Chapter II: Part 2

His important treatises on ammonium, phosphoric acid, opium and the falsification of pharmaceutical products in Turkey, his contributions to European and American exhibitions, made his name well-known abroad, and in 1910 he was unanimously elected honorary president of the newly-organized “Society of Pharmacists in Turkey,” in proof of the grateful affection of colleagues and pupils, and of his own superior scholarship and value. He leaves behind him the record of a long life admirably spent.

Red Cross and White Cross in Mexico

ERNEST P. BICKNELL, _National Director American Red Cross_.

During the culminating scenes of the recent revolution in Mexico, when the capital city was torn by heavy artillery warfare in its central streets and plazas, and which resulted in the tragic death of President Francisco I. Madero, the press dispatches referred occasionally to the activities of the Mexican Red Cross and the Mexican White Cross. These dispatches were of a character to sadden the friends of the Red Cross movement, because they indicated a failure on the part of the federal troops to respect the Red Cross flag and because they revealed a defection of some who should have been a part of the Red Cross, but who, instead, divided the strength and prestige of humane Mexico by organizing the White Cross Society, whose functions are identical with those of the Red Cross.

It is reported that while engaged in giving attention to wounded men in the plaza before the National Palace, the president of the Red Cross was shot and killed. It has also been stated that two members of the White Cross Society were captured by the troops under the command of General Diaz and were found to be engaged in carrying ammunition, and that for this reason they were executed. Without more complete knowledge of local conditions and in consideration of the terrible confusion which prevailed in the City of Mexico in those days of fighting, it would be unjust to endeavor to fix the blame for these unfortunate incidents.

With the establishment of a stable government and the coming of peace it is hoped that the Mexican Red Cross may be given its proper status and recognition, and that those who have heretofore served under the banner of the White Cross may be induced to dissolve that organization and join hands heartily with the Red Cross.

The origin of the Mexican White Cross dates back to the revolution which Francisco I. Madero led against the government of Porfirio Diaz. As a result of the severe fighting between the insurgent and federal forces along the United States border in the spring of 1911 many men were seriously injured. At that time no systematic medical service was provided by either army, and the Mexican Red Cross, which had been organized only a short time previously, had not undertaken to send nurses and physicians to the front. The situation at the threshold of the United States, particularly at the California boundary and near El Paso, Texas, became so serious that the American Red Cross undertook to provide physicians, nurses and hospital care for such of the wounded men as could be reached without going into the interior of Mexico. This service of the American Red Cross along the border in California, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona aroused a sense of pride among many of the people of Mexico, with the result that a group of friends of the insurgents organized a body of nurses and physicians to be sent to the scene of the fighting. To the new organization was given the name of the Mexican White Cross. At about the same time that the White Cross was organized, the Red Cross also prepared to send nurses and physicians to the front. The White Cross group reached Juarez, across the boundary from El Paso, only twenty-four hours before the arrival of the Red Cross group. At that time it was a matter of current report that the White Cross promoters and supporters were favorable to Madero and his cause, and that the Red Cross, having been created under the administration of President Diaz, inclined to favor the federal cause as against that of Madero. The representatives of the two organizations on reaching Juarez were not cordial to each other, and a strong feeling of rivalry was apparent. In justice to both organizations, however, it should be said that at a conference held in Juarez at the suggestion of representatives of the American Red Cross, an arrangement was made by which the work to be done was divided equitably between the two, and that thereafter they worked side by side, zealously and seemingly without friction.

© Underwood & Underwood]

© Underwood and Underwood]

While the facts are not known, it is possible that the failure of the Madero troops, in the recent fighting in the City of Mexico, to respect the Red Cross flag in some measure resulted from the reported partiality of the Red Cross for the Diaz government when Madero was the leader of the insurgents. On the other hand, General Diaz, in the recent Mexican fighting, may have been the more ready to deal harshly with the representatives of the White Cross because of the fact that the White Cross had been reported to be particularly friendly to the cause of Madero when Madero was fighting President Diaz, uncle to General Diaz, leader of the uprising which overthrew Madero.

But whatever may have been the causes which led to a division of the humane people of Mexico into the camps of the Red Cross and the White Cross, it is not to be forgotten that their objects were humanitarian and at bottom identical. With the coming of peace and the restoration of normal conditions of life in the Republic of Mexico, there is every reason to hope that rivalries may be forgotten and that there may come a splendid union of all the humanitarian forces of the country under the emblem of the Red Cross.

In the closing days of the Madero government, while fierce and ruthless war raged in the streets of the City of Mexico, lives and property of American residents were in extreme peril. United States Ambassador Henry Lane Wilson gave every possible assistance and protection, but at best many were without resources and were unable to escape from the city or country unaided. The American Red Cross, on receiving information of these conditions through the Department of State, forwarded $1,000 to Ambassador Wilson to be expended at his discretion for the benefit of Americans in need. Many Americans who succeeded in reaching the city of Vera Cruz were unable to pay for steamship passage to the United States, and for their assistance the Red Cross also sent $500 to William W. Canada, American Consul General of that city, to be used as required for their help.

© Underwood & Underwood]

© Underwood & Underwood]

Dynamite Explosion at Baltimore

A tramp steamer, the _Alum Chine_, lay peacefully at her dock in Baltimore Harbor on March 6, while a gang of stevedores loaded her with dynamite for use in the Panama Canal. The boxes of the explosive were being transferred to the hold of the ship from cars which stood on a barge alongside. About 300 tons of dynamite were on board or in the cars when smoke was seen coming from below. Knowing the inevitable result the men leaped overboard with a rush but before all had reached safety the explosion came.

No words can convey any adequate conception of the terrific destructive power of such a sudden loosing of immeasurable force. The _Alum Chine_ and the barge with its cars alongside disappeared. Other vessels in the vicinity were shattered. Men upon the deck of a new ship five hundred feet away were swept down like tall grass in a gale and a rain of fragments of iron and wreckage killed some, injured many and pierced the steel hull like shots from a cannon. Houses miles away were rocked to their foundations and windows were shattered without number.

Immediate measures of relief were undertaken in behalf of the families of the thirty-one men killed and the fifty-eight injured. The Baltimore Chapter of the Red Cross held a meeting and appropriated $500 while the newspapers were equally prompt in collecting funds. By common consent the Federated Charities, with its experienced agents, was given charge of the gathering of the information necessary to effective action as well as of the actual relief distribution. The next logical step was the consolidation of all contributed funds from whatever source. Thus efficiency and community unity of action were assured from the start. With this beginning it may be confidently expected that the greatest possible good will result from the generosity of the Baltimore people.

Public Works and Relief in China

In general a report of relief operations published long after the public interest in the emergency which called for relief has subsided, is regarded as a good example of what not to read. When an exception is found, it is entitled to special notice, which accounts for this reference to the report of the Central China Famine Relief Committee, embracing an account of the relief operations in the famine district in China between October 1, 1911, and June 30, 1912. It will be recalled that the headquarters of the committee were in Shanghai and membership included many well known American and other foreign residents of China, as well as prominent Chinese citizens. Bishop F. R. Graves was chairman and Rev. E. C. Lobenstine, secretary, and Consul General Amos P. Wilder an active member. These three gentlemen are Americans. At the outset of its work the committee adopted a program stated in six articles. Two of these articles were:

“That relief be given only in return for work done, except in the case of those incapacitated for work.”

“That in the selection of work, preference be given to such work as will help the locality permanently, and as tends to prevent the recurrence of famine conditions, and that each piece be complete in itself.”

This program was closely adhered to from first to last. District subcommittees of representative foreign and native residents, appointed in various sections of the famine region, had immediate charge of the relief works and distribution, and under the district committees were superintendents who had personal direction of the working forces. So much for the machinery. Now for the accomplishment.

In May, 1912, the number of famine sufferers in the employ of the relief committee was 110,000. As but one member was employed from a family, it is estimated that this work supported about 550,000 persons. The character of the work undertaken and its extent are indicated by the following figures from the report:

Dykes built or repaired 129 miles
Canals built or repaired 63 miles
Ditches built or repaired 1,124 miles
Roads repaired 163 miles
Cubic yards of earth moved 10,155,000

It was estimated that the average amount of work performed daily by a famine sufferer was about two-thirds the average day’s work of a coolie under normal conditions. In Hankow 2,000 women from the famine district were employed for months in making garments, of which 64,000 were made and distributed. Much space is given in the report to a description of the actual methods of conducting the work on dykes, canals, etc. A single extract must suffice here:

“Now come with me to the works. First in number and importance are the dirt pushers (I translate the Chinese term), who dig the earth from rectangular pits and push it on their wheelbarrows to the new dykes. They number 3,400 and work in groups of about ten men each and are paid by the job in this way. As soon as a pit reaches a depth of four or five feet it is measured by the foreigner in charge and the head man of the ten is given a ticket which is really an order on the office for the value in grain of the work done. Measuring these pits takes almost all of one foreigner’s time, and as two-thirds of the workmen are dirt pushers, the foreigner has in his direct control that fraction of the whole. The dirt pushers receive 450 cash per fang of 100 cubic feet. In this and the following statement it should be remembered that it takes about 2,500 cash to make a gold dollar.

“Next in numerical strength are the ‘small workmen,’ of whom we have about 1,000. Their work is to carry water from the canal to the dyke in order that the latter may be pounded firm the more easily. Also many of them receive the earth as it comes on to the dyke, break it up, level it and dig small holes into which the water may be poured. They are paid in grain at the rate of 150 cash per man per day.

“Now we come to the pounders. They number 750 and were divided in groups of ten. Each group has a stone weighing about 100 pounds, circular, a foot in diameter, and eight inches thick. To each stone are attached ten ropes, one for each of the ten men, and when the men all pull in unison the stone rises above the level of their heads and then comes down with a thud. The dyke is built in layers, which are one foot thick after they are pounded. Each layer is pounded until it is of the consistency of rubber and is then tested in this unique way. An iron rod is driven down and into the small hole thus made water is poured from a tea kettle. If the water does not soak away the layer has been pounded sufficiently. These pounders are skilled workmen and were originally paid 250 cash worth of grain per man per day, but they proved to be so lazy that we had to invent a sliding scale of wages. So we considered 1,200 square feet as a full day’s work, and if a gang pounds that amount each man is given 250 cash; if they pound 1,100 square feet, 240 cash; 1,000 square feet, 230 cash; 1,300 square feet, 260 cash, and so on. Now they are not lazy.

“We have thirty skilled workmen who trim the edges of the dyke and give it a finished appearance. Also there are sixty overseers who understand the work. They keep an eye on the stone men and test their work as described above, see that the dirt pushers place the dirt in the proper place and direct the stream of water carriers as they come. Both these classes of workmen receive 250 cash worth of grain a day.”

In 1911 the American Red Cross sent to China Mr. C. D. Jameson, a well known engineer, to study the conditions which cause the frequent great floods to devise and suggest a system of river conservancy which will reduce the number and extent of these floods. Mr. Jameson was an advisor of the relief committee and was familiar with its public works at all times. He praises in the warmest terms the thoroughness of the operations and the judgment and ability of the missionaries who were in charge of much of the work. These missionaries, in fact, proved themselves practical men and capable administrators, who did not spare themselves, but under adverse conditions gave from twelve to fifteen hours daily to their unpaid tasks.

In connection with the relief operations an interesting experiment in colonization was undertaken under the leadership of Prof. Joseph Bailie, of the University of Nanking. After many difficulties Prof. Bailie, with the co-operation of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, at that time Provisional President of China, secured a tract of waste land at the foot of Purple Mountain, near Nanking, moved some of his more trustworthy men on to it and began its cultivation. Huts were first built. A school was started for the children, so that they would be cared for while the men and women were at work. The land was gradually broken up, drainage ditches were dug, and potatoes and strawberries, wheat and other cereals were planted. A large number of fruit trees were set out. Some of these were Chinese, but many were obtained from Japan and other countries. The land is now being used as an experiment farm and as a testing school for the men. The soil is of a poor quality, and is in many ways unsatisfactory; but Prof. Bailie is persevering in the faith that he will succeed, not only in doing a piece of work which will be deeply interesting to the officials and gentry near the city of Nanking, but will prove of value to the larger enterprise which he still expects to see carried through.

Mr. Jameson, the American Red Cross conservancy engineer, after traversing the famine districts, says of the prevention of the recurrent floods which have caused many famines, including this one of 1911-12:

“There are no engineering difficulties in the way of controlling the rivers, lowering the flood level and reclaiming the waste land in North Kiangsu and North Anhwei; it is purely a question of money and time. Under the present conditions at least three crops out of five are lost over an area of some 30,000 square miles. The soil of this area is exceedingly rich, the climate such that two crops a year should be possible when the conservancy and reclamation work had been completed. Not only will heavy crops be possible over this whole section year by year, but some millions of acres (English), which now are absolutely worthless, will be available for cultivation. All of this makes the expenditure of the necessary money justifiable from a commercial standpoint.”

It is hoped that the Republic of China will accept the plan prepared by Mr. Jameson as a basis for a system of river conservancy which will put an end to the greater part of the flood devastation which has cursed this land for many centuries. Chinese records show that since the year 494 A. D. sixty-seven famines have occurred in this region. All but two of these famines were caused by floods.

The Central China Famine Relief Committee held its last meeting and closed its work on January 21, 1913. At that time an unexpended balance of approximately $75,000 (gold) remained in the treasury, but the committee disposed of the greater part of it by a series of resolutions, which were in effect as follows:

The sum of $11,250 was placed in the hands of a special committee for the purpose of carrying on “a campaign covering three years or more, to draw attention of officials and people to the seriousness of famines which are occurring with such frequency in different parts of China; to educate public opinion upon the subject of famine prevention and to show how the condition of the people in the famine area can be permanently improved.” The treasurer of this educational fund is the treasurer of the National Committee of the Young Men’s Christian Association of China.

The sum of $2,500 was set aside to assist in the care of “famine children” in the orphanages of the Catholic missions in the famine areas.

The sum of $5,500 was appropriated to be applied to the carrying out of a plan already begun for colonizing destitute Chinese upon unoccupied lands under instruction and supervision.

The sum of $22,500 was set aside to be used in the repair of dykes in the neighborhood of Wuhu on condition that the Chinese of Anhwei Province raise the sum of $45,000 to be applied to the same work.

The sum of $7,500 was voted to be used in the education of Chinese young men in forestry, with special reference to conservation against drought and flood. The purpose is to select a few especially promising Chinese students from the institutions of higher education in China and send them to the American School of Forestry at Manila, P. I., or possibly in some instances to the United States. These young men, after receiving their education, will be expected to return to their native country and enter actively into efforts toward that reforestation which is regarded as essential to any great reduction in the number and severity of floods and droughts.

After making the allotments above mentioned there remained a balance in the committee’s hands of about $22,500, which was transferred to a permanent committee of trustees, consisting of the following: The General Consular Officer of the United States at Shanghai, the Commissioner of Customs, the Manager of the International Banking Corporation, the Honorable Wu Ting Fang, Ch’on Jen Fu, Esq., and the Chairman of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce. This committee will hold the balance of the relief funds for use in future relief work which may be necessary in China as the result of famines.

[A part of this article was published in a recent issue of the Survey.]

Nicaraguan Famine Relief

A general failure of crops, followed by the revolutionary outbreak of last summer in Nicaragua caused great distress among the poorer classes in that country. Conditions were sufficiently bad before the military operations took place, but during July, owing to the revolution, they became critical, and many Nicaraguans faced starvation. Early in August, having been apprised of the situation as it then existed, Secretary of State Knox addressed a communication to the American Red Cross, requesting to be informed whether the Red Cross was in a position to furnish food supplies to relieve the needs of the non-combatants. The American Red Cross promptly forwarded $1,000 to the American minister at Panama, with instructions to expend that amount in the purchase of flour, beans, corn, rice and potatoes. Through the courtesy and co-operation of Colonel George W. Goethals, U. S. A., Governor of the Canal Zone, the commissary of the Isthmian Canal Commission furnished these supplies at wholesale rates, and the same were shipped via the United States transport _Justin_, which was carrying a battalion of United States Marines to Nicaragua.

On August 28th, at the request of Hon. George T. Weitzel, American minister to Nicaragua, at Managua, the State Department suggested a further appropriation by the American Red Cross to continue the alleviation of the suffering which would probably continue some time after the revolutionary disturbances. Pursuant to this suggestion, a further appropriation of $1,000 was made by the Central Committee, and the supply of corn and beans purchased therewith was shipped to Managua from Panama on the steamer _San Juan_, on September 7th.

Under date of January 21, 1913, the Secretary of State transmitted to the American Red Cross a report from Mr. Weitzel as to the manner in which the supplies were distributed and the effectiveness of the relief rendered. Following is an extract from that report:

“The first car, consisting of flour, corn, beans, rice and potatoes to the value of one thousand dollars, left the Panama Canal Zone on August 9, 1912, in charge of Major Smedley D. Butler, U. S. M. C., and was received in Managua on the 15th of that month.

“The legation requested a committee of Americans, including Messrs. Otto Schoenrich, A. R. Thompson, C. D. Ham, A. J. Lindberg and J. A. Whitaker, to take charge of the provisions under instructions to relieve all cases of distress, irrespective of affiliation of the applicants; but as they were unable to attend to the matter on account of departure from the city, or other reason, the legation decided to do the work itself. Mr. Walter H. Hooper, an American missionary, and Padre J. A. Lezcano, a well known Nicaraguan priest, kindly offered to assist in investigating needy cases. Signed tickets, good for five rations, were then issued to the applicants who presented them to Mr. William Gower, assistant paymaster of the United States Navy, at the railroad station, where two-fifths of the car load was distributed, beginning with the flour and potatoes, which deteriorate very rapidly in this climate.

“The remaining three-fifths were taken to Leon, where Lieutenant Colonel Charles G. Long, U. S. M. C., distributed them through the Hospital San Vincente and the Sisters of Charity, reserving a portion, however, to feed one hundred and twenty-five prisoners, who had been sadly neglected during the hostilities in that town.

“The second carload donated by the Red Cross consisted of 10,000 pounds of beans and 7,140 pounds of cornmeal, these two staples being the principal articles of food for the poorer classes in Nicaragua. Having been despatched from the Canal Zone on September 7th the consignment reached Managua on the 14th of that month and was started the next morning to Granada under the personal charge of the clerk of the legation, arriving there after being fired on at the Barranca on Sunday, September 22d. The distribution was promptly begun from a central station even before the disarmament had taken place. Great assistance was rendered by Dr. Juan I. Urtecho, an elderly gentleman of wide reputation for impartial charity, who has devoted many years of his professional life as a physician to gratuitous practice among the poor, and who before the arrival of the Americans had fed at his own expense hundreds of famished people. Several of the Granada ladies kindly volunteered their services in placing the tickets with deserving families, and Private Baldwin, U. S. M. C., supplied the holders of the tickets with the number of rations thereon designated, nearly 8,000 in all being thus disposed of. A gratifying feature of the distribution of supplies was the small number of men who appeared in line, and even those few were maimed, sick or blind. The Red Cross and San Juan Hospitals, the French College for Girls and the schools were given the first attention.

“There was urgent need of help, as many poor families had been forced for a long time to subsist on green mangoes, and some deaths had already resulted from starvation, but the timely arrival of supplies quickly relieved the situation. Children who crowded around the camp were fed by the enlisted men out of their own rations, and a carload of corn and flour donated by the American colony in Managua was distributed among the sufferers.

“As soon as order was restored the farmers from the surrounding territory brought their produce to market, and the railroad resumed transportation of supplies which had been accumulating in Corinto, so that conditions at Granada and elsewhere should begin gradually to improve, although it will be some time before the people will cease to feel the depression caused by the failure of crops for two successive years, and by the hardships suffered during the present disturbances.

“The prompt and generous action of the American Red Cross has won expressions of deep appreciation from those who have been helped, and has created the kindliest feeling among all classes of people in Nicaragua.”

Important Conference on Red Cross Christmas Seals

No sooner does one Red Cross Christmas Seal Campaign end than preparations for the next begins. While the public sees and hears of the seal only during the months of November and December, when the seals are on sale, a very large amount of preparatory work is necessary in order that the sale may reach every section of the country and may be carried on with the publicity and system which are necessary to success.

Although the returns from the season of 1912 are not yet all received, the first important step toward the Christmas Seal Campaign of 1913 has already been taken. This was a conference held in the offices of the American Red Cross in Washington on February 28th and attended by many of the principal State and city agents, who have demonstrated their ability in past years and will be leaders in the campaign of this year. It is gratifying to note that with each succeeding year the system and methods of selling Christmas Seals are improving. In the first year or two after the introduction of the Seals as a means of obtaining support for anti-tuberculosis work, the venture was generally regarded as one of those novelties which, after a transient popularity, drop quickly out of use. Agents thought it scarcely worth while to undertake the trouble and expense of systematizing their methods of selling and accounting. Gradually the permanent value of the Seal as a method of interesting a very large number of people in anti-tuberculosis work and in raising large sums of money without unjustly burdening any givers began to be apparent. From that time the methods of distributing, selling and accounting for the Seals have been made the subject of careful study. System and business methods have been gradually introduced, with the result that instead of falling away, the sales of Seals have increased with each year, while economies which have been introduced in administration have increased the percentage of net profit.

In the winter of 1912 the first conference was held of agents for the Seals for the discussion and interchange of experiences and for the purpose of reaching an agreement upon questions of interest to all. That conference was so prolific of good results in the Seal campaign of 1912 that a second similar conference was held on February 28th, as above mentioned.

An idea of the thoroughness with which the agents are considering the business of distributing the Seals may be gained from a mention of a few topics considered at this conference. The first subject of discussion was the design for the Christmas Seal of 1913 and the form which the Seal should take. It was the unanimous opinion of those present that the Seal should contain some pictorial design suitable to the Christmas season, rather than a purely ornamental design of artistic merit, but without any particular human appeal. Without exception the agents reported that the design for 1912, containing a head of Santa Claus, had proved the most popular yet adopted.

Another subject discussed was the character, variety and quantity of advertising matter to be prepared. It was reported that an experiment in selling Seals through penny-in-the-slot machines had proved unsuccessful, and this method of distribution was disapproved. From many agents it was learned that the sale of Seals through a simple mail order system had proved successful and inexpensive. In many busy offices agents for the Seals find it difficult to obtain a hearing by personal calls, when a brief, well-expressed letter will receive a prompt and favorable response. In certain cities fully half the Seals sold in 1912 were disposed of in this manner.

It was found to be the consensus of opinion among agents that the offering of prizes for the sale of Seals, especially individual prizes to school children, is inadvisable. A few agents reported the successful use of prizes for schools, but not to individual pupils, without apparent disadvantages. All agreed that great care must be exercised in offering prizes in order to avoid stimulating children to improper methods. Several agents reported that citizens of their communities had complained of annoyance because of the numerous calls at their doors by children desirous of selling Seals. One agent described a method of avoiding this nuisance which has proved completely successful in his community. This method is for a citizen who has purchased Christmas Seals to paste one of the seals on his door knob or front door. Any child approaching a door and seeing a seal thus posted, understands that he is not to disturb that household, as its supply of Seals is already purchased. By announcing this system of protection through the press and in the schools it is said to have fully accomplished its purpose.

Tn Ohio the State agent for the Seals adopted a method of awarding prizes which is reported to have been extremely successful, not only as a stimulus to the selling of Seals, but as an educational factor. The agent offered to supply a visiting nurse for one month to each of the twelve cities in the State of Ohio which sold the largest percentage of Seals in proportion to its population. A trained visiting nurse was employed by the State agent for one year and was sent in turn from city to city among the prize winners, serving one month in each locality. Not only did this prove an extremely popular arrangement, but in six of the cities benefited by the plan in 1912, the public became so impressed by the value of the visiting nurse that they arranged to employ nurses permanently upon the withdrawal of the prize nurse.

It has been found by experience that the distribution and sale of Seals can best be carried on through the appointment of State agents, who in turn appoint, and are responsible for, the local agents. The State agents return to the American Red Cross 10 per cent of the gross proceeds of sales in their respective States. This 10 per cent is to cover the expense to the Red Cross, which manufactures and distributes the Seals and the large quantity and variety of advertising matter used by the agents. The conference discussed at length the question of the percentage which the local agents should pay to the State agents. This discussion resulted in the conclusion that it is impracticable to fix upon a percentage applicable to all States alike. Local conditions vary so widely in different States that a percentage which would be fair in one State might be unsatisfactory in another. The reports indicated that the percentages charged by State agents to their local agencies vary from 2½ to 20 per cent on gross sales, although in one or two instances the percentage required to be returned to the State agents has exceeded 20 per cent.

Many other subjects of material interest were discussed, and no doubt exists that the conference will prove to have been of material value to all who participated in it. The agents who were present were the following:

Dr. William Charles White, of Pittsburgh.
Mr. Frank H. Mann, of New York City.
Mr. William J. Deeney, of Philadelphia.
Mr. Karl de Schweinits, of Philadelphia.
Dr. Hoyt E. Dearholt, of Milwaukee.
Dr. R. H. Bishop, of Cleveland, O.
Mr. D. Van Blarcom, of New York City.
Mr. Ernest D. Easton, of Newark.
Mr. Severance Burrage, of Indianapolis.
Mr. H. Wirt Steele, of Baltimore.
Mr. L. B. Meyers, of Charlotte, N. C.
Mr. James Jenkins, Jr., of Brooklyn.
Mr. William C. Smallwood, of Newark.
Mr. Roy L. French, of Baltimore.
Mr. Kendall Weisiger, of Atlanta.

Besides the agents above mentioned, there were also present Dr. Livingston Farrand and Mr. Philip P. Jacobs, of the National Association for the Study and Prevention of Tuberculosis, and Miss Mabel T. Boardman, Mr. Ernest P. Bicknell and Mr. Charles L. Magee, of the American Red Cross.

The National Association for the Study and Prevention of Tuberculosis, as in 1911 and 1912, has been appointed by the Red Cross as national sales agent for the Christmas Seals. The appointment of State agents, as in the past, will be in the hands of the national sales agent.

While it is not possible at this time to publish a complete statement of returns from the Christmas Seal campaign of 1912, the following figures will show the results reached by some of the leading agents:

PARTIAL STATEMENT OF THE RESULTS OF CHRISTMAS SEAL SALES FOR 1912 COMPILED FROM THE REPORTS OF AGENTS.

_Number _Number _Percentage
_Agency._ of of of
Seals Rec’d._ Seals Sold._ Seals Sold._

Arkansas 140,000 118,819 84.8
California 5,500,000 1,373,520 24.9
Connecticut—
Danbury 25,000 15,305 61.2
Hartford 250,000 148,035 59.2
Litchfield 40,000 32,960 82.4
Meriden 100,100 5,554 5.5
Middletown 75,000 34,741 46.3
New Britain 125,000 74,257 59.4
New Haven 600,000 228,220 38.3
New London 50,000 19,893 39.7
Norwich 120,000 82,694 68.9
Stamford 40,000 30,385 75.9
Waterbury 250,000 184,921 73.9
Delaware 75,000 42,746 56.9
District of Columbia 374,500 362,716 96.8
Georgia 1,800,000 770,770 42.8
Hawaii 400,000 179,995 44.9
Illinois 6,000,000 1,821,520 30.3
Iowa 1,500,000 410,440 27.3
Kentucky—
Covington 100,000 36,406 36.4
Cynthiana 10,000 1,205 12.0
Henderson 50,000 10,040 20.0
Lexington 140,000 61,505 43.9
Louisville 300,000 180,446 60.1
Owensboro 30,000 8,240 27.4
Paducah 100,000 48,349 48.3
Louisiana 600,000 281,784 46.8
Maine 1,500,000 304,884 20.3
Maryland 1,000,000 512,819 51.2
Massachusetts—
Boston 2,500,000 1,353,969 54.1
Holyoke 100,000 52,114 52.1
Pittsfield 100,000 71,345 71.3
Springfield 150,000 89,265 59.5
Michigan 3,000,000 1,078,464 35.9
Mississippi 500,000 153,220 30.6
Montana—
Billings 75,100 14,870 19.8
Great Falls 20,000 17,358 86.7
Nebraska 720,000 289,360 40.1
New Hampshire 190,000 100,180 52.7
New York—
Brooklyn 2,100,000 1,323,220 63.0
New York City 4,000,000 2,079,324 51.9
North Carolina 801,500 396,053 49.4
Oregon 1,000,000 124,536 12.4
Pennsylvania 2,000,000 1,297,531 64.8
Rhode Island 2,000,000 1,101,700 55.0
South Carolina—
Georgetown 10,000 400 4.0
Spartanburg 20,000 8,860 44.3
South Dakota—
Aberdeen 25,100 5,510 21.9
Sioux City 40,000 8,929 22.3
Tennessee 1,000,000 118,300 11.8
Utah—
Ogden 50,000 8,000 16.0
Salt Lake City 100,000 100,000 100.0
Vermont 125,000 65,786 52.6
Virginia 250,000 151,450 60.5
West Virginia 700,000 457,175 65.3
Wisconsin 3,000,000 2,896,840 96.5
---------- ---------- ----
Total 45,871,300 20,746,938 45.2

The important position which the Red Cross Christmas Seal now occupies as a means of support for anti-tuberculosis work in the United States is indicated by the fact that the sales of the Seal, since its introduction five years ago, have amounted to a total of more than $1,000,000. Every year the sale has exceeded that of the year preceding. In 1911 the total sale amounted to $339,656.08, and it is believed that the complete reports of the sale in 1912 will show a considerable increase over that amount.

What the Red Cross Seal Has Done for Brooklyn

JAMES JENKINS, JR., _Executive Secretary, Brooklyn Committee on Tuberculosis_.

The money made by the Red Cross Christmas Seal has done a very definite and practical piece of work for Brooklyn, New York. About a year before the seals were issued, there had been formed in Brooklyn a Tuberculosis Committee, that had at that time limited funds but was struggling to carry on various pieces of important and rather expensive work. One of the needs of the community was more adequate hospital facilities and a day camp for tubercular patients. The camp was to be established for mothers and children, and it was hoped at that time that a class might be formed for children, who could go on with their school duties.

As a result of the first year’s sales about $5,000 was made, and through the help of the Erie Railroad an old ferryboat was made into a city day camp and attached to one of the piers of North River, where the air is as fresh as possible, in such a large city. The first day the camp opened there were thirty-five cases on the boat and the number has increased, sometimes slowly but always steadily, until now the capacity of the boat is 100 patients. The first summer a kindergarten teacher was privately employed, who entertained the children, but early in the fall a regular class was established, as an annex to one of the public schools, and it was the only school in Brooklyn for tubercular children. Now the boat has three classes, of nearly thirty children each, besides fifteen adults.

When the day camp was established and known as the Red Cross Day Camp, it was planned by the Tuberculosis Committee to have the city take it over or share the expenses, if the experiment should prove worth while. The city very soon recognized the value of the work at the Red Cross Day Camp and the children were admitted through the city tubercular clinics. Gradually the city has taken over more and more of the expenses of the camp, but the boat is still known as the Red Cross Day Camp, and the money made by the sale of the seals pays the remarkably good superintendent of the boat, furnishes carfare to and from the camp, for those patients who cannot afford to pay, and also pays for any special training which the committee deems valuable to the patients. This year a cobbling teacher has been employed to teach the boys how to mend their own shoes; an expert course of corrective exercises was given by a trained man; chair caning was taught and the adults and older girls are taught to sew and mend.

The total number of cases admitted to the boat since the beginning is 965. The curative results have been excellent, especially with the children. At the beginning of the second semester of the school year this session about one-third of the children were pronounced cured and sent back to their regular schools.

In addition to the work of the day camp this year the funds raised by the Red Cross Christmas Seals will be devoted to the open-air classes for anemic children in the public schools. There are open-air classes in eight of the public schools now in Brooklyn. About 300 children attend these classes and all of them are given some extra nourishment in the morning and afternoon and a warm lunch at noon, and some extra clothing was provided by the Board of Education. Special examinations by private physicians, visits to homes, employment of cooks, supervisor, etc., come out of the Red Cross money.

The plan adopted in Brooklyn has been to keep the Red Cross money in a special fund and devote it to some specific work, which interests the thousands of people who buy seals at Christmas time. Without the help of the sale of the seals it would have been impossible to have done some of the most valuable work which has been done for tubercular patients in Brooklyn.

First Aid Department

One of the most successful campaigns conducted by the First Aid Department of the American Red Cross has been that on the Missouri-Pacific System, which was completed at Texarkana, Arkansas, on January 4, 1913. It was begun at Omaha, Nebraska, on the September 16, 1912. A great part of the Missouri-Pacific System was covered during the ensuing two months and a half, meetings being held at points in nine different States. The total number of meetings was 234, the total attendance 14,050, and the total travel 5,752 miles. The employes of this railroad system were generally greatly interested in learning first aid. As the direct result of this tour the entire system is to be outfitted with first aid supplies and the instruction of men in their use is to be continued systematically.

It is gratifying to be able to record the fact that in the course of this campaign many public meetings have been held both in Car No. 1 and in town halls. Several opportunities have been offered to speak on first aid at high schools, and in one or two towns this subject will be adopted as part of the curriculum. Many fire and police departments have been represented at meetings as well as a good number of industries.

Dr. Mackey, in charge of Car No. 1 on his arrival at Texarkana, Texas, on January 6, made arrangements to hold meetings at schools, factories, etc., in that town while awaiting a new railroad schedule. The high school and normal school attendance during this period amounted to 995 persons. The school board of Texarkana has adopted first aid to the injured as a regular course of study in the high school. The Y. M. C. A. has installed a complete course and the Texarkana Normal School (colored) has decided to take up this work. On leaving Texarkana on the 17th of January, 1913, Dr. Mackey, with Car No. 1, resumed his railroad work on the St. Louis Southwestern Railroad of Texas. This was continued until the end of February with a total attendance of 2,085, a total of 30 meetings, and a total travel of 1,274 miles.

The hard and continuous service of Car No. 1 during the past three years has finally put it out of commission beyond hope of repair. It is a pleasure to be able to record the fact that the Pullman Company has generously offered to replace this car with a new one which will be larger and better suited to Red Cross purposes. It is expected that this car will be ready for service before this report goes to press. Meanwhile, Dr. Mackey is devoting his time to the various schools and industries in the vicinity of Texarkana, Texas.

After what Dr. Davis, in charge of Car No. 2, characterizes as a splendid campaign over the Philadelphia & Reading System first aid work was taken up for the Lehigh Valley Railroad. This was begun on December 13, 1912, and continued to February 7, 1913. The more important points visited and at which meetings were held were as follows: Jersey City, Perth Amboy, N. J.; Easton. Pa.; Bethlehem, Pa.; Lehighton, Pa.; Hazleton, Pa.; Delano, Pa.; Wilkes-Barre, Pa.; Pittston, Pa.; Sayre, Pa.: Auburn, N. Y.; Manchester, N. Y.; Rochester, N. Y.; Buffalo, N. Y., and Niagara Falls, N. Y. The total number of miles traveled was 916; 72 meetings were held, with a total attendance of 3,105. The interest displayed on the Lehigh Valley has been extremely gratifying.

Dr. Davis also reports that he learned from Mr. J. S. Rockwell, General Agent, Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh Railroad, that since Car No. 2 covered that system last spring the work has been progressing very favorably under the supervision of the company surgeons. The men and officers are taking an active part in the movement and the results have been strikingly successful, not only in respect to proper handling and dressing of injuries but in a decrease in the number of accidents. A bulletin is posted each month at the different shops making comparison as to the number injured for each plant per number employed. Mr. Rockwell states that it is truly remarkable the way the men from the different shops are vying with each other in doing everything in their power to make their particular shops come out at the end of the month with the fewest injured.

The Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh Railroad would like very much to have another first aid campaign over its lines with the idea of getting road men thoroughly organized in order that as nearly as possible they may be on a par with the men employed in the shops. The report from this railroad is of the greatest importance as it shows the direction which it is believed first aid should take on railroads generally; first, the prevention of accidents, and, second, their proper care if they do unfortunately occur.

As mentioned in the January RED CROSS MAGAZINE, Dr. M. J. Shields. Field Agent of the First Aid Department of the American Red Cross, has been carrying on a very successful first aid campaign for the Bell Telephone Company, spending from December 3, 1912, to February 12, 1913, with the Bell Telephone Company of Pennsylvania and from February 14 to March 10, covering the Chesapeake and Potomac Company’s plant. Lectures were given in Philadelphia and vicinity, Chester, Westchester, West Grove, Jenkintown, Doylestown, Norristown, Pottstown, and Lancaster in eastern Pennsylvania: Camden, Atlantic City, Burlington, Bridgetown, and Trenton in New Jersey, and at Wilmington and Dover in Delaware.

The following offices of the Bell Telephone Company of Pennsylvania were also visited during January and February: Reading, Allentown, Harrisburg, Altoona, Lewistown, Bellefonte, Williamsport, Sunbury, Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, Easton, Pittsburgh, Washington, Uniontown, Greensburg, Johnstown, New Kensington, Rochester, New Castle, Greenville, Erie, Warren, Oil City, Bradford, Du Bois, and Butler in Pennsylvania; in West Virginia, Wheeling, Fairmont, Clarksburg and Parkersburg; and in Ohio, Marietta, Urieville, Steubenville, and East Liverpool.

In Chesapeake and Potomac territory, Washington, D. C., Baltimore, Westminister, Frederick, Hagerstown, Queenstown, Salisbury, all in Maryland were reached as well as Norfolk, Richmond, and Lynchburg in Virginia and Thurmond, Charleston, Huntington, and Martinsburg in West Virginia. In all, the number of meetings held was 142, miles traveled 7,500, and attendance 7,950.

Those in attendance at the meetings were principally from the plant department, the men who build and maintain the telephone lines, put up ærial and underground cables, and install ’phones, but at nearly every meeting numbers from the commercial and traffic departments attended. Special talks were given in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Washington, D. C., to the chief operators (women) and matrons on what to do in sudden illness and emergencies, on how to keep well, and on personal hygiene. Dr. Shields reports that these lectures were well received. He also reports that the subject of accident prevention was taken up and emphasized at each lecture.

Invitations to attend these lectures were extended to the officials and employes of the various electric light, power and street car companies. Also to the Western Union, Postal and American Telegraph and Telephoto companies, with the idea of encouraging a cooperative movement already started of making a safer arrangement of cross-arms and a better spread and less dangerous arrangement of high tension wires on poles jointly used and in underground conduits, thereby cutting down to the minimum the most distressing of accidents—fatal shock on a pole 30 feet in the air or in an 8-foot man hole.

The press in the towns and cities visited gave the work good publicity both in their news columns and editorials. The _Gazette-Times_ of Pittsburgh, on Sunday, February 16, had a full page with excellent illustrations. The following is an extract from an editorial in the _Westminster Maryland Times_ of February 21:

“Too much cannot be said in praise of the work now being done
by the Red Cross in educating people to care for themselves and
others in time of accidents. That such work has great economic,
as well as sentimental value, is proved by the way the Bell
Telephone Companies and other large corporations are spending
money to carry on campaigns, with the help of the Red Cross
surgeons, that will show their men what they can and should do
in the way of giving first aid to the injured, before a doctor
can arrive.”

The _Telephone-News_, January 1st, made first aid and accident prevention a leading article. The _Transmitter_, published by the Chesapeake & Potomac Company, in the issue of March 1st had an illustrated article on the first aid Campaign.

Throughout all this work every assistance was given by the officials and men and the work was much appreciated by them. No doubt the interest created will be the means of doing a great deal of good not only among telephone men but with the public generally, as no business comes into closer contact with the public than that of the telephone company.

First Aid in Australia

As another exemplification of the frequent assertion that the earth is not so large after all is a letter which the editor of the RED CROSS MAGAZINE recently received from Australia. Mr. H. Leslie McWhinney, of Auburn, Victoria, in some unexplained way, obtained a copy of the MAGAZINE for October, 1912, and became so interested in the activities of the American Red Cross that he was moved to write the editor. His letter contains so much information relative to the work of the First Aid Volunteer Association in Australia that a portion of it is quoted here, as follows:

“First aid work in Australia is organized and conducted by the St. John Ambulance Association, an English institution, which conducts first aid and nursing classes, and has a permanent ambulance service in most of the capital cities of the six States. It also has an organization called the St. John Ambulance Brigade, consisting of men’s and women’s (nursing) divisions. Sydney and Brisbane have civil ambulances as well. In Melbourne we have the First Aid Volunteer Association, owing allegiance to St. John’s, but acting quite independently of it.

“This association had its origin in the visit of the American fleet in 1908, when this country became wild with enthusiasm and large crowds visited the seaports to see the fleet. The Melbourne City Council, expecting large crowds and many accidents, called for volunteers holding first aid certificates, and a number responded, and rendered good service. Afterwards Mr. W. F. Pratt, our present secretary, suggested that those on duty should form a practice society, and this was done, the First Aid Volunteer Association being formed.

“Our membership has increased from 40 to 110, and is now growing rapidly; the average attendance at weekly meetings ranges from 30 to 40 and at lectures from 60 to 80. We encourage people interested in first aid to visit our meetings and send members out to help class secretaries. We also supply members for first aid duty at large public meetings, exhibitions, missions and other gatherings. Last year our members attended the Scoville Mission for six weeks, treating 44 cases; the Alexander-Chapman Mission (4 weeks), and several other large gatherings. A hygiene exhibition opens in Melbourne next week and we have agreed to supply 12 members a night for four weeks. We make no charge, and our members take no payment. Of course, we are willing to accept donations to our funds, but do not ask for them.

“We have a stretcher and a first class kit and plenty of bandages, besides medical instruments for use on duty by any medical man who happens along. At our monthly outings, which take place out of the city on Saturday afternoons, the secretary prepares a list of accidents, labels various ‘patients,’ and the other members have to work in pairs, being allowed one bandage apiece and having to improvise the others. Average attendance is thirty. We usually do a little propaganda work at these outings, inviting the local class secretaries to bring along their pupils, if any.”