The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-01-15
MISS BARTON SPEAKS.
She Reviews the Action Taken BY Her
Society.

Society.
Washington, January Ii. Miss Clara
Barton, President of the American Ma
tional Red Cross society, after considera-
tion of the emanations from the Turkish
government through its legation here,
said this evening: The movement for
Armenian relief did not originate with
the Red Cross. The first appeals for the
Red Cross to act came from the mission
ary boards of Constantinople and were
brought to it from various sources ask
ing that the Red Gross would consent to
distribute the relief funds of America in
Armenia. To this and other bodies as
w ell as representative oitizens, we nade
two conditions: First, that the request
be unanimous from the people of the en-
tire country regardless Of religion. secta-
rian or other differences, in order that
there should be perfect harmony Of
action; second. that sum OF money
sufficient to do credit and honor to the
United States and adequate to the relief
desired, should be placed at our disposal
to distribute. 1t was decided that the
first condition, that of unanimity, was
more than complied with and on the 14th
of Decem ber the Red Cross accepted the
trust on reasonable assurance that the
ninth of January, a guarantee Of the
funds was assured by the national COM
mittee. As we had previously correspond
ed by cable with the international colu-
mittee of Geneva, the official head Of all
the. Ked Gross treaty nations, and learned
that it had mo objection to our accep-
tance of tile trust, all the conditions We're
thus complied with and we had no option
left us but to CONSENT to set sail within
two weeks, the time named by the COM
mittee, which as duty, we were per-
iectly ready and willing to do, however
hazardous and pitiless the task before us.
LAS is the we'll known custom of the
Red Cross, we had no part in the raising of
the money. We were simply asked to take
and distribute Americas funds We have
from the first given no expression of opin-
ion, either public or private, which, in
accordance with the neutral principles
of the Red Cross, we neither could nor
desired to do.
s'On the 18th of January, a statement
reached headquarters that the imperial
government of Turkey would not permit
any distribution among his SUBJECTS in
his own territory by any foreign society
or individuals, however respectable the
same may be Gas for instance the Red
Cross society OF money collected abroad.
A careful psrusal of the context Of the
statament will show that the Turkish
government is not antagonistic to the
Red Cross, as such, which it recognizes
as q part of it's own treaty relations AID
for which, in its statement. it publicly
expresses it's respect, but 1t objects TO the
distribution of foreign relief on entirely
different grounds, neither in its power
or ours to control We desire add, that
any publication to the effect that the Red
Cross is aggressive in the matter and in
tending to aot, in spite of authority or
cooperation, is entirely incorrect. Any
statement conveying that meaning in
the slightest degree is not official and has
not been made nor suggested, even in
spirit, by any officer or member of the
Red Gross.