Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1917-12-14

~ it could to comfort and help these sorely-
tried ones. The relief of human suffering
is it's sole object, and it has withheld
it's hand when there was anguish to be
soothed But in this there is another object to
be attained-call it selfish if you will. In backing
up France, and making her people stronger to en-
dure the Red Cross is saving the lives of Amer-
can soldiers. This was admirably expressed in the
great Chicago Red Cross conference by Henry p.
Dawson. chairman of the Red Cross war council.
"You may ask how all this work among the
French people Is of any help to our boys-how it
is saving their lives" said Mr.. DAWSON "Pll tell
you: We ask General Pershing what he wants.
and he says Il don't want anything, for our boys,
but for Gods sake buck up the French. Give them
courage. Hearten them They have been fighting
for three years, and if you want to do anything
for me and our boys make the people understand
that we 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 hammering night and day at
their lines to break through and take Paris
"And If that French line should break he said,
"you know what that means There's nobody but
those boys of Pershings to stop the Germans,
and, ready or not, they'll have to fill the gap. II
we can help the French line to hold, save our
own boys until they are all ready to take their
part" -...~
coming out Of the trenches for ten-day rest. He
is tired half to DEATH covered with dirt and vermin,
his clothing worn. Does he go home? He has no
home, perhaps. His wife and children swept
away before the German tide. His home is gone.
He says, II 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 in France.
1t meets the soldier when he 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 sterilized, his
hair CUT his wlliskers ltrimmed and he sleeps for
an hour-maybe 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 a
shelter of some kind supplied and furnished by
the Red Cross. ~.
When the days of his leave are up, that soldier
goes back to 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 lied Cross are
behind him. And he goes back iato the war with a
new determination and says, so long as live, I
will fight" "-- -. = r<~%s'S 49,,
And so long as he holds that line, he is taking
the place Of some American boy who is not yet
trained to take the trenches. That line must be
made to hold for months yet for General Pershing
has said that if he help it, his boys shall not
go into the hard fighting before February.
When they do go in, then will come the real
test of the American Red Cross-then will be the
days of harvest of which today is the day of SOW
ing. For when the wounded begin to stream from
the evacuation hospitals back to the bases, the
warehouses of bandages and pads and gauze and
splints and hospital garments and surgical sup
plies will melt away like mist before the sun. And
in that day. if the Red Cross have not member
ship of something near the desired 15,OO0,000,
trained to make and ship all these supplies in a
great, neverfaltering stream, the American soldier
will be ashamed of the land for which he is fight
ing, and many will lose limb or life With could
have been saved a.-s =
These are not the opinions Of a novice-they
are the convictions Of men who are now at the
front in France and Belgium, and who see, every
day, the horrors of war which it is the work OF
the Red Cross to mitigate. 1t is only few weeks
since Maj. Grayson N. p. Murphy, an officer of
the regular army of wide experience and great
ability, now Red Cross commissioner for France,
cabled his convictions on this subject And what
he said was, in substance that unless the Red
Cross Immediately sent vast supply Of all man.
ner OF hospital supplies, the American army would
stand in danger of disaster and disgrace. He
used those words-"disaster and disgrace"
Few who have not been through modern 1lili-
tary hospital can conceive what an enormous
amount of supplies it requires. French surgeons
report that it often requires entire box Of 1000
gauze dressings for single patient There has
been such scarcity of dressings in France that
they have been driven to use these dressings over
and over, trying to boil and clean and sterilize
them as we'll as they can, instead Of throwing
them away and putting on fresh ones.
There has, at times, been such a dearth that
wounded soldiers have had their bleeding wounds
stanched with old newspapers. with the result that
they have always been infected and gangrene and
1Ockjaw have cl1imed many poor fellow who
could have been saved.
Terrible as 1t is to think Of they have at times
been driven to operate in France without chloro-
form or ether-none was to be had.
These, nc doubt; are the things which Major
Murphy had In mind when he said that disaster
and disgrace awaited America less the supply Of
surgical necessities 10 FASTENED. 81
Even Il the lads who are about to So into the