The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1918-03-01

it's scope, until now it includes a
thousand activities of which the
founders never dreamed Is there an
earthquake in Japan, a flood in
China, volcanic eruption in Alaska,
or a famine in India, there is found
the quiet, efficient Red Cross work.
er, soothing, calming, inspiring, min
istering not only to the needs of the
bodies of the sufferers, but helping
them to get upon their feet, and
Strengthening things out generally.
"You and / have read of these
things, have even seen, perhaps, the
Red Cross men in their automobile
riding along the edges of some big
parade, ready to help some exhausted
marcher, or render assistance in case
of accident But we have never been
asked to help support the cause ex-
cept in a casual way. But today all
that is changed. The right of the
common people to think for them
selves, to live their own lives, to
have voice in how they shall be
governed, has been threatened, and
the world is at war. The great, free
dom-loving nations are pouring out
their blood and their treasure to make
the world safe place for the common
people, and the Red Cross-why,
friends, we stand amazed at the
marvellous work the Red Cross is
doing. The care of the wounded is
wonderful, but that is only a small
part of it. Together with the Y. M. C.
A. and the Knights of Columbus, it
is looking after the health, morals,
comfort and happiness of the men
from the time they enter training. 1t
furnishes the warm knitted things SO
many of us are working at; it builds
hostess houses where the boys can
receive their friends and relatives
who come to see them; when, after
serving in the trenches certain time,
they are given leave for a few days,
it does it's best to provide them with
wholesome entertainment, in order
that they may not wander into temp
tation and go wrong.
SIN France, it is helping build up
the ruined villages in the track of
the Hun, hunting up lost relatives,
getting families together, and to me,
one of the most wonderful things OF
all, it sends a package of food every
week, to the poor starved prison
ers behind the enemy's lines. Suppos
ing it was your boy, prisoner. no
word from home, working like a
galley slave, on food we would feed
to-no, / don't believe we would
even feed it to our pigs-wouldn't you
be glad to know that once a week he
would receive box of good food from
the Red Cross? A few months from
now, it may be your boy, or mine.
God knows.
"And how much are we giving?
Have we gone cold or hungry. in or
der to do this for our boys? OF course
we have bought Liberty bonds. That
is lending money to Uncle Sam to
buy clothes, guns and ammunition. To
build barracks, furnish food and
transportation, etc. He will pay it all
back with interest. So that is just a
common investment. We have not
given anything. But give to the Red
Cross and you have given to God. He
is even better pay than Uncle Sam.
You may not get your money nor
your interest back in cash. You may
never know where it was spent.
But somewhere, some needy, suffer
ing soul will lift his heart to God in
gratitude for help received in time of
great need, and the Heavenly Father
will credit it all up to your account,