East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1914-11-19
CHIEF OF RED CROSS
IS STRICTLY NEUTRAL
MISS MABEL BoARDMAN WANTS
TO SEE THE EUROPEAN
WAR A DRAW.
(By Burton X. standlsh, Written for
the United Press)

| Wy burton N. SlanulSnt written IOt
the United Press)
WASHINGTON, Nov. 1S.-When II
comes to real neutrality, Miss Mabel
Bcardman, active chief of the Ameri-
Can Red Cross, has II with a SINGER
ity that no one could doubt She does
not want any nation Of Europe to
win. She wants the big war to be a
draw.
And this is how she explained her
position. Her work naturally allows
Of no favoritism, of no partiality. 1t
demands the distribution OF mercy
OF supplies. Of medical attention and
Of kind words to Russian, German,
French and English alike. Humanity
knows no nationality, as she explained
to me. Now il one side wins, II will
mean that there will be large indem-
mites for the other side to pay. The
bitterness engendered by this the
greatest war the world has ever
known will remain. The conquered
will still bear malice. He will feel
the sting OF defeat, the burden OF war
the blasting effects of his young men
and his industries for years to come.
But on the other hand, Miss Board
man argued IL the big war Is a draw
there will be less OF the lingering an
imoslty. All nations will have had
tLeir bitter lesson; all will have had
their revenge-if that is what they
desire: all will be on equal footing.
Their big armaments will be shatter-
ed and perhaps this will be the ba-
sis OF world peace without arma-
ments.
And Miss Boardman, perhaps more
clearly than anyone with whom II
have discussed the problem, has the
viewpoint OF all the nations. She
knows how Germany felt about Rus
sia how France and Belgium felt
about Germany, how England and
Russia regarded the conflict. With
all she has sympathy. She places no
blame; she draws no comparison. yet
in her position OF ministering angel
to all nations, she seems to have abb
scrbed their spirit. their viewpoint,
and she seems to know just how It
must feel to be citizen Of any one
Of the warning nations-minus their
bitterness or their prejudice.
To wipe out the spirit of interna-
tional prejudice is one of the aims of
Miss Boardman's Red Cross work. Her
nurses and doctors without taking any
sides are trying to instil in their pa
tients the spirit of humanity; are try
ing to subdue the element Of brutal
ity that to a greater or less extent
crops out in any army in war time.
Her spirit is that the Red Cross shall
leave pleasant taste in the mouths
Of all nations. They must return to
their homes with the word. I'VE
were used we'll in the foreign land;
the Red Cross nurses of that nation
were our friends when we needed
friends" In that spirit, any nation
must have a better feeling toward its
heighbor when the war is at an end.
That is the gigantic task to which
tins woman has set her heart and her
hand. in addition to the big labor of
trying to keep peace with the work Of
giving medical aid, food and supplies
to the wounded and destitute of Eu-
ropes battlefields.
And in this spirit, she has the big
broad vision of actual neutrality
malice toward no nation, prejudice
toward none, naught but aid, friend
ship, the helping hand.