The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1919-03-15


hospitnls. where thousands ~ Amcri
can sicl, and wounded are still reccIv
ing attention. AT these hospitals the
Red Cross supplies huts and facilities
for the amusement and recreation Of
the men as they become convaleScant.
Our Army of Occupation in Germany
was followed with Medical units pre-
pared to render fi,e same emergency
aid and supply service which was tho
primary business of the Red Cross
during stiIties. The Army Cnnteen
service along the ines of travel no
actually increased since the arn'siic
"As Cor work anon. the French pr
pie. now that hos;ilities have ccnset.
the French themselves naturally pre-
fer rs far rs possible to provide 70
their own. II las accordingly been de
termincd that the guiding principle
Red Cross policy in France hencefortl
shall be to have punciilious regard Il
its every responsibility, but TO direc'
its efforts primarily to assistin:
French relief societies. The liberated
and devastated regions Of France have
been divided by the government into
small districts. each officially assigned
to a 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 5000 persons have been upon the
rolls In France. OF whom 1900 were
actively engaged when the armistice
was signed. An indication Of the pres
ent scale of the work will be obtained
from the fact that the services OF 5000
persons are still required.
"Our American Expeditionary Force
having largely evacuated England, the
activities of the Red Cross Commits
sion there are naturally upon a dimin-
fishing scale period Active operations
are still In progress In Archangel and
Siberia.
"The work in Italy has been almost
entirely on behalf OF the civilian pop
ulatiOn Of that country. In the critical
hours OF 1talys struggle the American
people, through their Red Cross, sent
a practical message Of sympathy and
relief, for which the government ana
people Of Italy have never ceased t.
express their gratitude.
Supplies and Personnel to Near East
THE occasion for such cOncentra
tioD IF cffnrt in TtoIv E>n0Jood RoI
GUM and c~en in France having natur
ally and normally diminished, II hns
been possible to divert supplies ant
personnel In large measure to the ai
OF those people In the Nenr East VIII
have hitherto been inaccessible to out
side assistance, but whose suffering
have been upon an appalling seal"
The needs OF these peoples are so vas
that government alone can meet then
but the American Red Cross Is maxim:
an effort to relieve Immediately thu
more acute distress.
"An extensive group Of America,
workers has been dispatched to carr
vitality needed supplies, and 10 wort
this winter In the various Balkan com
tries. In order TO coordinate their ne
tivities, Balkan commission has bee!
established, with headquarters n
Rome. Italy. from which point aIon
all the Balkan centers can be reache'
promptly.
"A commission has just reached r..
land with doctors and nurses. medicn
supplies. and food for sick children
and invalids An American Red eros
Commission has also been appointed
to aid in relieving the suffering of Rus
sian prisoners still confined In German
prison camps
San Important commission Is still
war special cooperation has beei
given to the Armenian and Syrian Re
lief Commission, which was the onl,
agency able to carry relief In the In
terror of Turkish dominions.
Red Cross Will Continue.
RED Cross effort Is thus fur flung
II 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 wal
must not he deinobilized. All our ex
pericncc 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
lean army In the field the Red Cross
will have special function to perform
Nothing could he Of greater jmpor
lance to the American Red Cross thar
the plans just set In motion by the nv.