The Cook County news-herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Cook County, Minn.) 1909-current, 1918-03-06
"NHY DOESN'T the
GOVERNMENT DO lT?'
By William Allen White.

Over and over again the Red Cross
solicitor in a drive for Red Cross
funds meets this question: "Why
doesn't the government do it," or
"Why are we asked to pay for some
thing the government itself should
pay for?"
Considering Red Cross work in
terms of socks and sweaters and
chloroform and sweet-faced nurses
bending over wounded young men, or
surgical bandages, the question is
pertinent. But the medical aid or
the surgical dressings or the hospital
work, or the sweaters, socks and
wristlets of the Red Cross form al
together but a small part Of it's ac-
tivities. And, of course, the govern
ment could do that part of the Red
Cross work easily enough, merely by
adding another expense bureau to
the national administration, and pay
ing men and women by the thou.
sands for the work that they are
now doing for nothing. Naturally, it
would increase the taxes greatly;
and it would put into politics some
thing that is now kept high and
beautiful in life-almost in the field
of religion; but the government
doubtless could do it.
But could the government look af-
ter the families of soldiers who need
help; look after them quietly, with
out publicity, giving them the benefit
of advice, encouragement, sympathy,
and fellowship as we'll as the fnan-
cial aid suited to their needs?
Could the government spend half
million dollars building canteens
at the railroad functions all over
France, where French soldiers COM
ing back from the trenches on fur
loughs might have lodging, food
baths, and a rest place, all but free,
and thus return home clean and
rested and happy and ready to go
back, instead of returning home wet
and hungry, and lousy, and sullen-
could the American government do
that?
Could the American government
get from the commander in-chief of
the French Army the names of all
the French soldiers whose families
are in want, suffering this winter
from cold, and hunger, and disease,
look each family up all over France
and see that the family is supplied
with fuel and food and shelter in
plenty SO that the soldier fighting
in the trenches will feel that his
family is cared for and will stick
stick-stick to the end, full of cour-
age and ginger-could the American
government do that work which the
American Red Cross is doing, and
spending American money by the
millions in doing? Well, hardly.
Before that work was six weeks
old some pro-German paciast would
have an injunction in the Federal
court to stop it, claiming it is un-
constitutional-and with some show
of righteousness in his contention.
Less than week after the Italian
breakdown the American Red Cross
was in Italy with long lines of
freight cars loaded with surgical
supplies, food, and clothing for CT
villains, and distributing this aid to
the hospitals, and to the hundreds
of thousands of refugees, men and
women, and children, fleeing before
the German invaders, and making
America felt for brotherhood in nor
them Italy as no other country ever
was able to make itself felt in the
"O1 III OClO4C OOu4u Vic ROVcIulucnt
have done that with paid workers
and salaried politicians for the job?
Within ten days after the Germans
were on Italian soil, three unpaid
workers of the American Red Cross
were going through Italy with thou
sands of dollars in cash-not in
cheques but in cash-on their per-
sons, distributing emergency aid to
the stricken populations of Genoa,
Milan, Bologna, Ravenna and dozen
smaller Italian towns.
Again, the Red Cross is helping to
build up French and Belgian villages.
A corps of skilled engineers is super
intending the actual physical work.
Hundreds of workers all over Europe
of all counties are aiding the Ameri-
can Red Cross, which is the clearing
house of European benevolence, to
find the former owners of these
broken village mes-refugees scat