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Show RED CROSS NEEDS HUNDRED MILLION The most stupendous and appealing appeal-ing call in the history of the world to aid suflering humanity confronts our Red Cross. Millions of meu who have been lighting for liberty lie dead cr wounded; millions of women and children are homeless and helpless; hundreds of towns and villages have been destroyed; disease and distress are rampant. Up to now, our own people have not suffered. While Europe has been pouring out her lifebfbod. America has experienced a prosperity she had never known before. But now we ourselves are in this gigantic War. We now see that the struggle against autocracy and tyranny tyran-ny which our Allies have been making mak-ing is and has from the first been, in reality, no less our struggle than theirs. We ourselves must now share the suffering which they have endured; endur-ed; we, too, must bear the burdens and we must do our part in a real way. The Red Cross a Vital Factor in (lie War Our Tied Cross is a vital factor in the struggle. To promote efficiency In administering its great responsi bilities, the President of the United States has created a Red Cross War Council. The Council knows now only what the minimum requirements are. But they know already that the needs which our Red Cross can alone supply are at present beyond computation. compu-tation. It is difficult to explain with any definiteness a program, or outline a budget for the expenditure of money. The field is so broad, the demands so great, that we can not form a campaign cam-paign at this time. The vision that the War Council has of the Red Cross is a very great one. - The Red Cross is a recognized official organization to carry on a humanitarian work. It is the recognized rec-ognized international organization in all the civilized countries of the world and we might also add, in Germany. We are now facing a situation the like of which has never before existed. exist-ed. It is most important that every man and every woman in America sense this grave obligation. $100,000,000 is asked. It is a large sum of money but, the people of this country are not only going to supply that one hundred million but a very great deal more! There has been some question about the obligations of the Red Cross and its particular field of work. If the Red Cross is to be the recognized recogniz-ed organization through which this work nnust be carried on, it must work in many new fields, in many new ways. Our great trouble today is that our people do not realize the situation situa-tion throughout the countries now at war. They must be made to realize them, and the obligation upon us is to see that it is done as soon as possible. The Red Cross is doing a noble work. And it is an obligation upon every man, woman and child In this country. It is to be hoped that it will be sufficiently suf-ficiently realized that we shall not only enjoy the satisfaction of contrib uting our energies and our rnoney, but we will also have thereby received receiv-ed a very great benefit. We Need a Sense of Sacrifice. Certainly there is nothing that this people need more than a sense of sacrifice. This is no time to listen to the man who says, "I am contributing contrib-uting so much here and so much there, taxes are very high, and the cost of living is growing." The question of opportunity comes up whether we shall do It at this time or another time. There Ig no. calendar on the battlefield. There is no waiting for conditions there, j and we cannot waft for conditions here. Work to be Done Abroad1 Hundreds of American doctors and nurses are already at the front. A force of 12,onn American engineers i will soon be rebuilding the railroads j of France. Upwards of 26,000 Amer ican men are now on the battlefields of Europe, fighting as volunteers in the Allied armies; soon, 25,000 American regulars will be added to their number. All our National Guard is to be mobilized, our regular regu-lar Army is to be recruited to full strength, and 500,000 other men shortly to be called to the colors. Within a few months we should and will have in service an army of 1,-000,000 1,-000,000 and a navy of 150,000 men. These men moist have of our best. To prepare against their needs in advance will be a stupendous task which the Red Cross must undertake. Doctors, nurses, ambulances, must be made ready. Vast quantities of hospital hos-pital stores, linen bandages and supplies sup-plies of every kind must be prepared and at once. If we wait, It may be too late. When we ask our own sous and brothers to fight for our liberty 3,000 miles from home in a country already sore and afflicted; surely we cannot do less than prepare to take care of them in their day of suffering. |