Cleveland County herald., 1919-03-06

i
 AR for wor& among tae French lyec pic, TOW fhnt hostillt;cs have ceased l the French themselves naturally pre-. fer as far as possible to provide foI their own. It las accordingly been dc ttsf'nfssed that the guiding princfpie Of Red Cross policy in France hencefcrth Fn1il be to have punctfiiotas regard to ffs every responsibility, but to direct its efforts primarily to assisTing brencn relief societies. Tine liberated atd devastated regions of France have been divided by the government into small districts, each officially asNiGned | to a designated French relief orgsni zation.
 The American Red Cross work in France was initiated by commission or eighteen men who landed on French shores June 13, 1917 Since then some 9,Oo0 persons have been upon the foiis Tn France. of whom 7000 were actively engaged when the armistice was signed. An Indication Of the pres eat scale of the work will be obtained rom the fact that the services of 6G00 p's''NSiAS Ui t Slift IPluiFeU.
 Our American Expedtionary Force having largely evacuated England, the activities of the Red Cross Comlsls- sion there are naturally upon a dimin ishlnS scale period. Active operations are still in progress in Archangel and Siberia.
 The work in Italy has been almost JNI, 1f 4I,.
 uiatton of that country. In the critical hours of ltaly'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 Eas4.
 'The occasion for such concentra- ton of effort in Italy, England Bel l 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 l 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. l Tie needs of these peoples are so vast that government alone can meet them, l 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 vtally needed supplies, and to work this winter in the various Balkan coun- tries. In order to coordinate their ac- tivities, a Balkan commission has been established, with Headquarters at Rome, Italy, from which point alone all the Balkan centers can be reached promptly.
 'A commission has just reached Po- 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 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- l perience in the war shows clearly that 1 there is an unlimited field for service l of the kind which can be performed with peculiar effectiveness by the Red | Cross What its future tasks may be 1 it is yet impossible to forecast. We know that so long as there is an Amer jean army in the field the Red Cross I will have q special function to perform. "Nothing could be of greater impor- lance to the American Red Cross than the plans just set in motion by the five great Red Cross societies of the world to develop a program of extended ac- tvities in the interest of humanity The conception involves not alone eff forts to relieve human suffering, but l 10 prevent it; not alone movement by the people Of an individual nation, | but .an attempt 10 arouse all people to a sense of their responsibility for the welfare of their fellow beings through out the world. It is a program both l 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 ii seeks to 1 take means and measures which are actually available and make them eff | eeetive in meeting without delay the crisis which is daily recurrent in the lives of all peoples.
 For accomplishing it's mission in the years of peace which must lie 1 ahead of US tie Red Cross will require the ablest possible leadership. and must enjoy the continued support, sym. | pathy, and participation i'll it's work