The San Francisco call., 1898-04-29

preparing ourselves against such fatal consequences. Now is the time, and we the ravages of yellow fever with a dGA fense that must prove impregnable to ad- vance. think the step taken by you to-day in this direction Is one of the noblest acts of a woman and a mother.
 We have two distinct duties to per form during the war. The duty to our country, which always comes first, and then our duty toward our boys-our Cali fornia boys.
 '"The impression that has gone forth about my son expressing a wish to enter the army is true, and I feel proud of him. The badge with the letters "U. S." has been placed over his heart, and he is now ready for the front, as he received his enlistment papers last evening. That he will leave for the seat of war is hard ly probable, as I think that before the Government demands him as its servant Spain shall have returned a cripple and a .-sgrace to itself.
 That my son will leave does not say that l will necessarily abandon him to his fate want to be with him when he needs my care. 1 want to nurse him when sick and l want to lessen the rigorS and trials of camp life. You are mothers and you know that if they must go they shall go; and if they go we must go with them even if we stay here. We can only hope to accomplish this through the min istry of the Red Cross in the camp and on the battlefield. With 1t must go our love, our devotion and maternal care. The surgical service of the National Guard of California needs extension, as it Is thoroughly inadequate. This deficiency is attributed to lack of funds, and if we want the necessary equipment we have to demand 1t of the Governor, who will deny 1t on the basis that the money is needed more in other directions.
 ''In the time of war we do not want to wait and in fact we cannot justly wait for legislation, in order to carry on the sanitary work that we know is absolutely necessary for our sons. We want to pre- need balances, surgical instruments, under wear, medicines and various other ar ticles; and this entire humane work de- pends upon you and upon your efforts. You must of necessity uphold the tra- ditionS created by your ancestors and the flag instituted by your fathers. You must see that the Stars and Stripes do not take a step backward
 The same logic that made the Ameri- can Colonist free should free the Cuban to and should be free.
 When the sacred banner. the emblem of liberty and freedom-the stars and stripes-is uplifted we must remember that personal feeling must cease.
 We must identify ourselves as mem bers of this organization with the Red Cross banners on the field, and when our boys leave us we must follow them on | their way and tend to our children across the Gulf of Mexico and on the unhealthy soil of Cuba with the same tenderness | the same care that we would extend to them were we there by their side.'' | Dr. Voorsanger's address was followed by another upon the same. subject by the Rev. c. E. Cooke of Trinity Episcopal Church. He said:
 There is absolute need of such an or l ganization and the work which 1t alone can do. The one great danger that will have to be contended with is disease-the yellow fever In view of this fact we want our boys to feel that when they go
 out and away from us that they will be followed by and communicated with | through the medium of the cross T hope that by the grace of God war and it's attendant horrors will soon be at an end and that the California boys will never. reach the poisonous and mephitic atmosphere of Cuba.'
 Miss Eliza Keith, who was also called l to address the society, limited her discus. | sion of the purpose of the Red Cross
 League to few clauses, devoting the