The American Red Cross Bulletin (Vol. IV, No. 3)

VOL. IV. JULY, 1909. No. 3.

AMERICAN
RED CROSS
BULLETIN

NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS
WASHINGTON D C

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(Issued Quarterly.)

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TWO U.S. PATENTS JUNE 5, 1900

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RETAIL PRICES

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Officers

President,
HON. WILLIAM H. TAFT.

Vice-President,
ROBERT W. de FOREST.

Treasurer,
HON. CHAS. D. NORTON.

Counselor,
HON. LLOYD W. BOWERS.

Secretary,
CHARLES L. MAGEE.

Chairman of Central Committee,
MAJOR-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS, U. S. A. (Ret.)

National Director,
ERNEST P. BICKNELL.

Board of Consultation

BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEORGE H. TORNEY,
Surgeon-General, U. S. Army.

REAR ADMIRAL PRESLEY M. RIXEY,
Surgeon-General, U. S. Navy.

SURGEON-GENERAL WALTER WYMAN,
U. S. Public Health and Marine Hospital Service.

Central Committee 1908-1909

Note—Attention is invited to the recent changes in the Officers and Central Committee members.

The President of the United States has appointed Hon. Huntington Wilson, Hon. Charles D. Norton, Brigadier General George H. Torney and Hon. Lloyd W. Bowers members of the Central Committee to represent the Departments of State, Treasury, War and Justice, respectively. The Executive Committee has elected Hon. Charles D. Norton Treasurer and Hon. Lloyd W. Bowers Counselor to fill the vacancies caused by the resignations of the former Treasurer and Counselor.

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PREFACE

Hardly had our Red Cross work for the Sicilian and Calabrian earthquake sufferers come to an end when a new field for help opened before our American Society. This time it was not some great catastrophe of nature’s doings, but man’s inhumanity to man that brought about the need of aid and as from Macedonia of old again arose the cry, “Come over and help us.” In Eastern Turkey lay this field of suffering, and of the Red Cross help the July Bulletin gives a brief statement, hoping later to receive a fuller report from the field itself.

So great was the devastation wrought by the earthquake in Italy that later the less serious one in Portugal almost escaped our attention, but among a number of villages there has been much suffering and distress so that our Society was glad to send some small but tangible expression[4] of our sympathy in its relief work to the Portuguese Red Cross. We have not forgotten the contributions it sent to the American Red Cross in 1898 for our sick and wounded during the war with Spain.

The article on Italy by Mr. Ernest P. Bicknell, National Director of the Red Cross, with illustrations furnished by Lieutenant Commander Belknap, U. S. N., of the houses erected under his supervision will, we are sure, deeply interest our readers.

Two special departments will be noted in the Bulletin, one of the Relief Column and First Aid and the other on Tuberculosis, lines of work along which our Red Cross has plans for large and earnest development.

The Red Cross is needed. It is a blessing in many ways to the peoples of the world. It brings them closer together in the days of trouble and teaches them that nations, like men, are brothers. In America our Red Cross should aim to make itself one of the strongest and most helpful in this brotherhood of nations.

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MASSACRES IN ASIATIC TURKEY

The spirit of unrest was seething in Turkey and the old antagonism that from the time of the crusades has existed between the cross and the crescent was ready to break out into action. On the 10th of April, at Adana, a town in Eastern Turkey, not far west of Alexandretta, an Armenian and a Turk were killed. This kindled into life the flames of hatred and on the 14th they burst forth in ferocious massacres. The Moslems being in the majority the Armenians suffered terribly. Throughout that part of the country it is estimated that some twenty-five thousand persons have been massacred during this reign of terror. Their houses and shops were pillaged and burned, and those who escaped fled in terror for their lives. The Government, in the person of the Vali, was either unable or unwilling to put a stop to this appalling destruction of human life and property. Once started the scenes of horror were repeated in town after town in the eastern provinces. At Tarsus several hundred Armenian houses were burned and in the yard of the American College were sheltered and[6] protected 4,000 refugees. At Antioch, forty miles south of Alexandretta, the Armenian population of 7,000 was nearly annihilated. Kurds, Arabs and Circassians besieged the small Armenian villages, pillaging and burning the houses, killing the men and carrying the women into captivity. At Adana and Tarsus 15,000 and at Mersina 5,000 refugees were in dire distress and need while many more women and children escaped from the villages and were hiding in the mountains. The atrocities perpetrated reduced the people to a state of terror and despair. If some small village of Armenians succeeded in resisting the besiegers its inhabitants were soon reduced to the verge of starvation. Mr. Kennedy, an American missionary, secured some 450 Turkish soldiers and went to the relief of Deurtyul, an Armenian village of 10,000 inhabitants, on the coast, which was being besieged by hordes of Kurds and Circassians. The water supply having been cut off, the people were dependent upon the rain that fell, the children drinking from the water that collected in the footprints of animals. Frantic appeals for help and protection came down from scores of villages and the foreign consuls at Aleppo cabled to their Governments word of the great distress of thousands of refugees.

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Thanks to the efforts of our Consul General, Mr. Ravndal, at Beirut, assisted by the French Cruiser “Jules Ferry,” Latakia in Syria was relieved. Thousands of women and children, most of the men having been killed, were being besieged there. Appeals to the Vali of Adana continued useless. Conflagrations were continually breaking out and often the entire city was threatened. Thousands of the refugees were homeless and without any means of earning their livelihood. Bodies of the dead were scattered through the streets and the pedestrian who ventured forth had to pick his way so as not to step upon them. One writer says in half an hour he counted twelve wagon loads of Armenian dead being carried to the river and in the Turkish Cemetery graves were being dug by the wholesale.

At Adana four hospitals were established; doctors and nurses were sent from Beirut and Tarsus. Women, children and even babies suffered from severe wounds. Among the hundreds in one hospital the average of wounds to each person was four. Thousands of refugees were without food, clothing and bedding. Those sheltered at the American Missions were completely disarmed before being received so that, to obtain as far as possible immunity from attack for the missions. There was not enough water to drink nor to dress the wounds. Garbage and filth collected in the streets and diseases of all kinds began to reap their harvest.

On April 28th, in response to an inquiry if financial assistance was advisable addressed to the American Ambassador at Constantinople by the State Department, at the suggestion of the Red Cross, the following dispatch was received:

Immediately upon receipt of the above cablegram the Red Cross appropriated one thousand dollars from its General Emergency Fund which was cabled by the Secretary of State to Mr. Leishman; and the Branch Societies were requested to announce through the press that the Red Cross would receive and forward to the Ambassador at Constantinople any contributions for relief work in Turkey.

On May 6th a further remittance of $5,000 was sent by the Red Cross to the Ambassador.

The Relief Committee at Beirut, of which the American Consul General, Mr. Ravndal, is chairman, cabled to the Red Cross on May 10th, requesting that it be permitted to act regardless of source of funds as Red Cross agents, rendering full accounts. This Committee had already raised about ten thousand dollars and had dispatched to Adana for doctors and trained nurses. With the full approval of the American Ambassador[9] this Committee was recognized as its agent with full power to use the Red Cross flag to protect its hospitals and field force.

On May 13th $5,000 more was cabled to the Ambassador by the Red Cross as a contribution from the Christian Herald, with the request that $2,000 be sent to Mr. Nesbit Chambers, of Adana, $2,000 to Thomas D. Christie, Tarsus, and $1,000 to Mr. Ravndal, Chairman of the Relief Committee at Beirut.

On May 6th the Armenian Relief Committee organized in New York sent a special Committee, Dr. A. Ayvazian, Chairman, and Col. Mesup Newton Kahn, to the New York Red Cross Branch to ask if the American Red Cross would receive and dispense the funds raised by their Committee. In reply to this inquiry forwarded from New York the National Headquarters telegraphed its consent to receive and administer such funds, stating its desire to be as efficient in Armenia as it had been in other theatres of relief and that in this work it had the co-operation of the State Department and the American Ambassador at Constantinople.

On May 19th, $2,500 received from this Armenian Committee was cabled to the Ambassador with the request that it be distributed to Armenian sufferers of all denominations with the co-operation of the Armenian Patriarch in Adana, the Reverend Kevrok Arslandan.

On May 28th a further remittance of $1,500 was sent with a like request. This included a second remittance of $1,000 from the Armenian Committee, making a total of $20,000 sent for the relief in Turkey.

On June 16 an additional $5,000 was received from the Christian Herald, and was cabled to Turkey on the same day with instructions to distribute it in the same manner as the remittance of the 13th of May.

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The last dispatch received by the State Department on June 3rd, and transmitted by the First Assistant Secretary of State to the Red Cross, reads as follows:

The Italian earthquake occurred on December twenty-eighth and exactly two months later, on February twenty-eighth, 1909, I arrived in Rome. My first duty was to familiarize myself with the working plans of the American Relief Committee. Although Rome is about three hundred and fifty miles from Messina, it was the headquarters of the chief agencies engaged in relief operations. Through the kindness of the American Ambassador, Honorable Lloyd C. Griscom, I was quickly brought into close relations with the American Relief Committee and with the officers at the head of the Italian Relief Organizations. Count Taverna, President of the Italian Red Cross, and Count Somaglia, the Vice-President, showed me every courtesy and gave me all the information possible. The hurried emergency work of the early days had been largely closed at this time. Most of the injured had been discharged from hospitals, the field hospitals had been closed, and the relief operations had settled down to a long, slow struggle to help people of the ruined communities to make a fresh start in life.

Many thousands of sufferers from the calamity had been removed to Naples, Rome, Palermo, Catania and other cities immediately after the earthquake. This made necessary the organization of extensive relief measures in numerous cities which were not themselves sufferers. After two months, this work outside the earthquake zone had been greatly reduced, though still requiring considerable attention. Many public spirited men and women gave important services through these outside organizations without actually going to the scene of the disaster.

At Rome I also met Miss Katherine B. Davis, who had just ended her brilliant relief administration in Syracuse, to which city more than a thousand injured persons had been taken from Messina. Miss Davis had gone to Sicily worn out with hard work as Superintendent of the Reformatory for Women at Bedford, New York, and was looking forward to a long restful vacation. She arrived the day after the earthquake and probably performed the most strenuous and trying work of her life during the following two months. The people everywhere were speaking in terms of highest praise of what she had done, which was not only valuable in itself but which set an example, copied in Palermo. Naples and elsewhere.

Mr. Edmund Billings, of Boston, who, as the representative of the Massachusetts Relief Committee, spent six weeks in Sicily, also reached Rome at this time. Mr. Billings had cultivated close relations with the local relief administrators and in this way had been enabled to apply his relief funds with a personal knowledge of the extent of the need and the method of their distribution in each instance.

Policy of the American Committee.

The American Committee had occupied a delicate position in the midst of a group of active Italian relief agencies. It was necessary to avoid giving offense to any, as well as to keep out of the special fields[12] of work in which the Italian agencies were occupied. So well did the Committee conduct its operations that I heard of no instance of dissatisfaction or criticism of its efforts. The Committee took no step until it had consulted the men in charge of the Italian relief work. It either appropriated specific sums of money for the use of other of the most efficient Italian organizations or it carefully selected relief tasks which had not been undertaken by others. In fact the American Committee had gained the enviable reputation of having ready cash instantly available for any important piece of work for which cash from other sources was not immediately to be had.

After a few days in Rome I went to Messina, where I arrived in the early morning. As we drew into the land-locked harbor heavy clouds obscured the surrounding mountains and a driving rain swept the desolate ruins which were spread out before us. White as snow at her anchorage swung the United States supply ship Celtic with her flag floating high above the shattered quay and the heaps of debris which clogged the crescent-shaped water front. On board the Celtic Captain Harry P. Huse, in command, gave me a cordial welcome and immediately solved for me the problem of a place to sleep and eat. Captain Huse had distributed his cargo and surrendered most of his subordinate officers and crew for shore duty. Big and energetic, he himself paced the long decks of the Celtic somewhat restively because of his own enforced idleness.

With headquarters also upon the Celtic was Lieutenant Commander R. R. Belknap, Naval Attachè of the American Embassy at Rome, but now in full charge of the work of constructing the American cottages in the earthquake district. Captain Belknap is clear headed, tireless, executive to his finger tips, and a most courteous and considerate gentleman to meet. He had his hands full with clearing and laying off the land upon which American houses were to be built in Messina and Reggio and the organization of his working force consisting of half a[13] dozen young American naval officers, about thirty American jackies and several hundred native mechanics and laborers. The first of the ships bearing lumber from America was expected in a day or two and arrangements for unloading the lumber upon lighters, transferring it thence to the dock, then loading it upon ox-carts and hauling it by circuitous ways through the ruins to the sites where it was to be used, demanded much attention. The revising of plans for the houses to adapt them to the Italian needs, the making of itemized estimates of cost and the letting of certain contracts also required time and much knowledge of local conditions. Captain Belknap usually worked a couple of hours before breakfast and the light in his cabin was the last to be extinguished at night.

A few days later when the first American ship anchored in the harbor, with lumber for five hundred American houses on board, a new activity began. Teams of great red oxen with horns of tremendous reach, each team attached to a massive two-wheeled cart, blocked the water front while a crowd of noisy, hustling Italian laborers, like ants about an ant hill, carried the lumber piece by piece and stacked it high upon the creaking vehicles. Processions of loaded carts moved sinuously among the ruins, each driver guiding his oxen by ropes attached to their horns and by means of mournful cries which the animals seemed to understand.

Impressions of Messina.

At this time Messina presented a strange and sorrowful picture. In the midst of some of the most beautiful scenery in the world the city lay a center of horror and desolation. All the world is familiar, through descriptions and photographs, with the appearance of the ruins of the city. These ruins had not been cleared away at the time of which I write. Certain winding paths had been cleared through a few important streets. San Martino, a street extending straight back from the harbor through the city, was so wide that the heaps of debris on either side left a considerable[14] clear area in the center. Along San Martino all the life and business of the city had gathered. Tiny, shapeless huts of fragments of lumber, sheet iron, blankets, tin and scraps of cloth were crowded into this open space and swarmed with huddling people. Microscopic stocks of food and clothing were on sale in some of these huts. A temporary postoffice occupied a wooden shack in the center of the street and more cabs than one would have supposed could have been saved from the disaster drove madly back and forth through the clutter of huts and throngs of people. The most conspicuous business was the sale of postcards, picturing the results of the earthquake. At midday San Martino was crowded with probably ten thousand persons; at dark the unlighted street was empty. The disappearance of the people at night was a mystery which aroused much comment. The available shelter seemed to be absurdly inadequate to the need. The people in fact slept under the broken arches and in doorways and behind or beneath any projections or rude contrivances which gave protection from the almost incessant rains.

Oppressed by the sense of the tragedy of the city a visitor was at first shocked to see the crowds in San Martino engaged in business, haggling and bargaining, quarrelling and jesting in quite a natural manner.

In all directions through the miles of ruins were to be seen knots of people gathered upon the sites of their former homes. Each group consisted of certain members of the family, three or four workmen with shovels and a soldier. The workmen were digging into the ruins to uncover the bodies of victims of the disaster and to recover any property of value which might be buried there. The soldier was assigned to the duty of guarding and directing the work and preventing curious or dishonest persons from interfering or carrying away property. At the side of each group would be observed one or more rough wooden boxes waiting to receive the bodies for which the workmen were searching. At[15] this time it was officially estimated by the military authorities in control of Messina that twenty thousand bodies had been removed and that forty thousand bodies still remained undiscovered. About two hundred bodies a day were being taken out in the month of March. As the larger houses of the city had suffered the most complete destruction, it followed that the loss of life among the resourceful and well-to-do had been greater than among the poor who lived in the smaller structures. It was estimated roughly by Italian officials that ninety per cent. of the dead in Messina belonged to the resourceful class.

Burying the Dead.

Sad and terrible as was the task of disinterring the bodies of the dead and burying them in the cemeteries, it was inevitable that the work carried on day after day should become a commonplace occupation and that the men engaged in it should eventually regard it with something of the same indifference with which any other daily task is regarded. This may be illustrated by an incident which was observed one hot afternoon. Four workmen, carrying upon their shoulders a box containing a body, were hurrying to the burial place in one of the cemeteries. The men were laughing and jesting as they moved rapidly along a rough road. Behind the men followed an old woman in rusty black, struggling painfully to keep up with the box. Under her arm she carried a small cross such as is placed at the head of each grave as the dead are buried. When the burial place was reached the men carelessly placed the box upon the ground and hastened away without a word. No grave was ready to receive the body and the old woman sat down on the ground beside the box, still clinging to the little cross. It would probably be some hours before the over-worked force of grave diggers had prepared a place for this particular body, and the old woman in the meantime sat in the broiling sun beside the rough coffin. She feared that if the body[16] was buried in her absence she would not be able to identify the grave thereafter. So she sat there during the long afternoon, occasionally caressing the rough boards with tender hands.

Carts or groups of carriers bearing other coffins were continually arriving. It was impossible for the grave diggers to keep up with their task and the grass for a long distance about was covered with the waiting boxes.

A special cemetery was set apart for the burial of the unidentified dead. In this cemetery pits about thirty feet long, twelve feet wide and six feet deep were prepared and the boxes were stacked in them in tiers, about one hundred boxes to each pit. By the middle of March about twenty-five hundred unidentified bodies had been buried in this cemetery. The condition of the bodies taken from the ruins at this late date and the oncoming of hot weather made it imperative that all possible haste should be insisted upon. No ceremony whatever accompanied the burial or the preparation for it. Bodies were placed in the boxes the moment they were exhumed from the ruins, a little later were placed on carts and driven directly to the cemetery.

Extent of the Disaster.

It is unnecessary here to speak at length upon the extent of the disaster. The earthquake affected a strip of land on each side of the Straits of Messina. The extreme dimensions of the affected area were about fifty miles from North to South and perhaps forty miles from East to West. Within this area no town or village escaped entire or partial destruction. In all more than fifty cities, towns, villages and communes were destroyed. The lowest estimate which I heard of the number of persons made homeless was five hundred thousand. Estimates of the dead range from one hundred thousand to two hundred and fifty thousand. In the course of my travels about the region I visited about twenty-five cities, towns and villages, among them all the larger ones. Wherever I went I inquired of the local authorities, who seemed best informed, concerning the loss of life. Based upon the answers to these inquiries and my own observations, I have reached the conclusion that the estimates of the number of dead have been uniformly too large. When the final estimates are made, after all bodies have been accounted for, I doubt whether the total will exceed seventy-five thousand.

I have seen no estimate of the property loss and it is doubtful whether any approximately accurate estimate can be made. Neither have I seen any figures of the amount of insurance carried on property but the result of inquiries indicates that the total insurance was comparatively small. The Italian people do not seem to have very fully adopted the policy of insuring their property. Unless such insurance as was held covered loss by earthquake, the owners of property can, in any event, collect little, if anything, from the insurance companies. The poverty of this part of Italy, coupled with the overwhelming magnitude of the loss, both of property and life, must make recovery exceedingly slow. The Italian Government is preparing to introduce measures of great liberality intended to help the people re-establish themselves.

Most of the descriptions and photographs of the results of the earthquake have applied chiefly to the City of Messina, because it was the largest city in the earthquake zone and was the point to which relief measures were first of all directed and at which lines of transportation from the outside world centered. Tourists invariably get their first view[17] of the earthquake at Messina and many of them go no further. Descriptions of conditions in Messina, however, convey a fair idea of conditions in all the other ruined cities and towns. Messina had over one hundred thousand population, Reggio about forty thousand, Palmi about twenty thousand, Villa San Giovanni about seven thousand. These were the largest communities in the region affected by the disaster. The ruin everywhere was as complete in proportion to population as was that in Messina. In Reggio about fifteen thousand lives were lost, in Palmi five or six thousand, in Villa San Giovanni about fifteen hundred.

Relief measures were slow to reach the smaller towns lying among the mountains back from the coast. Many of these towns are upon mountain tops and are inaccessible except by donkey trails. The difficulty of access made the work of relief particularly difficult and it is probable that the suffering for food and shelter was greater in the mountain towns than in the larger cities on the coast.

Tidal Wave.

Much was said in early reports about the tidal wave which followed the earthquake. Had the tidal wave occurred alone, it would have been regarded as a great disaster. But overshadowed as it was by the earthquake, it forms but a small item in the sum total of ruin. The wave did not cause much damage on the shores of Sicily, its chief force being expended upon the Calabrian coast. As the wave rushed into the small bays, the funnel shape of the shores piled the water up higher and higher until at the apex of the bays it had reached a height of many feet and rushed across the low lands adjacent with irresistible force. If a village happened to be situated at the innermost point of a bay, it suffered great damage from the wave. Some injury was done in the harbor of Reggio in this way and some at Villa San Giovanni. The chief sufferer from the tidal wave, however, was the little town of Pellaro. Pellaro was, like other Italian towns, constructed entirely of stone and[18] mortar. It was built up solidly along one or two streets which were parallel to the shore. Immediately in the rear of the village were large lemon orchards. The earthquake shook the buildings down and about ten minutes afterward the tidal wave came in and leveled the heaps of ruins in a manner which amazed all who went over the ground later. It was almost impossible to discover the street lines or to identify the sites of the houses. The stones of which the buildings were constructed were carried hundreds of yards inland and scattered among the lemon trees. The entire site of the village was reduced to a dead level and one found it difficult to believe that a town of fifteen hundred population had ever occupied the place. About nine hundred of the people of Pellaro were killed by the earthquake or tidal wave and hundreds of bodies were carried out to sea by the receding waters.

How Catania Helped.

As before mentioned, many Italian cities outside the earthquake zone received and cared for large numbers of earthquake victims. Catania in Sicily with about one hundred and fifty thousand population was closest of these outside cities to the scene of the disaster and was the most accessible of all. The result was that at least twenty-five thousand people from Messina and other destroyed towns were carried into Catania for care. Several thousand of these victims required hospital attention, and all the regular and many improvised hospitals were quickly crowded. The municipal authorities of Catania, with boundless generosity, undertook to provide shelter and support for this tremendous influx of helpless people. Numerous large institutions and vacant private buildings were converted into refuges. There had been no time to make proper preparation for the comfort of these people and it should not be held the fault of Catania that the conditions in the refuges quickly took on a deplorable character.

The best of the refuges was that provided in the new municipal prison. This is a vast, massive stone building, with stone cells and[19] the iron bars and grim, echoing corridors which characterize modern prisons. The building was barely completed and had never been occupied. Everything was clean and wholesome and sanitary provisions were ample. When I visited Catania in March twelve hundred men, women and children from Messina and other earthquake towns were living in this prison in comfort. It was strange to hear baby voices and the lullabys of women in the cells and about the long passages. The great number of cells made it possible to segregate the people by families or by sex and to give to each family a certain amount of privacy. Probably no other great prison ever received a dedication so strange as this.

Bowdoin and Wood.

Between Messina and the mountain town of Taormina, thirty miles to the South, lies a chain of towns and villages which were destroyed by the earthquake. At Taormina, when the earthquake occurred, were two young Americans—Harry Bowdoin and Charles King Wood. Mr. Bowdoin was spending the winter in Taormina with his invalid mother and Mr. Wood is an artist who has lived in Taormina for several years. These men entered with the utmost zeal upon the work of relief. Taormina was not injured, but it lay close to the edge of the zone of destruction and many hundreds of fleeing victims sought refuge there. Others in Taormina also participated actively in relief work, but gradually Messrs. Bowdoin and Wood came to be recognized as the leaders. Afterwards, by common consent, these two young men became representatives[20] of the American Committee in the small towns between Messina and Taormina. Day and night they went up and down the coast and back among the mountain communes, carrying comfort and good cheer. They organized local Committees in every community, gathering relief from the points of distribution at Messina and Catania and conveyed it to these local Committees. Without compensation and with a modesty which shrank from any words of commendation, these Americans performed a laborious and delicate task in a manner to stir the pride of their fellow countrymen.

Difficulties of Obtaining Information.

In attempting to secure reliable information of the methods and extent of relief measures in the earthquake zone, I found an obliging readiness on the part of those in charge at any given point to give me all the facts desired concerning their own respective agencies and a somewhat surprising ignorance of the operations in the same field of any other relief agencies. This in part arose from a deplorable lack of co-operation among the different agencies engaged in relief work and perhaps in part from a spirit of competition and pride which led each representative to desire to have it appear that the agency which he served was the chief factor in the situation. This may be illustrated by an incident which occurred one day when I was visiting the town of Villa San Giovanni.

I took lunch with the Mayor of the town and in the course of conversation inquired of him whether the Italian National Red Cross had participated in the relief work of his town. He replied, with a shrug of his shoulders and in emphatic language, that the Red Cross had given no assistance in Villa San Giovanni; that it might as well have no existence so far as the people of his community had had occasion to know of it. After our luncheon was completed, the Mayor was called away to attend to official matters and I walked up the street toward the municipal[21] headquarters, which were in a small, temporary wooden building. Presently I saw coming down the street in a cloud of dust, a large red automobile. Fluttering from a short staff on the front was a Red Cross flag. The motor drew up with a flourish in front of the Municipal building and two men with Red Cross brassards on their arms dismounted and began unloading several hundred articles of clothing from the tonneau. These they were carrying into the building and stacking up on the floor in one corner of the Mayor’s office. I entered into conversation with the man in charge of the Red Cross car. He told me that the Red Cross was sending out a number of automobiles every day from Reggio and Messina to deliver supplies of clothing to the people in the surrounding small towns. I asked him how it happened that he had not before visited Villa San Giovanni. He looked surprised and replied that he had brought several loads of clothing to this place before. Turning to his companion, they compared notes, and he then informed me that this was the seventh visit which they had paid to Villa San Giovanni, each time bringing a large quantity of clothing. Replying to further inquiries he assured me that he and his companion in no instance distributed clothing direct to the people, but had always brought their goods to the municipal headquarters and turned them over to the Mayor for distribution.

Work of Italian Red Cross.

It is unnecessary here to speak at length of the relief work of the Italian Red Cross, since the public is already familiar with it. Two months after the earthquake the largest part of the work of the Red Cross had been completed and the greater part of its relief funds expended. Immediately after the earthquake the Red Cross had a hospital ship which carried the sick and wounded from Messina to Naples, and ran a hospital train which conveyed many of the victims from Naples to Rome. The Red Cross also established and maintained ten field hospitals in different parts of the earthquake zone, and carried on a work of great magnitude. When the task of dealing with the sick and wounded was about ended the Red Cross turned its activities in the direction of supplying relief, one of its methods being that of sending consignments of clothing to the small towns by means of motor cars.

The Common Soldier.

The Italian soldier was found everywhere throughout the earthquake district. He was called upon to perform the hardest work and the most trying tasks. Heat, cold and rain were alike to him. Living in the rudest shelters and subsisting upon the most meager fare, he was uniformly cheerful, good natured and obliging. His brave uniform and military trappings were in sharp contrast to his hard life and to his simplicity about which there was something winning and childlike. He received no sympathy nor expected any. I had many occasions to ask information or other assistance from the soldiers and found them always ready to go far beyond any mere demand of duty in meeting my wishes. When far from headquarters, I sometimes went to the shelter of the nearest group of soldiers for food. With a hospitality which was almost pathetic, the men would bring forth the best they had from their cupboards and chests and set it before me with apologies for its meagerness. The usual supply of food I found consisted of dry bread and the native[22] mild wine of the country. Occasionally a small can of meat or fish was found in their stock, but this was evidently regarded as a luxury only to be brought forth on special occasions.

Many Small Earthquakes.

The people of the country bordering on the Straits of Messina have always been accustomed to earthquakes. Slight tremors of the earth are likely to occur at any moment, as the record of any year would show. Since the disaster of December 28th last these small incidents are fraught with a new importance and frequently carry terror to the hearts of the population. Since the great earthquake many small ones have occurred. There may be two or three in a day and then a period of several days with no perceptible tremor. Occasionally one of these little earthquakes comes with a sharp bang and a swift rattle which distinguishes it from its milder and less noticeable fellows. In such instances the people rush wildly from their huts and shelters calling out anxiously to each other and exhibiting signs of the keenest alarm. Especially in the night is the terror pronounced. After a few minutes, finding that no harm has been done, the excited people become calm, retire once more to their shelters, and the clamor gradually quiets down.

Some odd effects of these earthquakes at night are observed. The commonest beasts of burden are the small donkeys. There are literally thousands of these animals in and about Southern Italian towns. Whenever a rather sharp earthquake occurs at night every donkey immediately sets up an excited braying and for a few moments the air for miles resounds with their unearthly noise.

This country is the home of a small tree frog which inhabits the lemon orchards and clumps of trees and shrubbery. During all the night these frogs keep up an incessant trilling which sets the atmosphere a-quiver. The slightest earthquake brings them to instant silence. After five minutes or so of quiet, following the earthquake, one will hear a few of the boldest frogs tuning up again in a timid and hesitating manner. In another moment the other frogs also become emboldened and a little later the concert is again in full swing.

Temporary Houses.

Everybody is familiar with the fact that much money contributed by America to the relief of Italy has been expended in the erection of small wooden houses for the temporary shelter of the people who lost their homes by the earthquake. About four hundred fifty thousand dollars of the money appropriated by Congress and about one hundred seventy-five thousand dollars of money contributed through the Red Cross have been applied to the purchase of materials for some thirty-three hundred houses and the actual expense of erecting about twenty-four hundred of this number. The lumber, hardware, glass and all other necessary materials for the building of about nine hundred houses were turned over to the Italian authorities, who undertook to scatter this number of houses in small groups among many different towns where they would be erected by the people themselves.

Each one of these houses is sixteen by twenty feet in outside dimensions. It is enclosed with a good quality of weather boarding, has a good floor and a composition roof which is expected to endure for not less than five years. Some of these houses are partitioned into three[23] small rooms, while others are left in the form of a single large apartment. Upon the rear of each cottage is built a kitchen about eight feet square with a brick floor and with two walls of brick. In the angle formed by the two brick walls is a brick arch with a flat top. This forms the cooking stove with which the Italian is familiar. In the flat top of the arch are two openings containing wrought iron baskets to hold the charcoal which is the universal fuel of the country.

The common people of Italy are accustomed to living in stone houses with stone or earth floors and have no idea of the importance of care in handling fire. The houses they have always known have been fireproof and it has not been uncommon for them to build fires on the floor of their living rooms. It is hoped that the provision of these small semi-fireproof kitchens will prove a sufficient safeguard against fire, but there is considerable apprehension that the inhabitants of the wooden houses may ignorantly or carelessly build fires in such a way as to destroy some of the buildings. As these stand close together, it is conceivable that a fire might start on a windy day and destroy a large number of the houses before it could be checked. The houses are built in blocks of twelve, each block fronting in all directions upon streets thirty feet wide, but within the block the houses are only about six feet apart. In the open quadrangle in the center of each block are the sanitary arrangements and the water supply for the twelve houses composing the block.

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On a beautiful plateau, sloping gradually toward the Strait and commanding a magnificent view of the water and mountains of Calabria beyond, one thousand of the American houses have been built in the outskirts of Messina. This great group of houses is commonly referred to as the American Village or, as it is officially known to the Italian authorities, the Zona Case Americana. The Italian government issued a special order making this tract of land, for the time being, American soil and authorizing the Americans in charge of the work to float the United States flag over their headquarters. A pole was set up and with considerable ceremony the flag was hoisted while all the workmen, both American and Italian, and many Italian spectators from Messina listened to several short addresses and cheered lustily.

In the outskirts of Reggio, ten miles away across the Strait, upon another beautiful plateau, at the same time, was rising another American village of one thousand cottages. On the Northern boundary of Messina, sheltered by a towering hill, and commanding a lovely view of sea and mountain, is a pretty village of small wooden houses named after the Queen of Italy, Villagio Regina Elena. In this village the Americans have erected about one hundred houses. At the expressed wish of the Queen they have also built a small but model hospital of six pavilions. To this institution the Queen has given the name of “Elizabeth Griscom Hospital,” in honor of the wife of the American Ambassador to Italy.

All of these building operations are under the direction of Lieutenant Commander Belknap. In this he has had the efficient assistance of Lieutenant Allan Buchanan and Ensign J. W. Wilcox, two capable young[25] American naval officers assigned to this duty from the naval yacht Scorpion, which spent the spring in the harbor at Naples. John Elliott, the well-known American artist of Rome, laid aside his brush and willingly became the architect and draftsman for this extensive American project. With headquarters in Reggio, Mr. Winthrop Chanler, of New York, took charge of the building of over two hundred American houses in some of the smaller towns near Reggio. Several young noblemen of Rome, fired with zeal to help in the work of relief, joined Mr. Chanler and, under his guidance, spent some weeks in individually going among the people in the ruined villages of Calabria, studying their particular needs and supplying them with tools, sewing machines, and other equipment necessary to enable them to become self-supporting.

At the end of March the lumber from America had been all unloaded from the five ships that carried it to Italy, the working forces engaged in putting up the cottages had been completely organized and Captain Belknap had the great satisfaction of reporting that twenty-four complete houses were erected every working day of ten hours. The American houses are turned over to the municipal authorities of Messina and Reggio and the assignment of the houses to individual families is in the hands of the municipal officers.

It should not be supposed that America is the only agency engaged in building temporary homes. Some have been built by other countries and a very large number by the provinces of Italy. I was informed at the office of the Minister of Public Works in Rome that sites had been assigned at the end of March for the erection of fifteen thousand eight hundred temporary houses. Considering the size of the average Calabrian or Sicilian family, it is probable that these temporary buildings will provide shelter for most of the survivors of the earthquake who are unable to obtain homes through other means.

Attitude of Italian Authorities.

This informal account of the situation in the earthquake zone, two months after the disaster, cannot with justice be closed without a word of appreciation, of the extremely friendly and helpful attitude of the Italian authorities. They gave every possible facility to Captain Belknap and his assistants, and the engineer who represented the Federal Department of Public Works in Messina co-operated with the American builders constantly and cordially. The Italian Navy assigned one of its brilliant young officers, Commandante Brofferio, to constant duty at the American encampment. He lived on board the supply ship Celtic until it sailed away for America and then with Captain Belknap and the other Americans moved into a group of the new cottages in the American Village. Practical, obliging, tireless and of few words, Commandante Brofferio soon became indispensable and was respected by every one. The Italian Navy also placed at the command of the American officers a torpedo boat for the purpose of conveying Captain Belknap and others back and forth across the Straits of Messina as their duties required. In every way the representatives of America, engaged in the work of Italian relief, have reason to regard the Italian federal and municipal officers, the officers of the army and navy and the heads of the Italian Red Cross and the Central National Committee with feelings of the highest esteem.

I have the honor to furnish additional details of the earthquake shock experienced here April 23 and already briefly reported by me in my No. 75 of that date.

It is now learned that while some slight damage in the way of fallen chimneys, cracked walls and ceilings was caused in Lisbon, very serious damage was done on the other side of the Tagus to the northeast. Four villages were completely destroyed, 37 persons were killed, a very large number wounded and some thousands made homeless. The greatest damage occurred at Benavente, about 23 miles from Lisbon.

Twenty persons lost their lives at Benavente and some idea of the severity of the earth movement there may be gathered from the fact that the great church, the walls of which were more than 13 feet thick, was entirely wrecked.

At Samora de Correia there were seven killed. At St. Estevao three were killed and two deaths occurred at Salvaterra de Magos. Nine hundred buildings were destroyed in this last place and some 3,000 persons made homeless. The other three villages are also heaps of ruins.

Telegraphic communication was destroyed and the news came by messengers. Instantly energetic measures were taken for the relief of the sufferers. A dozen doctors, full ambulance corps, a huge quantity of medical, surgical and other hospital supplies were rushed to the scene; police, engineers, fire brigades and soldiers were also sent and the King, accompanied by his uncle, Dom Affonso, were on the spot as quickly as special trains and automobiles could carry them after they received the news. The parliament voted unanimously $100,000 to be at once available for the relief of those needing it, and great quantities of provisions were sent to the afflicted district.

The shock here in Lisbon upset a small lamp in a shrine in a private house, setting it on fire. The King and Dom Affonso were there almost with the arrival of the firemen. Too much praise cannot be given to the cool, clear-headed, swift and effective aid extended, especially in view of the fact that Lisbon was utterly panic-stricken. The usual idiots had issued predictions that another and greater shock would occur in twenty-four hours. Two light shocks, at 2 o’clock and 6 o’clock the morning of April 24, and the fearful news from the Trans Tagus made terror yet greater. Thousands had passed the night in the streets. In the Avenida, in front of this Consulate, many hundred richly dressed women slept out under shelters made from the park benches and chairs with[27] shawls and rugs stretched over them to make a sort of roof. Amid this universal terror and fear everyone in authority gave evidence of coolness and energy. The newspapers used their heaviest type and great headlines for rational arguments to reassure the people; all parties in parliament praised the generous and energetic action of the King and the government, and the longest speech made in that body yesterday was devoted to counteracting the panic. There is no seismographical observatory or instruments in Portugal, but the scientists have come out with quieting explanations of what has happened and advised that all should think only how to relieve those who had actually suffered. I repeat that too much praise cannot be given for the able manner in which Portugal is handling the whole matter.

The last earthquake shock felt in Lisbon occurred in August, 1903, but was much less severe than this. Prior to that there was a shock in 1859. I have spoken with two gentlemen who were then here and they tell me it was not anything as severe as this. The whole lower city is built on made ground, filled in after the great earthquake of 1755, and in case of a severe shock great damage might be done there, but the new city is built on rock and all houses are built with a special view to withstanding earthquake shocks, having a skeleton of peculiarly and skillfully interlaced timbers that gives great elasticity and at the same time resistance.

While writing this I learn that the Portuguese Red Cross is already sending in stretchers and ambulances with the wounded from the villages to be taken care of in the Lisbon hospitals, and that doctors and nurses are now busily at work in the field. Thousands are still thronging the parks and wider avenues, but confidence is being gradually restored.

Examination of this Consulate yesterday revealed that the heavy moulded ceiling in the main business office is very badly cracked and a portion several feet square is liable to fall at any moment. The whole ceiling will probably have to be taken down. One of the large windows is also somewhat sprung. These damages are examples of the results of the shock in this city.

I do not believe that any foreign relief will be required and, should it be, our legation here would of course be the proper and natural channel by which such information would be forwarded. I have wished only to give a brief notice of the most salient features of the catastrophe, but could not refrain from saying an appreciative word regarding the splendid manner in which the calamity has been met, and I have had some experience in such things.

As later information the press told of much distress in spite of all the work done by the Portuguese Government and the Red Cross. The American Red Cross, through its representative in the State Department, Mr. Huntington Wilson, requested information as to whether any assistance would be accepted by the Portuguese Red Cross.

On May 17th the following reply was received from the American Minister at Lisbon: “Portuguese Red Cross accepts proffered assistance.” On receipt of this information the following message was sent to the Secretary of State:

“Will the Secretary of State please telegraph to the American Minister in Lisbon for, the Red Cross, as follows: ‘Draw for one thousand dollars and pay to Portuguese Red Cross for earthquake relief, contribution of American Red Cross.’”

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Our American Red Cross has not forgotten the fact, not generally known, that during the Spanish-American war the Portuguese Red Cross sent to the then president of the American Red Cross $1,465.00 for the care of our sick and wounded.

Under the advice of the American Ambassador at Rome and the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, T. Tittoni, $50,000 of the relief funds sent by the American Red Cross were placed in the hands of a special Italian Committee on rehabilitation. This Committee was called the Committee of American Offerings. The Chairman was Donna Tittoni and among its members were Countess Taverna, the Duke of Terranuova, the Marquis of San Ferdinaveto, Signor Tenerami and Signor Mario Ferdiani.

As a token of the appreciation of these offerings the Committee presented to the American Red Cross, through our National Director, Mr. Ernest P. Bicknell, a silver tablet upon which is inscribed the following Latin sentence:

Mr. Herbert Putnam, Librarian of Congress, in reply to a request for a translation and for the source of the quotation kindly wrote, “The quotation is from Velleius Paterculus, the Roman historian. It is part of a recital of the achievements of one of the Caesars, I believe (though this I have not verified), and might be rendered thus:

“Your bounty repaired the catastrophe (fortuita damna, i. e., accidental injury) not merely of individual citizens but of entire cities (communitas).”

[29]

The following table contains a preliminary statement of the Italian relief operations of the American Committee in Rome. A complete statement will be prepared later which will show a substantially larger expenditure. The table here given, however, conveys a very fair idea of the extent and variety of the extremely important work carried on by the American Committee.

Thousands of vouchers covering every item of expense have been preserved by the Committee and will eventually be filed in the office of the American Red Cross in connection with the report of the Committee. It will be recalled that the members of the American Committee in Rome were Honorable Lloyd C. Griscom, American Ambassador to Italy, Chairman, and Messrs. George B. Page, H. Nelson Gay, Winthrop Chanler, William Hooper and Samuel L. Parrish.

Note.—The amount of expenditures is given in terms of Italian money. It is to be remembered that one lira amounts substantially to twenty cents of United States money, and that accordingly the number of dollars expended was one-fifth of the number of lire indicated. For instance, 500 lire would be equivalent to $100; 100 lire, to $20, and so on.

At the time of presidential inaugurations between two and three hundred thousand strangers, including large civil and National Guard organizations, come to Washington. The great crowds at the railroad station, in public conveyances, on the streets, the excitement and exposure involved—all tend to produce an unusual number of accidents and sudden illnesses. Under the Inaugural Committee a sub-committee on Public Comfort has heretofore taken entire charge of such emergency cases as have arisen, but a need was felt for a number of well-equipped relief stations with a competent personnel to act in co-operation with the physicians of the city. The American Red Cross offered its services, which, having been accepted, it immediately began its work of preparation. A relief column with thirty-six members, many of whom were medical students, devoted two months to weekly instructions in First Aid and hospital drill. The first course was given by Dr. Charles S. White, lately resident physician of the Emergency Hospital, and the second by Captain Reynolds, of the U. S. Army Medical Service. Each of these surgeons kindly donated their time and services for these instructions. The District Red Cross Branch, at an expense of over three hundred dollars, provided uniforms and equipment for the members as prescribed in Major Lynch’s Red Cross First Aid Book. Through the New York Branch the Brooklyn Relief Column was invited to take part and promptly accepted the invitation, meeting themselves the expense of their uniforms, equipment and transportation.

The question of the nursing personnel was next considered. The committee on nurses of the District Branch secured thirty-six of its enrolled Red Cross nurses, each nurse promising to secure a substitute in case she was prevented from serving. Besides those from the District the Pennsylvania Branch sent eleven, the New York and the Maryland Branches each five. These branches paid for the transportation of the nurses and the National Executive Committee defrayed their expenses here. The salary of the six nurses who were on duty for the week at the Railroad Relief Station, two nurses being on duty for each eight hours in the twenty-four, and those of the nurses who were on duty parts of several days at the Pension Office station were paid by the National Executive Committee, but the nurses who were on duty for the day of the inauguration all gave their services.

Thanks to the Army Medical Service and to the Quartermaster General’s Department twenty-two hospital tents, with a complete equipment of cots, tables, chairs, oil stoves and field hospital chests for all of these stations, was procured. It is always a great help as well as a pleasure to have the Army as an assistant in any Red Cross work, and too much praise cannot be given to the efficient and prompt assistance its officers are always ready to render the Red Cross. Major Merritte W. Ireland, of the Surgeon General’s Office, knew what was required and how and where to obtain everything not only for the relief stations along the line of march, but for the larger station at the Union Station and for a complete small hospital equipment, with operating room, installed at the Pension Office. Major William E. Horton, of the Quartermaster’s Department, under direction of the Quartermaster-General, procured the tents, made plans for wooden beam foundations, where they had to be raised[34] on asphalt, and the Chief of Staff gave an order for a detail of soldiers to put them up. General Johnston, who was the marshal in charge of the inaugural parade, gave the Red Cross every assistance in his power, as did Major Sylvester, Chief of Police.

Dr. D. Percy Hickling was Chairman of the Sub-committee on the Hospital and Ambulance Service, Dr. Wm. P. Reeves and Dr. Emory W. Reisinger had charge of the Emergency Hospitals at the Union Station and the Inaugural Ball, respectively, and Dr. Frank E. Gibson of the relief stations along the line of march. All of these busy physicians, with a large number of others, gave up many hours of their time to this work and the Red Cross Personnel served gladly under their competent direction.

Washington’s oldest inhabitant had to tax his memory to recall a worse morning than presented itself the fourth of last March. A driving wet snowstorm that had raged all night still filled the air with large flakes and covered the ground with several inches of melting snow. The picture of one of the relief stations gives some idea of conditions later in the day when the storm had ceased, but unfortunately no picture was taken of the tents that collapsed under the wind and weight of snow, no picture is given of the brave efforts to again erect these tents, nor of the nurses driven out of the tents taking refuge in the ambulances so as to remain on duty, or securing in two or three cases a room in a nearby building for their station. At every station in spite of the weather our nurses reported promptly for duty and the Red Cross is[35] proud of their record and reliability. Our Relief Column men likewise did excellent service, as will be noted in the doctors’ reports. With equal devotion to duty the Brooklyn Column, twenty-two in number, left for Washington the night of the third, but with many others were detained by the storm-demoralized railroad service, and did not reach the city until late on the afternoon of the fourth, so that it was not possible for them to take active part, much to their and our regret.

Were these Red Cross relief stations of use? The fact that over two hundred cases of accidents and sudden illnesses were taken care of at these stations, not counting those which were removed to the hospitals, is a sufficient answer as to their value to the public. Some parts of the reports of the physicians in charge are appended to this article.

The morning of the fifth the nurses from New York, Maryland and Pennsylvania were presented to President Taft at the White House and the following week some of the physicians, the nurses and the Washington Relief Column men were entertained by Miss Boardman at a tea.

The names of the nurses and Relief Column men who participated in the Red Cross work of inauguration day are as follows:

Relief Column Men—(Washington), Messrs. Dickens, Fitzhugh, Simon, Collins, Luckett, Sloat, Espinosa, Huske, Leonard, Watts, Carroll, Drew, Read, Hall, Eckhart, Hankins, Kelley, Webb, Newton, Townsend, Bruder, Sutton, Heally, Brick, Jobson, Rhees, Butler, Dougherty, Kennedy, French, Bricker, Robinowitz, Rollings, Colver, Rudolph, Posey.

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Nurses—(New York), the Misses Phelan, Collins, Miller, Patterson and Hallahan; (Maryland), Kinhart, Murphy, Boyer, Lucas, Spielman and Bartlett; (Pennsylvania), Beitel, Rice, Simon, Uomer, Suddoth, McKnight, Calhoun, Zellfelder, Seiwell, Akeley and Bierstein; (Washington), Bauer, Hayes, Hart, Donnelly, Davis, Fitz, Backofen, Mahan, Bauer, Burhman, Grunwell, Stith, Lohr, Strong, Carbauld, Hewitt, Brown, Braun and Roach.

INAUGURAL COMMITTEE

The New Willard.

MAJOR RICHARD SYLVESTER,
Chairman Committee on Public Order.

Dear Sir—In compliance with your request I have the honor to report the operations of the Hospital and Ambulance Service of the Committee on Public Order for the Inaugural period of 1909, of which, under your appointment, I acted as Chairman. In order to facilitate the work this sub-committee was organized by the appointment of Drs. George M. Kober and G. L. Magruder as Vice-Chairmen and Dr. P. C. Hunt as Secretary, the work being divided among four sub-committees, as follows: Sub-committee on Ambulance Stations, Sub-committee on Hospital at Pension Office, Sub-committee on Hospital at Union Station and Sub-committee on Inspection of Quarters. These Sub-committees were in charge of Drs. Gibson, Reisinger, Reeves and Gwynn, respectively.

SUB-COMMITTEE ON AMBULANCE STATIONS.

This Sub-committee cared for 81 cases, 10 surgical and 71 medical, 53 of whom were males and 28 females. This work was done under the most unfavorable circumstances on account of the weather, which not only interfered with the well-planned arrangements in many of their details, but made many of the physicians at some of the stations use Pennsylvania avenue as a thoroughfare to carry urgent cases to the Emergency Hospital instead of the longer runs to the other hospitals, as it was practically impossible to get the mules to pull the heavy ambulances over the snow-covered streets. While this was all done in violation of orders, yet suffering was materially lessened by so doing. Many of the tents were blown down, so that three of the emergency stations had to be established in three of the public buildings, namely, the District Building, State, War and Navy Building and the Marine Hospital Building.

Every station reported cases having been treated except No. 19. There were on duty during the day over 70 members of the Committee.

The work of the Red Cross is to be specially commended in connection with the Ambulance Stations, as they had not only furnished a complete relief equipment for each station, but two trained nurses in uniform at each station, all of whom, in spite of the weather, promptly reported for duty and rendered very efficient service. The stretcher men, trained and uniformed, at the expense of the American Red Cross Association, did excellent service and ought to be highly commended.

SUB-COMMITTEE ON HOSPITAL AT PENSION OFFICE.

The Hospital at the Pension Office was opened March 4th at 9 A. M. and closed March 7th at 11 A. M., having treated 24 cases.

The thanks of the Sub-committee are specially tendered to Lieut. Judge, of the Metropolitan Police Force, for the excellent assistance given[37] and the order maintained, also to Mr. Graham, of the Inaugural Committee, through whose kindness supper was furnished to the Red Cross nurses on duty at the Hospital.

The work of the Red Cross Society in placing at the disposal of your Committee the equipment, trained nurses and stretcher men is highly appreciated.

SUB-COMMITTEE ON HOSPITAL AT UNION STATION.

Owing to the courtesy of the Terminal Station Officers and of the American Red Cross your Committee were enabled to establish and maintain a well-equipped emergency hospital at the Union Station. This emergency room was in operation from 8 A. M. March 1st until midnight of March 7th. During this time 105 cases were treated.

To the physicians, Red Cross nurses and Red Cross stretcher-bearers, who performed this work, covering the whole 24 hours, my thanks are specially due, as the work was done faithfully and well.

SUB-COMMITTEE ON INSPECTION OF QUARTERS.

In compliance with your desires, a number of the members of your Committee on Hospitals and Ambulances were designated to inspect the quarters of soldiers and organizations, who were quartered in large numbers in any one place during the inaugural period. This not only included[38] those located in hotels, halls and tents, but also the numbers quartered in Pullman cars at Sixth street and Virginia avenue. The number of these places obtained from the Committee on Public Comfort was 25, all of which were inspected by the members of your Committee, who paid special attention to the ventilation and sanitation and also rendered efficient service to four men who were sick and in need of treatment.

In closing this report, I desire to call your attention to the fact that 214 cases have been reported as having been treated by your Committee without any expense to the Inaugural Committee, except the general printing and badge expenditures, and that the physicians willingly gave their services night and day in order to make the work of your Committee a success, and up to this time I have not heard of a single complaint.

I desire to specially call attention to the kindness of Miss Boardman, of the Red Cross Association, for her active co-operation. Through her efforts hospital tents were furnished along the line of march and at the fireworks. These tents were thoroughly equipped with appliances for the First Aid treatment of the sick and injured, and also two Red Cross nurses were on duty at each tent as long as the same was in commission, as well as two being constantly in attendance night and day at the Union Station and four at the Pension Office. The stretcher men, who had been drilled and uniformed, performed active and efficient service at the Pension Office, Union Station, along the line of march and at the fireworks, all of which was done without expense to the Inaugural Committee.

I also desire to express my high appreciation of your many acts of kindness and valuable assistance in carrying out the work of this Sub-committee.

(Signed) D. PERCY HICKLING, M. D.

REPORTS TO RED CROSS.

Mr. Barney Robinowitz, one of the Relief Column members, also made an excellent report of the work done at Station No. 8.

An emblem, to be appropriate, should be so devised as to convey a meaning suitable to the organization which carries it as a badge; therefore it seems strange that the American Medical Association should have adopted for its use the device of the red cross, which belongs to another organization and represents a character of work entirely different from that of the medical profession.

The American National Red Cross, through its executive committee, passed resolutions October 18, 1907, which decided that by reason of an international agreement the emblem of the red cross was adopted to designate the personnel of sanitary corps, and was to be used in time of peace or war to protect sanitary formations, establishments and personnel and material.

Furthermore, in order that the emblem should be kept in its proper place, legislation has been recommended to prevent its use by private persons or by societies, and the executive committee has requested that all hospitals, health departments and like institutions kindly desist from the use of the red cross and suggests that some other insignia be substituted for it.

Some commercial houses which manufacture surgical necessities and appliances, together with some nostrums, print the red cross on their packages of kidney plasters, dog soap and dyspepsia medicines. There is a nurse’s school which claims to teach nursing in a short term of a few weeks and calls the graduates “red cross nurses,” who go out in competition with those who have served several years in hospitals.

In many of the large cities throughout the United States druggists are fond of naming their places “Red Cross Pharmacy.” In New York and Chicago physicians have placed this symbol on their automobiles—whether this gives them more privileges than they would otherwise have is a question; it appears more as an advertisement than an explanation for speed. On state occasions some use it as a chevron on the sleeve, and sometimes the police think they have a right to it during large parades and wear it before the crowd.

There may, however, be raised the question of priority of use, inasmuch as the red cross was adopted by the American Medical Association before the laws were passed, and therefore the latter has a perfect right to its use. This all may be true, but when we come to consider the objects of the Red Cross as originally set forth in 1864 we must concede that its use was not intended solely for the medical man, but for all connected with the work of relief. Besides, we should be charitable enough to consider that we have appropriated an emblem devoted to humanitarian work.

What, then, is the proper badge of the medical profession?

In the United States Army the device of the surgeon is Mercury’s wand, consisting of a rod surmounted by a pair of wings with two serpents[41] twined about it. Carefully examining the literature on the subject of Mercury we learn many facts arguing against the use of this later emblem in the healing art. We shall see that it belongs strictly to commerce and trade; the name “Mercury” itself is derived from the Latin merx, mercis—“goods.” Mercury was the Roman divinity of commerce and gain; also mercor, to traffic, is from the same root; the word mercatus is akin to our English word “market,” as is also the word mercator, “merchant.”

Mercury, the Roman god, is identical with the Greek god Hermes and was considered the god of diplomacy, arts, sciences, commerce, gain and riches, especially of sudden and unexpected riches and of good luck at the games. He was usually represented with a purse in one hand, his magic caduceus in the other, and was supposed to preside over the commerce of the Romans.

The magic caduceus of Mercury is an evolution of the staff of Hermes, and the original caduceus or staff was an olive branch with garlands. Later ribbons were substituted for the garland and finally mythologists transformed the ribbons and garlands into snakes, about which others, like Hyginus, invented various tales, one of them being that Hermes found two snakes fighting in a garden and, dividing them with his wand, chose this as a symbol of the quarrels which it was his duty to assist in settling. After a time a pair of wings was added to the staff to indicate the speed of Mercury as a divine messenger; it also became a symbol of power that produced wealth and was supposed to be an enchanted wand of prosperity.

Owing to the fact that Mercury’s wand is used by the United States Army and by some medical publishers, and is to be placed on the ambulances of some New York hospitals, it would appear to be the proper emblem; but, studying the references which we have just gone over, we learn that it is more adapted to merchants, delivery wagons and steamships and is a commercial device. With the knowledge that the red cross and Mercury’s wand are incorrect emblems, what, then, shall we consider the true insignia for the healing art?

The medical profession should be proud of the fact that a symbol has been handed down from ages past, though it was lost to some extent by those who forgot history and our traditions and desired something new for a device. The true ancestral symbol of the healing art is the knotty rod and serpent of Esculapius. Delving into the history of this symbol we find a veritable mine of facts which will convince us that we have a heritage worthy of our profession. It is customary to trace the history of medicine back to the story of Esculapius, whom the Greeks elevated to the position of the god of medicine. He was revered and worshipped throughout Greece, but the great center of healing was at Epidaurus, where a beautiful temple was built to his honor in which his statue by the sculptor Thrasymedes stood. This statue, of gold and ivory, the head bearded and surrounded with rays, a knotty stick in one hand, the other entwined by a serpent, gives us the original symbol of the healing art.

Serpents of a peculiar kind were kept in the temples. Votive tablets also have been found on which the ailments were inscribed and which were similar to our hospital case records. No doubt Hippocrates, the[42] “father of physic,” gained much of his knowledge of medicine from these tablets, for some of his reputed writings and formulas, such as Prorrhetica or Praedictiones and Coacoae Praenotiones, are very much like them. He was a descendant of the early Asclepiades and was said to be the nineteenth in descent from Esculapius. He inherited the instruction of his fathers through a long line of physicians and was well versed in the practice of his time.

Later on we find the Greek practitioners coming to Rome, and the practice of the Asclepiades came with them. According to the Roman law they were freedmen. After a time they established shops, on which they placed the sign of the Esculapian snake and practiced their art and sold medicine; the Romans called them medicinae.

We learn from Ovid that on the occasion of the great plague in Rome, at the command of the Delphic oracle, B. C. 293, an embassage was sent to the temple of Esculapius at Epidaurus, whence was brought a living serpent which was received with great ceremony by the Romans. They built a temple on the Tiber and the serpent was placed therein.

Now let us glance at the sources of this serpent idea as found in the earlier times and the strange ramifications of the respect for the serpent among barbaric races. In the earliest civilized times we find that the Egyptians represented the eternal spirit “Kneph” as a serpent. Osiris in snake form was usually associated with health; the Chaldean Hoa was identical with the Agatho-daemon, which the Hebrews, who were in Egypt for over four hundred years, learned to regard as the symbol of health and life. Thermuthis, the sacred asp, was associated with Isis, the goddess of life and healing.

The serpent’s change of skin may have been suggestive of resurrection and renovation; he was feared because he was supposed to possess superhuman knowledge and power. His supposed longevity was, no doubt, the reason why this animal entwined about a staff was symbolic of health and the distinctive attribute of the classical Esculapius and Hygeia.

We find also that the Phenicians adored the serpent as a beneficent genius. The Hindoos had a serpent deity, Rudra, who was not only beautiful and strong but also the healer. The Druids had serpents in the sanctuary to bring good fortune. The Python of the Greeks in the table of Apollo, described by Ovid, was all-powerful; the Celts, the Basques and all Asia had legends of the Orm and the Paystha pictured as a great dragon.

We are all familiar with the fables of St. Michael and St. George, and, turning to the Chinese, the winged dragon or serpent is a symbol of superior wisdom and power.

In the folklore of the Gauls and Germans the white snake, when boiled, was considered to have the attribute of conferring wisdom in medicine. The white snake was also venerated by the Scottish highlanders, as well as by certain Arabian tribes, as a mighty agent and the king of all serpents.

Following this thought into America, let us learn what the Indians believe in this respect. The general idea among them is that it brings happiness. Professor Agassiz tells us that he found the Maues Indians,[43] who live in Brazil, whenever they assign a form to any remedio, give it that of a serpent. Among the Lenape Indians their famous doctors were called “big snakes.”

We must not forget to look into Holy Writ for the symbolical influence and intelligence of the serpent in the history of the fall of man, where it is stated, “Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field.”

In the story of the Exodus we have many allusions to the serpent as a power for deliverance. Aaron’s serpent rod is an instance. Also during the wanderings in the wilderness Moses placed a brazen serpent on a pole in the midst of the camp, which was preserved for many centuries, until the days of Hezekiah, when it was broken to pieces because it became an object of worship and tended to turn the people from their true God.

During the Christian era the serpent was employed to signify the virtue of prudence and wisdom; the disciples were admonished, “Be ye wise as serpents.”

In the Latin church of the early days the pastoral staff terminated at the top with a serpent, indicating power and wisdom.

Whatever element of superstition or imagination may have been injected into these stories of mythology and the legends of more recent times, there is a wonderful history hidden behind them, all of which permeates the whole human race.

Man in his primitive state and in his more civilized life believes there was a superior power for good, and his mind, requiring a material expression of that unseen source, used the serpent as a symbol of power and wisdom. Without this the rod of Esculapius would be impotent over disease and the wand of Mercury would have no authority over trade or commerce. The cultured Greeks, therefore, having great respect for the healing art, honored it with the most significant and expressive symbol of the highest attributes conducive to the welfare of the race.

Among the orientals the shepherd was considered the highest type of citizen, whose life in the open country brought him in contact with great struggles. The rod was the weapon with which he struck down the adversaries of the sheep; the staff or crook, however, was used for their guidance in the proper path on the trackless pastures. Hence we read in the beautiful pastoral song of the “shepherd king” these expressive words: “Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” The rod therefore became the symbol of a defending power which brought comfort and support to the weak in the consciousness that they were protected from all danger.

Esculapius was always pictured with a knotty rod in his hand, the knots indicating the many difficult problems of physic to be solved in the treatment of the ailments of mankind. Therefore, applying these thoughts to the symbol, we have in the entwined serpent, power, wisdom and health, together with the protection and support against disease and the difficulties to be overcome by the knotty rod. With this historical symbol the sanctity of medicine can be pictured and the doctor is shown in his true light, not only as a laboratory scientist and as a practitioner, but as a teacher and adviser to the patient, the family and the[44] community in all the difficult problems that arise concerning health and disease.

This dissertation on the meaning of the medical emblem will suggest the appropriate insignia of the American Medical Association to be as follows: A shield on which is emblazoned the American eagle holding in its talons a laurel wreath within which is the knotty rod and entwined serpent and the letters A. M. A.

The explanation of the emblem so devised would be as follows: The eagle represents the national organization of the United States; the laurel wreath stands for the crown which the Romans bestowed on the healing art; the entwined serpent is indicative of power, wisdom and health, and the knotty rod signifies protection and support in the difficult problems of the treatment of disease.

SUMMARY.

The insignia and device of the red cross belongs to another organization and its use is not proper for the medical profession. It represents a character of work entirely different.

From the fact that Mercury was the Roman god of trade and commerce and his magic caduceus was the symbol of authority over trade and commerce and was the enchanted wand of prosperity, it is not adapted to be an emblem for the healing art.

The knotty rod and serpent of Esculapius is the ancient inheritance of the medical profession, and the history of this symbol, together with its mythology and its legends, prove its appropriateness, for the reason that the serpent was considered by every race on the globe as a great power and man’s mind used it as a symbol of wisdom and health.

The knotty rod is an expressive representation of support, protection and comfort in the difficult problems arising in the management of disease.

IV.
War Sacrifices.

Feeling the need of getting away for a brief time from these harrowing scenes, at six o’clock in the evening of June 27th Monsieur Dunant left Castiglione for Cavriana, where the Emperor Napoleon had his headquarters. On his journey, which was made in a little carriage hired at Brescia, he had to pass over the scene of the recent carnage. He describes the view, “Here and there were still pools of blood, and numerous fresh mounds of earth marked the last resting places of the victims of the 24th.” Even in the cemetery of Solferino, not only were the monumental crosses and grave stones bespattered with blood, but the whole burying ground in dire confusion was strewn with sabres, muskets, havresacks, cartridge pouches, mess-tins, helmets and belts, most of which were twisted, bent and broken.

Arrived at Cavriana, Dunant at once inquired for Marshal MacMahon whom he knew personally. His inquiries surprised a group of generals sitting on common chairs before the humble cottage which their sovereign had made his temporary abode. They began to speculate as to his mission and as to who he was, for that a simple tourist would take such risks at such a time was altogether beyond their comprehension. The corporal who accompanied Monsieur Dunant in the capacity of servant, was impenetrable: he knew nothing, while replying respectfully to their questions. Their curiosity was still further augmented when they saw Dunant set out for Borghetto, the headquarters of the Marshal, where he arrived about midnight. He pictures the drive amidst the camp fires, where whole trees were burning, the lighted tents of the officers, the peaceful murmurs of the army seeking its repose, the starlit Italian sky and the solemn silence after the noise and the emotions of the previous days.

At six o’clock next morning he was cordially received by Marshal MacMahon, after which he returned to his wounded at Castiglione.

The 30th of June found Dunant at Brescia, where in the old cathedral were over a thousand wounded. Here the women of all classes vied with each other in supplying the needs of the unfortunate brethren in their midst. They brought oranges, jellies, biscuits and other dainties. Even the humblest widow contributed her sympathy and modest gift.

The population of Brescia, normally 40,000, was nearly doubled by the multitudes of sick and wounded brought there. The Italian doctors to the number of 140 were assisted by the students of the medical colleges. Committees were formed to receive gifts of bedclothes, linen and provisions of all kinds. In the vast halls of the various hospitals and in all the churches thousands of battered remnants of humanity were the subjects of amputation, to many of whom the word was as the sentence of death.

Monsieur Dunant depicts some of the terrible operations performed by the surgeons who were forced to work with untrained assistants. Scenes so full of pathos and the horrors of mental and physical anguish that could men be brought to even a partial realization of their meaning war would become impossible. Nothing in the world would be worth the aggregate of human suffering unless the cause was justified by a greater aggregate of human misery and torture.

“The feeling,” says Monsieur Dunant, “that one experiences of the great insufficiency under such serious conditions is one of indescribable[46] suffering. It is extremely painful to realize that one is unable to aid all or to reply to the many supplications for relief because of the vast number needing assistance. Long hours must pass before even the most unfortunate can be reached; stopped here by one, called there by another, all equally worthy of pity, each step clogged by numbers clamoring for help. Why turn to the left when on the right so many are dying without a word of consolation, without even a glass of water to quench their burning thirst. The thought of the importance of a life one may save, the desire to assuage the tortures of the sufferers, and to revive their courage; the continued, enforced activity that such moments impose, give a supreme energy, a longing to carry succor to the greatest number possible. One becomes no longer affected by a thousand pictures of this formidable tragedy, the most hideously disfigured bodies are passed with indifference, scenes more horrible than any described, which the pen refuses to depict, are gazed at blankly. Sometimes the heart is suddenly brought near to breaking by some pathetic grief, by some simple incident, by some unexpected detail, which touches our deepest feelings, which tears the most sensitive fibres of our being and brings a realization of the horror of this tragedy.

“For a week after the battle such cases as drew from the doctor a shake of the head and the observation, ‘Nothing can be done!’ were simply abandoned to their fate—to die. Though hard, this was quite natural, considering the scarcity of doctors and nurses and the enormous number of patients. An inexorable and cruel logic ordained that precious time and care should not be wasted on hopeless cases when sorely needed by so many thousands who might recover.

“Search well the hospitals of Lombardy and where was there to be found that glory for which at the commencement of the sanguinary conflict these men rushed with light heart and fleet foot to shed the blood of their brethren?

“The Battle of Solferino is the only one of the nineteenth century at all comparable as regards the terrible slaughter on both sides, with the battles of Leipzig and Waterloo. It counted in killed and wounded: 3 field marshals, 9 generals, 1,566 other officers, 40,000 non-commissioned officers and men. Besides these, 19,665 cases of fever, dysentery, etc., in the Brescia Hospitals; 30,000 cases of typhus, etc., among the Austrians, making a total of 91,243 victims of the battle of Solferino.”

Monsieur Dunant asks the question: “Why have we thought good to recall these scenes of grief and desolation, to recount such lamentable and gruesome details, and to draw such vivid pictures of despair?”

His answer is another question: “Would it not be possible to found and organize, in all civilized countries, permanent Societies of Volunteers, which in time of war would render succour to the wounded, without distinction of nationality? Those good old women and those beautiful young girls of Castiglione could not by themselves save the lives of many of those to whom they ministered. It was necessary that their efforts should be supplemented by those of experienced men and women, capable, firm, accustomed to order and discipline. Had such assistance been forthcoming in adequate measure at Solferino, many of the horrors need not have been related, and the living would not, as in some cases, have been interred with the dead. For the accomplishment of such a noble duty there must be willing volunteers, well-trained and instructed—not lazy and ignorant mercenaries. The army medical corps is always insufficient and needs to be augmented by voluntary public assistance. Thus only can the horrors of war be minimized.”

In the January Bulletin you have an idea of how the work was started and I gave weekly lectures to the “Sailors’ Union” and bi-weekly lectures to the “Harbor No. 15,” completing the course about a month ago.

I found that it was useless to endeavor to do much with the men of the Sailors’ Union, for they are here today and away tomorrow, and while apparently interested in the lectures there could be no permanent results obtained. With the “Masters and Mates” it was, however, different, for they are better educated and realize fully the importance of our efforts.

I found here also that the card system was not practicable, for many of the officers could not attend regularly and besides I thought we should try to develop some uniformity which could be utilized all over the country.

To this end I wrote and obtained from the Surgeon General of the Public Health and Marine Hospital Service, 100 copies of the “Handbook for the Ship’s Medicine Chest,” (Stoner) and am using this book now with excellent results.

I am giving each member of the Harbor a copy, obtaining a receipt for same, and in the lecture follow closely the instruction laid down in the book.

I have placed on the Bulletin Board of the Harbor the subject and date (with pages in book) of the lecture and give them in the afternoon of every other Thursday at 3.30 o’clock. This I find better than in the evenings for the officers and I have from 25 to 35 present each time. This book, as you will note, has an ideal medicine chest outfit and strange to say very few of the officers knew of the book until I gave them a copy.

I am going to give about eight lectures from the book and then have planned to write you for instructions. Dr. Blue has suggested that when candidates for license as masters, etc., be examined for their eye-sight and color blindness, that an examination in First Aid could be given them. This brings up the question as to how far the Red Cross and the various departments should work together and in my mind is the most important question before our organization today.

In talking with Captain Westcott of Harbor No. 15 here he seems to think that his association should make attendance of its members on the lectures obligatory, and at the same time by a change in the By-Laws make each member become a Red Cross member. I think from what I can learn here that it would be carried unanimously, for I have an excellent reception at every one of my lectures.

Therefore, to be concise, my plan is tentatively—

RELIEF COLUMNS

On Monday, February 5th, at Copper Hall, Lane College, Dr. Geo. F. Somers delivered a witty and entertaining lecture on “First Aid.” A trained litter-squad from the detachment of the First Unitarian Church composed of Messrs. Eastman, Addison, Meyerink and Mikkelsen appeared and gave a practical demonstration in illustration of the lecturer’s subject. The lecturer ingeniously introduced them, by saying, “There is a gentleman here who has met with an accident. Are there any Red Cross men present?” The squad seated individually in different parts of the auditorium assembled about their supposed “victim,” who was bandaged, and splinted, much to the amusement of the audience.

The first county of California to organize a detachment was Alameda. Under the auspices of the State Branch, a very active and ambitious Detachment and Woman’s Auxiliary of the Legion of the Red Cross was formed at the conclusion of a banquet given by the ladies of[49] the congregation of St. John’s Presbyterian Church. The detachment and auxiliary meet together at monthly lectures upon sanitation, hygiene, and allied subjects given by specialists in these different fields.

The detachment under the assistant directorship of Dr. J. N. Force is being drilled by Senior Sub-director Paul Y. Yost, commander of the California Cadets of the University of California.

The detachment of the Columbia Park Boys’ Club have been training a squad of four young men, Messrs. Wing, Cliffs, Clover and Peterson, who will accompany the athletic team of this famous organization to Australia. Through the courtesy of Dr. McCoy, of the Public Health and Marine Hospital Service, they will be drilled by Mr. James Leek.

The young men will start prepared for First Aid in the field and will doubtless have something to do during the football contests. This is perhaps the first squad of the new Legion of the Red Cross to be in service beyond the border of the United States.

By the steamer “Mariposa” on Friday, April 21, bound for New South Wales, a sergeant and a squad from the Grand Legion of the Red Cross, California Branch, accompanied the Columbia Park Boys’ Club upon their six months’ tour of the Antipodes.

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With their credentials went a recommendation to Major G. L. Mullins, M. D. Knight of Grace of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Commissioner of the Commonwealth of Australia.

ILLINOIS.

The Illinois Relief Columns took a prominent part in the Memorial Day Parade, of which a report will be made for the October Bulletin by Dr. Blech. To Dr. Blech’s energy, interest and work much of the success of this Illinois Legion is due.

One hundred and sixty men in Khaki uniforms took part. The Legion was under the command of Director J. B. Weintraub and marched in the Fifth Division, of which Division Dr. Blech was Marshal, assisted by the regular staff officers of the Red Cross Corps. Captain J. Ralph Shook, U. S. A. Medical Service, acted as Division Adjutant. He has given the Legion much encouragement and says of it that it has done as well as any hospital corps, regular or volunteer, he has ever seen.

NEW JERSEY.

Mr. Chris. D. Fisher of the Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, the Northern Central and the West Jersey and Seashore Railroad Companies writes of the work done at their car shops at Camden, N. J. Mr. Fishers says:

“I have been in communication with Mr. Speakman and think we will soon have the New Jersey Column in working order. We have another of our shops where 750 men are employed thoroughly organized and the men are doing excellent service. I enclose a copy of the notice which is posted around the shops.”

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NOTICE.

The following men have taken a thorough course in “First Aid to the Injured” and have received certificates from the Red Cross Society qualifying them to render first aid to injured persons:

• George Boenig, Erecting Shop.
• Walter Davidson, Machine Shop.
• Henry M. MacSweeny, Power House.
• Edward Bright, Pipe Shop.
• Fred. Dean, Tin and Copper Shop.
• William Welch, Blacksmith Shop.
• William Wink, Blacksmith Shop.
• Thos. McCorkendale, Boiler Shop.

Mr. Boenig will act as head of the Relief Staff and take full charge of all cases of serious injury.

In case of serious injury to an employe Mr. Boenig should be notified at once, and until Mr. Boenig arrives the Red Cross man assigned to that department, or the one who happens to be nearest to the scene of the accident should give the injured person all the assistance possible and be prepared to assist Mr. Boenig, if necessary, when he assumes charge of the case. The patient should be taken to the Storeroom as quickly as possible where he can be kept quiet and better attention given him, and it will be the duty of the Chief Watchman and the Storeroom attendants to keep all unauthorized persons out of the Storeroom, except in the case of a relative of the patient, who will be admitted upon application to the Chief Watchman. The Chief Watchman will make all necessary arrangements for taking the patient to the Hospital, if necessary, either by wagon, shifting engine, or ambulance and in the latter case notify the Master Mechanic’s office, from which office the ambulance will be called.

In the absence of the Chief Watchman the Watchman on duty will attend to the above, and in the absence of Mr. Boenig, Mr. Bright will assume his duties.

No stimulants whatever must be given to the patient unless administered under the instructions of one of the Red Cross Staff, as such stimulants are very likely to interfere with the work of the hospital surgeons, or may cause injury in other ways.

In all cases of injury sufficiently serious to cause a man to go home, the Chief Watchman should be notified at once through this office, so that he can get the necessary information for making his report.

For the present all minor injuries, such as cuts and bruises, will be attended to in a small room which has been fitted up under the Machine Shop office, where necessary medical supplies and appliances are kept on hand.

All Foremen will please see that C. T. 75, Accident Report, is made up promptly in duplicate and sent to this office, for all cases of injury sufficiently serious for the man to quit work, or in all cases where the Foremen think the nature of the injury demands it.

H. H. MAXFIELD,
Master Mechanic.

NEW YORK.

The Relief Columns of the First Legion of Brooklyn held a public concert with an exhibition of the Drill and First Aid work of the Column. There were about two hundred persons present, who showed great interest in the illustrated lecture and exhibition drill. Special mention[52] should be made of the energetic and successful work of Mr. Bosworth and also of Assistant Director Ferguson whose drilling and training was so well demonstrated in the exhibition drill. Dr. Hyatt, with the aid of the stereopticon, showed pictures of Henri Dunant, founder of the Red Cross; of the Swiss flag and how it was reversed, making the Red Cross flag; of the Red Cross work during the Japanese-Russian War; of the relief after the San Francisco disaster; of the relief columns in its different activities on duty Memorial Day, 1908; en route for the Inauguration in Washington, of its functions and litter duties. Captain Siler of the U. S. A. Medical Service was present at the entertainment.

Captain Siler writes of the value of organizing relief columns in mining districts. In some mines a number of the men have received excellent training in First Aid and could be easily organized into Relief Columns.

A number of the Mills Training School Male nurses are considering the formation of a Column which in case of necessity could be assigned as a body to certain hospitals as nurses. In case of war the services of such a relief column of trained nurses would be of great value as they could be sent much nearer the front than women nurses.

CASE REPORTS FROM MEMBERS OF FIRST LEGION.

Total number of cases reported from May 24, 1908, to May 31, 1909, inclusive—59.

SUMMARY.

Respectfully submitted,

JOSEPH FERGUSON,
Assistant Director Commanding.

THE CHRISTMAS STAMP DESIGN COMPETITION.

Over twelve hundred designs for the Red Cross Christmas Stamp were received in response to the circulars sent out announcing a competition. The general average of these far exceeded the most sanguine anticipations. A large proportion of the drawings were excellent in execution and in ingenuity of arrangement and a fair number were of distinct artistic merit. Many, which were commendable in design and technique, could not be considered because they were too elaborate and too full of detail to stand reduction from three inches to seven-eighths of an inch square. This dimension required simple masses and distinctness of lettering and especial prominence of the Red Cross itself.

The exhibition was a remarkable object lesson proving a wide-spread interest in decorative design and a high average of taste and skill in this direction.

At the request of the Red Cross the Fine Arts Federation of New York named the following jury to pass upon the drawings: Mr. F. D. Millet, Mr. C. Y. Turner and Mr. Paul Bartlett. After a long and careful study of the exhibition, the following awards were made: Mr. Carl Wingate, New York City, First Prize; Mr. Augusto Bissiri, South Framingham, Massachusetts, Second Prize; Miss Grace D. Gerow, Jersey City, New Jersey, Third Prize.

The following persons were awarded Honorable Mention: Miss Sara B. Hill, of New York City; Mr. William F. Rauchsnabel, San Francisco, Cal.; Mr. R. A. Dunn, Providence, R. I.; Mr. W. P. McDonald, Cincinnati, Ohio; Miss Mary W. Bonsall, Philadelphia, Pa.; Mr. John H. Zeh, Philadelphia, Pa.; Miss Maud H. Lanktree, Berkeley, Cal.; Mr. Joseph N. Pearce, Philadelphia, Pa.; Mr. Silvio Paini, Columbus, Ohio; Mr. William Von Zell, Indianapolis, Ind.

(Signed) F. D. MILLET,
For the Jury.

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All the drawings were exhibited from May 19th to May 24th, inclusive, in the Hemicycle of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the use of which was kindly given by the Directors of that institution for the purpose, and a large number of people visited the exhibition. On the afternoon of the last day President Taft, who is also President of the Red Cross, examined the exhibition with great interest and attention and approved the choice made by the jury. A reproduction of the First Prize Design in the reduced size is given in the Bulletin. The October Bulletin will contain reproductions of all the designs selected by the jury for award and also a further account of the exhibitions in Wilmington and Philadelphia where the drawings were shown.

CLEVELAND, OHIO.

The Tent Colony for Tuberculous Children was opened in Cleveland during the fall of 1907 through the co-operative efforts of several organizations which had felt for some years the extreme need of removing temporarily from their homes children who were probably suffering from tuberculosis of the lungs.

The Camp accommodated eight children during two months that fall and twenty during five months in 1908. The tents used are similar to those at the Ottawa (Illinois) Sanatorium and were judged large enough for two children each. Beside a nurse and assistant the Camp employs a cook and a laundress with the occasional help of a cleaning woman.

In addition to the tents the equipment consists of three one-story summer buildings—one for laundry and store-room, one for kitchen and bathroom, and the third for children’s dining and wet-weather playroom, pantry and nurses’ dining room.

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The children range in age from five to fourteen years, boys and girls, and are selected after examination by the Tuberculosis Dispensary physicians because they already show an envolvement or because their physical condition, home environment or history indicates it as imminent, but none are accepted unless the prognosis is at least fair.

The days are made as regular as possible in point of baths, meals, rest-hours, lessons and play. Temperatures and weight charts are made up daily and diet or rest regulated accordingly under the direction of the physician on his weekly or semi-weekly visit.

It is endeavored to observe a proper and effective technique. Kitchen and laundry are fenced off from the rest of the grounds. The attendants eat in separate rooms from the children and from dishes kept separate from theirs. All utensils used by the patients are washed and sterilized in a pantry which belongs to them and the children are seated at table in such a manner as not directly to face one another. Their clothing and bedding is put immediately after use into water and washed separate from the attendants’ clothing.

The children have gained surprisingly in appearance and weight and the medical examinations show in all cases, which prolong the treatment, similar results in the lungs.

NEW HAMPSHIRE.

The New Hampshire Red Cross Branch is doing excellent work with the proceeds of the sale of the Christmas Stamps. In speaking of this work, an editorial in the Boston Herald says:

“The proceeds of the sale of Red Cross Christmas Stamps are being used by the New Hampshire Branch of the Red Cross and by the Federation of Women’s Clubs in that State for addressing a pertinent health[57] talk to the people. A placard has been prepared bearing three concise facts concerning tuberculosis—warning the public that the disease is contagious, and pointing out methods for its cure and prevention. The Boston & Maine Railroad has volunteered to place the placard in all its New Hampshire stations. And a further circulation in public places will be undertaken. The crusade against tuberculosis can be successful only by educating the public. Curative and preventive success depend on public co-operation. The simplest rules of living, cleanliness, exercise and temperance are the most effective combatants of the disease. Every means for keeping those rules before the public mind aids not only in checking the spread of tuberculosis, but in advancing the general health of the community.”

The Concord Monitor, in speaking of the distribution of posters, says:

“The posters, prepared by the New Hampshire Branch of the National Red Cross, are now being distributed throughout New Hampshire. Through the kindness of Mr. Frank Barr, Third Vice-President of the Boston & Maine Railroad, copies are being placed in all stations and the agents have been requested to see that they are displayed in a conspicuous place and not defaced. The New Hampshire Federation of Woman’s Clubs is making distribution in their several communities. The poster has attracted considerable attention outside of the state by people engaged in the same work elsewhere, as being most concise in every way.

Anyone desiring to receive copies of this poster can have them by addressing the New Hampshire Branch of the National Red Cross, Monadnock, New Hampshire, and enclosing two cents apiece for postage. It is hoped that the state will be fairly ablaze with these and that people interested in them will see that the posters are not injured or defaced.

It is the expectation to furnish a slide of this poster to all the moving picture shows in the state, hoping they will assist in calling the attention of the public to certain truths in regard to tuberculosis, by displaying this slide.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.

At a meeting of the Executive Committee, held May 5th, at which were present all the members save Surgeon General Torney, who was absent from the city, the Chairman submitted a statement of the remittances and expenditures on account of the Italian Relief Fund up to date.

A report on conditions in Eastern Turkey, received from the State Department, was presented by Miss Boardman. The action of the Chairman in transmitting a thousand dollars to the American Ambassador at Constantinople for relief purposes was ratified and it was voted to send a further remittance of $5,000 from the General Emergency Fund.

By action of the Executive Committee the Red Cross Nursing Service was placed under the management of the War Relief Board.

The President of the Red Cross has sent the following letter to the Governors of the States and Territories:

AMERICAN RED CROSS RELIEF EXPENDITURES.

From January 5, 1905, to May 5, 1909, not including value of enormous amount of supplies or expenditures of State Branches for relief work.

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A meeting of the Emergency Relief Board was held in New York City on Saturday, March 20th, at which nine members were present. There was a general discussion of emergency relief work after great disasters.

The Red Cross Stamp and tuberculosis work were discussed informally.

The War Relief Board held a meeting in Washington on May 7th, at which six members were present. The following resolution was passed, creating a sub-committee on the Red Cross Nursing Service:

Resolved, That the sub-committee on the Red Cross Nursing Service shall consist of a Chairman and fourteen other members, five to constitute a quorum. The Chairman and five members to be members of the War Relief Board, to be appointed by the Chairman of the Board: six members to be appointed by the Chairman of the Board from a list of trained nurses submitted by the Nurses’ Federation and three persons to be appointed by the Chairman on the recommendation of the Board.

The subject of First Aid and Relief Columns instruction was discussed.

Other subjects considered were the equipment of hospital ships and hospital trains and the use of automobiles for transportation of the sick and wounded in case of war. Medical Director Wise had prepared for the Board a very complete schedule for the full equipment in every particular of a hospital ship of 200 beds and the cost for this purpose of the reconstruction of a chartered ship and the necessary equipment. The Board is greatly indebted to Dr. Wise for this elaborate, complete and valuable report. The Board has already in its possession a list of vessels suitable for reconstruction into hospital ships.

On the 29th of April the Red Cross forwarded to the Treasurer of the Darr Mine Relief Committee of Pittsburg, Pa., a contribution of $402.32 for the relief of the families of the victims of the explosion which occurred last year.

This money was collected by the Pennsylvania Red Cross Branch. The relief committee, in a letter acknowledging receipt of the contribution, expressed its thanks to the Red Cross.

Because of his interest in the great work of the Red Cross His Majesty, the King of Sweden, has graciously conferred upon Miss Mabel T. Boardman, a member of the Executive Committee of the American National Red Cross, the decoration of the King’s Own Medal. The medal is of gold: on one side is the bas-relief portrait of the King, surrounded by his name, and on the reverse side is Miss Boardman’s name and the date. The decoration is worn suspended from a light blue ribbon. The light blue signifying a higher degree of the decoration than the[60] dark blue ribbon upon which it is generally worn. The Dowager Queen of Sweden has always been deeply interested in hospitals and like institutions and her son, His Majesty, Gustavus V, by his sympathy in such work does much to encourage its success and development.

The report on National Vitality prepared for the Conservation Commission by Prof. Irving Fischer, President of the Committee of One Hundred on National Health, is now ready for distribution. Copies may be obtained by forwarding $1.00 to the Title Guarantee and Trust Company, Treasurer, 176 Broadway, New York City. All members of the Red Cross who order a copy of this report before August 1st become thereby members of the American Health League without additional expense, receiving regularly the American Health Magazine. Mention that you are a member of the Red Cross when you write.

CALIFORNIA.

The Nurses’ Auxiliary, a very valuable adjunct to the California Branch, has undertaken to start factory lectures and demonstrations at noon hour, beginning Friday, April 30. Miss Brown, Miss Rutley, Miss Killiam, Miss Smith, Miss Jorgensen, Miss Fisher and Miss McCarthy, well-known specialists in their different departments, are to talk upon hygiene, dietetics, bedmaking, contagious diseases, tuberculosis, medical and surgical emergencies and first aid. Several factories, laundries and department stores are interested in these methods and consider them of practical use to working women. The Y. W. C. A., through the co-operation of Miss Smith, will make arrangements for evening lectures for individual business women in offices and stores. About 150 young women can be reached immediately. Miss Smith also reported that many young married women employed in factories are much interested. There are many wide-awake women in department stores and factories who not only support themselves, but their sick relatives also. Very much good can be done through the settlements and mothers’ clubs.

The Woman’s Auxiliary of the Relief Column has inaugurated a series of talks on home nursing and prevention of disease under the direction of Dr. Clara Williams.

The work is capable of infinite expansion on almost any scale. It bids fair to reach sufficient magnitude to make the problems of organizations, permanence, finance, equipment and membership of importance to the future of Red Cross work. We cannot forget the essential functions of the Red Cross are gravest in time of war and calamity in relation to great masses of humanity, but there is as much patriotism expressed in teaching the individual in time of peace to attain maximum efficiency and resistance to disease.

CANAL ZONE.

Of the fourteen districts into which the Canal Zone Branch is divided, seven have perfected their local organizations.

Entertainments for the Red Cross Fund have been given at Ancon, Corozal, Paraiso, Culebra and Las Cascadas.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

This branch, which has about sixty trained nurses enrolled, has made an arrangement with the Nurses’ Central Registry to send to it every[61] three months an accurate list of the nurses’ names and addresses. If a call is made for nurses the nurse in charge of the Registry will find out what nurses are immediately available for this active duty. The Registry will be compensated by the branch for any such service rendered.

The District Branch has provided a box of First Aid supplies for a mining camp in Edwardsburg, Idaho, a camp over one hundred miles from any physician. One of Major Lynch’s Red Cross First Aid Works was also sent. On May 14th Mrs. Edwards, whose husband is general manager of the Eagle Mining Company, to whom this box was sent, wrote that the snow was still deep and the mail was carried by dog trains. Her letter took twelve days to reach Washington.

The Branch is also planning to equip a First Aid Station in Rock Creek Park.

NEW YORK.

The New York County Sub-division plans to take charge of the First Aid Stations during the Robert Fulton celebration. Arrangements have been made to establish stations at the Union Station on Forty-second street, in tents at the ferries, etc.

The County Federation of Trained Nurses voted on June 1st to affiliate with the American Red Cross.

AUSTRIA.

On December 31st the Austrian Samaritan and Life Saving Society of Vienna offered to the Italian Government their kitchen wagons to use in the cooking of food for the thousands of hungry and homeless people. The offer was accepted with thanks. Large amounts of money and supplies were promptly contributed for this expedition, so that not a penny of the regular funds of the society were required. The railroads gave free transportation. There was much delay in reaching the scene of the disaster because of the interrupted railroad service, and because[62] the lines were blocked with train loads of wounded and refugees who were being aided by members of the Italian Red Cross at relief stations situated in and about stations along the route. All along the journey officials of the Italian Red Cross received and assisted this Austrian Relief Expedition. The kitchen wagons were established at Catania, where about thirty or forty thousand refugees had congregated. The next day after their arrival some twelve thousand refugees who had not tasted warm food since they left Messina received good, hot meals, the kitchen wagons being in operation from six in the morning until eight at night.

CUBA.

Thanks to the kindness of the American Minister, Mr. Edwin Morgan, we have received notice of the establishment of a Red Cross Society in Cuba, together with copies of its statutes and regulations.

Mr. Morgan also forwarded a translation of the proceedings held at the institution of the society kindly provided by Captain B. F. Clark.

The President and Vice-President of the republic are honorary presidents and the active president is Dr. Diego Tamayo y Figueredo.

FRANCE.

The French Red Cross the day after the Italian disaster and as soon as the news reached Paris decided to send to Italy Red Cross nurses.

The French Red Cross report says: “The question arose whether the immensity of the disaster did not justify its intervention in the way of aid. The Italian Red Cross was mobilized. Was it not the occasion to give proof of the solidarity which exists outside of all boundaries uniting the members of the universal Red Cross?” As the syndicate of the French press agreed to take charge of the raising of a national fund for the expense of this relief work, the society proceeded with its preparations. On the 30th ten nurses with two Red Cross delegates. Viscount Harcourt and Viscount Nantos, left for Naples. The following day a second detachment of nurses from one of the Red Cross branches, the Union of the Women of France, was sent, and a few days later a third detachment from another branch, the Association of French Women, followed. Within a few hours after their arrival at Naples they began active work in the hospitals filled with injured refugees.

The Neapolitan Red Cross had erected a temporary hospital in a municipal school building—a large and airy situation. Doctors there were in plenty, but there was a great lack of nurses, so that those sent by the French Red Cross, three of whom spoke Italian, arrived at a most opportune time and their services won the confidence and gratitude of the physicians.

In the meantime the delegates of the French Red Cross were occupied in the distribution of money and supplies. Two special trainloads of clothing, hospital materials, etc., were sent from Paris, the first in charge of Count de Vogue, son of the president of the French Red Cross. Some of the supplies were given to the city government for distribution and some to the Italian Red Cross to be sent to Sicily and Calabria. The delegates wore a blue coat, with the Red Cross brassard on the arm.

At the termination of the active service of the French Red Cross the nurses were presented with the Italian Red Cross diploma of merit and with gold medals by the Duchess D’Aosta in the presence of many members of the Italian Red Cross.

[63]

The hospital school of the French Red Cross was opened in Paris on the 14th of November, 1908, with simple ceremonies. The president of the French Red Cross, the Marquis de Vogue, presided. Sixty-two of the nurses who were in active Red Cross service in Morocco were in attendance and added greatly to the interest of the occasion. One pavilion is devoted to men nurses and the other to women. This is the crowning result of the 44 dispensary schools of the society.

GERMANY.

The German Red Cross sent to Italy a complete hospital equipment, with five doctors, thirteen nurses and relief column men, which was established at Syracuse. Money, clothing and supplies of all kinds were forwarded from all over Germany to the main receiving station in Berlin. Large quantities of tents, a dozen wooden barracks from the Rhine Provinces and a hundred beds for orphans were among the gifts.

JAPAN.

The Japanese Red Cross has published its second English Bulletin. Its active personnel consists of 3,487 persons, of whom 237 are doctors. 2,328 women nurses, 572 men nurses and 131 litter bearers. It has a total membership of 1,397,344, with an annual income of $1,550,206. In 1907 it rendered assistance after fifteen disasters, aiding 3,810 injured persons. Its funds amount to $7,000,000.

PORTUGAL.

The Portuguese Red Cross has lately had the misfortune to lose by death its president, General da Cunha, a peer of the realm and one of the founders of the society in 1887. He was one of the most eminent men of his country and noted for the noble qualities of his mind and heart. His goodness and simplicity during all the years of the high offices he held under the government made him beloved of all classes. Just before his death he learned that the Red Cross had opened subscriptions for the earthquake sufferers of Italy. Only a few moments before the end came he directed his family to immediately send a subscription from him before his death prevented his doing so. These were his last words.

The society has elected as his successor Dr. M. A. Moreira, former Minister of the Navy and of the Colonies.

The Society has expended in relief work at different times $45,000 and contributed to the Red Cross Society of Spain, the United States, Great Britain, China, Japan, Russia and the Transvaal $16,000 more. It is about to establish a model infirmary for the instruction of trained nurses. The Municipal Council of Lisbon has given to the Society for this purpose land valued at $26,000.

RUSSIA.

The decease, in March, of Prince Michael Khikof, President of the Russian Red Cross, is announced in the April International Bulletin.

The Central Committee, at a later date, will call a conference of the active personnel during the Russo-Japanese War for the purpose of discussing the active work there accomplished, its mistakes and the improvements[64] to be realized in future. Questions in regard to the convoys of the evacuation of the wounded, field treatment, etc., are among the most important subjects to be considered. The Society, which renders’ aid after calamities, pestilence, famine, floods, etc., has lately been asked to aid a leper colony at Yanburg. Its Central Committee decided that leprosy was too rare to be considered an epidemic and so declined to take charge of this institution, but to testify its interest in this humanitarian work it decided to appropriate for its support $5,000 annually.

SWITZERLAND.

Two delegates of the Swiss Red Cross, Dr. de Maval and Mr. Pluckiger, were sent promptly to Naples to take charge of the distribution of several carloads of supplies forwarded from Switzerland. They proceeded, under the suggestion of the Italian Red Cross, first to Melito, in Calabria, where they established headquarters. After the distribution in Calabria they continued this relief in Sicily, where, at Syracuse, they found the German and the American Red Cross at work. Besides the clothing and the supplies that were distributed, the material and erection of some forty houses at Reggio were provided. A total relief fund of $90,000 was raised in Switzerland.

THE NETHERLANDS.

The Red Cross of the Netherlands has suffered a serious loss in the death of the President of its Central Committee, Baron de Hardenbrock de Bergambacht. For forty-one years he had been a member of the committee, and during all that time he devoted himself with all his heart to the interests of the Society. In 1870 he went as chief to the First Dutch Red Cross Ambulance in the Franco-Prussian War. He represented his Society at the International Conference of 1887 at Carlsruhe, 1892 at Rome, 1897 at Berne, 1902 at St. Petersburg and 1907 at London. In 1899 and 1901 he was very active in the preparation and forwarding of six fully equipped Dutch Red Cross Ambulances for the war in the Transvaal. His delight was to work without ostentation for the Red Cross in its humanitarian mission. He merits well a place in the annals of the Red Cross of the Netherlands as one of its most worthy and noble supporters.

The Red Cross Needs Members—Will You Not Be One?

For address of your State Branch, see Third Page of Cover

If there is no Branch in your State, send your application to the
National Secretary,
Room 341, State, War and Navy Bldg., Washington, D. C.

[i]

Instantaneous

is the relief from the acute stinging pain of inflammations and eczematous eruptions about the mucocutaneous margins when Resinol Ointment is applied. And a permanent cure is effected by this remedy with greater facility in all skin affections where a local application is indicated than by any other method. As a dressing for Burns, Carbuncles, etc., there is nothing approaches it.

Resinol Soap is the great adjunct to the Ointment, and renders the necessary bathing of the parts an aid to the cure, where the ordinary application of water and other soaps usually increases the trouble.

Resinol Ointment and Resinol Soap

Are Genuine Comforts to Physician and Patient Alike

SEND FOR SAMPLES AND TRY THEM

Resinol Chemical Company
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND

GREAT BRITAIN BRANCH:
97 New Oxford Street, London, W. C.

CHAS. MARKELL & CO.
Agents for Australasia, Sydney, N. S. W.

[ii]

A HEALTH RESORT

WASHINGTON SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST SANITARIUM. TAKOMA PARK, D. C.

The first Sanitarium established by Seventh-Day Adventists was at Battle Creek, in 1866. Since then institutions have been started in many places. At present nearly sixty exist in various parts of the world.

Washington is known as “The City Beautiful.” Much has been written of the many beautiful and historic spots around Washington, but one which is a revelation to all who visit it, is the new Washington Sanitarium, located at Takoma Park, on an elevation of 300 feet. The Washington Sanitarium has only been in operation a little over a year. It already has a splendid patronage; it is undoubtedly destined to become well known not only for its beauty and delightful surroundings, but as a health resort. During the fall and winter the climate is almost ideal; the summer climate is good—no mosquitoes or other pests are to be found.

A Branch Sanitarium is conducted at Nos. 1 and 2 Iowa Circle. The Branch Sanitarium has recently been overhauled, and extensive alterations have been made. The surroundings of this health-home are also attractive and restful. Both institutions are thoroughly scientific, and employ the most modern methods in the treatment of patients.

Massage, electricity in its various forms, baths of all descriptions, and special dieting are the agencies chiefly depended upon.

For further information, address

The Washington Sanitarium
TAKOMA PARK, WASHINGTON, D. C.

Phone, Takoma 127 and 128   Branch Sanitarium Phone, North 1325

[iii]

Established January 1, 1843

Thos. Kent Manufacturing Co.

MANUFACTURERS OF

Woolen Goods, Blankets, Flannels, Uniform Cloths and Worsted Yarns

U. S. Standard Olive Drab Covert Cloths, Flannels and Serges a Specialty

SPECIAL BLANKETS
For Hospitals and Institutions

UNION MILLS   ROCKBOURNE MILLS

RUNNYMEDE MILLS

Bell Telephone, 160 Lansdowne, Pa.

Clifton Heights, Pennsylvania

[iv]

Alpha
Photo-
Engraving
company.

Engravings for the Printer, Merchant & Manufacturer

N E Cor Howard and Fayette Streets
BALTIMORE, MD.

---

’Phone, Main—6995   “Things Rubber”

Washington Rubber Co.

10th & F Sts. Washington, D.C.

---

Patents

ALEXANDER & DOWELL

Attorneys at Law

918 F Street, Washington, D. C.

(Established 1857)

Procure Patents and Trade-Marks; render Expert Opinions on Patentability of Inventions; Validity and Infringement of Patents. Practice in all Federal Courts. Inquiries courteously and freely answered.

---

Army and Navy Academy
WASHINGTON, D. C.

SPECIAL COACHING
for the
U. S. Military and Naval Service Examinations

Candidates are thoroughly prepared, both in class and by private individual instruction, for the following examinations:

• WEST POINT, Military Academy, Entrance Examination.
• ANNAPOLIS, Naval Academy, Entrance Examination.
• U. S. ARMY, 2d Lieutenant, Entrance Examination.
• U. S. NAVY, Asst. Paymaster, Entrance Examination.
• U. S. MARINE CORPS, 2d Lieut., Entrance Examination.
• REVENUE CUTTER, Cadet, Entrance Examination.

Remarkable Success in all the Service Examinations.

For Particulars Address
M. DOWD,
Principal
1410 Harvard St.

---

AMERICAN SECURITY AND TRUST COMPANY

WASHINGTON, D. C.

COMPARATIVE STATEMENT FROM ORGANIZATION TO DATE

	DEPOSITS	CAPITAL Surplus and Undivided Profits	ASSETS
Dec. 31, 1891—	$  588,715	$1,320,238	$ 2,159,704
1893—	809,261	1,462,097	2,905,658
1895—	1,266,201	1,533,184	3,777,185
1897—	2,627,182	1,587,455	5,149,138
1899—	3,702,594	1,738,455	5,807,569
1901—	3,943,832	1,838,108	6,012,165
1903—	4,061,215	4,606,856	8,680,468
1905—	5,555,065	4,709,706	10,311,840
1907—	5,753,260	4,904,048	10,712,722
Nov. 30, 1908—	$7,450,174	Assets	$12,407,298

Amount Paid to Customers in Interest	$1,285,735.18
Amount Added to Capital for Protection of Customers	$1,750,000.00
Amount Added to Surplus for Protection of Customers	$1,967,124.47

From the foregoing it will be seen that the business of the Company has steadily grown from year to year, and, while the shareholders have received a fair return on the capital invested, the directors have always borne in mind that their first duty was protection to the depositors, which they have accomplished by adding over four million dollars, making a guarantee fund to its clients, including shareholders’ liability, of EIGHT MILLION DOLLARS, a record shown by few banking corporations in the United States.

This statement does not include our Trust Department, the securities of which, under the law, are kept entirely separate and distinct from the assets of the Company, and our relations being of a confidential nature, no published statements are made. The growth has, however, been much greater then the above.

Accounts Solicited   Interest Paid on all Deposits, Large or Small

[v]

NATIONAL ENGRAVING CO.

Designers, Halftone, Line
and Color Engravers

Phone, Main 1679

Office, 506-508 Fourteenth Street, Cor. Pennsylvania Ave.
Washington, D.C., U. S. A.

QUALITY   DISPATCH

---

KNEESSI’S SONS

MANUFACTURERS OF

TRUNKS, SUIT CASES
TRAVELING BAGS
LEATHER NOVELTIES

425 SEVENTH STREET N. W.

PHONE, M 2000

SPECIAL TRUNK FOR NURSES AND MEDICAL PURPOSES

---

Professional Nursing

A Powder

Very inexpensive, which, when dissolved in water, makes a pleasant, non-irritating, non-poisonous lotion, not staining the linen, and which has a Specific Action against those peculiar pathogenic germs which infest the Genito-Urinary organs (Male as well as Female); hence is a

VALUABLE REMEDY FOR ALL
CONDITIONS REQUIRING
ANTISEPTIC TREATMENT

If intelligently used, according to directions, it will relieve all cases, including the acute cases and the stubborn chronic ones as well.

Also very effective in Pruritus of the genital regions.

Its use is most agreeable to the patient, affording quick relief and proceeding steadily to a cure.

The formula, together with bacteriological and clinical potency of the preparation, is furnished the medical profession.

A two-ounce box of TYREE’S ANTISEPTIC POWDER (enough to make two gallons of antiseptic lotion) will be sent Free. This would make almost seven dollars’ worth of the usual bottled antiseptic solutions. This is all pure capital—you pay for no water. You can take it with you—no liquids to carry.

J. S. TYREE, Chemist
Washington, D. C.

---

Hotel Rudolph

ATLANTIC CITY, N. J.

American and European

JOEL HILLMAN,
Proprietor

---

PATENT SENSE
and Patents that PROTECT

yield our clients enormous profits. Write us for proof. Inventors lose millions through worthless patents

R. S. & A. B. LACEY
Dept. 55 Washington, D. C. Estab. 1869

---

SAL HEPATICA

For preparing an

EFFERVESCING ARTIFICIAL

MINERAL WATER

Superior to the Natural,

Containing the Tonic, Alterative and Laxative Salts of the most celebrated Bitter Waters of Europe, fortified by the addition of Lithia and Sodium Phosphate.

BRISTOL-MYERS CO.

277-279 Greene Avenue, BROOKLYN-NEW YORK.

Write for free sample.

---

Telephone, Main 3405

ADOLF BODÉ, Ladies’ Tailor

Habit and Dressmaker

EVENING GOWNS A SPECIALTY

908 14th Street, opp. Franklin Park
(2d Floor, Bradford Building)
WASHINGTON, D. C.

[vi]

AN ABDOMINAL SUPPORTER IN HARMONY WITH MODERN SURGERY

The “Storm” Binder and Abdominal Supporter

PATENTED

IS ADAPTED TO USE OF MEN, WOMEN, CHILDREN AND BABIES

• No Whalebones
• No Rubber Elastic
• Washable as Underwear
• Light
• Flexible
• Durable
• Comfortable

The invention which took the prize offered by the Managers of the Women’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

The “Storm” Binder may be used as a SPECIAL support in cases of prolapsed kidney, stomach, colon and in ventral and umbilical hernia; as a GENERAL support in obesity and general relaxation; as a POST-OPERATIVE Binder after operation upon the kidney, stomach, bladder, appendix and pelvic organs, and after plastic operations and in conditions of irritable bladder to support the weight of the viscera.

WOMAN’S BELT—Front View   MAN’S BELT—Front View

Illustrated folder, giving styles, prices and diagram for measuring, and partial list of physicians using “Storm” Binder sent on request. A comfort to athletes, especially horseback riders. Of marked value in the prevention and relief of intestinal disorders.

Mail Orders Filled Within 24 Hours on Receipt of Price

KATHERINE L. STORM, M. D.   1612 DIAMOND STREET, PHILADELPHIA

---

J. E. CALDWELL & CO.

Jewelers and Silversmiths

IMPORTERS OF
High-Grade Watches and Clocks

DESIGNERS AND MAKERS OF
Loving Cups and Other Presentation Pieces

Among which we mention the Silver Services for the U. S. S. Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Iowa, Mobile and Mississippi

Makers of the Insignia for Buffalo Homœopathic Hospital, U. of Pa. Hospital, Atlantic City Hospital, Wilkes-Barre Hospital, etc.

CORRESPONDENCE SOLICITED

902 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa.

---

VICTORY CHEMICAL CO.

Manufacturers of Quick Death

INSECTICIDE
AND
DISINFECTANT

312 N. Fifteenth St. Philadelphia, Pa.

Mail Orders Solicited   Phone, Spruce 3605

---

CUMBERLAND STEEL COMPANY
TURNED AND GROUND
HIGHLY POLISHED SHAFTING
CUMBERLAND, MD. U.S.A.

Not only perfectly straight, but round, true to size and highly polished

SEND FOR RED PRICE LIST N

[vii]

What Shall the Patient Eat?

PRACTICAL DIETETICS

solves the question. It contains diet lists and what to avoid in the various diseases, as advised by leading hospitals and physicians in New York, Boston and Philadelphia. It also gives in detail the way to prepare the different foods. Also appropriate diet for the different stages of infancy. A book of great value for the physician, nurse and household.

Pattee’s “Practical Dietetics”

Has been recommended by

Governments—United States and Canada (Adopted for use by the Medical Department and placed in every Army Post).

Medical Colleges and Hospitals, Training Schools—(Adopted as a text-book in the leading schools of United States and Canada).

State Board of Examiners of Nurses—(New York, Maryland, Virginia, Connecticut, Minnesota, Indiana, North Carolina (included in their Syllabus)).

Public Schools—Boston and New York (Added to their authorized text-book list).

Fifth Edition just out. 12mo. 320 Pages
Price, $1.00 net. By Mail, $1.10. C. O. D., $1.25.

A. F. PATTEE, Publisher and Bookseller Mount Vernon, N. Y.

New York Office, 52 West Thirty-Ninth Street

---

Telephone, N 4372

Great Bear
Spring Water

Fifty Cents per Case of 6 glass-stoppered bottles

New Warehouse and Office
322 R Street Northeast
Washington, D. C.

---

“WE PRINT ANYTHING”

KOHN & POLLOCK, Inc.

Complete Book, Catalog
Railroad Printers

315-317 WEST GERMAN STREET

Baltimore, Maryland

---

Government Positions

46,712 Appointments were made to Civil Service places during the past year. Excellent opportunities for young people. Each year we instruct by mail thousands of persons who pass these examinations and a large share of them receive appointments to life positions at $840 to $1,100 a year. If you desire a position of this kind, write for our Civil Service Announcement, containing full information about all government examinations and questions recently used by the Civil Service Commission.

COLUMBIAN CORRESPONDENCE COLLEGE, WASHINGTON, D. C.

[viii]

American Red Cross Membership

Any man, woman or child who desires to become a member of the American Red Cross may do so by filling in one of the application blanks at the bottom of this page, and forwarding it, with the dues, to THE AMERICAN RED CROSS, WASHINGTON, D. C. Checks or money orders should be made payable to THE AMERICAN RED CROSS.

The membership fee of $1.00 includes subscription to the quarterly Red Cross BULLETIN.

Life membership fee is $25.00.

 

Application for Membership

American Red Cross, Washington, D. C.   Date ____

I hereby signify my desire to become a member of the American Red Cross. One dollar for membership dues and subscription to the BULLETIN is enclosed herewith.

Name _________________________________

Address ______________________________

 

Application for Membership

American Red Cross, Washington, D. C.   Date ____

I hereby signify my desire to become a member of the American Red Cross. One dollar for membership dues and subscription to the BULLETIN is enclosed herewith.

Name _________________________________

Address ______________________________

[ix]

(Send for Nurses’ Catalog N) APPAREL FOR NURSES Ready to Wear and Made to Order
	UNIFORMS APRONS CAPS GOWNS	COATS BONNETS COLLARS CUFFS
All Prices All Styles Best Value			Excellent Cut Excellent Work Superior Quality
	FOR MAIDS CORRECT UNIFORMS for Cooks Chambermaids Housemaids Waitresses Etc., Etc.	FOR DOCTORS HOSPITAL GARMENTS for Doctors Nurses Orderlys Contagions Etc., Etc.
(Send for Maids’ Cat. M)			(Send for Drs.’ Cat. H)

Nurses’ Outfitting Association
52 West 39th Street, New York
“Home Bureau” House   Near Fifth Avenue

[x]

The Prudential Insurance Co. of America

Incorporated as a Stock Company by the State of New Jersey

JOHN F. DRYDEN, Prest. Home Office, NEWARK, N. J.

Send for Particulars of NEW Low Cost Policy. Dept. 146.

THE PRUDENTIAL HAS THE STRENGTH OF GIBRALTAR

7,731,739 Policies in Force
Insuring $1,434,551,347

How would your family fare if they lost you? Could they live in as good a house? Could they wear as good clothes? Could the children stay at school?

If you cannot say yes to all these questions, your family needs the protection of Life Insurance. They have a right to demand that you become insured.

[xi]

“AMERICAN NATIONAL RED CROSS TEXT-BOOK
ON
First-Aid and Relief Columns”

By MAJOR CHARLES LYNCH
of the Medical Corps, United States Army

Being a Manual of Instruction for the Prevention of Accidents and What to do for Injuries and Emergencies

PREPARED FOR AND INDORSED BY THE
AMERICAN NATIONAL RED CROSS

WITH A PREFACE BY

BRIGADIER-GENERAL R. M. O’REILLY
Surgeon-General, United States Army

Illustrated With 74 Engravings
Pocket Size, viii+244 Pages.

The Red Cross is in each country an organization recognized by the respective Governments for the purpose of rendering aid to the medical services or armies in time of war, and, furthermore, to mitigate the suffering caused by great calamities, and to devise and carry on means for preventing the same. It has, therefore, an important educational duty to perform.

For the purpose of further fulfilling this duty the American National Red Cross has issued the FIRST-AID AND RELIEF COLUMNS TEXT-BOOK for use in schools, colleges, Y. M. C. A’s., in the family, and for service in the training of nurses and Red Cross Relief Columns. Major Charles Lynch, of the Medical Corps of the United States Army, was especially requested by the Red Cross to prepare this text-book.

The author is a surgeon in the Army Medical Service, and has been especially detailed by the War Department to act as the medium between that Department and the National Red Cross. His duties are to study and suggest in what way the services of the Society can be made the most available. Major Lynch was the United States Medical Attachè to the Japanese Army during the Russian-Japanese War, and while there had special opportunities for observing the improvised materials used by them in case of need, and their manner of rendering first aid, which proved of such value in the preserving of life during that war. He has been engaged in organizing First-Aid and Relief Columns, lecturing before various branches of the Y. M. C. A., and otherwise devoting much time to this special subject. He has, therefore, a large experience of the necessities and practical value of such work and of the wants of those seeking instruction.

Beginning with the Anatomy and Physiology, the book succinctly deals with Germs or Micro-organisms, First-aid Materials, General Directions for Rendering First-aid, Shock, Common Accidents and Injuries, Common Emergencies, Occupation Accidents and Injuries, Injuries and Emergencies of Indoor and Outdoor Sports, Transportation of Wounded and Sick, Organizations for First-aid Instruction, First-aid Contests, closing with a list of References and a very complete Index.

The preface by Surgeon-General O’Reilly gives not only due recognition to the practical worth of the book, but points out the vast good which may be done by proper organizations and knowledge in times of great calamities. He emphasizes the fact that, so far as he knows, it is the first effort to teach the prevention of accidents.

For sale by The American National Red Cross, Washington, D. C.
Price, $1.00 per copy.

In answering advertisements please mention THE AMERICAN RED CROSS BULLETIN.

Chinosol

(Pronounced Kinnosol)

THE ONLY
NON-POISONOUS, NON-IRRITATING, NON-ALCOHOLIC
ANTISEPTIC
WHICH IS
“MUCH STRONGER THAN CARBOLIC ACID AND AT LEAST THE EQUAL OF BICHLORIDE OF MERCURY.”

(Extract from Bacteriological Report from the Lederle Laboratories.)

A THOROUGHLY RELIABLE DISINFECTANT
SAFE EVEN IN THE HANDS OF CHILDREN.

There is no longer any excuse for running the risk of poisoning by carbolic acid or corrosive sublimate.

PARTIAL LIST OF AUTHORITIES.

• Imperial Board of Health of Germany.
• Royal Scientific Commission for Therapeutics of Prussia.
• Hygienic Institute of the University of Munich.
• Royal University Clinics, Halle a. S.
• Dr. Vogelius, Bacteriologist Laboratory University, Copenhagen.

In use in hospitals throughout all Europe.

Chinosol

DOES NOT INJURE MEMBRANES.
FREE FROM DISAGREEABLE ODOR.

Every physician approves of the prompt application of a proper antiseptic to a bruise, cut, wound or burn, thus insuring surgical cleanliness until he can reach the patient.

CHINOSOL IS PRESENTED IN TABLET FORM. ONE TABLET TO ONE QUART OF WATER PRODUCES SOLUTION OF PROPER STRENGTH.

WE ARE INTRODUCING CHINOSOL THROUGH THE DRUG TRADE OF AMERICA. IF YOU CANNOT OBTAIN IT, REMIT TO US, IN POSTAGE, AND WE WILL SEND YOU SUFFICIENT CHINOSOL TO MAKE

3 QUARTS FOR 10 CENTS.

Guaranteed by us to comply with National and State Pure Drug Laws—No. 2335.

CHINOSOL CO.—PARMELE PHARMACAL CO., Selling Agent, 54 South St., N. Y.