The Washington herald., 1918-05-20
He Is Your Bowl"

Today Red Cross Week opens, and the Ameri-
can public is asked to contribute $Iooooo,ooo
And why?
In the trenches lies your boy, stricken, bleed
ing, perhaps to die for lack of ordinary care.
He is your boy! He may be of no blood rela-
ton You may have even heard his name
STILL he is your boy. The Almighty gave America
the herculean task of saving civilization and the
opportunities for human progress and happiness.
By law, you took this boy from his college, or
from his first successes in business from his
young wife the arms of his mother, and placed
him on this shot-torn foreign field to fight, to die
If necessary, for you.
e. You have said to him that he shall give up
home and loved ones; that he shall travel thousands
risk bayonet bomb poison gas and machine gun
bullet and great guns she'll; that his blood and life
are yours; that you and your children may be
free and happy. He is your boy, and it is not
the murderous Hun but you who leave him lying
there. gasping bleeding slowly to death, struggling
for his life, appealing for your aid.
And while the life blood ekes out, while the
chances of gangrene, with mutilation perhaps total
blindness, increase, his hope lies in you
Really, the responsibility for the continuance of
all this awful slaughter and the ability to end it
lies not with the boy behind the gun buts with the
American and behind the vision OF
Freedom, for All, Forever"
And this boy lying there is surely yours. You
cannot succor your boy; the Red Cross can.
The Red Cross is not a charity organization. 1t
is an important, virile arm OF warfare 1t is the
spirit OF unsefsh, impartial service 1t is devotion
and love embattled against suffering, cruelty,
cilessness and frightful need. 1t is organized
1Samaritanism that knows color, creed or con-
dition. 1t is aitruism, unarmed, unafraid Drawing
the steel OF the most ferocious, most brutal Of
enemies. 1t is life for the starving, salvation for
the bleeding hope for the fallen. Its flag floats
above the Stars and Stripes, because it is the
glorious emblem Of all humanity.
And like that boy, the Red Cross is yours!
A little while ago you subscribed for lib
erty bonds. If you wealthy it didn't bother
you much If not so, maybe you had to pinch out
some luxuries perhaps even borrow for time.
You did it through patriotic motives Good! You
were also paid for it. There is return to you Of
B. 3I-2 per cent profit your money. That
profit does tant your patriotism, but just the
same it is self-intercst. There's money-proft
in what you've done
The appeal OF the Red Cross in behalf OF your
boy lying all torn and bloody out there, contains
no inducement OF return in interest coupons The
Red Cross simply says: Your boy is suffering unto
death and succor and save him with your
money
If your boy were sick in his comfortable bed at
home how you would pay for medicine, and
doctors. Would you pay out your money. for him
with any thought OF profit? Would you expect
st-bcaring coupons you paid the bills? No!
You'd save your boy because he was yours.
That boy writhing on the bloody battlefield is
yours.
Who put him there? You.
What will save him? Your money in the Red
Cross funds!