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Show THE RED CROSS OF EUROPE AND AMERICA. Into the shell-shattered city ol Strasburg on the morning after its capitulation to the Grand Duke of Baden, there walked unguarded, unattended un-attended save a maid, a slight delicate woman in dark, plain dress, with a scarlet cross wrought in her sleeve above the elbow. Through the battalions bat-talions of conquering troops which guarded the city she went fearlessly-unchallenged fearlessly-unchallenged and unmolested, ana the sentinels on the ramparts grounded ground-ed their muskets as she touched the scarlet symbol on her arm, and hurried hur-ried past them over the heaps of dead and dying, into the heart of the stricken city. She found famine, fire terror, a shattered city surrendering through hunger, with hospital fille 1 with wounded women and children its streets swarming with half-naked half-starved, frenzied people, a city whose ablebodied men were all in the conscripted ranks of the French army or in the prisons of Germany. Through the instruihentality of the stranger, in forty days the hungry were fed, the sick healed, and the naked clothed. Boxes of supplies came by hundreds into the city, marked ever with the scarlet symbol she wore, money poured into her treasury faster than she could spend it, and scores of brave nurses and heroic assistants gathered about her White hands that had never known labor bound the scarlet badge on their, arms, and the proudest ladies of Germany, Ger-many, under the sign of the crimson cross, went down to the help and succor of the- city which their troops had conquered. Indeed, so abundant were the offerings of clothing that a message was sent to the Empress, '' You are making paupers of Strasburg Stras-burg with your generosity; send me material rather than clothing, that I may hire them made up here, and thus create an industry for the people." peo-ple." The material was sent, and twice each week hundreds of women went to her door with baskets on their arms to receive their work, for which they were abundantly paid. Forty thousand neatly fashioned garments gar-ments of assorted sizes were packed in boxes stamped with the scarlet cross. The commune had fallen in Paris. The crash of the column Vcndome still thrilled in the startled air. The flames of the Hotel de Ville lit the city with the lurid light. The streets were recking with blood, and the air was heavy with the groans of the dying. dy-ing. Suddenly there appeared the same vision of mercy that came to the need of Strasburg . Pale, dust-covered travel-worn, and well nigh exhausted, exhaust-ed, for she had walked seven miles into the city (90,000 horses having been eaten by the people, none were left for transportation). The German Ger-man troops outside of the city detained de-tained her with no questions when th:y caught the gleam of the scarlet cross. Cordons of French soldiers guarding the streets lowered their bayonets as she touched the glowing symbol, and the sullen, frenzied mob made way for her to pass. The mayor had been reinstated in his office but a few hours, the dust of months lay thick on books and papers, his assistants were hurrying to and fro and writing frantically. The mayor himself was anxious, weary, wea-ry, heartsick. Suddenly a soft voice sounded in his car, an earnest, resolute, resol-ute, tender woman's face was lifted to his own, he caught the gleam of the scarlet cross, and heard the low, clear words, "Mayor, I have come to hcl) you. I have 40,000 garments in my boxes outside the city, and plenty of money." The Mayor's house was instantly at her disposal, but she argued, arg-ued, "It is too grand for my work; give me some humble place where the poor will not be afraid to come to me." "Madam, eight months ago I left my home, as I supposed, to he burn ed today, through the grace of God it stands intact. Is it too good for God's poor? Make it your headquarters head-quarters hcy will go to you anywhere." any-where." " - The history of Strassburg repeats itself, and the hungry were fed, the naked clothed, the poor taught self-helpfulness, self-helpfulness, and then the woman 01 the red cross vanished. When the Mississippi overflowed its banks in 1884, and people were without homes, food, money, or seed for the next season's planting, suddenly sud-denly out of the turbulent waters a steamer laden to her guards with every variety of provender, sustenance susten-ance and comfort for man and beast, came to the rescue of the suffering people. Whence she came, how provisioned, pro-visioned, by whom supplied, no one knew; anly a woman stood at the helm, with a cross of crimson on her sleeve, and at the mast a banner floated a shield of white crossed with scarlet bars. When the floods abated and the needs were all supplied, sup-plied, the strange craft vanished and her colors were hauled down in an unknown port. High up in the Balkan mountains the soldiers of Bulgaria were freezing and dying for want of supplies. Word came to the woman with the scarlet cross, was forwarded to her colleagues col-leagues in various cities, and before night this telegram was sent from New Albany: "Call on us for $500 for the Balkan soldiers." The message mes-sage was cablcgramcd to Geneva, "The Red Cross of America sends $500 to the Balkan soldiers." Telegrams Tele-grams were sent from Geneva to Bulgaria, Bul-garia, goods were purchased to that amount, and the next day after the woman of the red cross received the call of need, high up in the fastness of the Bulgarian mountains the soldiers sol-diers were receiving the warm garments gar-ments scut. Who is tliis misterious woman that controls the soldiers of opposing armies and commands the Exchange-of Exchange-of the world with the gleam of the scarlet cross? Heroes of the rebellion know her as the first woman nurse to bring comfort and succor to the wounded. Surgeons remember when her white tented wagons drove upon the field j the things most needed were at hand ' The army of the Potomac know her and the heroes of Morris Island have never forgotten the only woman who remained on the island, caring for the wounded while the shot and shell fell like hail. The Andersonvillc prisoners pri-soners remember the woman who took them by the hand, and the widows wid-ows and mothers of the Andersonvillc Anderson-villc dead will ever remember her at whose request the bodies of the .30,000 men who died there were iden- j tificd and buried in marked graves. A The sufferers of the Ohio floods, Michigan fires, Charleston earthquake, earth-quake, Texas drpught, and recent Mount Vernon tornado can tell you who she is, and every sovern in Europe Eu-rope knows well the name and works of Clara Barton, the President of the "American Red Cross." iM -mi |
