Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1917-11-16
RED CROSS ACTIVITIES
Contributed by
MISS LOUISE AVER,
Secretary Olympia Chapter.

bers OF the Northwest division had
the opportunity at Seattle to meet
and listen to the two chiefs of the
American Red Cross, John P. Davi-
son. chairman of the Red Cross War
Council, and Harvey ID. Gibson, gen.
eral manager of the American Red
Cross.
| Mr.. Dawson, at the request of the
president, left the firm of j. p. Nor
gan & Co., of which he was a men,
| Der, and devotes all of his time to the
| work of the Red Cross. He said that
when he went to bed the night after
receiving this call he said to himself,
1T is incredible that l should accept
this position" In the morning he
said, ut is incredible that I should
| refuse it,"
| His wife is chairman of the Red
Cross on Long Island, his two sons
are in the aviation corps, his daugh-
| ter of IS is connected with the wire
less service, and his remaining
daughter of Is is at the head of the
Junior Red Cross on Long Island.
AS the chairman Of the meeting
said. 1.-THE Dawson family is 100 per
cent in the Red Cross"
Mr.. Gibson was president of the
Liberty National bank of New York.
He said that he had recently been
forced to attend bankers meeting
and he never was so bored in his life.
These men and hundreds under
them are working without compensa-
ton and in addition paying all their
own expenses. They are plain, SEN
sible, approachable men. The strong
est impression they left upon the
writer was that never again would
criticisms Of the Red Cross affect her
in the least. She knows the work of
the organization is being carried on
with all the intelligence, honesty and
faithfulness that it is possible for
human beings to exercise.
Speaking of criticism, Mr.. Gibson
| touched on the famous sock story.
You know it: A woman somewhere
has a son who has a friend in France
who wrote that he got nice pair of
socks from the Red Cross but he had
to pay q dollar and half for them.
Or, an old lady Cor young LADY,
somewhere put her name and address
in a pair of socks and received
letter saying a man in Alaska had
bought the socks at a store. And
SO on.
The story, with variations, has
been told thousand times. Mr.. Glib
son says they have traced back these
stories and in every instance they
were proved false. 1t is now deter
mined that they are German propa-
ganda. Notice, the next time you
hear it, whether the teller is doing
| war work or is making an excuse for
| not helping.
/ can repeat here only few Of the
many interesting and important facts
| told at this meeting. How by help
ing the French you are helping your
own boys was illustrated as follows:
General Pershing was asked how
the Red Cross could be Of service to
the American soldiers under him.
Tho general replied.
I'VE don't need anything; we have
everything necessary at present. But
for Gods sake, for Gods sake, heart
en- up the French. They come from
the trenches, after standing perhaps
days to their waists in water; covered
with mud and vermin; unshaven, un-
shorn, hungry and depressed. They
cannot go home-their homes have
been destroyed. their wives and chill
dren scattered and lost. II these
men, because of such conditions, lose
heart and give out, our unframed
boys must be thrown into their
places; there is no other way"
The Red Cross is establishing rest
houses or canteens where these
French soldiers can be washed,
shaven. fed, warmed, refreshed,
amused and "heartened." Moreover
it is, 80 far as possible, searching out
and bringing together the lost fami-
lies of these soldier, providing homes
for them, feeding, clothing and nurs-
ing their desolate children. In this
way your boys are being saved from
massacre. So don't begrudge aid to
the French.
! It is pitiful and humiliating to see
how difficult 1t is for the American
people to believe in dtsinterestedness.
Some of the questions asked by dele
gates bring out in ugly relief the sell
fishness and graft of those old pros
porous, peaceful days before the
war;" One woman asked II 1t were
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