The weekly Alaska citizen., 1918-03-11
A Preparedness Program

much more than merely give help when disaster has come. It goes be- fore. and tries to prevent disaster. The ways in which it does this pre-. ventive work are numerous. Here are a few of them, only:
 The Christmas Seals" with which our friends from the Outside stamp their Christmas letters, if they bear the sign of the Red Cross, are the famous Red Cross stamps, and all the money paid for them goes to take care of some person suffering from tuberculosis. The money is spent not only in. caring for the sick. but in carrying forward wide crusade of elementary medical edu- cation in districts and under condi. tions where the disease Is especial. ly entrenched. to teach the people not to spread the malady through unsanitary habits.
 Another place where the Red Cross will be found hard at work is at the great shore bathing places. Hun dreds of lives are lost every year through drowning, and many of them unnecessarily, because no one is near who knows how to swim with him to shore, or what to do to revive him. So the Red Cross has established Water First Aid" Corps, by whom many lives have been saved, through proper care and rescue.
 The American Red Cross saw that many people in remote country dis tricts, such as among the "poor whites" in the south, did not know that disease comes from dirt; that proper food, well cooked, is neces- sary to health; that babies must be carefully bathed, clothed, and fed. if they are to grow to be strong and self-supporting citizens. So it established Red Cross home nurs- ing service. and now Red Cross nurses-women carefully trained in nursing, preparation of food, house. hold cleanliness, care of babies, and prevention of disease-are showing fathers and mothers how to keep their homes, no matter how poor they may be, so that their children may be we'll and healthy.
 One phase of the Red Cross work which has met with widespread pop ularity is the course of first aid, conducted locally under some compe- tent physician or Red Cross nurse. to teach people generally how to treat cuts, burns, attacks of heart trouble, sprains, broken bones, hem orrhage, and countless other human accidents which necessitate immedi. ate and prompt action, and knowl' edge and presence of mind on the part of some one present. How many lives have been saved by the dissemination, in popular form, of this valuable type of "preparedness" propaganda. it would be impossible to estimate. In Seattle last spring there were over thirty such classes, of minimum membership of thirty each. being conducted at one time. This work has spread like wilddre all over the states. Other advanced courses are offered in home care of the sick. diatetics. etc. A severe examination. given under the aus. pices of the war department, is held at the end of such courses. and diploma or certificate awarded. Wo- men passing these courses are com petent to act as assistants to Red Cross nurses. but Red Cross nurse herself must not only have passed the strict requirements of some com potent training school. but there are several stringent additional qualifi- cations necessary.
 All this is peace-work. When the great war broke out, the American Red Cross was on all the battle fields of Europe, extending a help ing hand. Millions of dollars were spent in equipping ambulances. nurs- es, surgeons. and in sending hos pital supplies to the front. And then. on April 9th, 1917. we our selves entered the great war. to make the world safe for democra- cy." Once more the American Red Cross was to be on a national war basis. Years had been spent in or ganizing, in building up nursing service whereby thousands of the best professional nurses stood ready at a moments call to answer the challenge and need of their country; in studying hospital methods and the ambulance service of our allies; and, more perhaps than all, it had learned that the work of the Red Cross is not merely on the field of battle. but equally in building up strong men and women to work for their country, in the many activi- ties of "the rear trenches" at home.
 The American National Red Cross is chartered by an act of congress, and according to this incorporation