Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-12-04
RED CROSS MEETING
Election of Officers at Session
Yesterday. "
ADDRESS BY ELIHU ROOT
Committee Appointments by Presi.
dent of United States.
CONFERENCE IN LONDON, ENG.
Next International Gathering May
Be Held in This Country-Those
in Attendance. -
CONFERENCE IN LONDON, ENC

This is a feeble effort. melted by Miss
| Boardman. to distract your attention from
| the fact that the center Of gravity OF the
world has been modified by the presenc'
of Secretary Taft on the other side OF It.,
With the foregoing remark in a face
| tious vein as his preface. Secretary OF
State Root delivered an eloquent address
at the session yesterday afternoon of the
| third annual meeting of the American
National Red Cross. He referred to the
| absence of Secretary Taft. president OF
the Red Cross, who is on the other side
Of the globe. The session was held IN
| Hubbard Memorial building. 10th and M
| streets, and was well attended despite the
| heavy fall of snow and other stormy con-
| ditions.
| Secretary Root was presented to the
meeting by the temporary chairman. Maj
| Gen. George w. Davis, L. 5. A. ana was
greeted with applause. .,;....-.,-
| Secretary Root pointed out tnat there Is
| cause for great satisfaction In the work
| of the Red Cross and said the people
should be congratulated on the progress
that had been made since the last meet
| ing. He spoke of the revision OF the
Geneva convention of 1854, by which 1t
| was extended and improved. thereby
| greatly clarifying it and making certain
| and practicable in the new what was ten
| tative and indefinite in the old. This mad
|
and ratified and proclaimed by eighteen
nations Of the earth. 80
Through the action of The Hague con-
ference, 1t was added, the principles OF
the Geneva convention have been by con-
sent of all the great powers of the earth
extended both to land and to maritime
warfare 49, o..
Work by Hague Conference.
The Secretary spoke of other work done
by The Hague conference and said the
provisions regarding the treatment of pris-
oners especially appealed to him as being
| inspired by the larger spirit of the Red
| Cross In all these different ways the
principles the Red Cross professed and
| endeavored to apply were passing out OF
| the field Of theoretical discussion of phil
osophical belief into the field of the prac-
| teal application of hard facts OF warfare
on the part Of the nations of the earth
He made special acknowledgment to the
Red Cross for it's response to the Pres
ident's proclamation a year ago in his
appeal on behalf of the famine stricken
| people of China. Its answer was most
| that the money raised was applied with
| fidelity and success.
The Secretary closed as follows:
"All along that broad front which marks
! the progress of mankind there Is great
array of organizations composed OF men
and women seeking to change the treat
| ment of men toward each other from
cruelty to kindness, and each one is help
ing every other. You are doing work In.
dispensable toward educating mankind to-
the life that will exemplify the love. of
humanity and the spirit of Christ rather
than the life which is of the bestial and
which marks the brutality of ancient
days. rather than the divine compassion of
the coming of our Lord.
Election of officers.
Following Secretary Roots address the
regular order of business was taken UP,
and the following officers of the national
society were unanimously elected for the
ensuing year: President. William H. Taft
Secretary Of War; treasurer, Beekman
Winthrop, assistant secretary Of the
United States Treasury: counselor. Afford
w Cooley: secretary, Charles L. Magee.
The President of the United States ap-
pointed as members of the central COM
mittee the following: Robert Bacon. as
sistant secretary of state. representative
of the State Department: Surgeon Gen
Robert NJ. OReilly of the army. repre-
sentative of the War Department.; Beck
man Winthrop, representative of the
Treasury Department.; Medical Director
John c. Wise, representative Of the Navy
Department; Afford w. Cooley, repre-
sentative of the Department of Justice,
and Maj. Gen. George w. Davis, U. s. A.,
chairman of the central committee.
The committee appointed by Chairman
Davis to nominate the officers was COM
posed of Gen. John NJ. Wilson, chairman;
Admiral w. X. Van .Reypen and Gen.
Charles Bird.
Address by VIM. Cary Sanger.
The meeting was then addressed by Col.
William Cary Sanger. on the recent in
ternational Red Cross conference in Lon
don, to which he was a delegate from the
49,
the conference Of a representative of Tur-
key. who objected to the emblem Of the
assocation-the Christian cross-and re-
quested that Turkey be allowed TO substi-!
tute the crescent for the cross ito prevent
religious complications" in the land Of the
sultan. Col. Sanger said the needs of the
sultan.
Col. Sanger said there is a possibility
that the next International conference
may be held in the United States as
Japan-which country has invited the as.
ISOLATION to meet THERE'S deemed to be
too far away.
Matter of Emergency Relief.
In treating of the subject of "emer.
gency relief Ernest P. Bicknell en-
phasized the need of closer association
between the Red Cross and other char.
liable associations. In thirty-hve years,
he said, the people of the United States
have collected So, 100000 for charity in
times of great calamity.
That the medical department of lie
United States Army is at present in no
condition to cope with the problems
which may arise in case of war was
the fact emphasized in the paper on
1.-The Red Cross in Times of War" read
by Maj. Charles Lynch, SU.S.A
Surgeon w. c. Braisted U.S.N, teI of
the patience and skill of the Japanese in
relieving the sufferings of the sick and
wounded.
Annual reports of the treasury and GEN.
trail committee were then read and an
proved. after which Mrs Marshall Field
of Chicago and Miss Helen Gould of New
York were unanimously elected members
of the board of incorporators.
Those in attendance at the meeting were
the guests at luncheon of the assistant
secretary of state and Mrs. Bacon, and a
reception was given last evening by Miss
Boardman at her residence
Names Of Those Present.
Among those present were the Secretary
of State. Miss Mabel r. Boardman, Mrs.
w. J. Boardman. Mrs. Crane, frederick II.
Gillett. Charles c. Glover A. c. Kaufman.
Francis B. Loomis. Louis A. Pradt, Ad-
miral Van Reypen. Gen. John NJ Wilson,
Simon Wolf. Beekman Winthrop, Afford
W. Cooley. Maj. Gen. George w Davis,
Robert Bacon. Medical Director John c.
Wise. U.S.N.: Gen. Charles Bird, William