The Semi-weekly leader. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1905-1941, 1920-07-10
, white with outstretched arms.

in white with outstretched arms. 1t
started almost one hundred years ago
with Florence Nightengale, who's strug
gled to relieve the suffering in the Cri-
mean war; Who has not heard iof her
brave work? Her service awakened in
others a chord of sympathy, and the
work began A council of fourteen ma
tions was called at Geneva in 1854,
which resulted in an international trea-
ty, which gave to the world the organi-
zation of the Red Cross. Under the
terms of this convention each nation
pledged itself to work with other ma
tions in caring for the sick and wound
ed of all countries alike, and never to
fire on doctor, nurse, or ambulance
that bore the insignia of the Red Cross
the two words Humanity" and "Neu-
trality" werea used as watch words of
the Red Cross. Clara Barton, a nurse
was responsible for introducing the
movement in America, and in 1882 the
United States signed the treaty. Thus
the Red Cross was begun and developed
and today is most wonderful organi-
zed force for relief in times of war
and peace.
The work of the Red Cross in the
late great war is almost too great to
try to discuss. will only mention how
hundreds and hundreds of Red Cross
nurses volunteered, how thousands and
thousands of dollars were given so free
Iy by the people, hospitals so near the
front, the thousands of ambulances
waiting the call, the brave and fearless
drivers of the wounded, the skill and
sympathy with which they were taken
care of. The Red Cross Canteen that
fed the soldiers, all this and much more
is story too long to tell. The Red
Cross in war is a power beyond COM
parison.
But not only in war, but in peace, does
the Red Cross serve the suffering and
the needy. 1t helps in all kinds of dis
asters and epidemics, in fires, earth
quakes and famines. For instance It
was the Red Cross that helped in the
great fires in Michigan. 1t was the Red
Cross that in 1882 helped to relieve the
suffering in the great Mississippi flood
and fed three hundred thousand people
at the time of the earthquake in San
Francisco. Recently the Red Cross sent
supplies and aid to the sufferers from
the cyclone at Meridian, Miss, this
shows them ready and prepared. 1t
keeps up constant fight against tu-
berculosis by its sale of Red Cross
Christmas seals. It aids in many 9TH
er ways wherever there is need.
OF all this work of the Red Cross
in time Of peace, I wish to mention
especially the work of our local Red
Cross in the Influenza epidemic this
winter. The roads in the county were
impossible, yet the Red Cross went
over them, doing things considered i'm
possible. In the novels the poor peo-
pie lay dying. 1t was into these places
that the Red Cross went. The Red
Cross bathed them, fed them, nursed
them, buried them. There was a mother
who had eleven children, almost all of
them were sick with Influenza. The
mother died in bed with three children,
and her body lay theer sixteen hours
before onyone came to prepare it for
burial. And who was it that thought
to help? Who was it that came?-It
was the Red Cross.
The work described above gives only
suggestion of the many-ways in which
the Red Cross is growing in influence
and helpfulness in our country. Where
ever there is need it organizes new
committees and meets the difficulty
From 1905 to 1915 this work was done
under the management of Miss Mabel
Boardman to whom much of the suc-
cess up to this period is due. The Red
Cross owes its beautiful home in Wash
ington to her untiring appeals to Con-
gress and the public. Since the war the
President of the United States has be-
come the President of the Red Cross,
and the development in the character of
the organization and it's scope of acti-
vity has been wonderful until now there
is not the smallest hovel in all this
broad land that does not know what
the flag with a red cross and the white
| field stands for. Thus hold that of
all the worthy charities in our country
there is not one that can surpass the
Red Cross.