Smyrna times., 1931-05-27
CROSS IN 30 YEARS AIDS
IN THOUSANDS OF DISASTERS
INCLUDING FLOODS, FIRES,
AND OTHER CALAMITIES
American Society to Celebrate the
5Oth Anniversary of Its Found
ing i'm Nationwide Jubilee

other calamities and upheavals of
nature have visited the United
States more than one thousand
times in the last half century.
All of these were of severe inten-
sity, causing loss Of life and great
property damage. Minor catas
trophies were not counted in this list
of disasters, which has been made
public by the American Red Cross,
in connection with the celebration
this year of its fiftieth birthday
1t was on the evening of May 21,
1881, in the modest home of Miss
Clara Barton in Washington, d. c..
that the American Association of
the Red Cross was first formed. Be
fore the year was out, and before,
indeed, the United States Govern
ment had officially moved to ap-
prove the Treaty of Geneva. adding
this nation to the company of thirty
two others adhering to the treaty
to protect the wounded in warfare,
Miss Barton had plunged the small
society into a disaster relief task.
First Red Cross Unit
This was in the north woods OF
Michigan, where forest fires swept
the homestead farms of pioneering
families. Miss Barton, as president
of the Red Cross, had organized
brapob IN noDcuilIo Nan YOrk
where she was sojourning. This
little group Immediately raised
money, food, clothing and other
supplies and sent them to the for
est fire victims. In Rochester and
Syracuse, New York, nearby, word
spread of this charitable enterprise.
and Red Cross auxiliaries were or
ganized there to help. So began the
disaster relief work of the Red
Cross fifty years ago. II the inter
vening years, millions OF men.
women and children ha been aid
ed. Thousands of homes have been
restored. Thousands of persons,
overwhelmed by floods. tornadoes.
and fires until all they possessed
had been wiped away, have been re-
habilitated and prosperity and hap
piness smiled upon them once more.
This year has been dedicated by
the Red Cross and its chapters in
$500 communities to commemora.
ton of the events which led to the
birth of the society in the United
States.
President Hoover Speaks
The celebration OF the anniver-
sary was inaugurated in Washing
ton at a dinner, attended by many
distinguished men and women. at
which Chief Justice Charles Evans
Hughes presided. and President
Hoover, who is the president of the
American Red Cross, was the chief
speaker. Judge Max Huber OF
Geneva, Switzerland, the president
of the international Committee Of
the Red Cross. in which fifty-seven
nations are Joined in Red Cross
brotherhood, also was a speaker, as
were Chairman John Barton Payne
of the American Red Cross. and
Miss Mabel T. Boardman, secretary.
and veteran leader OF the society.
The Red Cross standard. which
flies all around the world where
mercy is needed. was first intro
.duced as an ideal in our modern
civilization in Geneva in 1864. when
the international Red Cross cOnven-
ton, afterward to be known as the
Treaty OF Geneva. was signed by
twelve countries agreeing that on
the battlefield the wounded should
be given aid by doctors. nurses and
others, who should wear the sign Of
the Red Cross. and be treated as
neutrals in the warfare.
Two Americans attended this first
convention, the American Minister
George C. Fogg, and Charles S. P.
Bowles, representative in Europe
OF the United States Sanitary Com
mission. volunteer organization of
sympathizers with the North In our
Civil War. Facts they gave resulted
in adoption of some of the Amer
lean ideas.
Returning to the United States.
Fogg and Bowles sought recogni-
ton of the Geneva Treaty. but the
Grant administration took no inter
est. Under Hayes. the same lethargy
was encountered. Other civilians
who became Interested soon lost
heart.
Clara Barton Founder
But there had emerged from the
Civil War period middle-aged
woman who had seen much service
on the battlefields around Washing.
ton. This was Clara Barton. I'D
health caused her to make trip to
Europe In 1869. There she became
interested in the Red Cross idea,
and Joined a unit which saw service
In the Franco-Prussian war. Upon
her return home. she launched an
active campaign for the treaty. but
met the same opposition as her
predecessors. However. President
Garfield. when he came into Office.
recognized the merits of the move
ment. and when death by assassina-