Norwich Bulletin Newspaper, May 16, 1918, Page 9

-~ Soldier—the Sailor— and the Red Cross The health, comfort and peace of mind of our & fighting men is a national obligation. In its thorough care of our men the Government réflects the coun- try’s determination that ours shall be the hest: cared-for soldiers and sailors in the world. The whole nation stands pledged to every sacrifice _that will add to the happiness or effectiveness of our men. The Red Cross is the people’s agent in this, as it is authorized by Congress to be the ‘‘medium of com- munication between the people of the United States “and its Army and Navy.’ The Red Cross supplements, in every practical way, the excellent care which is taken of each boy by the Army and Navy. There is the closest co- operation between the Government and the Red Cross; the two Surgeon-Generals are members of the Red Cross Executive Committee; Army and Navy officers are assigned to Red Cross headquarters; a Red Cross Field-Director with necessary assistants is stationed at every cantonment or naval station. Canteen Service & troop train rolls in at four o'clock, three hours late. No one has had dinner. It isn't any one’s fault. There has been a freight wreck or something has delayed it. « Everyone is tired; everyone is hungry. A soldier in the first coach passes along the word, Here they are! Down the yard come the Red Cross women; the coffee is }eady and hot, trays of sandwiches, a portion for every man, for Red Cross knew they were coming and is ready for them. Best of all there is 2 word of cheer. In five minutes all hands are in good spirits. The post-cards are ready for the men to write home, the Red Cross Motor Corps stands be- side to take the one sick soldier to the hospital, end there will be Red Cross women to see that he'is not forgotten there. ‘Al is conducted in an orderly way in full co-operation with the Army suthorities and railway management. This is typical of what the Red Cross is .. doing at 700 important railroad points in the Camp Service The grest army cantonment or naval station is & new kind of city. Here are 40,000 young men, in & new environment, living a new kind of life. There is every problem of the city of 40,000, always with some novel phase. The RedOmlllnlfllledarulplaceinthesenew eities, he the Army and Navy in keeping the men i comfortable and happy. ¥ nfiamptheymmgwldlerfindsthat elaborate preparation hed been miade for his arrival. The site has been made healthy and Cflf&hhh by the Army or Navy. The area the camp has been in charge of fi'vfi Stetes Sanitary Service, the Red 'I'. The American Red Cross CONTRIBUTED TO THE RED CROSS BY The Porteous & Mitchell Co. The Reid & Hughes Co. Cross Sanitary Service, and the local health authorities. If an epidemic threatens the camp, as dur- ing the recent winter, and the hard-worked Army Medical Staff is baffled, they may call for a Red Cross laboratory car to,be rushed to the scene with its expert bacteriologists and scientific equipment to study the situation and help protect the men. In every camp there are the Red Cross Storehouses filled with emergency medical and snrgfcal supplies. Then there are the knitted goods made by the devoted women of America, and there were few of our men who were not thankful to those women for additional com- fort during the trying winter months. If the soldier falls ill in the cantonment he is put in an ambulance, perhaps the gift of a Red Cross chapter, its driver quite possibly a member of a Red Cross ambulance unit which has been given to the Army; he js taken to the base hospital, operated by the ‘Army Medical Corps; possibly the doctor attending him is an officer of a Hospital Unit organized and equipped by the Red Cross; his nursé in all probability is one of the thousands of Red Cross nurses recruited by the Red Cross for service in the Army and Navy. When he begins to recover, he has the Red Cross Convalescent Houses. Here are read- ing and lounging rooms, an entertainment auditorium, a place to meet his friends and hasten his recovery. Then there are sleeping accommodations for his mother who may have been summoned in the critical stage of his illness. In every camp there are Red Cross Home Service representatives to keep the manm in touch with his home folks, to advise them of the details of his sickness, to counse! him about Bl f‘mflywfin:nmalwmyhutml,hukebome worries from his shoulders. and through the Red Cross Chxp@ermh:shomhwntqr_ex_gove the cause of thgse‘worries. Home Service ' TThe care of the soldier’s family is as necessary as the care of the soldier himself if the spirit so necessary to his effectiveness as a fighting man is to be maintained. If he is harassed by anxiety about those dearest to him at home he cannot be on fighting edge. Red Cross Home Service meets this problem. It is a new condition that such a large per- centage of its young men should be removed from a town with all they have meant in moral and financial support. Their absence creates new problems, in the aggregate 6o large they must be coped with in a large way. Red Cross Home Service makes the sympathy, interest and help of the whole community available to the family in a practical manner. Itis playing the part of the old neighbor in a new way. To see that the family is not disorganized while he is absent; to give temporary financial aid when necessary; to care for those who, though they are related to him, have no legal claim upon the Govemment Jo give mforma- tion about pay-allotments, torms of enil . war risk insurance; to co-operate with t . Gov- ernment in the after-care of tbe dlsabled 'sol- dier and his readjustment to life; "to act as the good neighbor and friend of the family in troubles large and small when the soldier is absent — these are the aims of Red Cross Home Service, established in every section of the country, and already serving one hundred _ thousand dependent fa!mhes of soldiers and sailors. Home Service is not a chu.nty, it is as much the soldier’s right as any protection which the people give him. ; Foreign Service American troops are now in France in great numbers — greater numbers will follow dey by day — and America’s ta.sk abread will be- come sterner. The need for the Red Cross abroad is but greater for the distance. Red Cross prepara- tion for the reception of our troops in France has been going on since the first month of the war. The Red Cross Commission in Fra.nee has built a great, extensive organization in people and material, to assure that our men will have every care the Red Cross can give them. Through all the months since war began, Red Cross supplies have occupied a part of many ships; piling up in the great Red Cross ware- houses in France against the arrival of our men. The great Red Cross motor fleet has been organized to transnort Red Cross sup- plies. ‘All through these months, the orga.nization has been studying and training, so that it would be able to cope effectively with the prob- lems created by the arrival of our men. Red Cross in France is supporting our Army and is ready for any further task that mav, within reason, fall to if. On' the way to his camp in Frmee, the American soldier gets food and rest at the Red Cross canteens. On the way from the trenches to his camp, he meets the great Red Cross canteens on the lines of communication. Here the tired, nerve-worn soldier, covered with vermin, gets food, a bath, rest, and clean clothes. The great canteen at Chalons is typi- cal. As he goes into the ffont line trenches, and as he comes out, he is met by the Red Cross rolling canteens operating right behind the front line, giving him hot or cold drinks. If the soldier is wounded, a Red*Cross band- age, made by Red Cross women at home, binds | the wound. The Red Cross man follows him to the hospital, sees to his welfare, and supple- ments the prompt cable advice of the Govern- ment to his folks at home, by the full story of his eondition and progress. Abroad, it is a great comfort to him to know that Red Cross Home Service is sceing to it that his family is not in want. Red Cross is anticipating the soldier’s pos- sible permanent disablement, by an institution already established where the best methods of rehabilitation work are being studied, the re- sults of the experiments to be put at the dis- posal of the Government, which is making adequate plans for the care of mutilated men. If the worst befalls him, the Red Cross rep- | resentative talks with the men who fought be- side him in the batgle, and, supplementing the Government’s cable advice, sends his people the stery of his final heroic sacrifice, Prisoners’ Service 3 If the soldier is taken prisoner he still finds | the Red Cross caring for him. The Red Cross, | in co-operation with the Quartermaster Gen- eral of the Army, furnishes all American pris- | oners in Germany with food, clothing and to-:; bacco. These supplies are shipped to the Red | Cross warchouses in Berne, Switzerland, and | from thers twenty pounds of food are sent to | each prisoner every week. The prisoners re- ceipt for the packages, so that delivery is; almost certain. 'The notations on the recexpts, 1 “With all my heart I thank you,” “There is} an American touch to that parcel,” are the best | evidence ofthe importance of this work. Then, too, the Red Cross is able to corra spond with the prisoners’ families, keeplngt them informed of their. condition and where-':; abouts. Letters are sent back and forth, g:fts. of money and individual packages from friends’ and relatives are forwarded.. The Red Cross alone has permission from both the United! States Government and Ger this service. to conduct x ® = SECRETARY BAKER, in making & recent inspection tour of Red Cross activities in France, said: ; “When one is in the zone of the armies of in the supply areas, words of appreciation or praise for the American Red Cross seem super- The foresight that has its present and prospective ope a source of pride to the fluous. ns has been mmanding officer of | the American forces and should be a source of cbmfort to the people of i States, who, I know, enabled it to carry on its work | and to expand.” * * * This is the third of a series o1 sive an. 5. “ees the Red Cross, | Red Cross Chapiers have statements showe ing in detail how the War Fund is beingg expended. Ask your C statements, ments covering the work of pier {7 one of these | B 1 B. Gotthelf & Co. [ Soccacmrnand BCF »