The Monticellonian., 1919-04-18

shores June 13, 1917. Since then some aooo persons have been upon the rolls in France, of whom 7.0o0 were actively engaged when the armistiee Was signed. An indication of the,.pres- ent scale of the work will be obtained from the fact that the services of 6,000 persons are still required.
 Our American Expedttionafy Force having largeI4 evacuated England, the activities of the Red Cross Commis- sion there are naturally upon dlmin- 1shlng scale period. Active operations are still ill progress i'll Arehangel and Siberia.
 The work in Ita!. has been almost entirely on behalf of the civilian pop ulation of that country In the critical hours of italysS struggle the American people, through their Red Cross, sent a 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 coneentra- ton Of effort in Italy, England, Bel gium and even III France having nattr- ally and normally diminished. 1t has been possible to divert supplies and personnel i'll large measure to the aid of those people in the Near East who have hitherto been inaccessible 10 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 to relieve Immediately the more acute distress.
 An extensive group of American workers has been dispatched to carry vitayy needed supplies, and to work this winter in the various Balkan eoun. tries Iii order to coordinate their ae. tivities, a Balkan commission has been established, wit. headquarters at Rome, Italy, from which point alone ali the Balkan centers can be reached promptly.
 "A commission has just reached Pc. land with doctors and nurses, medical supplies and food for sick children and inyalids. An American Red Cross Commission has also been appointed to aid Ill 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 domlntons.
 Red Cross Will Continue.
 sRed 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 It's future tasks may be It Is yet impossible to forecast. We know that so long as there is an Amer
 
 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 &C., tivities in the interest of humanity. The conception involves not alone ef- forfs to raIiaya human ouffapipu h,,t to prevent it; not alone movement by the people of an individual n; tion, but an attempt to arouse all people to sense of their responsibility for the welfare of their fellow beings through out the world. It Is a program both 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- feetiye in meeting without delay the crisis which is daily reeurrent in the lives of all peoples
 Tor accomplishing its mission in the years of peace which must He ahead of us the Red Cross will require the ablest possible leadership, and must enjoy the continued support, sym pathy, and participation In its work of the whole American people. It Is particularly fortunate that such a man as Dr. Livingston Farrand should have been selected as the permanent head of the organization. The unstinted fashion in which all our people gave of themselves throughout the war Is the best assurance that our Red Cross will continue to receive that co-opera- ton which will make its work a source of pride and inspiration to every Amer. iean"
 Mir. Dayison, as chairman of the In ternational Commission of the Amerl- can Red Cross, has undertaken to rep resent the American Red Cross in the preparation of the program for extend ed Red Cross activities, and will spend the next several months in Europe in consultation with other Red Cross soci- cites for that purpose.
 THE WAR COUNCIL OF THE AMER,
 ICAN RED CROSS.
 Henry P. Daeison Cha man.
 OUR BOYS OR GIRLS
 l