The Evening Missourian. [volume] (Columbia, Mo.) 1917-1920, 1918-06-15

Red Cross women are teaching me tC
i see with my fingers and to work.
t have yet much to learn, but with theiI
help l shall still be of some use tc
: France and to my family"
This instance is one of many that
will show laymen where the money
of the Red Cross goes. Mrs. w. II
J Willis of the local Red Cross rooms
says that the amount expended for
. supplies seems large, but that it is
hard for people to realize the demand
on the Red Cross, even here. The
local Red Cross rooms have already
put out for soldiers more than $4,000
garments, 1000 knitted articles and
$4,000 surgical dressings. But it is
estimated that the Red Cross work
rooms all over the country must make
supplies for hospital beds exceeding
in number all the hospital beds in the
United States, from Maine to Cali
fornia.
Other Phases of Work.
One can thus see what this phase
of the great work involves; but, COM
paratively, this is only one very
small part of Rel Cross work. The
Red Cross must also furnish foreign
relief in France, Belgium, Russia,
Rumania, Italy, Serbia, Great Britain
| and other foreign countries. There
must be relief for prisoners and pro-
vision TO sanitary service, besides the
work to be done in all the great hospi-
tails. Work must be done at home
and abroad to keep up the morale of
the soldiers and the people.
According to advice from the Gov
ernment, the probable value of woman
labor during 1918, on projects under
way at the beginning of the year, will
exceed s35,OOO,OOO. By a record esti-
mate of the surgeon generals Office,
about 100000 nurses may be needed
for our Army alone during the pres
ent war, and the Allies are depending
upon us to supplement their nursing
service. Many Of these nurses must
be paid by the Red Cross.
To sum up, the American Red Cross
is the largest and most efficient organi-
zation for the relief Of suffering that
the world has ever seen. 1t is sup
ported entirely by its membership
fees and by voluntary contributions.
1t is not only today bringing relief to
suffering humanity, both military and
civil, but it plans tomorrow to help
in the xyorL of roctnyofiop thrOuohout
the world. 1t feeds and clothes en-
tire populations in times of need, and
it is on hand to help the soldier boy
in his time of need. 1t is not a
Government department; it is a re-
lief organization with Government
sanction, and, as such, it assists the
Army and Navy whenever called upon
to help care for the wounded and
suffering President Wilson is its
present head.
The First Organization.
The organization for relief of sick
and wounded had its birth in the hos
pital of ST. John at Jerusalem. 1t was |
driven out OF the Holy Land by the
Moslems, but re-established itself at |
Malta and is still in existence. The
knights Hospitallers during the Cru
sades were the first to form an organi-
zation. Great Britain was the first |
nation to organize such relief; dur
ing the Crimean War Florence Night
ingale was sent by the War Office in
1854 to the hospitals of Scutari. When
Miss Nightingale, with thirty-eight |
other nurses, reached Scutari, she |
found pest houses, rather than hos
pitfalls, with open sewers beneath the
buildings. So successful was Miss
Nightingale in bringing order out Of
chase that she is recognized today as
one of the greatest individual organi-
zers of war relief.
But the man who had the great
vision of an international service was
Henri Dunant, Swiss physician, who
saw the battle of SOlferino, Italy, in
1859 This battle, one of the bloodiest
of the nineteenth century, occurred
on midsummer day. The sun poured
down its scorching rays on the
100000 soldiers facing each other,
making a battle line fifteen miles long.
The dead were piled in tiers, and the
wounded, unheeded, were tramped on
and ridden over. There were flying
in inadequate number,
but these were exposed to fire from
the opposite shots. The French and :
Italians won the battle and caused the :
Austrians to retreat. The armies took :
away part of their wounded, but :
were left on the field. There :
were visitors to these dying men dur
ing the night, but the visitors were
providers who came to rob the dying
Of their valuables.
Dunant's Great Service.
The terrible sight of the neglected :
dying of this battle wrung the heart :
Of Henri Dunant. He got ambulances, 7:
and collecting the wounded men, had :
them brought to the churches and
h,,sr Il .