OCR Text |
Show WW cam " In the New England Bulletin of the American Red Cross there is a splendid splen-did review of its work during the past year from which the following is an extract under the title of "The Human Side." "The American Red Cross recognizes that our first duty for humanity in this war is the protection of our soldiers In France. It recognizes also that this duty lies with the United States government gov-ernment and that the government is responsible for it. As a supplementary supplement-ary relief organization the Red Cross stands ready to co-operate with the government in this work, and to put its organization, money and supplies Into service at the call of the American Ameri-can army whenever and wherever they can be of use. Fully realizing the disadvantages dis-advantages that are always met In a foreign country, and with the view of keeping our soldiers in touch with things American, the Red Cross begins at the port of landing in France by establishing rest stations. These rest stations extend inland toward the camps and are located in a series at junction points and railroad stations where the soldiers are required to wait for train connections. "Chief work of the American Red Cross in helping care for wounded soldiers sol-diers lies iu Its co-operation with the government in supplying an efficient --ij;.ervice ; In assisting the Army Medical corps la c"" of emergency, and in furnishing materials for hospitals. hos-pitals. There were on March 1, 1918, more than twenty-three hundred American Amer-ican Red Cros nurses employed in base hospitals and in the French military mili-tary hospitals throughout the republic. The total number of hospitals of various va-rious sorts in the French republic exceeds ex-ceeds five thousand, and more than half of these are receiving all or part of their medical and surgical supplies from tihe American Red 'Cross, Re-education. "The re-education of mutilated sol diers is being carried on jointly by the French government and the American Red Cross. There are between fifty and sixty schools of various kinds for this work. The Red Cross has provided provid-ed more than six hundred mutilated soldiers with artificial legs of the best type, and has established a factory near Paris where artificial limbs are manufactured. By arranging for consultation con-sultation between the surgeon and tin manufacturer, the Red Cross has been able to secure the best possible treatment treat-ment for each case. With the wanton destruction ot homes by the German army and the uprooting of the population in the devastated dev-astated regions, the home as an institution in-stitution in France is in peril. Realizing Real-izing this condition, the Red Cross is endeavoring to keep the soldiers' homes Intact; to find homes for the outcast children who have neither homes nor parents, and to help the refugees and repalries to find a place to live until they shall be able to rebuild re-build their homes. "The most telling work of the Red Cross in France, as far as helping to win the war goes, is the care of the families of the French soldiers. The Red Cross is giving to the needy families fam-ilies of these French soldiers supplies and money, according to their needs. "When the German army invaded France, hundreds of thousands of French people were driven from their ii..jcr ?nd are now scattered throughout through-out the republic. Thns, people are known as refugees. The number has increased, of course, for various reasons rea-sons until now there are more than 1,-200,000, 1,-200,000, embracing all classes and ages, except able-bodied men. There are approximately ap-proximately 500,000 refugees in Paris alone. "The housing of these people is one of the greatest problems of the French government. The American Red Cross is co-operating with the French government govern-ment in this work." |