Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1917-06-17
OUR DEEP, DEEP SHAME.

Every day more or less sizeable
body Of women meet in ground floor
office temporarily fitted out for them
IN the Dempsey Hotel building, and
work with energy, persistence and en-
tbrsiasm toward building up in Macon
1.-The solt of Red Cross chapter the city
must have if it is to do its duty in this
war. if it expects its own boys to be
treated as they should be when they
leave here. A few men in the city are
lunselfishIy giving their time to help
out. and a great many more men have
given a little money and then gone
about their business. The conse-
Cucnce is we are far, far behind in
our Red Cross organization in Macon,
and it has come time for some plain
sJA king on the subject.
It Goes seem sometimes that the
great American people will never
wake UP to the fact that the sons OF
their homes will soon be dying in Eu-
ropean trenches, that their legs, arms.
faces. will be torn from their bodies in
the hell of shell fire, that they will
be crumpling up before the hail of
machine gun bullets, that before long
the trains of wounded coming back in
awful procession from the front will
be filled with Americans, not with
French and English, with Belgians ana
Cermans-but with Americans, boys
from Maine and California, from In
diana and Alabama, from Georgia and
Kansas; from Macon and Fort Valley
and Forsyth; that they will be coming
back to American Red Cross hospi-
tails.
These boys-our own flesh and
blood relatives, the lads who have
the right to ask of us every sacrifice
that might make for them their work
more efficient their chance for life, for
fuller recovery-will see the day if we
us right here in Macon-don't be-
stir ourselves when, grooming and
twisting and bleeding, in front line
hospitals, they will curse and damn
the flag wavers and the speech MAX
ers and the cheerers and band-follow-
ers at home, on whose lips were words
of patriotism, in whose hearts was
not enough to induce them to pay even
the hospital bills of the boys who of.
fered their lives.
This must not happen, and yet it
will happen if We do not undergo som
sort of spiritual awakening that will
bring home to every one of us the
need of our getting these things ready
long before the men are wounded and
crying for them. Anaesthetics, band
ages, ambulances, hospital supplies are
utterly useless unless they are ready
in sufficient quantity before the vic.
tim needs them. Morphine and iodine
sent forward after the first American
advance against the German lines will
not save the life of a single badly hurt
Georgian, of enc riddled Macon boy
they must go to the front with him.
Those of us who think that the wo-
men who sew the bandages and knit
ard so forth are taking care of the
Red Cross work simply don't know
what the Red Cross IS. It's greatest
need is never volunteer service, gen.
orally unframed and useless, is not of :
ten the output of sewing circles, wei
come though these things are. What
it wants now and all the time more
and more and yet more of it's money.
It's work is tremendous, it is about to
become colossal. Our soldiers cannot
be sent into battle until the Red Cross
ilis ready. And yet we give it a few
locnts and pass on.
America has done so little to relieve
suffering in this war. We made more
profit out of food sales to the Bel
gian Relief commission than we do,
mated to the fund from all sources
There is one country in the war zone