New-York tribune., 1918-05-18
400 Financiers
Cheer Dawson
And Red Cross
Chairman Tells of Big
Things Done by Organiza-
ton Since Former Appeal
Aided in Meeting Drive
Finding of Cure for ''Trench
Fever" One Of the Ac-
complishments

Henry P. Dawson, as chairman of
the War Council of the American Red
Cross, last night appeared before 400
Of the city's leading financiers and cor
poration heads at the Hotel Astor and
told them of the big things the Red
Cross had done since its last appeal
for funds to merit increased support
in the s1o0,0oo,0O0 drive starting this
morning.
If the enthusiasm displayed by the
men Of millions as they listened to Mr..
Davison's forceful accounting can be
translated into the dollars and cents
of donations the campaign is already
assured Of success. Gray-haired men
of Wall Street forgot their dignity and
leaped to their feet, cheering and wav-
ing their napkins when Mr.. Dawson
said:
"My trip in Italy, in France, in Bel
gium and in England convinced me that
at last the forces Of the Entente, both
military and civilian, have made up
their minds that there is only one way
to get peace, only one method, and they
have approved and adopted that method,
and that method is to fight, and to fight,
and to fight"
After describing to his audience just
how rapidly the Red Cross had grown,
Mr.. Dawson said that the discovery and
cure of the dread "trench fever" had
really been one Of the accomplishments
of the Red Cross, working with Ameri-
can soldiers who volunteered for the
experiments. He presented the first de-
tails received in this country of the
part taken by United States fighters in
the achievement.
Mr.. Dawson was the guest Of honor
of the occasion, dinner arranged in
haste by William Boyce Thompson, who
acted as host. Among those at the
speakers table were John D. Rookie
feller, jr.. George F. Baker, Cornelius
n. Bliss, G.. A. Coffin, Robert w. De-
forest, Myron T. Herrick, T. w. La
mont, Ogden Mills. Morgan ]. O'Brien,
George w. Perkins, Seward Prosser,
John D. Ryan, Jacob H. Schiff, G. Fl.
Sheriff., F. A. Vanderlip and Felix M.
Warburg.
~ would like to say that the develop
ment of the cure for trench fever was
not found in white rats or in rabbits
or in dogs" said Mr.. Dawson. "It was
found on nothing less than the fine
American lads who went from here to
serve their canse
1--WE called for volunteers. Seventy
American boys stepped forward. We
sent them to England to get them away
from the atmosphere.
we infected them, and we proved
euoL 1ile tTeUCH IeFer was caused DY
the carrying of a certain kind of lice.
and therefore and by that act the whole
problem was solved, which, according
to the British, was the third in order
of the ravages of their own army. That,
gentlemen, is the contribution of the
American Red Cross."s
Mr.. Dawson declared that. in addi-
tion to the regular work of feeding
and nursing carried on by the Red
Cross, the organization had just voted
$80O,o00 for the one purpose of drain
ing swamps in order to insure the
health of the American soldiers in
France. He told, too, of how the Red
Cross had marshalled it's forces to
meet the great German offensive Of
March 21, and how its vast storehouses
had been heaped up with millions Of
dollars worth Of every conceivable kind
Of food to meet the needs of the
fighters.
Mr.. Dawson said he was in the CITY
of Chalons when it was subjected to
an air raid, and the windows of his
room were blown out by bombs dropped
nearby. He described the nightly ex.
odus of all of the townspeople to the
open country, there to seek safely from
the flying Hun, and said he was one
of the spot when a bomb blew two
houses to bits and killed a number of
people.