Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1917-12-14


its hand when there anguish to b
soothed But In this there Is another object L
be nttained-call it selfish II you Will. In backing
up France, and making her people stronger to en-
dure tile 'Rea Cross is saving the lives Of Ameri
can soldiers. This was admirably expressed In th'
great Chicago Red Cross conference by Henry 7
Dawson. chairman of the Red Cross council
"You may ask how all this work among the
French people is Of any help to our boys-how II
Is saving their lives" said Mr. Dawson. "rll tell
you: We ask General Pershng what he wants
and he says, 4 don't want anything, for boys
but for Gods sake buck up the French. Give them
courage Hearten them They have been fighting
for three years and II you want to do anything
for me and our boys, make the people understand
that are here, and are going to take our places
In the line as soon as we can get ready"
Then Mr. Dawson went on to show the strain
under which the French have lived FOR more than
three years. with the German terror holding much
of their land and hammerlng night and day at
their lines TO break through and take Paris
"And II that French line should break he said.
you know what that means. There's nobody but
those boys of Pershing's to stop the Germans,
and, ready not, they'll have to I'LL the gap. II
we can help the French line TO hold, we save our
own boys until they are oil ready to take their
part"
MFR. Dawson pictured the weary French soldier
coming out of the trenches for a ten-day rest He
is tired half TO death, covered with dirt and vermn
home. perhaps. His wife and children were swept
away before the German tide. His home is gone.
He says III can live IN hell In the trenches but
don't see why my family should be in hell too"
But now the American Red Cross Is I'm France.
II meets the soldier when he comes from the
trenches, takes him to house prepared with your
money and he Is made comfortable He Is given
bath, his clothing Is cleaned and sterlized his
hair cut, his whiskcrs trimmed, and he sleeps for
an hour-mnybe ten hours
Then he is taken to his family, If the Red Cross
has been able to find his family. He finds his
wife and babes, or his old mother In a house or
shelter OF some kind supplied and furnished by
the Red Cross.
When the days Of his leave are up, that soldier
goes back 20 the trenches new man. He knows
now that America, with her millions and millions
of fighting men, and her billions and billions Of
money, and the tender care Of her Red Cross are
behind him. And he goes back into the war with
new determination and says, $50 long as / live,
will fight"
And so long as he holds that line, he Is taking
the place Of some American boy who Is not yet
trained 10 take the trenches. That line must be
made to hold for months yet. for General Pershing
has said that If he can help II, his boys shall not
go into the hard lighting before February.
When they do 80 IN. then will the real
test OF the American Red Cross-then will be the
lays OF harvest. of which today Is the day of
ing. For when the wounded begin 70 stream from
ne evacuation hospitals back to the bases, the
OF baudnges and pads and gauze and
'pnts and hospital garments and surgical sup
lies viii melt away like mist before the sun Aud
n that day. II the Red Cross have not member
hip OF something near the desired 100000
rained 20 make and ship all these supplies In
treat never-faltering stream. the American soldier
viii be ashamed OF the land for which he is fight
ng. and many viii lose limb or life which could
lave been saved
These are not the opinions of a nOvice-they
re the convictions of men who are now at the
ront IN France and Belgium. and who see. every
my, the horrors of war which II is the work OF
be Red Cross 90 mitigate IL Is only a few weeks
lnce Mai Grayson NJ T. Murphy, an officer OF
he regular army of wide experience and great
hillty, now Red Cross commissioner for France.
abied his convictions on this subject And what
g said WIS, IN substance, that unless the Red
ross Immediately sent vast supply of all man
or of hospital supplies the American army would
and In danger Of disaster and disgrace. He
sed those words-"disaster and disgrace"
Few who have not been through a modern mill
Try hospital conceive what an enormous
mount az supplies 1t requires French surgeons
port that it often requires an entire box OF 1900
iuze dressings for single patient. There has
zen such scarcity Of dressings In France that
icy have been driven to pse these dressings over
ID over trying 10 boil and clean and sterlize
lem as well as they can, instead OF throwing
efn away and putting on fresh ones.
There has at times been such n dearth that
oanded soldiers have had their bleeding wounds
unched with old newspapers. with the result that
ey have always been infected, and gangrene and
ckiaw have claimed many poor fellow who
uld have been saved
Terrible as II Is 90 think OF. they have az times
EN- driven 20 operate ia France without chloro
rm or ether--n0ne was 10 be had
These. doubt. are the things which Major
ufphy had In mind when he said that disaster
.ttu.
rgica necessities IS FASTENED
Even Il the lads who are about TO go into the