The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1917-08-04

large city or a county-sometimes several coun-
ties.
The chapter is governed, smaller scale,
very much as the Red Cross as a whole is gov
crned. 1t has its chairman and other officers its
board of directors and its executive committee, in
whose hands the active work is carried In
large chapters an executive secretary usually does
most of the active work of the executive commit
tee.
Each chapter is divided into 4 section for MILL
tary relief and section for civilian relief much
as the national organization is divided. And each
section has its committees to carry out the various
activities.
The section for military relief has its commit
tees on: Red Cross; instruction; hospital sup
plies; warehOusing and shipping; supplies for
fighting men, and special committees for such
work organizing hospital companies sanitary
detachments, surgical sections and supply depots.
The section for civilian relief has It's commit
tees on: Care of families Of soldiers and sailors;
relief for noncombatants; Of discharged sol
diers and sailors; training in volunteer civilian
relief, and special committees needed on local
disaster, Of refugees and other kindred sub
jects.
How the Red Cross operates Is perhaps best
told by citing some of the concrete examples of Its
work. To begin with, two of the most recent in
stances Of civilian disaster relief, take the lorna
does which devasted Newcastle and New Albany.
Ind, at intervals of about two weeks.
When Newcastle laid in ruins with the loss
of q score Of lives and several hundred persons
made homeless and thrown out Of work. the pres
ent writer, learning the situation through tele-
graph and long distance telephone messages to
the press notified Division Director John J. O'Con-
nor of Chicago. Within ten minutes Mr.. O'Connor
was calling for Red Cross nurses. surgeons,
trained Investigators, and arranging with Wash
ington for whatever funds might be needed to
start the work Of rescuing the survivors. feeding
and housing them. getting them back TO work. and
collecting, identifying and burying the dead. All
night long, from his room in Chicago he was put
ting this that and the other agency to work at the
end Of wire, and the dawn of the next day saw
order coming out Of chaos.
Then, and not before. Mr.. O'Connor took train
for the scene, and when he arrived found his Or
ders being carried out. He took personal charge,
aided by the chairman and committees Of the In
dianapolis and other nearby chapters. and the
work Of rehabilitation went swiftly forward.
While the director still at Newcastle he
received message that an even worse disaster
had befallen New Albany. Again sending orders
by wire for surgeons. nurses. investigators and
supplies, he took train for the scene of the latest
calamity, and again he arrived to find the system
already at work. The living cared for and
work found for them. the dead buried and all
with the least possible delay and Reorganization
OF the daily life of the community.
The June number of the Red Cross Magazine
contains SOcc1nct account or the Sptendlu FelleI
work accomplished.
The work Of organizing base hospitals Illus
trates the forehanded methods OF the Red Cross.
With clarity of vision for which the country
now besses him. Colonel Kean called last autumn
for the Red Cross to organize for the army and
navy with the least possible delay SO base hospital
units He did not want hospital budings-what
he wanted SO units Of surgeons, dentists.
apothecaries orderlies. and assistants with
all the COTS mattresses, bedding laboratory appa-
ratus bandages. splnts. surgical shirts bed
gowns and the thousands Of things that must be
had before a single wounded man can be properly
cared for. Each Of these sc base hospital units
was to be enrolled and trained all their perma-
nent equipment bought. and all their consumable
supplies bought made, boxed, labeled and
stored so that the whole could be shipped by train
or steamer on notice Of day or two.
Instantly, all over the country, the division d.
rectors passed the word to their chapters and the
various committees took up the work Of forming
base hospital units. Under the supervision or
Washington itself the surgeons and nurses we're
chosen and enrolled. Purchasing agents bought
ut the lowest possible price the equipment. IN
der each chapter engaged in the work commit
tee on hospital supplies got standard patterns and
specifications from the department. and SET
hundreds and thousands Of women to sewing on
the bandages.. wound dressings and hospital gar
ments
All that was long before the United States