The courier-index., 1918-01-04
Send in Your Work
RED CROSS ACTIVITIES

RED CROSS ACTIVITIES
The Red Cross, which has had
such a wonderful record in Arkansas,
begins it's work for 1918 with a
huge roll of new members as result
of the Christmas drive.
Appropriations already made have
used up nearly half of the one hun
dred million dollar War Fund sub
scribed last summer. A drive for a
second fund will have to be made
next spring.
Sixteen thousand graduate nurses
are enrolled with the Red Cross.
Already 1871 of these nurses are
in France, 2,178 more are in the can
tonments and stations over here.
Those selected and organized for
service with the military forces but
not yet modified number 2,S43.
This makes a total of 6,692 Red
Cross nurses in active service.
II is estimated that 10000 of the
80 900 trained nurses of the country
will be needed by the end of next
year.
The gray clad army nurse is the
best symbol of the work of the Red
Cross. But the society has shown
people other ways of doing their bit
besides nursing.
( American women are making in
Red Cross work rooms and In their
homes surgical dressings, knit goods,
hospital garments. and comfort kits
to an estimated value of $50, 400, 900.
The surgical dressings go to every
ship in the navy, and to 1000 war
hospitals behind the lines in France.
The Red Cross has promised to
ship to France 100000 a month for
the next six months.
More than $5,000.000 worth of
yarn has been purchased or ordered
for the Red Cross. to be knitted
into sweaters and mufflers.
This great volume of volunteer pro-
duction in America supports a huge
distributing establishment in France
Four hundred men in the transpor-
tation department there are handling
$50 tons a day A warehouse per-
sonnet of lbs operates storage ca
pacity of 100000 tons. More than
400 motor cars. most of them heavy
trucks. are in service.
About 100 Red Cross canteens and
rest stations have been established
at the front, in Paris. and at i'm
portant railway centers.
Over 10000 French children are
being cared for by the society. At
Evian. near the Swiss border, is a
great American hospital for children
that have been repatriated from
points within the German lines.
Five large military hospitals, a
tuberculosis hospital near Paris, and
twenty civilian dispensaries in the
American army zone are being OPP
Grated
Fifty base hospitals have been or
ganized in America by the Red
Cross. and more than a dozen have
been already sent to France. Each
unit Is planned to take care of 500
beds, but several of them in service
have been increased to twice or
four times the unit size
Forty-five ambulance companies, a
total of $3.50 men, have been raised
by Red Cross chapters and mustered
into the army service.
The year 1918 starts under the
darkest war cloud that has ever
overhung the land. But never was
war cloud provided with a more
respondent lining of silver than the
American Red Cross Society-the en-
tire nation. modified for charity-is
setting against the darkness OF the
present hour
The official position of the Ameri-
can Red Cross has been defined by
President Wilson as follows:
Battlefield relief will be effected
through Red Cross agencies operat-
ing under the supervision of the
War Department, but civilian relief
will present field of increasing op-
portunity in which the Red Cross
organization is especially adapted to
serve, and | am hopeful that our
people will realize that there is no
other agency with which they can
associate themselves which can re-
spond so effectively and universally
to allay suffering and relieve dis
aster."