First. To furnish volunteer aid to the sick and wounded of armies in
time of war, in accordance with the spirit and conditions of the
conference of Geneva of October, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, and
also of the Treaty of the Red Cross, or the Treaty of Geneva, of August
twenty-second, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, to which the United
States of America gave its adhesion on March first, eighteen hundred and
eighty-two.
Second. And for said purposes to perform all the duties devolved upon a
national society by each nation which has acceded to said treaty.
Third. To succeed to all the rights and property which have been
hitherto held and to all the duties which have heretofore been performed
by the American National Red Cross as a corporation duly incorporated by
Act of Congress, June sixth, nineteen hundred, which Act is hereby
repealed and the organization created thereby is hereby dissolved.
Fourth. To act in matters of voluntary relief and in accord with the
military and naval authorities as a medium of communication between the
people of the United States of America and their Army and Navy, and to
act in such matters between similar national societies of other
governments through the “Comité International de Secours,” and the
Government and the people and the Army and Navy of the United States of
America.
Fifth. And to continue and carry on a system of national and
international relief in time of peace and apply the same in mitigating
the sufferings caused by pestilence, famine, fire, floods, and other
great national calamities, and to devise and carry on measures for
preventing the same.
Sec. 4. That from and after the passage of this Act it shall be unlawful
for any person within the jurisdiction of the United States to falsely
and fraudulently hold himself out as, or represent or pretend himself to
be, a member of, or an agent for, the American National Red Cross, for
the purpose of soliciting, collecting, or receiving money or material;
or for any person to wear or display the sign of the Red Cross, or any
insignia colored in imitation thereof for the fraudulent purpose of,
inducing the belief that he is a member of or an agent for, the American
National Red Cross. Nor shall it be lawful for any person or
corporation, other than the Red Cross of America, not now lawfully
entitled to use the sign of the Red Cross, hereafter to use such sign or
any insignia colored in imitation thereof for the purposes of trade or
as an advertisement to induce the sale of any article whatsoever. If any
person violates the provisions of this section, he shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor and shall be liable to a fine of not less than one nor more
than five hundred dollars, or imprisonment for a term not exceeding one
year, or both, for each and every offense. The fine so collected shall
be paid to the American National Red Cross.
Sec. 5. That the governing body of the said American National Red Cross
shall consist, in the first instance, of a central committee numbering
eighteen persons, to be appointed in the manner following, namely: Six
by the incorporators herein named and twelve by the President of the
United States, one of whom shall be designated by the President to act
as chairman. It shall be the duty of the central committee to organize
with as little delay as possible State and Territorial societies,
including the District of Columbia, under such rules as the said
committee may prescribe. When six or more State or Territorial societies
have been formed, thereafter the central committee shall be composed as
follows: Six to be appointed by the incorporators, six by the
representatives of the State and Territorial societies at the annual
meeting of the incorporators and societies, and six by the President of
the United States, one of whom shall be designated by him as chairman
and one each to be named by him from the Departments of State, War,
Navy, Treasury, and Justice.
The first six members of the central committee elected by the
incorporators at the first annual meeting, and the first six members of
the central committee elected by the State and Territorial delegates,
shall when elected select by lot from their number two members to serve
one year, two members to serve two years, and two members to serve three
years, and each subsequent election of members shall be for a period of
three years or until their successors are duly elected and qualify. The
six members of the central committee appointed by the President at the
annual meeting shall serve for one year.
The President shall fill as soon as may be any vacancy that may occur by
death, resignation, or otherwise in the chairmanship or in the
membership of the central committee appointed by him. And any vacancy
that may occur in the six members of the central committee herein
provided to be appointed by the incorporators or in the six to be
appointed by the representatives of the State societies shall be filled
by temporary appointments to be made by the remaining members of the six
in which the vacancy or vacancies may occur, such appointees to serve
until the next annual meeting.
The central committee shall have power to appoint from its own members
an executive committee of seven persons, five of whom shall be a quorum,
who, when the central committee is not in session, shall have and
exercise all the powers of the central committee.
The Secretary of War shall within thirty days after the passage of this
Act call a meeting at a time and place to be designated by him in the
city of Washington of the incorporators hereunder, giving at least
thirty days’ notice thereof in one or more newspapers, and the annual
meeting of said incorporators, their associates and successors, shall
thereafter be held in said city on the first Tuesday after the first
Monday in December, the first of said meetings to be held in December,
nineteen hundred and five. Fifteen members shall constitute a quorum at
any annual or special meeting.
Voting by proxy shall not be allowed at any meeting of the
incorporators, annual or special, nor at any meeting of State or
Territorial societies organized under the provisions of this charter.
Sec. 6. That the said American National Red Cross shall on the first day
of January of each year make and transmit to the Secretary of War, a
report of its proceedings for the preceding year, including a full,
complete, and itemized report of receipts and expenditures of whatever
kind, which report shall be duly audited by the War Department, and a
copy of said report shall be transmitted to Congress by the War
Department.
Sec. 7. That Congress shall have the right to repeal, alter, or amend
this Act at any time.
Approved January 5, 1905.
* * * * *
An international convention has been called to be held at Geneva in
June, for the revision of the Treaty of Geneva, sometimes called the
Treaty of the Red Cross, to which convention the United States
Government will send three representatives. Reports of the proceedings
of this convention will be given in later numbers of this
Bulletin.—EDITOR.
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THE RED CROSS SOCIETY OF JAPAN HAS ISSUED THE FOLLOWING REPORTS OF THE
RED CROSS WORK SINCE THE OUTBREAK OF THE RUSSO-JAPANESE WAR UP TO
SEPTEMBER, 1905.
War is the most dreadful thing that mankind ever witnesses. It is a
horror in itself. So many men have been killed, wounded and invalided on
both sides in our present war in the course of ten months that one is
aghast at the number of casualties.
The Red Cross Society of Japan has been strenuously performing its duty
of caring for the sick and wounded ever since the war broke out
regardless, as a matter of course, to which colors the sufferers belong
only remembering the principles of Humanity and Brotherhood.
The first work we undertook on the outbreak of the war was to look after
the Russian sailors, who had been wounded during the naval battle off
Chemulpo, Korea.
The wounded sailors, who were on board the Russian cruiser, _Varyag_,
numbering twenty-four persons were taken first to the French cruiser,
_Pascal_, and then to a temporary hospital that had been hastily
established at Chemulpo by our Society. For twenty-two days, those
sailors were entirely under the care of the hospital, in which, of
course, all necessary treatment was given to them. Unfortunately,
however, two of the patients died and the rest when convalescent were
brought to a hospital at Matsuyama, Japan. There we gave them further
treatment, which resulted in their complete recovery, although five out
of the twenty-two were unfortunately obliged to have their hands or legs
operated upon and cut off.
Her Majesty the Empress hearing about these cases has graciously
furnished them with artificial limbs. When they had so far recovered,
the Japanese Government sent them back to their homes in Russia. The
Russian Government sent us a letter of grateful thanks for what we had
done, offering, in addition, through the French Consul at Seoul, Korea,
to defray all the expenses incurred. As we refused the offer, the
Russian Government subscribed 2,000.00 Yen instead to our relief funds,
which we accepted with appreciation.
* * * * *
No sooner had we been instructed by the Army to get our two hospital
ships, _Hakuai Maru_ and _Kosai Maru_, in readiness than they were
prepared for embarkation. The names of the vessels had been intimated to
Russia by the authorities in accordance with the rules of the Hague
Convention.
The _Hakuai Maru_ on the 21st of February, and the _Kosai Maru_ on the
25th of the same month, sailed for Ujina, thence forward being
continuously engaged in the transportation of the sick and wounded of
both belligerents between Japan and different ports in Korea and
Manchuria.
The increase in the number of the sufferers has naturally kept pace with
the progress of the war and in consequence nine more hospital ships had
to be prepared in which twenty-one relief detachments of our Society are
now working under the direction of an Army surgeon. On land, we have
already dispatched over eighty-two relief detachments to districts where
they are required in Korea and Manchuria and also to the hospital of
both Army and Navy at home. Several of these detachments are solely
engaged in caring for the Russian prisoners.