The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1919-01-30

works through Walter Reed, is and will be bound
up with the hopes of thousands of men ana tnel.
families. Working with these army doctors anu
surgeons is the American Red Cross, helping 10
complete. the bridge between the families and the
men during their separation, through Its commune
cation service. its various hospital services. ana IN
all kinds of ways through its home service, from
buying buttons or "~pricing" a certain KIM OF
spiral puttees on some boys request, to arranging
for his war risk insurance, or perhaps hospltai
treatment for some member of a mans family IN
a far-away town. ~
In the convalescent house there Is the great
open fireplace, with its cracking fire, books, dow
ers, games, music. Every week one Of the WASH
ington theaters sends out several OF It's acts
After classes the men pour in. some OF those VINO
have lain SO helpless weeks before, now IN
wheeled chairs engrossed in some handwork, yes
eager for the music and the fun. others come 20
say "good-by' before the visit home. You would
not guess that this boy had ever lost a leg, or
that an artificial arm could become SO dexterous
as some you see here.
A leaf from the Red Cross entertainment book
is interesting. These events, planned from the
outside. are arranged through application to the
recreational staff of the Red Cross at the posi-.
Here are CHARACTERISTIC items: Seventy boys 70
Keith's theater and supper; one hundred boys -
Mount Vernon three boys to birthday party for
Sergeant; ~forty-ive on sightseeing bus tour,
and so on and on. @a# -..a
"Why, sergeant, where Is your new leg !
thought you were SO proud OFF, one of the work.
ers calls to a boy on a crutch. II loaned 1t tc
Jim. He had a pass to go to town" he answers
A boy, wearing carefully wrapped puttees,
comes along in q wheeled chair. did you find
out about those other puts?' he asks the Red
Cross LADY, Eyes, and there is only one pair In
town and they cost twelve dollars" Il guess
wen have to go without" he says; and there fol-
lows an interested conversation about q package
to be addressed to a girl back home.
A young boy who had lost one leg and one foot
was having attached for the first time the arti.
hcial leg on which, with a crutch, he soon was
going to try to walk. To support himself he had
one arm around his army surgeon, the other
around the Red Cross man. He was making great
bravado, though his face was white. When the
apparatus was attached he asked to sit down.
The surgeon and the Red Cross man helped him
into a chair. With a long sigh he settled the
.new' leg firmly ON the floor and then flung what
was left Of the other leg over It. Though the
beads OF sweat were still on his face he. looked up
nertly with his head cooked. Gee" he said, IT
Won hadn't crossed your legs for eleven months
you'd know how ! feel"
These men are OF those who have given "their
breasts q bulwark and their blood 9 moat." They
have given too great q thing to need any kind OF
sympathy except the supreme one OF understand.
Inc. The medical department of the army and
the Red Cross make q cycle Of enort-soclal,
human. physical, mental. In this work OF recon.
struction there may be found, literally, life more
abundant. AZ these men leave hospital and uni.
form, and come back to the familiarstrange civil
ian wsrld. the public will take up its part; and
each man Will be, if he utilixes the opportunities
omen to him and society does not exploit hin, an
independent asset II. place Of . dependent Or !
charity liability.