The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1918-03-13
VirginIan.

Enterprise AssociationD
When I started on my trip "Every-
Cvhere In France with the Red Cross
had the vague idea that the Red Cross
vas primarily nursing orSanlzatlon'
that its first and greatest business was
Ia make the wounded soldier more
comfortable.
That this idea has much credcuce,
I found illustrated the other day wtleR
soma internal, prc.HUn pdcifist slipped
q, 4 seeminsly innocent advertisement
the tntimation that through wastelu4-
ness and graft. it was costing the RED
Gross $500 10 care for each wounded
man.
In other words. German propaganda
was busy Smelling with hes the sIe1l
est constructive organization the "orld
has ever known, just as German SO, SOL
dfers were Smelling hospitals and XII
ING women and little children on the
other size
TELL rs when you come back no"
the boys like our sweaters, or so&. ana
our hospital garments said number
of loyal Red Cross women 10 me.
please see II oar boys really set
the things We send through the hed
Cross was another demand.
AS I stepped on the boat sailing Tor
the OTTER side. got into a crowd OF
American boys-over hundred-"no
were sailors and members OF the ma
val flying squadron. .,
Not one of these boys vas over "a
and most Of them were under 20. 4ney
were full of the very old Nick, and kept
every one on board good natuTed even
If sea sick as was. Every boy III that
crowd vas equipped with q grey sweat.
er, scarf, helmet and wristlets. and
mighty proud they were 10 wear them.
There is something about hand-knit
garment that setsit apart from the ma
chine product.
La+er, when arrived at our Ameri-
can training camps in France and
saw our boys. some of them just hack
from the trenches, with the sweaters
showing under their tuntcs, wished
every woman IN America could realize
lust how much comfort these garments
were bringing 20 those they loved.
"My sweater warns my heart as
well as my body" said an American
soldier 10 me, "for every time / pull
Il on over my mead. think that some
woman must have been thinking OF
Us over here"
This boy was wes.InE a sweater,
and a. helmet under his army hat kept
his ears from freezing, for II was bit
terly cold and he was digging him
self in" and cutting barbed wire entan-
elements on the broad expanse OF fiat
country without tree to break the
icy blasts that swept across the miles
of plain that formed the American
training quarters over there. Another
boy insisted upon unrollinS his put
tee so that he might show me the hand
knit sox. with their red and blue
stripes in the scanned tops.
Since came back. every time / see
4 woman knitting socks want to so
to her and tell her OF how l saw, on
Christmas morning at one Of our lars-
est training camps IN France, boys
holding their socks 10 their breasts
and lingering them. much as child
does beloved red wagon.
Time after time that morning ]
heard the words, Gee, I'm glad l got
these socks. bet mother kit these
very ones" This camp got hand-knit-
ted socks in its Red Cross Christmas
Another one of those damnable
Boche pTopa ganda lies I want TO nail
right here. THERE HAS NEVER
BEEN A SWEATER SOLD BY THE
RED CROSS TO ANYONE. There is
not money enough in the world to buy
9. bit OF knitted wear from the Red
Cross, and the hum bIest American sol
dier can get it freely without price
] can tell you a little story about
3 that which think viii 90 far to con-
rince you 1 know what / an talking
about.
was at training camp of our sol
diers. was suffering from terrible
cold q was afterwazd at the Military
hospital at General Pershins,s head
quarters 10 days, but that is another
story.
As I brought up at a Red Cross ware
house I do not think ! was ever so
cold in my life. I had ridden IN an
ppsn motor IS miles across plains
swept by blasts that must have came
straight from the North Pole; my ears
were white with frost bite. my throat
vas raw.
Shivering in my fur coat. vas tax
en- into this Red Cross warehouse and
shown all the things that human
minds can conceive for the help and
comfort OF the soldier and those that
var makes needy.
In one of the compartments saw
number of the knitted wooden scarfs
that you knitters make over here. l
Immediately thought how fine one of
them would be for me in my 4o-uile
ride back to my hotel. Do you sup
DOSE could beg or buy one? No. sir;
although I vas Red Cross worker
I vas told those scarfs were for our
soldiers AND NO ONE ELSE!
The warehouse man was very sorry.
butt rode back my 30 miles without
the scarf
Some one has asked me what the
Red Cross has done with its money.
About $4,000 has been spent in dis.
tributton OF these and other small ar.
tteies for the soldiers both American
and French, since the United States
entered the war. This amount also
includes the purchase Of some OF the
articles for comfort bags. small dona-
HonS 70 Mon Soldat' and many Of the
little things which make so much for