Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1917-12-22
WHAT THE RED CROSS
Did For Crippled Children And How
They Helped The Red Cross

Children Catholic, Protestant and
Jew-have one answer to the Red
Cross.
There is home for crippled chill
dren, a Protestant institution in Pitts
hurgh. where the little ones were told
something about the Red Cross. and
how Il took care of many children and
soldiers and ~hurt people who other
wise would suffer Perhaps because
their own arms and legs were so much
awry, and they had no prospect Of
the running, jumping. jubilant youth
OF other American children, their eyes
saw straight into the very heart Of
suffering. This is what they did: They
poured their precious savings, pennies
and nickles which had been given
them from time to time, a few larger
pieces and a bill or two, into white
box marked with the Red Cross.
Some influential men Of the city
were seated around a table talking
about raising money for the American
Red Cross. That small white box was
there and some made as If 70 drop
In contributions But one Of them
held it up. and said, Mono further
gift is permitted here. We could not
add to this" And in the presence of
this gift to the American Red Cross
from the home for crippled children,
there was a sudden quietness among
these men of the world
In the Convent of the Sacred Heart
In New York, where two or three hun
dred sheltered children, rich in kind
ness. receive their early education.
the Reverend Mother speaks often Of
the children abroad Without asking
for direct sacrifices, she has mentioned
that sometimes when one is about to
buy a new hair ribbon. or a pair Of
silk stockings. on stopping to think
one finds they are not needed so much.
perhaps, as food and clothing may be
needed for children of the war. And
so many a radiant little gift of girl
ish sacrifice has been placed in her
hands to send to them.
One day-it was loog before we too
were in the war-these children, girls
from four to fourteen years, held a
conference among themselves. They
decided to ask the Reverend Mother
how much it would amount to in
money or barrels of -four ii they gave
up their "gouter" for the rest of the
year; that little daily treat at half past
four, of plain cake or toast and q
sweet-the party" that was at the
high point of the day. Learning it's
equivalent, they asked that this be de-
MED them, and the money sent to those
other children overseas.
A woman who had done war relief
work in France, was speaking for the
Fed Cross War Fund last June, TO sew
eral hundred school children in an
American public school. They were
nearly all Jewish children in that par
ticularly assembly room, and very
poor.
The woman had lived in a social
settlement in the center of the Jewish
district of the city at one time, and
as she looked at the rows of faces be-
fore her. she remembered with sud-
scene of ten years before-of little
jewish boys in the back room OF
synagogue, after public school hours,
swaying back and forth in concert as
they shouted out long passages from
the Talmund; of the girls in the sew
ing classes listening hungrily to stor-
les, with their quick racial response to
anything dramatic.
Her own imagination Quickened, she
felt deeply moved, and humble to adj
dress them thinking of their eager
ness for knowledge, their passionate
desire to be young Americans-these
poor children from many land.