The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-06-23

cord to Miss Boardman's own pIan-no north and no south. It was an expres-
 sion of this sentiment which really se-
 cured the building from Congress. Some
 how the time spent with Miss Board
 man made our work seem more neces-
 sary, more urgent than ever before
 that work being done by the hands of
 women."
 T visited the executive departments,
 those vast rooms filled with diligent
 workers, everyone up to their limit with
 work, mail piled several feet deep on
 each desk and everybody working over
 hours, at night, as well as day. and Sum
 days, too," Mrs. Rountree said. "The
 splendid new building is too small, and
 large temporary annex is being erected,
 and meanwhile churches, stores and Y.
 M- c. A. rooms are being pressed into
 service.
 My work as secretary of the Birming-
 ham chapter for 10 years has sometimes
 been pretty uphill work, but 1t is differ
 ent now, for everybody wants to join the
 Red Cross. We no longer have to urge
 people to do so; all they want is to be
 told how and to have it's obligations ex-
 plained to them. You would scarcely
 believe the amount of mall I receive and
 reply to every day. But that is where
 have been doing my bit There is
 such lack of real understanding about
 the Red Cross; many have vague idea
 of it, but so few really know it in detail,
 and so l have been writing hundreds of letters and going around over the country and state just as a volunteer worker at my own expense wherever the people seemed most anxious for information speaking to large gatherings of interested listeners eager to do their part and al- ways where I have gone I have organized either a chapter or an auxiliary, accord ing to the size of the town. My only
 regret is that I have been unable to &C., cept all the urgent requests that have come to me from over the state to speak at various places
 Things have come upon us very sud- denly since war was declared, and in such big way, people were so entirely
 unprepare6 Why, do you know when
 war was declared in April there were only two Red Cross chapters In Ala bama? One in Birmingham, one in Tus- caloosa, which I organized last July. | Now the whole state is anxious to or l ganize. Every one wants to do Red 1 Cross york; Mrs. Rountree continued | While in Washington, took the oppor- tunity of discussing with the Red Cross officials the recent action of the Daugh- 1 ters of the Confederacy of Alabama in | deciding to adopt military relief work as division work but to do it under the di- rection and supervision of the Red Cross. I had previously conferred with them in regard to the same by letter, but I was ! especially glad to talk the matter over personally. This action has received their hearty fndorsement, and they seemed par l ticularly well satisfied with the letter | of instruction which, as president, I am 1 sending out to over 100 U. D. c. chapters | in Alabama. In fact, found in each de- l partment a most gratifying spirit of CO., l operation and desire to have other or ganizations recognized, and affiliate with | them. If everybody could understand I the Red Cross as it really is, and how | it's work is being done with serious con- i secration and dauntless courage, how nc 1 task seems too difficult to be undertaken no effort too great then each would, in | some small measure, comprehend the 1 ti1eless energy it requires. the infinite
 patience that must be exercised, and the | endless working of brain and heart thai | must be endured. AS individual members | is it not our Red Cross duty to beai each in his or her way some small part l of this big responsibility and thereby tighten the heavy burden of those who | serve as leaders,