Evening star., 1926-10-05
WORK OF RED CROSS TYPIFIES
U.S.. IDEALISM, SAYS PRESIDENT
Declares Organization Offers Highly Eff
cient Means Of Giving Practical Express
sion to Sympathy for People in Disasters.

obligations are discharged measure
the moral rank Of q people. :
I'm a country as extended and di-
versified as our own, which recognizes
its obligations not only to itself but to
humanity at large, such charity can
not be left to the chance impulse Of
the occasion. It requires trained skill
and thorough organization for Its
effective operation. 1t is to meet this
broad purpose that the American Red
Cross has been organized and main
tanned.
Symbol of Sympathy.
More and more each year it has
become a symbol and expression Of
the divine sympathy which exists In
every human being. 1t takes the
heartbeats of humanity and trans
forms them into concrete acts for the
alienation of misery and suffering.
Begun as an agency of mercy to re-
lieve those stricken in battle, 1t soon
developed into a service to heal the
scars of those broken In BODY ana
spirit by such combats. This work
Is still vitality necessary. We can only
hope that some day there will be
found a way to prevent these appall-
ing conflicts between nations which
bring such a harvest Of physically
manned and mentally wrecked, with
the resultant destruction OF man
power and material. resources,
but today there is much more In
our Red Cross. Wonderful advances
have been made in developing and
organizing it's peace-time activities
One Of the purposes written into It's
charter, granted by Congress In 1905,
is: ss e" to continue end carry on
into ~ n
relief in time Of peace and to apply
the same in mitigating the sufferings
caused by pestXence, famine, fire,
floods and other great national calaml-
ties, and'--I desire to lay particular
stress on this-'to devise and carry
on measures for preventing the same
''This is a broad grant for service!
In recent years we have come to
realize more fully the great value OF
prevention. AS this idea progresses
and is carried out with increasing
success, need for alleviation, for heal
ing and reconstruction inevitably will
be lessened. This incalculable benefit
to humanity is the goal to set for our
selves!
Disaster Relief Important.
"Never in the history of mankind
been applied so widely and effectively.
Modern business methods and the re-
suits Of scientific research have been
adopted and put into operation. A
sympathetic disposition, desire to be
helpful-these may be the marks OF a
fine nature. but they cannot be OF
maximum benefit to others without an
organization such as the Red Cross.
Not only has our work been devel'
oped to a high degree OF efficiency.
but in and by that development has
been set an example of virtues worthy
of emulation by individuals, groups
and nations.
zone Of our best known services Is
that of disaster relief. It was first
brought into large use under powers
Of the 1905 charter when the great
emergency arose in San Francisco the
following year. This agency has been
perfected until now the supervision of
relief in times of calamity. without
any question and with the utmost
confidence and by common consent, is
placed in the hands Of the Red Cross.
Preparedness and promptness are
among its cardinal principles. Its
forces and resources are organized SO
there may be no delay in securing Inn
mediate action when catastrophe
strikes with sudden and destructive
hand. Relief quickly given is doubly
beneficial
1--WE have recently had an example
Of it's swiftness and efficiency in the
emergency caused by the Florida
storm. The relief agencies were put
in motion upon receipt Of the first
news. Within "a hours Of the issu-
ance of my appeal for financial assist
ance subscriptions amounting to hun
every person affected has been re-
ported to national headquarters in
Washington. That was only the be.
ginning.
Public Realizes Ability.
1.-The public has come to realize the
superlative ability Of this organiza-
ton to cope with such situations.