Evening star., 1897-06-07
AID TO SUFFERING GREECE
Eloquent Orators Discussed the Theme Yes
terday Afternoon.
Greek Red Cross Mass Meeting Mt
First congregational Churct-IIb-
crnI Contributions to the Fund

| American aid for suffering t;re.ce Was
the theme that inspired many eloquent aud
earnest pleas at the Greek Red Cross mass
meeting held yesterday afternoon at the
| First CONGREGATIONAL Church. There was
large attendance when MIR. Gardnor -.
| Hubbard, who presided. called the gather
ing to order. and glance over the au-
| dienca discovered scores of well-known ana
representative faces. every one of which
| bore unmistakable marks OF sympathy
| with the object OF the ass. mblarc
| Catholic University students acted a.
ushcrs. and there were on the stage Miss
Clara Barton. Americas Florence Night
| ngale; Rev. Dr. Gilbert. Rev. Father
quinn. professor OF Creek at the Catholic
| University; Senator Thurston. Rev. pr
| Corey, Mrs. J. Ellen Foster Mrs. : II. La
| Fe;ra. Mrs. Sarah Spencer AMI others The
audience sang Coronation" after which
| Rev. Or. Baker offered an eloqu,n IL prayer
| The singing Of "Amtrica' followed.
| Scholarly Review
| MIR. Hubbard then gave a scholarly re-
| view of the history OF the Greeks which
| showed careful and deep research and pro-
! found Judgment. lie recounted in glowing
| terms the slor;es won by Greece on many
| martial fields. the rencwn of Plataea. tho
| heroism OF TherTopylae. the Persian de-
| feat at Marathon. He showed the effects
| of Christianity on the Greeks. and painted
| The achievements of her people IN art and
| literature IN bright colors They had made
| the history OF the word shine with daz-
| z!ing events, ana now they had come 10 the
| new civilization of freedom and liberty,
asking for help. IL had been asked i'm the
name of suffering humanity. and in the
| name of Christian kinship. Mr.. Hubbard
| appealed for imr ediate aid.
! Rev. Dr. Gilbert followed with an earnest
| plea in the same line. No mon, y could re-
pay the debt which every civilized nation
I nxG - l..
| the beginning of the civilization we now
enjoy. We could acknowledge. in some
! degree, these obligations 10y aidint the SUI
| fering children Of those ben factors. and
! he pleaded in the name of God = al the
| cause Of liberty and of humanity that his
| hearers should include Greece In their
| givings.
| Ovation To Miss barton.
When Miss Clara Barton. president Of
| the American National Red Cross Society.
| arose tc speak there was loEg-coniluued
| al plause. Ii was holy day. she said,
and holy cause had drawn them there
together 1t was to feed the hungry: clothe
the naked; minister to the sick and afiiict-
ed. Continuing, she said:
In a cause like This, before q body OF
people representing the best blood. best
! hearts, best bone and sinew OF the capital
| Of ;his great nation, foremost IN every hu-
| man work, ii would seem thai very little
| need be said Do we not a,rel iy know all
! that we need TO know for our aurpose?
| We know that 600 miles away. IN the
classic old land of art. learning. history.
heroes, and the gods, once more the
| sword is drawn, the war cloud has burst.
destruction, want and misery reign, and
the mills are grinding exceeding small.
That their call has come TO us for help. for
a ilt;le only of our abundance: some food
for the hungry, nourshment for the weak
and i'll, dressing for the wounded, or the
money with which 10 procure them. This
is all, L think. that Greece has asked or that
has been asked for her. The first call came
from their gracious queen TO the women OF
America. 1 need not repeat il: you have
read il on every circular for the last week.
that she did not want persons; she asks no
one to leave their home, TO share her .ri-
walton, hardships or dangers. She would
do all this herself. But could great rich
and abundant America help TO sustain her
while she did it? This all she asked:
all that Greece asks of us. and simply TO
see how far We can comply with this re-
quest is what has called here toby.
No stated sum is named, but something. IL
you have ii TO spare and feel like doing IL.
We are not required to enter into the m.r-
its or demorits of the situation, the causes
or results; how il all came about, or when
il will end
Miss Barton said Queen Olga OF Greece
had made the appeal for aid. and she read
circular from the international head OF
the Red Cross at Geneva, con; aiming a re
quest for necessaries for the Greek wound
ed and sick.
Mrs. Fosters Appeal.
Mrs ]. Ellen Foster paid a high tribute
to the Countess III Brazza, who has been
doing inestmable ork in behalf of Greek
sufferers, and made address which was
given close attention. Her closing words
were full of fcrvor She said:
I'm these twentieth century achievements
which is greatest? Is il not written and
does not every heart respond. charity, which
is love. that is greatest. Surely so; and the
"a affprnnnn "A 10 "a It.aFi af
this grace of charity in the broad sense of
national philanthropy. The widening lines
of human progress are thus made luminous.
When these lines have cCmpasSed the whole
earth, and spread network of charity
everywhere, then war shall have ceased
ard the greatest cause Of suffering been
removed. With sorrow and shame We have
to concede that il is not yet so. The past
and the present are filled with the sound
of cannon shot and shell, and of atrocities
UT der the cover of war which are beyond
the power Of expression or of realization
by US.
rs this nation, are We this afternoon,
able to say charity never faileth? Are We
able to forget the cause of the suffering
We seek to relieve, and only to remember
that men in Greece are suffering that wo-
men are dying, that children guilty only
OF the crime of having been born in Greece
are perishing?
Let us say this afternoon without arro-
ganee but with a voice heard in the islands
OF the Mediterranean and Adriatic. Ameri-
Assistant Secretary OF the Interior Web
ster Davis was expected to deliver an ad-
dress. but was unavoidaby absent Sena-
tor Thurston very kindly took his place
and spoke in his usual eloquent and inter-
esting manner He called Miss Barton the
Queen of Humanity" compliment the
audience heartily approved. Coming to the
question before the meeting. he said there
were two wars, one Of which continued
The European nations should have never
permitted the one, and this republic should
put an end to the other. This reference to
Cuba caused a demonstration.
Senator Denounces Cowardice.
Continuing. Senator Thurston said he had
no words of adequate force with which to
characterize that natural cowardice on
either side Of the Atlantic ocean which
permits Christian people to be wronged
and outraged; which permits the senti-
ments OF liberty to be repressed by tyran-
ny ard oppression without an attempt to
place upon such nations the responsible
ties to God and humanity.
He felt the world was growing timid and
nations were becoming more and more un-
der subsection to monetary influences. In