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Show American Welfare Workers Stationed in Rome Exemplify -New Idea for World Service Red Cross League of Nations to Be Made Official in an Attempt to Revolutionize Philanthropy With International Clearing House. By WILLIAM T. ELLIS. (CopyrfKht, 1919, by the New York Herald Company All Rights Reserved.) (Copyright, Canada, by the New York Herald Company.) (Special to The Salt Lake Tribune and New York Herald.) ROME, March 29 As of old all roads led -to Rome, so today the Eternal City is a meeting place for the tides and forces and agencies which the peace conference is sending all over the earth. One gets here an ocular demonstration of America's Amer-ica's part in reaching out to all the world in order to reshape the order of human life. Every day, in the hotels, on the streets, at the Y. M. C. A., where guides and information are furnished free to Americans in uniform, one sees a succession succes-sion of soldiers, sailors, nurse's. Red Cross workers, and relief representatives who are bound somewhere at the behest of the American spirit. In less public ways may be discovered state department men and civilian representatives repre-sentatives of other branches of the government, govern-ment, who are passing through Rome to the near east upon some phase of the great American quest. They are the eyes and ears and hands of the peace commissioners commis-sioners sitting in Paris. For what the conference knows is not at all dependent upon what Is said by the delegations which present their special claims. It may be publicly reported that a Red Cross Mission has gone to the Balkans-but Balkans-but Rome visualizes the personnel and the task. A procession of officers and workers seem to be passing through the city. In the busy office of Colonel Henry M. Anderson, head of the Balkan mission, one learns that already scores of representatives, repre-sentatives, as well as shiploads of supplies, sup-plies, have gone to Rumania, Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Turkey. American Popularity Is Explained. At the moment another Red Cross delegation, dele-gation, number seventy, bound for Pal-esLine, Pal-esLine, is passing through, as well as a food commission for Constantinople, headed by Howard Heinz of Pennsylvania, Pennsylva-nia, and a relief commission led by Dr. James 1. Barton of Boston. These scores of alert, tireless sightseers In , Rome, each wearing some , one of the many distinctive American uniforms, typify typ-ify the real explanation for their country's marvellous vogue in thex near-east. While continental statesmen are conferring and contriving and conspiring for the advantage advan-tage of their nations in these older parts of earth the Americans are equally diligent dili-gent in discovering ways of helping the peoples of this needy region. There has of late been such an intensification of the practical side of the big brother diplomacy dip-lomacy of America that no village in the Balkans or in Turkey is without knowledge knowl-edge that the Americans are running to and fro with hearts full of good will and hands full of helpfulness. The ideals of the president are being substantiated by ,the ministry of his country. That is why the masses of Eastern Europe Eu-rope and Western Asia are fairly making a religion of the Wilson principles, coining coin-ing them into native words similar to "Wllsonla." In the face of a vast unrest that is potential Bolshevikism these ideals of democracy are giving both expression and direction to popular movements. Incidentally, In-cidentally, one quickly finds that the laboring la-boring classes here will support the American position at Paris even to the abandonment of their own governmental policies. Every Red Cross nurse is an illustration of the workability of the American diplomacy of good will. Everything in Rome suggests parallels or contrasts with ancient history, and this invasion of the near east by the welfare workers from the west calls to mind the vastly different forces of conquest con-quest which have marched through Rome, and all its adjacent historic highways and regions, in the centuries long gone. An orator could wax grandiloquent Jn comparing the victories of the Caesars or of Alexander or of Cyrus or of Mo- I hammed with those already achieved by the simple American principle that a strong nation owes good will and service and helpfulness to every weak nation, but has no right to exact a foot of territory or other privilege from it. Up lo the present writing there has been no public announcement of a vast project that is being considered in highest high-est quarters for the reduction Into organized, or-ganized, form of these many American projects of benevolence. It Is nothing less than a sort of Red Cross league of nations, to safeguard any region or people peo-ple from such a fate as has In the past befallen Serbia, Poland, Armenia and sections of China. It contemplates an official organization of what is today only a semiofficial popular philanthropy.' Briefly outlined, the plan Is to create at Geneva, Switzerland, a permanent international Red Cross headquarters. This would be officially recognized by all the nations and supported by them on a proportional basis. Each country would contribute to an annual Red Cross fund or reserve, perhaps on some such basis as one cent per capita of population. popula-tion. This would provide adequate official offi-cial funds for meeting any such emergency emer-gency as fire, earthquake, famine or pestilence. pes-tilence. In case of a calamity of extraordinary magnitude, such as this war has revealed, funds would be secured from other - nations, na-tions, but on a national guarantee of repayment, re-payment, as was the case of the .Belgian food commission. No country would ask alms of another, but only good will and fraternal co-operation. Marks End of Private Relief. Revolutionary changes within the realm of philanthropy are involved in this proposal pro-posal which may have been announced officially before this article is printed in America. Hitherto, America has been the happy hunting ground for all "causes." Every representative of a need anywhere, from the soft -eyed Syrian or Armenian, with a tale of atrocities among his people, to the ambitious society soci-ety woman with a hospital in Serbia or Poland or France, could get consideration and cash from America. The thing has reached scandalous proportions, pro-portions, because of the many fraudulent fraudu-lent or mismanaged charities which have gleaned American millions during the war. The shrewd promoter had, only to collect a few good names the bearer thereof being willing to leave tho management man-agement entirely in the hands of the men and women who were profiting from the proceed s and issue affecting literature, in order to extract enormous sums from the generous American public. If the Geneva Red Cross project goes through there will be an end of these I private organizations, honest and dls- . honest. Money will go not according to ; the skill of the propagandist, but according accord-ing to the needs of the cause. Every appeal will be officially investigated, and all distribution officially supervised. It will be the application on an international interna-tional scale of the principle of scientific charity. There will be no need for individual indi-vidual gifts, for the funds will be nationally na-tionally provided. While there will remain re-main no lack of good causes to which the benevolent may make, gifts, these large scale needs and calamities will be met on a broad and efficient basis. At Geneva will be maintained an international inter-national clearing-house for scientific investigation in-vestigation of diseases and public health. The Rockefeller institute and similar bodies are expected to co-operate. Social hygiene In all Its forms tuberculosis, pneumonic and bubonic plague, cancer, influenza will be studied on a scale hitherto unattempted, with the resources of civilization's science at the command of the Red Cross. Child welfare and other kindred questions will be, as far as possible, standardized. In a word, the basic principle of the league of nations that we are all members, mem-bers, one of another, and that the whole has a responsibility for every part and every part for the whole is to be applied ap-plied to what in America is known as welfare work. Instead of the indifference, indiffer-ence, heartlessness and ruthlessness of the Oriental or old eastern European manner of life, wherein the poor had few rights and less consideration, there will be maintained a system of co-operation, oversight and service that will go far to heal many of the open sores of the world. Naturally, this project originates in America. It Is at the moment under consideration in highest quarters. Like ; the other altruistic ideals which have come to dominance in the peace 'conference, 'confer-ence, it has for Its exponents and advocates advo-cates the men and women who during the war have set an entirely new stand-, stand-, ard for human service the world around. ! The idea is that which is already em-: em-: bodied by the hundreds of welfare work-I work-I ers who are streaming thrmigh Rome to j the remotest parts of the near east. |
