The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1918-08-27

which deals Wltn lIlQuiTicS auout "iSh
who have been wounded or taken sick.
The Red Cross aims to Keep in con.
slant touch with every American hos
pital case and to see that the fullest
reports on each case go forward
promptly to the anxious relatives In
America. The soldier in hospital is
followed carefully throughout his stay
there and throughout his convalesc-
ence. and everything possible is done
to see that he is kept in touch with
home.
Emphasis is placed particularly on
one point-that information gathered
by the Home Communication Service
shall be absolutely correct and clear,
and shall be transmitted with the
greatest possible promptitude. 1t must
be borne in mind, of course, that all
lines of communication between Eu-
rope and America are at present over
burdened, and military use Of those
lines of communication must not be
interfered with; but, aside from this
consideration, the Home Communica-
tion work of the Red Cross takes pre-
cedence over everything else, and no
unnecessary delays are permitted.
The work of the Home Communica-
tion Service in England is just start
ing, but already nearly 200 reports
weekly are being made to washington
and, through Washington, to the fam
lilies in America of men in England. In
all the camps the soldiers are inform
ed that this free Home Conmunica-
tion Service is available. They are
told where they can find the Special
Representative charged with the work
in their district, and are encouraged
to make the fullest use of his services
In the hospitals, the representatives
of the department are in daily touch
with every American patient SICK OF
wounded, and frequent reports on MS
progress are made to headquarters.
CAPTAIN Edenborough came to the
Red Cross from a great business
house in New York, where he was
recognized expert on filing systems
and business methods. For the sta
tistical branch of his London office ne
has developed comprehensive sys-
TEN of indexing and compiling, which
will enable instant reference to the
hospital history of any one OF thous-
ands of American soldiers. The sys'
tenn will be expanded indefinitely as
need arises, and Inquiries from rela-
tives or official departments regarding
soldiers in this country can often be
answered from these records within
few minutes of receipt. II necessary
this first report can be supplemented
by the departments "searchers" and
II possible by an interview with the
man himself.
The work In the hospitals In. Great
Britain is complicated by the fact that
large proportion of the American
hospital cases must necessarily go to
British hospitals, scattered all over
the British Isles. For instance,
American troops are taken III In trans
1t or at points where they are brigad-
ed in small bodies with British troops,
as in the case of the numerous Avia-
ton units. These men are taken to
the nearest available military hospital,
whether 1t Is British or American. But
even II they are In u British hospital,
Captain Edenborough' representative
is at hand. and follows their case just
az carefully and cOmprehensively as
II they were In II purely American in
stitution.
On recent day. for example, the
Red Cross records showed that there
were about 1000 American soldiers In
hospital in Great Britain, large num-
ber of whom were In British hospitals.
In each of these cases the Home Com
munication Service department has a
complete record with a description of
the patients illness or wounds. and
the address of his nearest relative In
the States.
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