Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-08-27

Copyright. 1918. by the Public Ledger Co.
This is the last Of three articles BY Mr..
Ss IN. tens 81 N Red Tsss Oh
After encountering this and other
opposition, Dresel was able to get the
relief work thoroughly organized be.
fore the war trade board selected him
to take charge of the work of this
great organization in Switzerland-an
organization which is purchasing mil.
lions of dollars worth of army sup
plies from Swiss factories, condensed
milk and chocolate concerns. Having
organized the Red Cross prison camp
relief work, Dresel is now buying all
the lumber which our army Is using
In Franco for barracks and thousands
OF shirts. shoes and other army sup
plies From one big job Dresel has
been drawn INTO another, and other
nbte representatives OF that great re-
lief orGarization have succeeded him.
Tho Box Factory of Suspicion
One afternoon in company with Carl
Taylor, who IS now the official repre-
sentative OF the \. X. G. In SwitZer.
land, inspected Buempliz and the box
factory of suspicion" The first thing
that greeted me after entering the
large building. which now has an elec.
t"iC sign on the roof reading "Ameri.
can Red Cross" "a sign which all Ger.
mans can read as they leave Switzer.
land for Germany was the contents
of n box Of supplies destined for one
of the uEfortunates. On a large sheet
of paper We're spread the supplies
food dcliCaCies which could not be
purchased anywhere in Switzerland
and perhaps nowhere in Europe today
There was canned corn beef, roast
beef. salmon, corned-beed hash pork
and beans, dried beans, tomatoes, hard
bread. rice. evaporated milk. butter
sugar, coffee. jam, prunes, raisins, salt
pepper. vinegar. chocolate, soap and
100 cigarettes. This was one prison.
er's supply for seven days.
In another box nearby everything
was PACKED ready for shipping to Ger.
many. In an adjoining room were
hundreds of these boxes, strong wood.
en- boxes, into which similar quantities
and varieties of food were packed. In
| the office was a list of American pris-
| oners. Once every week one box OF
this food and cigarettes is shipped to
| Germany. Outside the factory. on the
railway siding, was large freight car
| ready for loading.
Sauntering through the building |
saw these rooms and floors filled and
covered with supplies. Everything
which a soldier would or could wish
for. to keep his body healthy and
warm, was there. Stockings and
sweaters which tender hands in the
| United States had knitted were on
shelves awaiting the request of pris-
oner. There We're suits of clothing.
| hats, shirts. underwear and shoes for
civilian. military or naval prisoners.
| In a separate room was stored the to-
baCco, cigarettes and cigars contrib.
| uted in the United States to the Red
| Cross Society. On the outside of the
packages one could read the names Of
the organizations, societies and per.
sons who had donated them. Into the
heart OF Germany some Of the Ameri-
can gifts were destined.
Red Cross Thrills
I left Buempliz thrilled by the sight
| of the Red Cross warehouse; thrilled
as the Swiss commission must have
been when the members visited there
| to see the preparations for the Amer
ican invasion" Dresel had certainly
prepared for emergencies, for there
was sufficient supply on hand to care
| for 10, 900 men for six months or 90, 900
| men for three months. In one room
alone there We're 100000 pounds OF
Il
was shipped into Germany, but it was
found to be more practical to send the
white hard biscuits. and now this is
done altogether.
AT the headquarters of the Red
Cross in Berne, in the old American
legation building on Hirschengraben
street, is a busy staff of Americans
wnich attends to the correspondence
from the camps. To this headquarters
| 81 l,A ,,,,h
embassy in Berlin Of all Americans
captured at the front and imprisoned
| in Germany. To this bureau come
all the letters and postcards from the
| soldiers. In answer to the first ques
| ton which every one asks about this
relief work, namely, DO the supplies
really reach the interned soldiers?" the
Red Cross is able to reply:
| During the first five months of this
year 80 per cent Of all food shipped
to Americans in German camps ar
rived without being opened. The Red
| Cross believes that most of the re
manning 10 per cent reaches the men
but that the soldiers either neglec,
to return the postcard to acknowledge
receipt of the box or the postcard Is
lost in the mail"
From the prisoners come the most
pathetic and appreciative letters
Writing from Holzminden, Germany
an American civilian whose name hat
not been reported by the Spanish au
thorities wrote-a distracted American
of Russian extraction:
Dear Lady Ohe writer evidentl.
thought a woman was at the head o
the relief organization): I am writ
ing you this postcard to ask
you have not the kindness L