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Show D I C0S8 'President Wilson Urges People to Join During Xmas Roll Call. i WEEK OF DEC, 16-23 i To Send Forth Christmas Greeting by Greatest Mother of Them All. I I WASHINGTON. Doc. 8 President ! Wilson, in a proclamation made public today, calls on every American to join the American Red Cross during Christmas Christ-mas roll call week, December 16 to 26 "and thus send forlh to the whole human hu-man family the Christmas greeting for which it walls and for which it stands in greatest need." The proclamation, prepared beforo the president departed depart-ed for Europe, follows: "To the American People: I "One year ago twenty-two million mil-lion Americans, by enrolling as members of the Red Cross at Christmas time, sent to tho men who arc fighting our battles overseas over-seas a stimulating message of cheer and good will. They made it clear that our people were of their own free choice united with their government In the determination determi-nation not only to wage war with the instruments of destruction, but also by every means in their power fo repair the ravages of the invader in-vader and sustain and renow the spirit of tho army and of the homes which thoy represented. Tho friends of tho American Red Cross in Italy, Belgium and Franco have told and will tell again the story of how the Red Cross workers work-ers restored morale in the hospitals, hospit-als, in the camps and at the cantonments, can-tonments, and we ought to be very proud that we have boon permitted permit-ted to be of service to those whose sufferings and whoso glory are tho heritago of humanity. "Now by God's grace, the Red Cross Christmas message of 191S Is to be a message of peace as well as a message of good will. But peace does not mean that we can fold our hands. It means further fur-ther sacrifice. Wc must prove conclusively con-clusively to an attentive world that America Is permanently aroused to the needs of the new era. our old indifference gone forever.. for-ever.. "The exact nature of the future service of the Red Cross will depend de-pend upon the program of the associated as-sociated governments, but there is immediate need today for every heartening word and for every helpful service. We must not forget for-get that our soldiers and our sailors sail-ors arc still under orders and still have duties to perform of the highest high-est consequence and that the Red Cross Christmas membership means a great deal to them. The people of the saddened lands, moreover, returning home today where there are no homes must havo the assurance that the hearts of our people are with them in the dark and doubtful days ahead. Let us, so far as we can, help them back to faith in mercy and in future fu-ture happiness. "As prosident.of the Red Cross, Conscious-in this' great hour of the value of such a message from the iH American people, I should be glad fH if every American would Join the tH Red Cross for 1910 and thus send forth to the whole human family ! the Christmas greeting for which it waits and for which it stands in greatest need. (Signed) "WOODROW WILSON." H no |
