some way. Wagons have had their spokes hacked out and various sorts of machinery made into scrap iron. A Junk dealer would find plenty here, and . when yen think that this little village is just a speck compared to all the great area that has been devastated you wonder at the expense and labor
Involved in It an."
