The border vidette., 1919-03-15

AS lOT NOTh ilHOIS Ine rrencn peO- pie, now that hostilities have ceased, the French themselves naturally pre- fer as. fur ns possible to provide for their own. It has accordingly been de- termined that the guiding principle of Red Cross policy in France henceforth shall be to have punctilious regard to Its every responsibility, but to direct its efforts primarily to assisting French relief. societies. The liberated and devastated regions of France have been divided by the government into small districts, each officially assigned 10 Il designated French relief Organi- ZatiOn. The American Red Cross work in France was Initiated by commission of eighteen men who landed on French shores June 13, 1917. Since then some 0,OOO persons have been upon the rolls in France. of who,u 7.O0O were actively engaged when the nrmistice whs signed. An indication of the pres ent scale of the work will be obtained from the fact that the services of COCO persons arc still required.
 Our American E,Xpetlitionary Force having largely evacuated England, the activities of ihe Red Cross Commits sion there are naturally upon q dimin- iShrS scale period. Active operations are still in progress in Arcllangel and Siberia
 "The work in Italy has been almost entirely on behalf of the civilian pop ulatio;f of that country. In the critical tours Gf Italy's struggle the American people, through their Red Cross, sent . practical message of sympathy and relief, for which the government and people of Italy have never ceased to express their gratitude.
 Supplies and Personnel to Near East.
 "The occasion for such concentra- tion of effort Tn Italy, England. Bel gium and even in France having natur- ally and normally diminished. it has been possible to divert supplies and personnel in large measure to the aid of those people in the Near East who have hitherto been inaccessible to out side assistance. but whose sufferings have been upon an appalling scale. The needs of these peoples are so vast that government alone can meet them. but the American Red Cross is making an effort 70 relieve immediately the more acute d.Gt-c@s.
 "An extensive Group of American workers has been dispatched to carry vitally needed supplies. and to work this winter in the various Balkan cOun- tries. In order to coordinate their ac- tivities. Balkan commission has been established, with headquarters at Rome, Italy. from which roint alone all the Balkan centcrs can be reached promptly
 "A commission has just reached Po- land, with doctors and nurses, medical supplies. and food for sick children and invalids. An American Red Cross Commission has also been appointed to aid in relieving the suffering of Rus sian prisoners still confined in German prison camps.
 "An important commission is still working in Palestine. Through the war special cooperation has been given to the Armenian and Syrian Re lief >Commission, which was the only agency able to carry relief in the in- terior OF Turkish dominions.
 Red Cross Will Continue.
 "Red Cross effort Is thus far flung. It will continue to be so. But the movement represented by this work has likewise assumed an intimate place in the daily life of our people at home. The army of workers which has been recruited and trained during the war must not be demobiliZed. All our ex- perience in the war shows clearly that there is an unlimited field for service of the kind which can be performed with peculiar effectiveness by the Red Cross. What its future tasks may be, 1t is yet impossible to forecast. We know that so long as there Is an Amer ican army in the field the Red Cross will have a special function to perform.
 "NOthing could be of greater impor- tance to the American Red Cross than the plans just set in motion by the five great Red Cross societies of the world to develop program of extended ac- tivities in the interest of humanity. The conception involves not alone eff forts to relieve human suffering, but to prevent it; not alone a movement by the people of an individual nation, but an attempt to arouse all people to a sense of their responsibility for the welfare of their fellow beings through ideal and practical. Ideal in that its supreme aim is nothing less than yer itable Peace on earth good will to men," and practical in that 1t seeks to take means and measures which are actually available and make them ef fective in meeting without delay the crisis which Is daily recurrent in the lives of all peoples.
 For accomplishing its mission in tho years of peace which must lie ahead of us the Red Cross will require the ablest possible leadership, and must enjoy the continued support, sym nathy, and participation in its work of the whole American people. It is