The Morgan City daily review. (Morgan City, La.) 1916-1920, 1917-06-30
ThElFRST TO THE
FRONT
(From The Red Cross Magazine)

A year ago it would have been i'm
possible to send across the Atlanti
Ocean any part Of the American
Army within thirty days after de
claration of war. This year it wa
not impossible, but it was done, TO-
the Army, in one respect at least
was ready-that part of it enlisted
organized, equipped, and trained fo1
the Army by the Red Cross.
The first six American base hospi
tails have been ordered to the front
They are the van of the might OF
America to be thrown, if need be-
to the last ounce into this struggle
They are the best we have, and
America can be proud of them.
Six of the leading hospital and
medical colleges of the nation
Harvard, at Cambridge; the Presby-
terrain Hospital, at New York; Lake.
side Hospital, at Cleveland; Pennsy-
lvania Hospital, at Philadelphia
Washington University, at St. Louis
and Northwestern University, at
Chicago-furnished the personel for
these pioneer units. The surgeon
directors are all men eminent of
their profession, some of them in
ternationally famous-Dr. Harvey
Cushing, of Harvard; DR., George E.
Brewer, Of New York; DR.. George
w. Grille, of Cleveland; DR.. Richard
F. Harte, of Philadelphia; DR.. Fred
erick T. Murphy, of St. Louis; and
DR.. Frederick Besley, Of Chicago.
The officers chosen to link these
staffs to the Army, to take military
command of the six hospitals, are all
majors in the Army Medical Corps
The War Department came to the
Red Cross itself and took Major
Robert U. Patterson, who has, rem
dcred excellent Service as director
Of the Red Cross Bureau of Medical
Service, to be commander of Hospi-
tai No. 5, the Harvard unit. Major
Ebert E. Persons is in command of
Hospital No. 2, from New York;
Major Harry L. Gilchrist is COM
the Cleveland Hospital,
No. 4; Major Matthew A. Delaney,
No. 10, from Philadelphia; Major
James D. Fife, No. Fl, organized in
St. Louis; and Major Christopher c.
Collins is the officer in charge of the
Chicago Base Hospital No, IL.
The dispatch of these units illus
trates for the first time the relation
of the Red Cross to the organized
forces of the United States,
a relation not clearly understood by
the public. The moment these six
hospitals were ordered out for ser
vice and their military officers were
appointed, that moment the COM
mand of them passed from the Red
Cross to the War Department. The
hospitals, while still bearing the Red
Cross appellation, became in reality
Army hospitals, their personals be-
ing augmented from the Sanitary
Service of the Army.
Yet, while the Red Cross lost its
parental direction Of these hospitals.
t did not lose the obligation to COR
;inue its fostering care of them.
Volunteer funds contributed to he
Red Cross had organized and equip
bed these units; the same volunteer
lid must now continue to keep it's
enlisted creations at the top notch
# efficiency by providing the funds
or incidentals and the little COM
'ort which the hospitals need but
which are not supplied by the Gov
Not understanding this point in
echnique of waging war, the rich
i chapters which have given the
thousands of dollars necessary for
,uipping base hospitals have some
ines felt that they should have a
ontrolling voice in the management
{ them. even to the point of select
ng Re officers. Now that wac has
ONE it must be obvious that the
owe .;lment cannot. tolerate the
lightest invasion of its authority
rom the o-tside in its unified ma
nine.
Does the public realize what an
it was to be able to
end these hospitals to war almost
n the instant there was the demand
or them? That they were ready to
o on time was due to the organiza-
on about year ago of the Red
ross Department Of Military Re-
eff followed by year of unremit-
ng work on the part of Col. Jeffer-
IN R. Kean, the director general
t the department., and his aids.
ad it not been for that forethought
/ the Red Cross headquarters, we
,uld not for several months yet
ave complied with the request of