The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1919-03-04

Red Cross policy in France heneeforth
shall be to have punetilious regard to-
its every responsibility, but to direct
its efforts primarily to assisting French
relief societies. The liberated and dew
astated regions of France have been
divided by the government into small
districts. each officially assigned to
designated French relief organization
To these organizations the Red Cross is
contributing supplies and personnel
Where LEGAL organizations cannot inn
mediately assume their duties the Red
| the sick and the helpless whose meeessi-
ties cannot wait.
. American Red Cross work in France
was initiated by a commission OF Is
men who landed on French shores June
fI3, 1917. Since then some 5000 per-
sons have feen upon the rolls in
France, of whcnr 1000 were actively
engaged when the armistice was signed
The present scale of the work still re-
qnires the services of 5000 persons
tour forces having largely evaeuat-
ed England. the activities Of the Red
Cross commission there are naturally
on a diminishing scale. Active opera
tons are still in progress in Arehangel
and Siberia. Among the Befgians
wandering homeless throughout France
the Red Cross made a special effort to
/ care for the women and children The
work in Italy has been almost entirely
on behalf of the civilian population.
The American Red Cross is arranging
now to transfer to local direction the
conduct of its efforts at civilian relief
in Italy and Belgium. Red Cross efforts
in Italy, Belgium, England and France
having diminished, it has been possible
to divert supplies and personnel in large
measure TO the aid of those people of
the Near East who have hitherto been
i inaccessible to outside assistance. but
whose. sufferings have been upon an APP
palling scale. The neels OF these people
, are 50 vast that governments alone can
meet them, but the Red Cross is making
IAN effort to relieve immediately the
more acute distress
San important commission is still
working in Palestine. A commission for
the Balkans has been established al
Rome, another has just reached Poland
and still another Red Cross commission
has gone to Germany to relieve the dis
J tress of Russia prisoners confined in
prison camps in that country.
Rcd Cross effort is thus far flung Ii
yill continue to be. SO. The army OF
workers which has been recruited and
D. trained during the war must not be de
, modified. All "nr experience in the war
/ shows clearly that there is an unlimited
: field service of the kind which can be
: performed with peculiar effectiveness
, by the Red Cross
Nothing could Ire of greater impor.
+ tances to the American Red Cross thar
: the plans just set in motion by the fly,
: great Red Cross societies of the worlC
. to develop program of extended aetiv
: tiles in the interest of humanity. The
=. conception involves not alone efforts /,
: relieve human suffering. but to proven
Q 1t; not alone a movement by the peopl,
4 of an individual nation, hut an attemp
to arouse all people to sense of theii
h responsibility for the welfare OF thei
|. fellow beings throughout the world /
: is program both ideal and practical
r ideal i'll that its supreme aim is moth
) ing less than veritable Peace on earth
t good win to men, and practical in cha
It seeks to take means and measure
which are actually available and max
them effective in meeting without dc
lay the crisis which is daily recnrren
! lin the lives of all people
Mr.. Dawson, as chairman of the in
ternational commission of the America
g Red Cross, has undertaken TO represcn
the American Red Cross in the prepal
alton of the program fer extended Re
Cross activities. and will spend the mex
several months in Europe in consulta
ton with other Red Cross societies 70
;, that purpose