When fortune brings distress upon one member, O thou, who art careless of thy fellow's grief, THE WHITE MAN'S BURDEN 1 RUDYARD KIPLING Take up the White Man's burden - In olden times, people considered those not of their own tribe or nation as natural enemies, and while they loved and aided one another, believed it was their good fortune when disaster came upon the foreigner. The Greeks called "barbarians" all people who were not Greeks, and their writings are full of expressions of joy because disaster befell these people. For over a century now the idea of democracy has been making headway in the world. Behind it lies the conviction that every person is of value to the community and that each has rights and duties because he is a member of the community. This feeling, which has fostered 1 Collected Verse. Doubleday, Page & Co. national unity, and which has resulted in our great modern nations, has given strong impetus to the feeling of brotherhood which religion teaches. In 1854 the idea of human brotherhood was strikingly impressed upon the world. The heroic services of Florence Nightingale in the Crimean War put a new aspect on the meaning of warfare and established for all time humane treatment of the sick and wounded on the battle-field. The world owes a debt of gratitude to Henri Dunant, a Swiss, who, after the terrible battle of Solferino, began a campaign to organize an international organization to aid the sick and wounded in battle. Through his efforts, the Swiss Government issued a call on June 6, 1864, for an international conference to discuss the matter. This Conference signed a document, known as the "Red Cross Convention," from the badge of its workers, whose provisions set down principles for the care of the sick and wounded on the battle-field. The rights and privileges of Red Cross workers have now been extended to maritime warfare. Above all nations is humanity, then, even in time of war. Equally useful, however, is the aid of the Red Cross in times of peace. A few years ago an earthquake shook down the buildings and homes of San Francisco; fire broke out in the ruins and the principal parts of the city were destroyed. Thousands were homeless, foodless, penniless. The telegraph carried the news of the disaster to every corner of the world, and all peoples sympathized with the fate of the San Franciscans and hurried aid to the city. Distant countries telegraphed money; all sections of the United States rushed supplies, and the Red Cross was ready at a moment's notice to take its part in performing relief services. War, pestilence, famine, floods, fires, and other national calamities are the things for which the relief work of the Red Cross is designed to offer help. National societies are organized with many local societies connected with them working under their direction. They collect stores of hospital and ambulance materials and, when the occasion arises, nurses and relief workers are rushed to the scene, acting on the spot for the kindhearted world which can put its sympathies into action only through such an organization. In all the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the isles of the sea, the Red Cross rushes to assist the unfortunate without asking about the race or religion of the victims of disaster. The Spanish-American War campaign of the Red Cross is an excellent example of its missions of mercy. During the summer of 1897 reports began to come out of Cuba of the great suffering among the people of that island, who were in revolt against Spain. A large number of men were in the field fighting, but other men, and the women and children, were taking no part in the struggle. The Spanish authorities, in order to weaken the resistance of the rebels, began to collect these men, women, and children in the seacoast towns under military control. Thousands were forced to leave their homes and their means of livelihood to go to the city, where no work was obtainable and little, if any, provision made for their care. The Spanish authorities thought in this way to destroy the means of resistance by depriving the rebellious Cubans of their families and the aid that reached them from their many sympathizers. But the people thus carried from home did not serve to lessen the strength of the rebellious spirit, and because they were herded in towns without means of support or even food, a pitiable situation arose which aroused the world. Thousands began to die for want of food or from sickness contracted in unwholesome surroundings; hundreds of thousands were in want. The United States Congress took up the matter of relief for Cubans, appeals were made to kind-hearted people, and early in 1898 the Red Cross began to send food to the unfortunates. The railroads transported these supplies free, the steamship companies carried them without charge to Cuba, and there the Red Cross distributed them. This work was under the authority and with the aid of the Government. The outbreak of the war changed the character but not the beneficence of the work of the Red Cross. On the Spanish side the Red Cross of that country was equally active, and it was felt that there was necessity for the American and Spanish organizations to coöperate on the battle-field. The Duke of Palmella, head of the Red Cross of Portugal, suggested to the societies of the United States and Spain that his organization stood ready to act as the go-between for the two bodies of humane workers. On the battle-fields and everywhere that war made itself felt, the Spanish and American Red Cross workers helped each other in their humanitarian work as much as they could. In a dozen camps the Red Cross workers, without enmity and only with the purpose of aiding those in need, ministered to the wants of sick and well, friend and enemy, and not a little of their work, and much of the food and medical service they were able to render, were due to other nations than the two at war. The Red Cross societies of Europe and Asia gave freely of money to help out the Spanish and American societies, assisting both sides. Suggestions for study Read to the class: 2 Kings, chaps. xxiv and xxv; History of the Red Cross, by Clara Barton (American Historical Press), and "The Red Cross," in An American Book of Golden Deeds, James Baldwin (American Book Co.). Tell the story of Florence Nightingale; see "Lives of Famous Women," by Sarah K. Bolton, in The Children's Hour, edited by Eva March Tappan, vol. vIII, p. 467 (Houghton Mifflin Co.). How did the Red Cross come into existence? Who prompted its formation? How does its work in time of peace differ from that in war-time? Tell of some of its latest activities. Does its work cover the world? Reading for the teacher Quo Vadis, Henry Sienkiewicz. Little, Brown & Co. Asia and Europe, p. 261, Meredith Townsend. G. P. Putnam's Sons. First Book of World Law, p. 251, Raymond L. Bridgman. Ginn & Co. The Origin of the Red Cross, by Mrs. David H. Wright; translation of Un Souvenir de Solferino, by Henri Dunant. John C. Winston, Philadelphia. Apply to National Red Cross, Washington, D.C., for descriptions of work, reports, etc. On the Russo-Japanese War see Human Bullets, Tadayoshi Sakurai. Houghton Mifflin Co. On the Balkan War see The Wounded. World Peace Foundation, Boston. |