in no manner able to interfere with the general plan, or the working
details for its operations, which had been arranged and decided upon
before the presentation of the subject to the government in 1877, and
published in pamphlet form in 1878, making it to cover, as it now does,
the entire field of national relief for great national woes and
calamities in time of peace, no less than in war. The wise provisions,
careful preparations and thorough system which had been found so
efficient in the permanent societies of the Red Cross in other
countries, could not fail, I thought, to constitute both a useful and
powerful system of relief in any class of disasters. I therefore
ventured so far upon the generous spirit of their original resolutions
in the plan of our societies as, mechanically speaking, to attach to
this vast motor power the extra and hitherto dead weight of our great
national calamities, in order that the same force should apply to all
and serve to lighten I hoped, so far as possible, not only the woes of
those directly called to suffer, but the burdens on the hearts and hands
of those called to sympathize with their sufferings.
The time allowed for the practical test of this experiment has been
short. Scarcely three months in which to organize and act, but the brave
societies of the Red Cross of western New York, at this moment standing
so nobly among their flame-stricken neighbors of Michigan--so
generously responding to their calls for help, are quite sufficient I
believe to show what the action and results of this combined system will
be when recognized and inaugurated.
It may be said that this treaty jeopardizes our traditional policy,
which jealously guards against entangling alliances abroad; that as we
are exempt by our geographical position from occasions for war this
treaty must bring us not benefits but only burdens from other people's
calamities and wars--calamities and wars which we do not create and of
which we may properly reap the incidental advantages. But this treaty
binds none to bear burdens, but only to refrain from cruelties; it binds
not to give but to allow others to give wisely and to work humanely if
they will, while all shall guarantee to them undisturbed activity in
deeds of charity. There is then in the Red Cross no "entangling
alliance" that any but a barbarian at war can feel as a restraint. This
inculcated wariness of foreign influences, wonderfully freshened by the
conduct of foreign rulers and writers during the rebellion and deepened
by the crimes and the craft directed primarily at Mexico and ultimately
at us, made the people of America in 1864 and 1868 devoutly thankful for
the friendly and stormy sea that rolled between them and the European
states. And it is not perhaps altogether strange that American
statesmen, inspired by such a public opinion, should then have been but
little inclined to look with favor upon any new international
obligations however specious in appearance or humane in fact. But the
award of Geneva surely opened the way for the Red Cross of Geneva. Time
and success have made plain the nation's path. The postal treaty since
made among all nations and entered into heartily by this has proved
salutary to all. It has removed every valid state reason for opposition
to the harmless, humane and peaceful provisions of the treaty of the Red
Cross.
But in the midst of the rugged facts of war come sentimental objections
and objectors. For, deplore it as we may, war _is the great fact_ of all
history and its most pitiable feature is not after all so much the great
numbers slain, wounded and captured in battle, as their cruel after
treatment as wounded and prisoners, no adequate provision being made for
their necessities, no humane care even permitted, except at the risk of
death or imprisonment as spies, of those moved by wise pity or a simple
religious zeal.
Among these hard facts appears a conscientious theorist and asks, Is not
war a great sin and wrong? Ought we to provide for it, to make it easy,
to lessen its horrors, to mitigate its sufferings? Shall we not in this
way encourage rulers and peoples to engage in war for slight and fancied
grievances?
We provide for the victims of the great wrong and sin of intemperance.
These are for the most part voluntary victims, each in a measure the
arbiter of his own fate. The soldier has generally no part, no voice, in
creating the war in which he fights. He simply obeys as he must his
superiors and the laws of his country. Yes, it is a great wrong and sin,
and for that reason I would provide not only for, but against it.
But here comes the speculative theorist! Isn't it encouraging a bad
principle; wouldn't it be better to do away with all war? Wouldn't peace
societies be better? Oh, yes, my friend, as much better as the
millennium would be better than this, but it is not here. Hard facts are
here; war is here; war is the outgrowth, indicator and relic of
barbarism. Civilization alone will do away with it, and scarcely a
quarter of the earth is yet civilized, and that quarter not beyond the
possibilities of war. It is a long step yet to permanent peace. We
cannot cross a stream until we reach it. The sober truth is, we are
called to deal with facts, not theories; we must practice if we would
teach. And be assured, my friends, there is not a peace society on the
face of the earth to-day, nor ever will be, so potent, so effectual
against war as the Red Cross of Geneva.
The sooner the world learns that the halo of glory which surrounds a
field of battle and its tortured, thirsting, starving, pain-racked,
dying victims exists only in imagination; that it is all sentiment,
delusion, falsehood, given for effect; that soldiers do not die painless
deaths; that the sum of all human agony finds its equivalent on the
battlefield, in the hospital, by the weary wayside and in the prison;
that, deck it as you will, it is agony; the sooner and more thoroughly
the people of the earth are brought to realize and appreciate these
facts, the more slow and considerate they will be about rushing into
hasty and needless wars, and the less popular war will become.
Death by the bullet painless! What did this nation do during eighty
agonizing and memorable days but to watch the effects of one bullet
wound? Was it painless? Painless either to the victim or the nation?
Though canopied by a fortitude, patience, faith and courage scarce
exceeded in the annals of history, still was it agony. And when in his
delirious dreams the dying President murmured, "The great heart of the
nation will not let the soldier die," I prayed God to hasten the time
when every wounded soldier would be sustained by this sweet assurance;
that in the combined sympathies, wisdom, enlightenment and power of the
nations, he should indeed feel that the great heart of the people would
not let the soldier die.
Friends, was it accident, or was it providence which made it one of the
last acts of James A. Garfield in health to pledge himself to urge upon
the representatives of his people in Congress assembled, this great
national step for the relief and care of wounded men? Living or dying it
was his act and his wish, and no member in that honored, considerate and
humane body but will feel himself in some manner holden to see it
carried out.
ACTION OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
The president of the American Red Cross, Clara Barton, in November,
1881, laid before President Arthur the matter of the Treaty of Geneva,
and the unfulfilled desire of President Garfield that the United States
should give its adhesion to that international compact. To this
President Arthur gave a cordial and favorable response, and made good
his words by the following paragraph in his first annual message, sent
to the forty-seventh Congress:
At its last extra session the Senate called for the text of the
Geneva Convention for the relief of the wounded in war. I trust that
this action foreshadows such interest in the subject as will result
in the adhesion of the United States to that humane and commendable
engagement.
This part of the message was immediately taken up in the Senate and
referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations, consisting of the
following named gentlemen, to wit: William Windom, Minnesota; George F.
Edmunds, Vermont; John T. Miller, California; Thomas W. Ferry, Michigan;
Elbridge G. Lapham, New York; John W. Johnston, Virginia; J.T. Morgan,
Alabama; George H. Pendleton, Ohio; Benjamin H. Hill, Georgia.
During the consideration of the subject an invitation was extended to
the president of the American Association, its counsel and other
associate members to meet the above named Senate Committee at the
capitol, for conference, and for an explanation of such points as still
remained obscure, to aid their deliberations, and to facilitate
investigations.
On the seventeenth of May, 1881, Hon. Omar D. Conger submitted to the
United States Senate the following resolution, which was considered by
unanimous consent and agreed to:
_Resolved_, That the Secretary of State be requested to furnish to
the Senate copies (translations) of Articles of Convention signed at
Geneva, Switzerland, August 22, 1864, touching the treatment of
those wounded in war, together with the forms of ratification
employed by the several governments, parties thereto.
On the twelfth of December, 1881, in response to the above resolution,
President Arthur addressed to the Senate a message transmitting a report
of the Secretary of State, with accompanying papers, touching the Geneva
convention for the relief of the wounded in war, which message, report
and accompanying papers were as follows:
(Senate Ex. Doc. No. 6, 47th Congress, 1st Session.)
Message from the President of the United States, transmitting in
response to Senate resolution of May 17th, 1881, a report of the
Secretary of State, with accompanying papers, touching the Geneva
convention for the relief of the wounded in war.
December 12, 1881.--Referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations and
ordered to be printed.
_To Senate of the United States:_
I transmit herewith, in response to the resolution of the Senate of the
seventeenth of May last, a report of the Secretary of State, with
accompanying papers, touching the Geneva convention for the relief of
the wounded in war.
CHESTER A. ARTHUR,
EXECUTIVE MANSION,
WASHINGTON, _December 12, 1881_.
_To the President:_
The Secretary of State, to whom was addressed a resolution of the
Senate, dated the seventeenth of May, 1881, requesting him "to furnish
to the Senate copies (translations) of Articles of Convention signed at
Geneva, Switzerland, August 22, 1864, touching the treatment of those
wounded in war, together with the forms of ratification employed by the
several governments, parties thereto," has the honor to lay before the
President the papers called for by the resolution.
In view of the reference made, in the annual message of the President,
to the Geneva convention, the Secretary of State deems it unnecessary
now to enlarge upon the advisability of the adhesion of the United
States to an international compact at once so humane in its character
and so universal in its application as to commend itself to the adoption
of nearly all the civilized powers.
JAMES G. BLAINE.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
WASHINGTON, _December 10, 1881_.
THE "ADDITIONAL ARTICLES" CONCERNING THE RED CROSS FOR THE NAVY.
The governments of North Germany, Austria, Baden, Bavaria, Belgium,
Denmark, France, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and
Norway, Switzerland, Turkey and Würtemberg, desiring to extend to armies
on the sea the advantages of the convention concluded at Geneva the
twenty-second of August, 1864, for the amelioration of the condition of
wounded soldiers in armies in the field, and to further particularize
some of the stipulations of the said convention, proposed and signed the
following additional articles:
Additional Articles to the Convention of Geneva of the twenty-second
August, 1864, signed at Geneva the twentieth of October, 1868.
ARTICLE I. The persons designated in Article II. of the convention
shall, after the occupation by the enemy, continue to fulfill their
duties, according to their wants, to the sick and wounded in the
ambulance or the hospital which they serve. When they request to
withdraw, the commander of the occupying troops shall fix the time
of departure, which he shall only be allowed to delay for a short
time in case of military necessity.
ART. II. Arrangements will have to be made by the belligerent powers
to ensure to the neutralized person, fallen into the hands of the
army of the enemy, the entire enjoyment of his salary.
ART. III. Under the conditions provided for in Articles I. and IV.
of the convention, the name "ambulance" applies to field hospitals
and other temporary establishments, which follow the troops on the
field of battle to receive the sick and wounded.
ART. IV. In conformity with the spirit of Article V. of the
convention, and to the reservations contained in the protocol of
1864, it is explained that for the appointment of the charges
relative to the quartering of troops and of the contributions of
war, account only shall be taken in an equitable manner of the
charitable zeal displayed by the inhabitants.
ART. V. In addition to Article VI. of the convention, it is
stipulated that, with the reservation of officers whose detention
might be important to the fate of arms, and within the limits fixed
by the second paragraph of that article, the wounded fallen into the
hands of the enemy shall be sent back to their country, after they
are cured, or sooner if possible, on condition, nevertheless, of not
again bearing arms during the continuance of the war.
ART. VI. The boats which, at their own risk and peril, during and
after an engagement pick up the shipwrecked or wounded, or which,
having picked them up, convey them on board a neutral, or hospital
ship, shall enjoy, until the accomplishment of their mission, the
character of neutrality, as far as the circumstances of the
engagement and the position of the ships engaged will permit.
The appreciation of these circumstances is entrusted to the humanity
of all the combatants. The wrecked and wounded thus picked up and
saved must not serve again during the continuance of the war.
ART. VII. The religious, medical and hospital staff of any captured
vessel are declared neutral, and, on leaving the ship, may remove
the articles and surgical instruments which are their private
property.
ART. VIII. The staff designated in the preceding article must
continue to fulfill their functions in the captured ship, assisting
in the removal of wounded made by the victorious party; they will
then be at liberty to return to their country, in conformity with
the second paragraph of the first additional article.
The stipulations of the second additional article are applicable to
the pay and allowance of the staff.
ART. IX. The military hospital ships remain under martial law in all
that concerns their stores; they become the property of the captor,
but the latter must not divert them from their special appropriation
during the continuance of the war.
The vessels not equipped for fighting, which during peace the
government shall have officially declared to be intended to serve as
floating hospital ships, shall, however, enjoy during the war
complete neutrality, both as regards stores, and also as regards
their staff, provided their equipment is exclusively appropriated to
the special service on which they are employed.
ART. X. Any merchantman, to whatever nation she may belong, charged
exclusively with removal of sick and wounded, is protected by
neutrality, but the mere fact, noted on the ship's books, of the
vessel having been visited by an enemy's cruiser, renders the sick
and wounded incapable of serving during the continuance of the war.
The cruiser shall even have the right of putting on board an officer
in order to accompany the convoy, and thus verify the good faith of
the operation.
If the merchant ship also carries a cargo, her neutrality will still
protect it, provided that such cargo is not of a nature to be
confiscated by the belligerents.
The belligerents retain the right to interdict neutralized vessels
from all communication, and from any course which they may deem
prejudicial to the secrecy of their operations. In urgent cases,
special conventions may be entered into between commanders-in-chief,
in order to neutralize temporarily and in a special manner the
vessels intended for the removal of the sick and wounded.
ART. XI. Wounded or sick sailors and soldiers, when embarked, to
whatever nation they may belong, shall be protected and taken care
of by their captors.
Their return to their own country is subject to the provisions of
Article VI. of the convention, and of the additional Article V.
ART. XII. The distinctive flag to be used with the national flag, in
order to indicate any vessel or boat which may claim the benefits of
neutrality, in virtue of the principles of this convention, is a
white flag with a red cross. The belligerents may exercise in this
respect any mode of verification which they may deem necessary.
Military hospital ships shall be distinguished by being painted
white outside, with green strake.
ART. XIII. The hospital ships which are equipped at the expense of
the aid societies, recognized by the governments signing this
convention, and which are furnished with a commission emanating
from the sovereign, who shall have given express authority for their
being fitted out, and with a certificate from the proper naval
authority that they have been placed under his control during their
fitting out and on their final departure, and that they were then
appropriated solely to the purpose of their mission, shall be
considered neutral, as well as the whole of their staff. They shall
be recognized and protected by the belligerents.
They shall make themselves known by hoisting, together with their
national flag, the white flag with a red cross. The distinctive mark
of their staff, while performing their duties, shall be an armlet of
the same colors.
The outer painting of these hospital ships shall be white, with red
strake.
These ships shall bear aid and assistance to the wounded and wrecked
belligerents, without distinction of nationality.
They must take care not to interfere in any way with the movements
of the combatants. During and after the battle they must do their
duty at their own risk and peril.
The belligerents shall have the right of controlling and visiting
them; they will be at liberty to refuse their assistance, to order
them to depart, and to detain them if the exigencies of the case
require such a step.
The wounded and wrecked picked up by these ships cannot be reclaimed
by either of the combatants, and they will be required not to serve
during the continuance of the war.
ART. XIV. In naval wars any strong presumption that either
belligerent takes advantage of the benefits of neutrality, with any
other view than the interest of the sick and wounded, gives to the
other belligerent, until proof to the contrary, the right of
suspending the Convention Treaty, as regards such belligerent.
Should this presumption become a certainty, notice may be given to
such belligerent that the convention is suspended with regard to him
during the whole continuance of the war.
ART. XV. The present act shall be drawn up in a single original
copy, which shall be deposited in the archives of the Swiss
Confederation.
An authentic copy of this act shall be delivered, with an invitation
to adhere to it, to each of the signatory powers of the convention
of the twenty-second of August, 1864, as well as to those that have
successively acceded to it.
In faith whereof, the undersigned commissaries have drawn up the
present project of additional articles and have affixed thereunto
the seals of their arms:
Von Roeder,
F. Löffler,
Köhler,
Dr. Mundy,
Steiner,
Dr. Dompierre,
Visschers,
J.B.G. Galiffe,
D. Felice Baroffio,
Paalo Cottrau,
H.A. Van Karnebeck,
Westenberg,
F.N. Staaff,
G.H. Dufour,
G. Moynier,
A. Coupvent des Bois,
H. de Préval,
John Saville Lumley,
H.R. Yelverton,
Dr. S. Lehmann,
Husny,
Dr. C. Hahn,
Dr. Fichte.
[_International Bulletin, January, 1882._]
THE GENEVA CONVENTION IN THE UNITED STATES.
The friends of the Red Cross are not ignorant that the list of States
which have signed the Geneva Convention presents a grave and lamentable
lack. One of the most civilized nations of the world, and consequently
one of the best prepared to subscribe to the principles of this treaty,
that is to say, the United States of America, does not appear there.
Their absence is so much the more surprising because the proceedings of
the Geneva Convention have only been, in some respects, the partial
reproduction of the celebrated "Instructions of the American Army,"
edited by the late Dr. Lieber, and adopted by President Lincoln (April
24, 1863), and put in practice by the armies of the North during the war
of secession. More than this, it is remembered that the Government at
Washington had been represented at the Diplomatic Conference of Geneva
in 1864 by two delegates at the debates relative to the Geneva
Convention, but without being furnished with sufficient power to sign
it. [Protocol of the session of August 9, 1864.] These were Messrs.
George J. Fogg, United States Minister at Berne, and Charles S.P.
Bowles, European Agent of the American Sanitary Commission.
It was expected, then, that the adhesion of the United States would soon
follow, but nothing came of it. Nevertheless, in the hope that this
result would not be too long delayed, an aid society was formed at New
York in 1866, when the civil war had come to an end, to gather in some
way the heritage of the Sanitary Commission, which had just filled with
much brilliancy, and during several years, the rôle of a veritable Red
Cross Society.
One might have thought that the Berlin Conference in 1869 would be a
determining circumstance which would induce the United States to enter
into the European concert.
The invitation to assist at the Conference at Berlin in 1869 was
addressed to the Government of the United States, which declined it with
thanks, as not having taken part in the Convention of Geneva. The
society of which we have just spoken was in like manner invited, but it
also was not represented.
This double absence called out a proposition from M. Hepke, privy
counsellor of the legation, a proposition, supported by the signatures
of thirty-eight other delegates present, and adopted unanimously by the
members of the Conference.
The text of it was as follows:
"The Conference having arrived at the end of their labors, express a
lively regret at having been deprived of the precious assistance of the
delegates from the United States of North America, convinced that the
great and noble nation which, one of the first in the world, has
rendered eminent services to the great humanitarian work, will welcome
with sympathy the results of their labors, the Conference desires that
the protocols of these sessions shall be addressed by their President to
the Government of the United States of North America, and to the
different aid committees which exist in that country."
That step unfortunately remained without results. The society which had
its seat at New York, comprehending that its existence would be
unnatural and its position false so long as the government refused to
sign the convention, finished by dissolving towards the end of 1872.