Iditarod pioneer., 1917-08-11
COL ROOSEVELT'S APPEAL
 FOR RED CROSS FUND

The American Red Cross made pubec recently portions of an address by Colonel Theodore Roosevelt, delivered at Lincoln, Ne,., relating to the $l00 0O0,0 900 war fund of the Red Cross The selected portions as given out follow:
 Second only to the army in the work ot winning this war comes our Red Cross In deed, the import ance of this work Is so great that the President of the United States set apart a week as period for sacrifice and unselfsh generosity, a week Tn which the whole American people were asked to Jola in raising funds to enable our Red Cross to perform its vast and indispensable duties in this war
 That these duties may not only have the support of our hearts but that the gifts of our people may be made effective, may be put to the best possible use, the President has also commissioned several of the sblest business men of the country as a war coun- cil of the Red Cross to administer this serv- ice on behalf of stricken world. This wal council has already made far reaching plans They tell us that fund of S1O0, ,000,0 ,0OO
 
 even the most urgent needs That fund We are asked to raise for this work of sacrl- flee and of consecration.
 Here indeed, is a summons to every American It is an enormous sum oi money; but what comfort can we take in withholding that or any other sum oi money if it IS needed to relieve the suffer ing of our own sons or the sons of our allies who are fighting for all that makes life worth living?
 Into our Red Cross should be poured with, out stint heartfelt offering of thanksgiving that we are permitted to join in this great service to all mankind Our people have vet to learn the true meaning of sacrifice We have been so far away from the scene of battle, we have been lulIed into such drowsy indifference to duty by our ease and our prosperity, that we could not feel with an intensity the meaning to Us oi this awful conflict But now we must give of our blood and our resources We sec now that this has in fact from the begin ming been a war for our liberty, no less than for the liberty of our allies. They have already suffered and endured; they gre still suffering far more than we thought 1t possible for men to endure. Now our opportunity has come. Our soldiers and sailors will do their part without fiinching we may rest assured of their courage and fidelity The Red Cross offers to us who are not allowed to fight the opportunity for sacrifice and for help.
 We little realize what is before use. Our own sons and brothers will soon be going into battle They will be 5000 miles from home, in land already wasted by war, g land threatened by famine. land smitten by disease They tell us that in many case: today the wounds of soldiers in France must be tied up with newspapers for want of the necessary surgical bandages. When our own men are wounded-as they surely will be in great numbers-are we going to allow them to suffer yet more because we fail to provide those things which can at least miti- gate distress? Surely not. But We must do ii in advance If we wait it may be too late Do 1t now. Ninc-tenths of wisdom IS being wise in time.
 Cur Red Cross must not only care for the shattered bodies of our wounded men it alone can become a foster parent to them in the trying conditions they are sure to face when they are convalescent from wounds or recovering from exhaustion. W c shall soon have an army of million sol diers When they go to France they must have homes in which to rest and to be cared for and to recover. The generosity of OUT whcle people must make it possible for our Red C:o%s to provide for them.
 In past wars the Red Gross devoted itself largely to caring fer the wounded behind the battle line Even in this war that duty Is still of vast magnitude and paramount importance All that we do or can do for the soldiers of our own or our allied armies will be all too little. But this is war in which not Cnly armies, but whole peo- ples. are engaged. In no previous war have tke innocent non-combatants had to bear so terrible a share of its physical sutferngs. And it is through our Red Cross that we can show to the nations of the world how the great heart of the American people goes out to them in their distress.
 France-proud, brave, bleeding from ghastly wounds-needs us sorely. Tuber- cul0sis is raging throughout her land. Eff teen hundred of her towns and villages have been razed to the ground by the calculated barbarity of the invaders. Millions of her people are homeless and starving, bereft of the barest coverings for their bodies or stoves, of utensils with which to cook or eat, of agricultural implements or animals indeed, of the simplest elements of civlliza- tion And to us alone can these people come for help; we alone have the abun- dance with which to supply their dlrest needs.
 To Russia, too, we must reach out our helping hand. We little know what she has suffered and is suffering. Her soldiers went into battle i'll equipped with arms or ammunition. Of medical supplies she had almost none To care for her wounded on a battle line of 1000 miles she has but 6,O00 ambulances, while France has 64,00O in battle line of 400 miles, and even that is not enough. Russia, long obedient to autocracy, has not finched in this conflict Her people have had to struggle not only to free the world from autocracy, but to make their own land land of liberty.