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. Heretofore some people have had a wrong
impression of this great agency, thinking that it ministered merely to
unfortunate men on the battle field. This is far from being the case,
however. It holds out its hand of hope and help to many other thousands
who would languish in hopelessness and despair but for its kindly
succor.
To be sure in war time the most critical point of all is the battle
line. And the most important man is the soldier. He must be kept fit to
do his work or all else fails. Therefore naturally enough the Red
Cross, or _Croix Rouge_ as it is called in France, focuses its attention
mainly on the fighting men. The problem of caring for the wounded in the
present conflict is so different and so much more vast than in any
previous war that a comparison is well nigh impossible. Back in our
Civil War there was no Red Cross organization and the facilities for
attending to the needs of the injured and the sick were extremely
limited to say the least. Consequently while we did the best we could,
hours and days often passed, before a Wounded soldier could be attended
to, and many deaths ensued which would be avoided today. In fact the
mortality percentage was immensely higher than in the present war. This
sounds almost unbelievable in view of the many fearful devices which the
Germans have used and the constant reports of awful carnage. But when we
base our death estimates upon the actual number of men engaged the face
of the situation changes very materially. We must remember that even in
time of peace in civil life among twenty million men there will be
thousands of deaths each day and the chances of saving a sick or wounded
man are far greater today than ever before.
The marvelous Red Cross institution has sought out the best physicians
and surgeons of every country and the most efficient nurses as aids; and
by research investigation and experiments has brought down to the finest
point that science has yet attained the matter of saving life. Any
person who has had anything whatever to do with this great agency will
testify to its marvelous skill and efficiency.
Moreover, aside from its merely utilitarian aspect, there goes with the
Red Cross Angel in Europe that sentimental sweetness and that delicate
touch which is so treasured by the heart of every soldier. It is the
beginning, by the greatest Mother in the world of the fulfillment of the
prophecy of Jesus, "I was hungry, and ye gave me to eat; I was thirsty,
and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye
clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came
unto me; verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these
my brethren, even these least, ye did it unto me." In this way real
religion is practiced in the trenches. In this way is that new
Christianity taking shape in Europe which is to be the religion of the
future in America.
[Illustration: _Copyright, Underwood & Underwood, N. Y._
AN AMERICAN WOMAN CARING FOR A LITTLE WOUNDED FRENCH CHILD.]
Another of the great movements for the uplift and welfare of the
soldiers is the Y. M. C. A. It has long been recognized that there are
many strong and peculiar temptations in the life of a soldier which do
not come to people in the ordinary walks of life. The first of these is
the temptation to homesickness. With armies from all over the world
concentrated in France, and with millions of boys for the first time in
their lives separated from their old associates and environments and set
down in the midst of a new atmosphere among people of a foreign tongue
and different habits and modes of living, it would be strange, indeed,
if they did not have a longing for home, old acquaintances, and familiar
faces. Companionship and sympathy are the things they need above all
else. Confidential relations between themselves and those whom they can
call friends is worth everything, and this is exactly what the Y. M. C.
A. establishes. It counteracts, if not entirely in large part at any
rate, the tendency toward homesickness. In a land which is strange,
where there are no acquaintances and no home atmosphere, the Y. M. C. A.
secretaries and the Y. M. C. A. huts furnish the only touch of home that
the soldier has. Here he comes when tired and beaten and spent with war;
here his footsteps turn when his soul longs for an association which
money cannot buy. Here he finds exactly what he needs, namely other boys
who are lonely too and who are seeking the same satisfaction that he
wants.
In the hut he first finds the secretary. The man who has charge of the
building is there to be used in any way he is needed. He is not there to
push religion on to homesick soldiers. Above all things, remember that
the secretary is a failure who is continually trying to force his
religion down the throats of the men and boys who want good fellowship.
After gaining the friendship and respect of a man and his confidence it
is not unlikely that the influence of a secretary will exert itself in a
religious manner; but even then it will be indirectly, unless and until
there is some definite evidence from the man himself that he is
interested and wants it.
In other words the Y. M. C. A. as such, is not a revival meeting whose
object is to impress the weight of men's sins upon them when that weight
presses heavily enough anyway; but rather it is a place of human
feelings and homelike atmosphere. A boy comes in and finds writing paper
for a letter to his mother. In one corner at the top is the Red
Triangle, emblem of body, mind, and spirit; and in the other corner are
the words: "With the Colors." When the letter is written, stamps can be
had in the building and the letter is mailed there. The boys have
different kinds of games to play and good books to read so that with the
amusement and comradeship they can also get some mental benefit. When a
man comes in from the trenches dirty and fatigued and about disgusted,
there is nothing else in the whole makeup of the war-organization which
will do what this institution does.
The Knights of Columbus contribute quite as freely to the comfort of the
soldiers, and I do not believe there is a boy on the Western front who
would tolerate a word against either of them. It strikes me that the
religion of the Red Cross type--a type which includes the Y. M. C. A.
and the Knights of Columbus--is the kind which the Master exemplified in
His life and the kind which he intended for us. I feel that it is a far
truer and higher form of religion than many of the brands that are being
peddled about the world today, and I hope when the war is over, that the
whole world may adopt it.