The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1899-05-30


Red Cross is known throughout the
world and she is regarded as one of the
highest and noblest ideals of character.
The Geneva treaty constitutes what is
known as the treaty of the Red Cross,
which opens the ranks of the armies to
the direct aid of the people for the re-
lief of the sick and wounded This
treaty is signed by forty nations. 1t
was at the beginning Of the civil war
that Clara Barton first took an interest
in this work. From that time her life
has been devoted to this great work.
It was not until 1882 that our congress
agreed to the Geneva treaty. Our last
congress passed a bill protecting the
symbol of the order and there will be
no more Red Cross cough drops, Red
Cross washing machines and Red Cross
whisky. Much was done by this So
ciety to relieve the suffering in the late
war. Next to the flag of their country
all true men and soldiers love and
honor the flag of the Red Cross
"The Nicaragua Canal" by Miss Della
Another subject foremost in the
minds Of the American people at the
present time is the above, and the ora
ton of Miss LOTUS showed that much
study had been devoted to it. The
speaker said in opening:
"How often in life is a person denied
the one thing he desires before all
others--the one thing sought is unat-
tainable. Was it not thus in the case
of Columbus? At the time when sue
cess seemed attainable. he found his
progress checked Nature had placed
barrier in the way which not even
his perseverance could sur1nount. 1t
remained for Balboa to make known to
the nations the small extent of this
isthmian obstacle stretching between
the Atlantic and Pacific. Balboa s
plan to break through this barrier and
thus reduce the sailing distance around
the world by more than one-third Of its
circumference has been the desire of
thousands. The discovery of great
lake, now known as Nicaragua. to-
gether with its outlet, the San Juan
river, seemed to indicate that at this
point easy access could be gained to the
Pacific. From that time until the
present many examinations and various
schemes have been devised for the pro-
ject. While the failure of Count de
Lesseps has prevented great capitalists
from making the necessary heavy in
vestments, still the people of the
United States have never doubted the
practicability of the scheme. nor have
they ever faltered in the idea that the
canal should be under the control of
our government. She spoke Of what
had been done on the project from
Grants administration to the present
time in the way of investigation, and
Of the defeat by our last congress of the
bill to appropriate $l00, 100000 for it's
construction, which she said was, no
doubt, due to powerful lobby. "It
is no easy matter to convince seventy
millions of people that this canal
should be undertaken. Perhaps the re-
cent voyage of the battleship Oregon
and its return trip together with the
Iowa have done more than anything
else to convince us that the canal is a
necessity. Yet there are many reasons
why it is desirable. Will it not greatly
benefit our commerce, both domestic
and foreign? The time and cost of
will be greatly les
sened.' She spoke Of the increased
market in Europe for Pacific coast
products which would result from the
opening of the canal and that the west
alone would not reap all the benefits.
The manufactured goods of the east
would find a more ready sale and the
south with it's cotton and pig-iron
would be vastly benefited. - Three
fourths of the commerce Of the South
American ports,' said Miss Loftus. is
with Europe, but with the advantages
gained by the canal. we would secure
control over larger portion of this
commerce. The desirability of the
canal as a means Of defense appeals to
the Judgment of all. We may never be
called upon to test our valor or strength
in trial of arms, yet foreign aggres-.
siveness may compel us to resort to con-
fict, in which event the canal would
be short gate from the Atlantic to the
Pacific. The possibilities of such a
conflict are sufficient reason for us to
insist, in days of peace, on provision
that may be of immense worth to US in
days Of war. Since the changes that
have come to us as result OF the late
war. it is an absolute necessity, if we
are to take part in the development
of the Pacific, we must construct and
own this canal. The opportunity is
now presented for us to complete the
interrupted work Of Columbus and thus
bring greater wealth and greater pros
perity to the United States.
'ImperialisM" by Fred Penrod.
With the subject Imperialism, the
only young man in the class, Fred PEN