The Syracuse Journal, Volume 29, Number 33, Syracuse, Kosciusko County, 10 December 1936 — Page 8

They Helped Make Christmas a Healthier (and Happier) Time for Their Fellow-Americans

\ — By ELMO SCOTT WATSON IF CHRISTMAS this year is a healthier (and therefore a happier) time for many thousands of Americans —just how many there is no way of knowing—a part of the credit for that fact is due to two women. One of them was born on Christmas Day 115 years ago and the other was mainly responsible for giving her fellow-Americans a gay-ly-colored little “scrap of paper” which has become as much a symbol of Christmas time as holly wreaths, pine trees, red candles, carols, or even Santa Claus himself. No doubt, you are familiar with the names of both Clara Barton and Emily P. Bissell, but you never happened to think of them in connection with the idea of a "healthy,, happy Christmas.” The purpose of this article is to show that connection. • • • On Christmas day, 1821, a baby girl was bom in the farm home of Capt. Stephen Barton near North Oxford, Mass. Her parents gave her the name of Clarissa Harlowe, after the heroine of Samuel Richardson's Eighteenth century romance, but when she grew up, being a prac-tical-minded young woman she dropped that romantic name and became known simply as Clara Barton. * * If she had been a boy, perhaps she might have followed in the footsteps of her father, who had served in the Revolution under "Mad Anthony” Wayne, and jojrfed the army. As it turned she was destined to go to war, even though she was a woman, but she went to alleviate pain and suffering, not to cause it. Clara Barton was a sickly child but by engaging in vigorous outdoor exercise she changed herself into a robust young woman, a fact which was important to her later career. Even while engaged in teaching school (in 1854 she established at Bordentown, one of the first free public schools in New Jersey) she kept up her outdoor exercise. When she went to her New England home for summer vacations she worked in the garden and in the hay field. In winter she was a devotee of skating and other winter sports. Service in the Civil War. After a very successful career as a teacher Miss Barton went to Washington and served as a clerk in the patent office where she was working when the Civil war broke out. Then she determined to devote herself to the ,care of wounded soldiers on the battlefield and she was instrumental in organizing the sanitary commission which took charge of nursing sick and wounded soldiers in the field and in hospitals. 1 She served with the Army of the Potomac and in 1864 she was appointed "lady in charge” of the* hospitals at the front of the ‘Army of the James. In 1865 she went to Andersonville, Ga., to identify and mark the graves of Union prisoners buried there and in the same year President Lincoln placed her in charge of the search for missing men of the Union armies. As a result, her bureau of records traced out the date of more than 30,000 "unknown soldiers.” I During the years 1866-67 she (lectured on her war experiences I

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EMILY F. BBBELL and afterward went to Switzerland for her health which had been seriously affected by her strenuous labors during the war. She was at Geneva when the Franco-Prussian war broke out and she assisted the grand duchess of Baden in the preparation of military hospitals. Also she became acquainted with the work i©f the Red Cross, the society of omercy which had been organized t>y Jean Henri Dunant, a Swiss,

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when she saw the horrors of war in northern Italy in 1859, and she gave unstinted aid to that society during the conflict of 1870-71. At the joint request of the German authorities and the Stras- ‘ burg "Comite de Secours," she superintended the supplying of work to the poor of that city in 1871 and in 1872 had charge of the public distribution of supplies to the destitute people of Paris who had undergone the horrors of siege and the reign of the Commune. At the close of the war she was decorated with the golden cross of Baden and the iron ■ cross of Germany. Founding of the Red Cross. Upon her return to this country in 1873 Miss Barton inaugurated a movement to secure recognition of the Red Cross society by the American government and finally, during the administration of President Arthur, saw her labors rewarded. Naturally she became the first president of the American Red Cross when it was organized in 1881. Miss Barton’s humanitarian la-

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Presentation of the Original Bed Cross Flag. Made by Clara Barton, to Chairman John Barton Payne at National Headquarters tn Washington.

bors did not end with the wars. During the eighties she was busy superintending the work of succoring the afflicted in the great fires which swept Michigan, in the floods on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and at the great Johnstown flood in Pennsylvania. She served as president of the American Red Cross for 23 years and to the end of her days, which came in 1912, she was the living exponent of the spirit which has made the Red Cross "the greatest mother in the world.” • • • As for the other woman who in years past (and this year) has contributed to making a "healthy, happy Christmas’ ’ —Miss Emily Bissell—she was a disciple of Clara Barton in the humanitarian work of the Red Cross. Back in 1907 she was secretary of the Red Cross in the state of Delaware and was trying to raise money for an open air pavilion to help in curing children in her state who were afflicted with tuberculosis. Four years earlier a man named Einar Holboel, a postal clerk in the post office at Copenhagen, Denmark, had conceived the idea of selling special Christmas stamps and using the proceeds to build a hospital for tuberculous children in his country. His idea had been highly successful and one of his fellowcountrymen who had become an American, Jacob Riis, wrote an article about it for the Oitlook magazine in the summer of 1907. The Origin <rf the Idea. One of those who read Riis's article was the secretary of the Delaware Red Cross, who wondered if Delaware couldn’t issue

SYRACUSE JOURNAL

a similar stamp in order to raise money for the pavilion which her state division of the Red Cross wished to build. For Miss Bissell to think was to act, so on December 9, 1907, two pretty girls in Red Cross uniforms took their place at a table in the post office in Wilmington, and began selling, for a quarter each, little pay envelopes labeled thus: 25 CHRISTMAS STAMPS One Penny Apiece Issued by the Delaware Red Cross, to stamp out the White Plague. Put this stamp with message bright On every Christmas letter, Help the tuberculosis fight, And make the New Year better. These stamps do not carry any kind of mail, but any kind of mail will carry them. The first day’s sales were encouraging but Miss Bissell soon saw that they would not be able to sell enough of the seals to raise

the required amount of money. So she made a trip to Philadelphia to enlist the aid of a newspaper there. It was the North American and its president and editor was E. A. Van Valkenburg, who had been the first to displease doctors by proposing publicity as the weapon to use against the white plague. Van Valkenburg immediately saw what a great opportunity was offered by Miss Bissell’s proposal He placed at her com- ‘ rnand every facility of his newspaper to publicize the Christmas seal idea. As a result, the presses which were printing the seals in Wilmington couldn’t turn - them out fast enough to keep up with the demand in Philadelphia and the surrounding area, so a Philadelphia printer was enlisted. Through its Washington correspondent, the newspaper got the postmaster general’s permission to put up a booth in the Philadelphia post office lobby. Five days before Christmas the governor of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania branch of the national Red Cross indorsed the stamp. Four days before Christmas an editorial urged that “A Million Mercy Messengers” be bought by the people. Two days before Christmas "Happy New ' Year” 'was added to the stamp design, the demand having grown so. The day after Christmas more than half a million were distributed to city, state and nation. Then came a flood of signed indorsements: from Washington; President Roosevelt, Secretory of State Root, Secretary of War Taft; from Baltimore, Cardinal

Gibbons; from other places leaders in public life, philanthropy and education all featured on page one. A Great Success. On January 8, a check for $1,013.97 was sent to Miss Bissell, the proceeds of the North American’s part in this preface to stamping out the plague—several times the sum Delawareans had wanted to raise and feared they could not get. And as much more from other sources in Pennsylvania. All told, Delaware and Pennsylvania raised $3,000 from this first sale of stamps. As a result of this success, Miss Bissell was able to induce the authorities of the American Red Cross to undertake a nationwide sale of tuberculosis Christmas stamps in 1908. Influenced by her leadership, women’s clubs, religious groups, various publications, as well as local Red Cross chapters gave their support to the sale. By such united and enthusiasic effort more than $135,000 was raised in the first national sale. From 1907 to 1910, the National Tuberculosis association had been organizing a nationwide warfare against tuberculosis. Soon after the launching of this campaign came the establishment of open air schools for the care of delicate children, many of whom were known to have been exposed to tuberculosis. Other children who appeared anemic—run down, and in what was in those days believed to be a pre-tuberculosis condition, were also sent to these schools. The use of height-weight tables to determine the health status of children was very popular, and youngsters 10 per cent or more underweight according to the tables, were automatically dubbed pre-tuberculosis and listed as candidates for the open air schools. It was in 1908 that the first school of this type was opened in Providence, R. 1., and it was not long before others were scattered all over the country. These pioneers had the support of the foremost scientists, but very few funds for their work. To strengthen the organization’s effort, the American Red Cross and the National Tuberculosis association joined forces to conduct the Christmas seal sale together. The partnership between the American Red Cross and the National Tuberculosis association lasted 10 years. During that time the scarlet emblem of the American Red Cross appeared on the annual issues of Christmas seals. In 1919, however, .the doublebarred cross, international emblem of the anti - tuberculosis

■? wal) —ii — * .mrftbhßi i ....iFtm — CLARA BARTON

campaign and trade mark of the National. Tuberculosis association, was also embodied in the design of the seal. Since 1920, the seals have been "Tuberculosis Christmas seals.” • • • The use of these seals has become an accepted part of the holiday celebration in this country—a veritable Christmas tradition. Since they came into existence through a chain of circumstances in which two women, serving humanity by their woA in the Red Cross, played important parts, that is the reason for remembering Clara Barton and Emily Bissell at Christmas as two women who helped make it a healthier (and therefore a happier) time for their fellow-Americans. C Weaten Newspaper Uafoa.

DISCOVER RELICS OF ANCIENT ALASKA

Sheds Light on Prehistoric Eskimo Life. Washington, D. C. — Eskimo armor, worn in ancient battles in prehistoric Alaska 1,000 years ago, and weapons, tools and household articles that add greatly to knowledge of life in the Far North before the dawn of history, have been unearthed by a joint expedition of the National Geographic society and the Smithsonian institution. "Preserved for many centuries in the perpetually frozen Alaskan soil, the relics furnish valuable new knowledge of two ancient Eskimo cultures or primitive ‘civilizations’ of Alaska, and fill important gaps in the history of the ancestors of the modem Eskimo,” says the National Geographic society. Old Eskimo "Thole Culture” "The remains were excavated during the past summer under the leadership of Henry B. Collins, Jr., of the Smithsonian. Assisting him were James A. Ford of Louisiana State university and Harrison Prindle of Washington. D. C. "The armor which the expedition uncovered was made of slats of bone, similar to the slat armor used by some Asiatic tribes. Other finds included harpoon and arrow heads, fish lines of flexible whale bone, fragments of clothing, cooking utensils, combs, awls, needles, ceremonial masks and even toys carved in exact imitation of full-sized boats, animals, etc. "Working at and near Cape Prince of Wales, westernmost point of the North American continent, the expedition excavated mounds of prehistoric rubbish accumulated over long periods from villages long since abandoned. One of the mounds was eight feet deep, and digging a slow process because the frozen ground thawed only a few inches each day. “The archeologists uncovered the first site of the old Eskimo ‘Thule Culture’ ever found in Alaska. The ‘Thule Culture’ was the stage of development attained by the Eskimos previous to the stage they had reached when found by the first white explorers, and is characterized by certain types of tools, weapons, and art objects. Links Two Civilizations. “The Thule culture spread all over Arctic North America and even to Greenland. While it has been known to exist in those regions for some time, the new finds confirm the important fact that it spread eastward from Alaska. These proofs were found in a mound located previously by Dr. Diamond Jenness of the Nation!! Museum of Canada, who made the first systematic excavations in Arctic Alaska. “In the same mound the expedition found evidence that the Thule culture was derived from a still earlier one known as the Birnirk culture which once flourished in the region of Point Barrow. In successive layers downward in the mound, harpoon heads gradually changed from the Thule style to that of the Birnirk type. This establishes continuity between the two cultures and closes a gap that previously existed between them. “Two miles from this location the archeologists found another older mound in which the remains were entirely of the Birnirk type. This was the first discovery of a site of the ‘Birnirk Culture’ outside the Point Barrow region. In other mounds the expedition found remains of more recent times, and thus was able to piece together a complete picture of Eskimo development in that locality over many centuries.” Proverb About Beauty Looked Into by Science Leipzig, Germany. —A new scientific beauty treatment that avoids artificial mediums and surface applications and attacks the problem below the surface has been introduced here. It Is based on electrical radiation. A. soothing relaxation is said to follow the applications of the electrical current and the circulation of the blood is quickened. The face to be treated is covered with a silk mask over which ar_laid specially constructed skin, cheek and forehead electrodes, enabling the current to penetrate to a considerable depth below the skin’s surface. The amount of electricity applied is carefully regulated. Scientific tests of the electrical beauty treatment have been carried out at the Leipzig fair.

Scot Court Rules 5% Is Honesty’s Reward Glasgow.—The value of honesty has been placed at five per cent by a Scottish police court. Mrs. I. Lynn found two 20 pound notes (about SIOO each) on a sidewalk, and notified police. The money was claimed by Miss Alexandra Cameron, who offered to pay 1 shilling (24 cents) on the pound. Mrs. Lynn insisted the reward should be 2 shillings on the pound. Miss Cameron’s lawyer said honesty should be its own reward. The police court ruled that 5 per cent was adequate reward.

' Most latrfeata Organ The most intricate and elaboral e automatic organ in history, it is b> lieved, was that which was built i k> side a huge fountain in the Vila d’Este in Tivoli, Italy, about 156), notes a writer in Collier’s Weekly .One selected and played any of 1 ts many tunes by simply stepping <m the proper stone in the surroundi ig Discretion in fa mnr» th an

tffl Tales ernf W) — W Traditions rOuucai ruMory aMvjHi rtANKLHAGCN Mmo scon watsom

HOW’RE YOU BETTING T'IOSE loose old days, before * letting was considered illegal, brought considerable wagering on the results erf presidential campaij,ms—the amounts at stake frequently totalling millions. It was back in that era, 1908 to be specific, that brokers making book on the election actually recorded 60,000 to 1 against the chances of erne of the cand.dates. The long shot entry was Eugene V. Debs, perennial Socialist candidate. T hat same campaign demonstrated that the professional odds-layers knew considerable about their business. In September, 1908, Taft was the 2 to 1 favorite over Bryan; by October the odds lengthened to 3 1a 1 and on election day Taft’s chances were rated at 8 to 1, with few takers. .Anyone who believes the professional wagerers are infallible should thumb back the record to 191.6 when it is estimated from five to ten million dollars changed hand on the result. Wilson and Hughes were the leading contenders, with Wilson on the inside track because he was up for re-election. In September, 1916, the financial district in New York was betting 2 to 1 on Hughes. In October the odds were 10 to 7 and even money was placed the dsiiy of election. Closeness of the contest, in doubt for days until California returns moved into the Wilson column, perhaps was excuse for the error in judgment by the financiers. * They may be wrong again in IS 36 but perhaps it would be well for readers to confine themselves tci freak bets, if any at all are trade. Perhaps the most ingenious of these occurred in that same 1916 election. A man, apparently three sheets ir; the wind, strolled into a commissioner’s office, bet $5 he could name 20 states Wilson would carry. He then bet $lO he could name tan additional states. Then he offered S2O he could name still another 10 states. “And now,” he announced, “here’s SSO says I can name eight states more for Wi’son.” When the rush to take him subsided, the bettor, miraculously sobered, named his states. The ‘'pitch”»of his game was that he reserved eight states of the solid Mouth as the block on which the 150 wager was laid. He could not tail to win at least sls! ALLISON OF IOWA FIRST honors for “coming close” to the presidency, although he is minus even the standing of an ‘also-ran,” must be awarded William B. Allison of lowa. Allison’s doubtful honor came to him at the Republican convention of 1888, which ended finally with the nomination of Benjamin Harrison, later elected President. Delegates to the convention had balloted ineffectually for several candidates when a four-hour recess was taken to permit a counting of noses. Delegates from New York, Illinois, California, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, lowa and Missouri, went into conference. Representatives from each of these states were practically empowered to act for the entire state delegation. Senator Hoar of Massachusetts spoke in favor of Allison of lowa after several of the candidates had been discussed. It was finally agreed that Allison’s fitness for the high job was apparent and that he should get the support of the conferring states. New York state had been represented, however, by only three of its four delegates-at-large. The three who agreed on Allison failed to reckon with their absent colleague, Chauncey Depew, the rapier-worded banqueteer. Depew was president of a railroad at the time. He had been supported as a candidate but was forced to withdraw because of farm belt opposition to the railroads. Much of the opposition to him had come from lowa and so he turned thumbs-down on Allison. Subsequent events proved that if Depew had not balked, the conferring states would have nominated Allison and he would have been elected President in place of Harrison. The ironical part of this personal catastrophe is that Allison’s stature measured fully as high as the job demanded. He had moved out to lowa as a young lawyer, served eight years in the lower house of congress and, beginning in 1872, was a United States senator from the Tall Corn state for an unbroken period of 35 years. © Wwt«rn Newspaper Union. Britain Traces 1776 Failure The British attribute their failure in our Revolution to the fact that, according to them, it was largely a naval war and the English fleet lacked its usual dash and enterprise; Their armies failed on land for want of proper support from the sea and Yorktown’s surrender was due to the actual, if temporary, loss of the command of the sea, with Paul Jones harrying the English at their own doors. Sinking of the Titanic The Titanic was sunk on het maiden voyage from Southampton to New York on April 15, 1912, as a result of collision with an iceberg. Two thousand, two hundred and twenty-three passengers and crew were on board, and of these 832 passengers and 685 crew were lost; 706 were saved. Nam* tom Legends Tjmihiffi. a mountain peak near the American island W of Hwy, hdu, means in Hawaii “where the

Thursday, December 10, 1936

These Cuddle Toys . Solve Gift Problems

“Eenie, Meenie, Minie, Mo”— it’s hard to decide which to make —but why make just one, why not all! Delightful cuddle toys, these, and just the soft, warm playthings for a baby’s arms. There’s nothing to the making of them, for each is composed of but two

Pattern No. 5609

pieces, with the exception of the bear, whose jacket is extra, and the chick, whose flapping wings are separate. Your gayest cotton scraps can go into the making of these winning gifts. In pattern 5609 you will find a transfer pattern for the four animals; instructions for making them; material requirements. To obtain this pattern send 15 cents in stamps or coins (coins preferred) to The Sewing, Circle Household Arts Dept., 259 West Fourteenth St., New York, N. Y. Write plainly pattern number, your name and address. The Cop Had a Test for the Cowboy A hard-driving taxi driver, In a mid-west city ignored a red crossing signal, threatened the traffic policeman’s knees, missed a street island by a hair, and just grazed a loaded bus, all in one mad dash. < The policeman hailed him with a shrill blast from his whistle, then strolled over to the taxi, pulling a big handkerchief from his hip pocket en route. "Listen, cowboy!” he growled, “on the way back I’ll drop this and see if you can pick it up with your teeth while in full tilt. If you’re the real thing, O.K. Else you get a ticket!”- -Montreal Star. Where Columbus Landed For many years there has been a controversy in Cuba as to the exact place on the island where Christopher Columbus first touched land. The date has long been acknowledged to be October 28, 1492, and quite recently research engineers have proved to the satisfaction of the Cuban authorities that the actual place of landing was the present location of the village of Gibara, in Oriente province.

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* COIGI RELIEF-TIAT ALSO SPEEBS RECOVERY

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Watch Your Kidneys./

Be Sure They Properly Cleanse the Blood VOUR kidney* are constantly filter* T ing waste matter from the blood stream. But kidneys sometimes lag in their work-do not act as nature intended—fail to remove impurities that poison the system when retained. Then you may suffer nagging backache, dizziness, scanty or too frequent urination, getting up at night, puffiness under the eyes/ feel nervous, misera- " ble—ali upset Don’t delay? Use Doan’s Pills, Doan’s are especially for poorly functioning kidneys. They are recommended by grateful users the country over. Get them from any druggist

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DOLLARS * HEALTH The successful person is a healthy person. Don’t let yourself be handicapped by sick headaches, a sluggish condition, stomach “nerves” and other dangerous signs of over-acidity. M MILNESIA FOR HEALTH Milnesia, the original milk of in wafer form, neutralizes stomach adds, gives quick, pleasant elimination. Each wafer equals 4 teaspoonfuls milk of magne«a.Tasty,too.2oc/Jsc&6oc everywhere.