OCR Text |
Show RED CROSS GIFTS S40MOO,000 War Council on Retirement An-1 nounces Cash and Supplies Contributed. WORKERS WILL "CARRY ON." j Flv Big Societies In World Wide Plan, j M. P. Dvlon Heads International American ' ed -ross Commission. Dr. Livingston Farrand Permanent Loader of Peace Organization. Washington. (Special.) Henry P. rYlson as chairman issues the following follow-ing statement on behalf of the War Council of the American Red Cross : "To the American People: "Ths War Council of the American Red Cross appointed by President Wilson Wil-son on May 10, 1817, to carry on the work of the American Red Cross during dur-ing the war, at their request and by vots of the Central Committee, ceased at midnight, February 2S. "Immediately the armistice was slgnsd the War Council instituted studtas to determine when the strictly strict-ly war work of the organization would havs been sufficiently matured to enable en-able the direction of affairs to be resumed re-sumed by the permanent staff. Henry P. Davison, being In Paris when the armistice was signed, summoned a conference there of the heads of all the Red Cross Commissions In Europe to canvass the situation. After considering con-sidering all the factors it was concluded con-cluded to make the transition on March 1. The very fortunate choice of Dr. Livingston Farrand as the new-chairman new-chairman of the Central Committee, and thereby the permanent chief ex-eemtire ex-eemtire of the Ited Cross, makes possi ble the consummation of this plan under un-der the most favorable conditions. Aeoounts Audited by War Department. "Detailed reports to Congress and a complete audit of its accounts by the War Department will constitute the final record of Ited Cross activity during dur-ing the war. Although It has been the rule to make public all expenditures expendi-tures when authoriized nud to give detailed de-tailed information relative to all work undertaken, the War Council in turning turn-ing over Its responsibilities to Dr. Farrand Far-rand and his associates desire to give a brief resume of Ked Cross war time actlrities to the American people, to whom the Red Cross belong, and whose generous contributions have made possible pos-sible all that has been accomplished. "During the past nearly twenty-one months the American people have glyen in cash and supplies to the American Red Cross more than $400,-000,000. $400,-000,000. No value can be placed, upou the contributions of service which have been givn without stint and of tentimes at great sacrifice by millions of our people. "The effort of the American Red Ones in this war has constituted by far the largest voluntary gifts of money, of hand and heart, ever contributed con-tributed purely for the relief of human hu-man suffering. Through the Red Cross the heart and spirit of the whole American people have been mobilized to take care of our own, to relieve the misery Incident to the war, and also to reveal to the world the supreme Ideals of our national life. "Everyone who has had any part in tkla war effort of the Red Cross is entitled en-titled to congratulate liimself. No tfcnks from anyone could be equal in ralue to the self satisfaction everyone every-one should feel for the part taken. Wly 8,000,000 American women have averted themselves In Red Cross service. serv-ice. Has Over 17,000,000 Adult Members. "When we entered the war the American Ited Cross had about 500,000 members. Today, as the result of the recent Christmas (nienibership Roll I Call, there are upwards of 17,000,000 full paid members outside of the members mem-bers of the Junior Red Cross, numbering number-ing parhaps 9,000,000 school children additional. "The chief effort of the Red Cross j during the war has been to care for ! our men in service and to aid our ' army and navy wherever the Red Cross may be called on to assist. As j to this phase of the work Surgeon General Gen-eral Ireland 'of the U. S Army recent ly said : The Ked Cross has been an enterprise as vast as the war itself. From the beginning it lias done those things which the Army Jledical Corps wanted done, but could not do itself.' "The Red Cross endeavor in France has naturally been upon an exceptionally exception-ally large scale where service has been rendered to the American Army and to the French Army and the French people as well, the latter particularly par-ticularly during the trying period when the Allied World was waiting for the American Army to arise In j force and power. Hospital emergency service for our army in France has greatly diminished, but the Ked Cross Is still being called upon for service upon a large scale in the great base hospitals, where thousands of American Ameri-can sick and wounded tire still receiving receiv-ing attention. At these hospitals the Red Cross supplies huts and facilities for the amusement and recreation of the men as they become convalescent. Our Army of Occupation in Germany was followed with Medical units prepared pre-pared to render the same emergency aid and supply service which was the primary business of the Red Cross 'luring hostilities. The Army Canteen I service along the lines of travel but" I actually increc.s -J since the armistice. ! "As for work among the French peo- pie, now that hostilities have ceased, the French themselves naturally prefer pre-fer as far as possible to provide for their own. It has accordingly been determined de-termined that the guiding principle of Red Cross policy in France henceforth Khali be to have punctilious regard to ; its every resiMuisihility, but to direct Its efforts primarily to assisting French relief societies. The liberated and devastated regions of France have been divided by the government Into small districts, each officially assigned to a designated French relief organization. organi-zation. ! "The American Red Cross work In I France was Initiated by a commission of eighteen men who landed on French ; shores June 13, 1017. Since then some O.OtK persons have been upon the rolls lu France, of whom 7,0tK were actively engaged when th armistice was signed. An Indication of the present pres-ent scale of the work will he obtained from the fact that the services of 6.000 persons are still required. "Our American Kxpeditionary Force having largely evacuated F.uglnnd, the activities of the Ited Cross Commission Commis-sion there are naturally upon a diminishing dimin-ishing scale period. Active operations are still tn progress In Archangel and Siberia. "The work' In Italy hns been almost entirely on behalf of the civilian pop illation of that country, in the critical hours of Italy's struggle the American people, through their Red Cross, sent a practical message of sympathy and relief, for which the government and people of Italy have never ceased to express their gratitude. Supplies and Personnel to Near East. "The occasion for such concentration concentra-tion of effort In Italy, England, Bel-glum Bel-glum and even In France having naturally natur-ally and normally diminished, It has been possible to divert supplies and personnel in large measure to the aid of those people In the Near East who have hitherto been inaccessible to outside out-side assistance, but whose sufferings have been upon an appalling scale. The needs of these peoples are so vast that government alone can meet them, but the American Ked Cross Is making an effort to relieve Immediately the more acute distress. "An extensive group of American workers has been dispatched to carry vitally needed supplies, and to work this winter in the various Balkan countries. coun-tries. In order to co-ordinate their activities, ac-tivities, a Fulkan commission has been established, with headquarters at Rome, Italy, from which point alone all the Balkan centers can be reached promptly. "A commission has Just reached Poland Po-land with doctors and nurses, medical supplies, and food for sick children and Invalids. An American Red Cross Commission has also been appointed to aid in relieving the suffering of Russian Rus-sian prisoners still confined in German prison camps. "An important commission is still working in Palestine. Through the war special co-operation has been given to the Armenian and Syrian Relief Re-lief Commission, which was the only agency able to carry relief in the in terior of Turkish dominions. Red Cross Will Continue. "Red Cross effort is thus far flung. It will continue to be so. But the movement represented by this work has likewise assumed an Intimate place In the daily life of our people at home. The army of workers which has been recruited and trained during the war must not be demobilized. All our experience ex-perience in the war shows clearly that there is an unlimited field for service of ftie kind which can be performed with peculiar effectiveness by the Red Cross. What its future tasks may be it is yet impossible to forecast We know tha't so long as there is an American Amer-ican army in the field the Red Cross will have a special function to perform. "Nothing could be of greater Importance Impor-tance to the American Red Cross than the plans Just set in motion by the five great Red Cross societies of the world to develop a program of extended activities ac-tivities in the interest of humanity. The conception involves not alone efforts ef-forts to relieve human suffering, but to prevent it; not alone a movement by the people of an individual nation, but an attempt to arouse all people to a sense of their responsibility for the welfare of their fellow beings throughout through-out the world. It is a program both ideal and practical. Ideal In that its supreme aim Is nothing less than veritable ver-itable ' "Peace on earth good will to men," and practical in that it seeks to take means and measures which are actually available and make them effective ef-fective In meeting without delay the Crisis wntcu IS uauy lecuiieni lu lives of all peoples. "For accomplishing its mission in the years of peace which must lie ahead of us the Red Cross will require the ablest possible leadership, and must enjoy the continued support, sympathy, sym-pathy, and participation In Its work of the whole American people. It is particularly fortunate that such a man as Dr. Livingston Farrand should have been selected as the permanent head of the organization. The unstinted fashion in which all our people gave of themselves throughout the war Is the best assurance that our Red Cross will continue to Receive that co-operation which will make its work a source of pride and inspiration to every American." Amer-ican." Mr. Davison, as chairman of the International In-ternational Commission of the American Ameri-can Red Cross, has undertaken to represent rep-resent the American Red Cross in the preparation of the program for extended extend-ed Ited Cross activities, and will spend the next several months In Europe In consultation with other Red Cross societies soci-eties for t-hat purpose. THE WAR COUNCIL OF THE AMER ICAN RED CROSS. Henry P. Davison, Chalrn-an. |