The San Francisco call., 1904-03-13


on the Maryland shore Of the Po-
tomac, stands Red Cross, the
home Of Clara Barton, and like
wise the official home of the great in
stitution from which il derives its sym
bolic name. A cluster Of white build
ings- standing against a wooded back
ground. now leafless and bare. Red
Cross is in fun view Of the suburban
trolley line along which a single car
whizzes every half hour to and from
the capital, and this time Of year it
presents TO the eye Of the trolley-csr
passenger an ideal picture-ideaI not
only as a bit Of concrete midwinter
landscape. but suggesting a certain
: spiritual ideality Of meaning.
Nothing further removed from war
or from pestilence and disaster could
possibly be imagined than the peaceful
landscape which surrounds the execu-
tive machinery Of that society whose
mission II is 70 bring relief to battle
field. TO stricken city and 10 calamity
wasted territory anywhere and every
where all over the world
The snow covered field. the quiet.
steel blue bound river beyond. and
the distant perspective OF violet Vir-
sinia hills. with hints Of comfortable
farms in the interlying valleys-these
speak Of peace and health and happi-
ness enough TO supply the whole earth.
and out ~ them through several dec
AIDES has help gone from time to time
To all over the earth.
The particular house in which Miss
Barton lives and works flies the we'll
known Red Cross flag, and it was here
Z found her one day last week sitting
al a desk piled high with correspond
ence. / arrived just in time TO see two
young women retire with somewhat
disappointed faces. When the door had
closed behind them Miss Barton
spoke.
Poor girls. They wanted me to take
them to Japan with me as Red Cross
nurses" There was a tone Of dry good
humor in the rich. deep voice, and a
suggestion Of suppressed merriment
played about the fine. tender, sympa-
thetic mouth. which, next to her eyes,
iE Miss Barton's most characteristic
feature. It is a large, mobile mouth,
and its lips are transversed with deli
cate little wrinkles which impress one
with the delightful sense OF owing their
origin not to Miss Barton's seventy-fve
busy, care-laden years. but to an old
fashioned sense Of decorum which for
bids her giving full expression to
keen sense OF the humorous and ridic-
ulous.
In each one Of those thousand little
wrinkles one seems 10 read the con-
sciousness, the eyewitness Of a funny
incident happening in the midst of grim
tragedy and under circumstances where
IL would have been little short Of sac
rilege TO laugh, even 10 smile. Miss
Barton pointed to the piled up letters
on her desk, and the tremulous smile
was now 10 longer repressed.
Poor girls, Every one of them wants
TO 90 with me 10 Japan. They seem
70 think I am recruiting an army Of
nurses, and they take it as a matter
of course that I shall invade Japan.
II has been the same in every war
The Red Cross appears to these foolish
young women as offering an excellent
opportunity to get away from home
and 90 in quest Of strange adventures.
As a matter of fact, I doubt very much
whether Japan Will have any need of
the Red Cross during the present war.
They have one Of the finest Red Cross
societies in the world, and there are
no women in the world better fitted
as nurses than the japanese women.
They have natural tenderness, a gen.
tleness, 2 skill in such matters which
perhaps exceed those OF most other
nations.
The only contingency in which it
would be possible that the Red Cross
would go to Japan would be in case
the japanese resources would not prove
sufficient IN numbers. In such event.
Of course. the Red Cross Of America
viii offer immediate assistance, just as
the p & Cross societies Of the other ns-
tions VIII al come to lend a helping
hand"
The room where we were sitting was
private Office and sitting-room com
bined, Clara Barton's innermost shrine
and sanctum. and within its four walls
were the trophies and memoirs of more
than forty-three years of active service