Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1914-10-12
THE SPLENDID
ACHIEVEMENTS
OF RED c. ROS S


Daily the dispatches from the two
great battle fronts of the War-that
in France and that of the Russian
frontier-pay unstinted tribute to the
devotion to duty. magnificent efficien-
cy and unexampled bravery of the
corps of Red Cross nurses and sur
geons Their labors are so much less
spectacular than the brilliant dashes
of the soldiery that the popular imagi-
nation is stirred less by their achieve
ments than by those of the officers who
lead successful charges or hold their
lines against the terrific onslaughts of
their foes, but it should not, be so.
The soldiers in the field and their
officers, who see the Red Cross at work
and who know and appreciate the i'm
measurable benefits of its service,
show no lack of applause for those
who minister to them when the battle
ends and the grim task of assembling
the wounded is under way.
One point most worthy of note that
is often lost sight of is that the Red
Cross surgeon or nurse is exposed to
the same risk of loss of life as the
soldier, but without his opportunity to
win the glory that follows victory. So
savage has been the continual day and
night conflict in the battle of the Aisne
that reports of the battle frequently
mention that one army or the other in
its charges against the enemy has
come upon these patient, devoted
agents of mercy calmly engaged in
seeking out and caring for the fallen.
right in the firing zone, but serene in
the knowledge that the badge of their
order is full protection against every
thing except the chance that stray
bullet might stretch them on the con-
tested ground beside a trooper of the
line.
In spite of the great organization of
the International Red Cross, the de-
mands upon it's service in this war
have called for every bit of strength
the organization possesses. Never be-
fore in the history of the world had
the wounded in battle been so numer-
Gus; never before had 50 many men
been engaged day in and day out in
ceaseless struggle that has stretched
such countless thousands of victims
on the ground of conflict. Yet every
where the armies are accompanied by
their Red Cross detachment, which
have worked ceaselessly night and day
to aid the stricken.
England and France have always
given every encouragement and assist
ance and maintenance to the Red
Cross. So has the United States, and,
fortunately, in this one feature of the
war there is no neutrality-or, rather,
there is universal neutrality. which
sanctions and inspires the efforts of all
the peoples of the world to give their
moral and financial support to the Or
ganizetion.
The United States has sent the Red
; Cross. steamship fully equipped for
it's purpose, to England. Many thous-
ands of dollars have been contributed
by American citizens to the society to
permit it to carry on it's beneflcent
activities, and many. devoted men and
women especially women. have vol
unteered--have even eagerly begged
for permission-to so to the battle
zone as surgeons and nurses
Germany, also, sends staffs of Red
Cross surgeons and nurses to the
front in the wake of her fighting men.
One of the notable incidents of the
fighting in France was at the Battle
of the Maine, when a German Red
Cross ambulance stayed behind the
lines of the retreating Germans, and
when the French came up, enlisted the
aid of French Red Cross forces in car
4 ing for the German wounded.
Some idea Of the tremendous task
that has confronted the Red Cross may
be obtained from survey Of the Battle
of the Aisne. This struggle has been
the most severely contested ever
known. From unofficial reports it is
estimated that $4,000 men were wound
in battle. That has meant the tremen-
dous task Of giving first aid to $4,000
patients in one week. 1t is true that
many of the wounds were slight and
the soldiers returned to the firing line,
while others were sent far to the rear.
to hospitals in various cities, but the
great work Of nursing thousands who
could not be moved until death ended
their sufferings fell to the field force
of the Red Cross.
On the eastern battlefelds in Galicia.
East Prussia and Russian Poland. the
numbers are even more appalling.
Since the war started more than 300,-
600 Austrians have fallen in conflict.
while the numbers of Russian wounded
is estimated at 10000. Yet. even there,
the hospital service has not failed. 1t
has followed the Russians in their
forced marches, which have excited
the admiration of the world. without
COMPLAINT and without f1inching. Right