Preceding the annual meeting a meeting of the Central Committee was held
and the proposed revision of the by-laws discussed. The Committee voted
unanimously in favor of the revision.
The morning session of the Fourth Annual Meeting of the American Red
Cross was held on Tuesday, December 8th, at the Hubbard Memorial Hall. It
was presided over by the Chairman of the Central Committee, Major General
George W. Davis. At this meeting reports were read from the Branches, the
subject of the Christmas stamp was taken up and an interesting address on
the Assistance of the Press was made by Mr. Leigh Mitchell Hodges, of the
Philadelphia _North American_. The revision of the by-laws was informally
discussed. The officers, incorporators and branch delegates were kindly
entertained at luncheon by the First Assistant Secretary of State and
Mrs. Bacon.
Hon. William H. Taft, President of the American Red Cross, presided at
the regular session in the afternoon. Besides the reports that are given
elsewhere the most important work of the session was the adoption with
a few minor changes of the revised by-laws as presented by the Central
Committee. The report of the officers and those on Red Cross work are
somewhat long so that the publication of the new by-laws will be given
in the April BULLETIN, but any one desiring a copy will receive one on
application to Red Cross Headquarters.
Mr. Taft, greatly to the satisfaction of the Society, consented to be
re-elected President, and Mr. Robert W. De Forest, of New York, was
elected to the newly-created office of Vice-President. Mr. Ernest P.
Bicknell was appointed October 1st, National Director, and the other
officers were all re-elected. To fill four vacancies among the Charter
Members, John M. Glenn, Henry Stockbridge, Robert W. De Forest and
Mrs. Douglas Robinson were elected. The two new members of the Central
Committee elected were: Hon. H. Kirke Porter and Mr. John M. Glenn.
Mr. John C. Pegram and Miss Mabel T. Boardman were re-elected on this
Committee.
As the new by-laws provided that those who have rendered specially
meritorious or distinguished service to the association and have been
approved for such distinction by two-thirds vote of the members present
at any annual meeting shall become honorary members, three names for
this honorary membership were proposed, President Roosevelt being at
that time the only honorary member of the Society. Those proposed were
the Honorable William H. Taft, who since the re-organization of the
American Red Cross has been its President and who has always, in spite
of being a very busy man, has given his time and assistance to the Red
Cross to its great advantage, was the first name proposed. Because of
the work she did during the Civil War in the Sanitary Commission, that
precursor of the Red Cross, and because of her generous aid in the way
of a large contribution to the Endowment Fund of the American Red Cross
Mrs. Russell Sage’s was the second name proposed. Dr. Louis Klopsch,
Editor of the _Christian Herald_, during the great famines in Japan and
China, raised very large funds for the purposes of relief, amounting to
considerably over half a million of dollars, besides collecting moneys
for the purchase of food supplies which were forwarded to China, and who
sent these generous contributions through the American Red Cross, was
the third person proposed for honorary membership in the American Red
Cross. Mr. Taft on the proposal of his name made the request that it be
withdrawn, as he had consented to stand for re-election as President of
the Red Cross, and preferred to consider himself still an active, rather
than an honorary member. At this request his name was withdrawn and Mrs.
Sage and Dr. Klopsch were unanimously elected honorary members of the
American Red Cross.
It was also unanimously voted to present special medals for the rendering
of important and unremunerated volunteer services to the Red Cross to
Dr. Edward T. Devine, Mr. Ernest P. Bicknell and Mr. F. W. Dohrmann for
their services at San Francisco, in 1906, and to Major C. A. Devol, U.
S. A., and to Major Wendell L. Simpson, U. S. A., for their services at
Hattiesburg, in 1908.
In the evening a reception was given by Miss Boardman, at which the
members met the President of the Red Cross and Mrs. Taft.