Red Cross

“ In no other country does the organization of the Red Cross stand as an ordinary benevolent society. In all others its relation to the government is defined, pronounced, and its prestige assured. This is wise and just, and only this can make it of greatest service to the government and to the people.
It is a peculiar institution, without nationality, race, creed or sect, embracing the entire world in its humanizing bond of brotherhood, without arbitrary laws or rules, and yet stronger than armies, and higher than thrones. ”

“ The magnificent self discovery, the colossal single-heartedness lighting up the faces of the people whiffed out by one breath of armistice! Who would have believed it or who can forgive it?... The Red Cross—the redeemer, the big brother of nations, holding steady the nerves of a whole world—not meeting the emergency of a whole world—the whole world yesterday tightened up into war, and to-day falling apart into colossal complicated, innumerable, hemming and hawing, stuttering Peace! ”

“ With the pains your Comité have taken, the Red Cross should have been known and honored in every household in America to-day. It has not died here: it was still-born; it has never once gasped on our shores; the nurses to whom you delivered it have never even uncovered its face, and America does not know that this holy child was ever an applicant for her adoption. She would have received it with open arms at the close of our war, when her own wounds were unhealed, and her memories fresh and tender. She will be less enthusiastic now at the end of a ten years’ peace, and no prospect of war. ”

“ The day is not far distant—if it has not already come—when the American people will recognize the Red Cross as one of the wisest and best systems of philanthropic work in modern times. Its mission is not accomplished when it has carried the generous offerings of the people to their brethren who have met with sudden calamity. It does not stop with the alleviation of bodily suffering and the clothing of the destitute—blessed as that work is, when wisely done, so as not to break down the manly spirit of self-help. ”

“ At home in the auxiliaries, in the hospitals, on the transports and at the front, wherever sickness and suffering called.
Early in the campaign they seemed to awaken to the true meaning and the great mission of the Red Cross, and, setting before them the standard, they have followed it from one field of suffering to another. True soldiers of humanity, they have labored earnestly and incessantly, and have proven themselves worthy to wear the emblem of their loving, faithful service—the Red Cross of Geneva. ”

“ As long as government provides for war, so long must it recognize its adopted twin sister of peace, the Red Cross; as long as it finds it necessary to deliberately mutilate men, so long should it take part in healing them. ”

“ But beyond the eastern waves, in that dear old land that four years of life there taught me to love so well, I see again the flash of the bayonet, the march of armies trampling down the harvests; the terror-stricken fly for rescue, and the wounded cry for help. Again the Red Cross, like the bow of promise, rises over the scene, again the shout from its inspired origination rings out amid the din of arms, and its clear, brave tones reach me even here in my quiet chambers, and my heart, with all its old memories stirred to their depths, goes out in response ”

“ The sight so amazed the Germans that they actually stopped fighting and waited for him. Perhaps it was the Red Cross on the doctor's arm that influenced them, but imagine a body of soldiers in the heat of a charge suddenly stopping because of one man! ”

“ It has come to quicken into fresh, new growth the best things in human life. Like the Banyan tree, wherever an auxiliary branch of the Red Cross exists, it will so drop roots into human character and life, that it will make it a parent trunk in turn to send out influences that shall bring other affiliating branches, so that it shall at last cover the earth with its grateful shade, beneath which the tramp of armed men shall cease, and the battle flags be furled. ”

“ The officers, being unable to procure the necessary articles of clothing, food and medicine for themselves, their men and their sick, the Red Cross had the privilege of lending a hand to these brave men who so uncomplainingly suffered danger, hardship, exposure, sickness and death for their country’s sake, and who so gratefully appreciated the least office done for them. ”

“ The American Red Cross is a miracle-working organization, rooted in the legacy of its gallant founder, Clara Barton, who tore down every convention at the time regarding women in battle, giving history one of the most incredible examples of courage and devotion to duty that it has ever known. Her tremendous legacy lives on through the Red Cross's assistance to hundreds of thousands of Americans affected by disasters each year. ”

“ We can all be grateful that the Red Cross is here in time of need. When disasters occur, this Good Neighbor responds with quick and openhanded assistance to help the injured and homeless. When the need is blood, the Red Cross provides this precious fluid from volunteer donors to more than half of this nation's medical facilities. This Good Neighbor, through its first aid and water safety training programs, arms us with the knowledge and skill to save our own and the lives of others. ”

“ They introduced themselves as the officers of a society known as the International Convention of Geneva,—more familiarly, the Red Cross,—having for its object the amelioration of the sufferings of war, the succor and nursing of the wounded and sick in battle, the relief of prisoners, the guarding against famine and pestilence, and whatever may befall a people, under the scourge of war. ”

“ The comfort, care, and relief provided by the American Red Cross serves a great mission. When those in need see that recognizable symbol of hope, the Red Cross, they see the hearts of the American people at work ‐‐ an incredibly powerful thing. When they see that beacon, they know that true help is on the way, and they feel our people's mighty generosity, love, and support for their fellow human beings. ”

“ And she cannot say now as the old Major said then—"Wherever the Red Cross goes is safety for the wounded soldiers. No nurse, surgeon or ambulance bearing that sign can be fired upon." That part is no longer true, although the day is coming soon when we shall make it true for all time.
She cannot tell him that the very nation which was first and foremost in training such dogs as Hero in service for mankind has violated its treaties and filled the world with horrors and suffering unspeakable. ”

“ The Red Cross has become a simple yet powerful symbol that transcends language and conveys a universally understood message of hope. This symbol draws its strength from the dedication of the more than 1.3 million volunteers who help disaster victims, assist at blood drives, teach health classes, and respond to urgent community needs. ”

“ For the fifty women who fought day by day that grim battle with disease and death could but have wrung their hands in hopeless impotence had it not been for the hundreds of other women by whose aid we were able to carry on our work. One could have no more eloquent testimony to this than that furnished by a walk through one of the fever wards of Detention Hospital, where the men lay on Red Cross cots, in Red Cross pajamas, covered by Red Cross sheets and blankets, and taking their Red Cross medicines or broth or delicacies from Red Cross cups and glasses at the hands of Red Cross nurses. ”

“ There have been stories that women are making an oversupply of materials; that articles knitted for the Red Cross are being sold to soldiers and civilians.
Incredible it seems that men could sink so low as to direct their poison against a cause that has for its purpose only the relief of suffering!
But there is one sure antidote for such creatures; living in the dark, they can not endure the light. Let us be torch bearers for the Red Cross. ”

“ Caring for men, not only those who are wounded, but for those who are sick or in trouble as well, the Red Cross is without a doubt the greatest relief organization in the world today. It is so far-reaching in its scope that it does not stop with the soldiers, but includes also in its ministrations indirect victims of war—the widows, the fatherless, the aged left desolate, the homeless, and the refugees of every age and condition of life. ”

“ Our Red Cross uniform carries with it a strange mixture of respect and suspicion—respect for the noble symbol we bear, suspicion on account of the many unlicensed people of somewhat doubtful repute who have flooded the country since the outbreak of war, perpetrating many indiscretions, opening many uncalled-for charities—all under the name of the Red Cross, with which, ten chances to one, they have no connection at all. ”

“ And wherever that symbol goes, the Red Cross must follow, and only one step in the rear. The first man who falls must see it on the arm that raises him, and the last must know it has not left him. The National Red Cross of America is not without possibilities for occupation, and these neither theoretical nor sentimental. ”

“ Long before he is old enough to hear the terrible war-part of the story, War shall be at an end, please God, and the Red Cross shall mean [Pg 85] to the nations left upon the earth what it means to him—arms that enfold a suffering humanity, lips that press a great mother-love to all its hurts and make them well. ”

“ If a morning paper should announce that three or four of the greatest political bosses or greatest railroad kings in the country had quietly met somewhere, and sat with closed doors till long after midnight, and then silently departed, people would ask, “What is the significance of that? What mischief have they been devising in secret?” In that sense of the word, significance—which is a very common one—the Red Cross has none that I ever heard of. It has no rich offices to bestow, no favorites to reward, no enemies to punish. It has no secrets to keep, no mystic word or sign. ”

“ It is my thought that a brief account of the work of the Red Cross during the past twenty-five years will be of interest to the American people. In a volume of this size it must of necessity be but a brief outline, sufficient, however, to convey a clear impression of what the Red Cross really means to every individual in this great country of ours. ”

“ As you see, Miss Barton, and honored friend, I began with the idea that the American Society of the Red Cross should revise and assure its stable existence by an immediate employment of its power through a practical application; relief funds to send to the belligerent armies of the Oriental War. Once consecrated by action by the remembrance of what it has done, its basis will be firmer, its credit more assured, and then you will be able to give it a definite form and shape which experience will have shown you to be the most useful. ”

“ Had there been need for them, the Red Cross could easily have recruited an army of twenty-five thousand from the flower of American womanhood. Rich and poor alike gave their money freely; and doctors and nurses from every part of the country offered their services for no greater compensation than the privilege to serve suffering humanity.
To our friends of the Red Cross in Europe and in Asia—nearly all of the nations of which contributed liberally to our needs during the late war—we have no words that will adequately express our appreciation and gratitude for their timely aid ”

“ If so, I will do my best to form such an organization in America, if you and your Committee desire it. As it is now, in spite of all efforts which you have so generously made to spread the knowledge of your society and its great objects in this country, it is almost unknown, and the Red Cross, in America, is a Mystery. ”

“ Proud and chivalrous, all the world knows that it must be hard and distasteful for her to accept help under any conditions, and it is only in the fury of an elemental rage, as when the earth crumbles under her, or the seas roll over her, that anyone essays to attempt it; and it was for this reason, if no other had been needed, that I came personally to stand among my workers, and see to it that the Red Cross, at least, bear in all it did a demeanor of delicacy and respect, where it must extend its aid. ”

“ Clara Barton
Washington, D.C.
WHAT THE RED CROSS IS
A confederation of relief societies in different countries, acting under the Geneva Convention, carries on its work under the sign of the Red Cross. The aim of these societies is to ameliorate the condition of wounded soldiers in the armies in campaign on land or sea. ”

“ The Swiss colors being a white cross on a red ground, the badge chosen was these colors reversed.
There are no “members of the Red Cross,” but only members of societies whose sign it is. There is no “Order of the Red Cross.” The relief societies use, each according to its convenience, whatever methods seem best suited to prepare [Pg 141] in times of peace for the necessities of sanitary service in times of war. They gather and store gifts of money and supplies; arrange hospitals, ambulances, methods of transportation of wounded men, bureaus of information, correspondence, etc. ”

“ It is needless to give further illustrations; history records the wonderful achievements of this greatest of relief organizations, though it cannot record the untold suffering which has been averted by it.
Is the Red Cross a humanitarian organization? What is the significance of the Red Cross? I leave these two questions for you to answer.
But war, although the most tragic, is not the only evil that assails humanity. War has occurred in the United States four times in one hundred and twenty years. Four times its men have armed and marched, and its women waited and wept. ”