The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1917-10-17
DELIBERATE LIES
ABOUT RED CROSS
WORK REFUTED BY
SPECIAL MESSAGE
Absurd Reports of Selling Of
Articles Sent to Red Cross Too
Silly for Belief.
OFFICIAL BULLETIN OF SAFETY
COMMISSION ISSUES LETTER
Rumors Lead to Petty Pro-German
Propaganda and Unscrupulous
Persons in Country.

For some time there have been
various rumors and, we are sorry to
say, printed reports in some papers,
to the effect that Red Cross articles
were not reaching their destination
but were being sold at points to
which they were sent. Some of these
reports have variations of the same
story and others are so absurd that
it is beyond belief any sane person
should credit them in the slightest.
In the official bulletin of the
Minnesota Commission of Public
Safety, date of last Saturday, ap-
pears a telegram to A. R. Rogers,
who was the former division mana
ger of the Red Cross, now trans
ferred to the Liberty Loan campaign,
the message being sent by H. D.
Gibson of Washington, general man
) ager of the Red Cross, in which he
states the circulation of such ma
licious falsehoods is but another in
stance of pro-German propaganda
attempting to create CONSERVATION
in the ranks of the Red Cross.
Here is the "Game."
The message is as follows:
Washington, D. c.,
September %, 1917.
Northern Division,
A. r. Rogers, Division Manager,
Minneapolis, MINI.
"A story is being industriously
circulated to the effect that sweat
ers, socks and other articles knitted
for the Red Cross are being sold
either to the public in shops or di-
rect to the soldiers. It Is very i'm
portant that you should issue a no.
tice at once to each chapter deny
ing this as vigorously as you know
how. No articles whatever, either
knitted or otherwise, made by Red
Cross workers and turned into any
Red Cross chapter, branch or auxil-
iary, or to any supply warehouse,
are sold either to the soldiers or in
shops If any willful case of this
sort should come to the attention of
Headquarters the charter of the Red
Cross chapter or subsidiary sane
tioning it would be Immediately
Withdrawn with full publicity.
Should it transpire that an, actual
instance of the above character oc-
CURED wherein an individual sold
articles, after their having been turn
ed in to the Red Cross, such action
would be clearly in violation of the
fundamental law of the Red Cross
and we would take vigorous steps
to prosecute the offender. 1t is also
true that persons, other than those
who acquired the right prior to
nineteen hundred and five, usinguthe
name or emblem of the Red Cross to
assist in the sale of merchandise are
violating the provisions of the Fed
eral criminal law and the offender
should be reported to the United
States district attorney for prosecu-
tion. There is no way to prevent peo-
pie from making the same type of
article as are produced by Red Cross
workers and selling them for their
own advantage, thus subjecting the
Red Cross to unjust criticism. Should
they use the name or emblem of the
Red Cross in connection with such
sales, however, they will be vigor-
ously prosecuted"
H. D. GIBSON,
General Manager.
There have been many variants
of these stories and each one has
been thoroughly Investigated with
the result that in no case has it been
found that there is the least atom of
truth. The name and emblem of
the Red Cross is fully protected un-
der the law and in case of its illegal
use, the matter should be reported
at once Prosecution and punish
ment is sure to follow.