Part 6
“You will be interested in knowing that long before I heard from you on this subject the head of one of our American Protestant Missions in Rome stated to me that he understood our orphanage was to be governed and managed by Catholic priests, and that the Protestant contributors of money in America would never tolerate such a thing. When I explained to him the policy of those in charge of the Queen’s Orphanage in regard to orphans, he seemed thoroughly satisfied. It is interesting that we should have received a protest from the Protestant Church that the Catholics are being favored, and then that the leading Catholic papers in America should publish an article implying that the Catholics are receiving unfair treatment.
“The very nature of the organization and the legal status of the orphanage work under the Queen’s patronage makes it impossible that it should be governed in the interest of one denomination....
“In my opinion, the Queen’s Orphanage is entitled to our admiration and respect for the very just and liberal policy adopted to solve the very delicate questions raised by the different religious denominations of the orphans. During the whole of this trying period I have not received a single complaint from any of the American Protestant Missions with regard to the disposition of the orphans belonging to their denomination; nor has any complaint from a Catholic source been brought to my knowledge until you forwarded me the clipping from the _Catholic Transcript_. I am extremely disappointed that such a fair-minded paper should have failed to do justice to the perfectly correct course of the Italian authorities with regard to the religion of the earthquake orphans.
“It goes without saying that a great part of the moneys which came from America through the American Red Cross and otherwise went to the assistance of Catholics. The money received by Protestant Italians would be a minute fraction of 1 per cent. It seems strange that there should be any expression of discontent from any Catholic source.
[Illustration: MOVING-IN DAY. ONE OF THE FIRST FAMILIES TO OCCUPY AN AMERICAN COTTAGE, MESSINA.]
“On the other hand, I am most happy to say that we have the most gratifying expressions of appreciation from such persons as Archbishop Ireland, the Archbishop of Messina, the Bishop of Milito, and other distinguished prelates of the Catholic Church.”
The Red Cross has no method of knowing how much or what part of the amounts received for Italian earthquake relief (about $1,000,000) was contributed by Catholics. Assuming that the proportion this part bore to the whole was the same as the ratio of the Catholic population of the United States to the whole population, then the funds of Catholic origin, so to speak, received by the Red Cross must have been one-seventh or one-sixth of the whole.
It seems to be established as a fact that there was no sufficient basis for your charge that the American Red Cross had adopted a course that would or did result in the perversion of faith of the Catholic orphans. Those appointed by the King to the solemn trust of rearing these orphans are discharging their duty conscientiously. The prelates of the Catholic Church on the spot are thoroughly familiar with what was ordered to be done and with what is being done in this regard, and they will be careful to note and call attention to any deviation from conditions imposed by royal warrant and by justice.
Your letter to me of March 22, 1909, was given to the press before it reached me, and before you had taken pains to inquire into the proofs relied on to support the assertions which were the basis for your arraignment of the Red Cross.
I have sent copies of this letter to the Catholic press of the United States, in the belief that the readers of the original charge are entitled to know what are the actual facts respecting the measures taken by those applying the generous contributions of American Catholics and non-Catholics to insure the rearing and instruction of the earthquake orphans in the faith of their fathers.
The American Ambassador in Rome is a member of the permanent Executive Committee of the American Red Cross Italian Orphanage.
Yours, very sincerely,
GEO. W. DAVIS, _Chairman, Central Committee_.
_Disposal of Balance of Italian Fund._
As the American Red Cross was desirous of bringing to an end its Italian relief work, an inquiry was made of our Embassy in Rome as to the best use to be made of a small balance of funds still in hand. It was advised to contribute this amount to the Queen of Italy for the benefit of her relief work in the model village of Regina Helena, built for the refugees near Messina, and in which her majesty is deeply interested. In acknowledgement of this gift of $5,000 the following letter was sent to the American Ambassador:
COURT OF HER MAJESTY, THE QUEEN, ROME, July 3, 1909.
EXCELLENCY: Her majesty, the Queen, has charged me to request you to thank the American Red Cross for the relief it has so generously given to the refugees of the Sicilian disaster.
COUNT P. DI TRINITA.
_Testimonials of Gratitude._
On June 19 the American Red Cross received from the Italian Red Cross a beautiful gold medal and diploma as tokens of appreciation of the assistance rendered by America after the earthquake in Sicily and Calabria.
Cuts of the medal are shown herewith, and below are printed the letter of the President of the Italian Red Cross transmitting the medal and diploma, and the letter of the President of the American Red Cross in acknowledgment.
ROME, ITALY, April 19, 1909.
ILLUSTRIOUS SIR: In the never-to-be-forgotten calamity by which she was overcome Italy has found but one solace. It was to feel, to know, that the sorrow was universal, and that the heart of the world throbbed in unison with hers.
Touching evidence of human solidarity came to us from every part of your glorious Republic, but every burst of charity was outdone by the Red Cross, over which you preside, sir, and which assisted her Italian sister with a supreme munificence of relief.
May you find the medal and diploma we now send you as tokens of our gratitude, of which, however, they are but a modest outward sign, acceptable. More durably than in the metal is our gratefulness engraved in the hearts of the Italians, whose mindful blessings will stand as the sacred heritage of the generations to come.
R. TAVERNA, _President, Italian Red Cross_.
To the PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN RED CROSS, _Washington, D. C._
WASHINGTON, D. C., June 22, 1909.
SIR: I have received your courteous communication of April 19 last, with which you transmit a gold medal and diploma, presented by the Italian National Red Cross to the American National Red Cross, as testimonials of gratitude for the contributions furnished by the latter for the sufferers from the earthquakes in Calabria and Sicily.
As President of the American National Red Cross it affords me great pleasure to accept these testimonials in behalf of the association, not only because of their beauty and intrinsic worth, but as tokens of the humanitarian spirit which joins the world in fraternal kinship in times of great distress.
Not less valued that they are the sentiments of generous appreciation on the part of the Italian Red Cross, to which you give expression in your communication.
I beg you to be so good as to convey to the Italian Red Cross the thanks and appreciation of the American Red Cross for their considerate action, and am,
Very cordially, yours,
WM. H. TAFT, _President, American National Red Cross_.
COUNT R. TAVERNA, _President, Italian Red Cross_.
_Translation of Inscription on Medal Received from the Italian Red Cross._
[Illustration]
Inscription of the circle around the medal: To the well deserving of the Italian Red Cross.
Inscription on medal: To the American National Red Cross: most generous cooperation in the relief of the sufferers of the earthquake in Calabria, Sicily, 1908.
_Translation of Inscription on Diploma Received from the Italian Red Cross Society._
ITALIAN RED CROSS.
Under the high patronage of their Majesties, the King and the Queen, and of her Majesty, the Queen Mother.
Association incorporated by law of May 30, 1882. No. 768, Side Series.
Under Articles 115 and 116 of the Organic By-Laws, upon the motion of the Honorable President of the Association of the Central Committee, in its deliberations of the 3d of April, 1909, has been awarded the Diploma of Honor to the American National Red Cross. Rome, April 3, 1909.
R. TAVERNA, _President of the Association_.
_A Token of Gratitude from the Italian Government._
On May 17 Miss Boardman received a letter from Baron Mayor des Planches, the Italian Ambassador at Washington, of which a translation is given below, with Miss Boardman’s reply:
WASHINGTON, D. C., May 17, 1909.
DEAR MISS BOARDMAN: Have you seen the _Literary Digest_ of the 15th, which betrays an official secret? The Minister of Foreign Affairs, M. Tittoni, has written me that the government of the King desired to send you a decoration, but unfortunately the statutes of our chivalresque orders do not permit the decoration of women. Our gratitude toward you will be testified by an artistic gift, which we hope you will accept as a souvenir of the benefits you have rendered.
Believe me, dear Miss Boardman, very sincerely,
E. MAYOR.
WASHINGTON, D. C., May 17, 1909.
DEAR MR. AMBASSADOR: I have not seen the _Literary Digest_ to which you refer. Permit me to express my deep appreciation of the intention of his majesty’s government to present to me some testimonial in recognition of the American Red Cross work in Italy.
It has been for some time the intention of our society to take under consideration the question of permitting members to receive gifts or testimonials because of any special work of relief in which they have taken part. Therefore, should the plan of his majesty’s government to present to me some testimonial be as yet not so advanced as to cause any embarrassment if not carried out, I would be glad to have it held in abeyance until the question is decided.
But as there exists no regulation of this nature at present, if this plan has been so advanced that my not receiving this testimonial would cause any embarrassment to his majesty’s government, or to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, please take no action in the matter.
Permit me to again express to your excellency my sincere appreciation, and to say whatever should be decided I shall always value the intention of such kindly recognition of the American Red Cross and its work on the part of the Italian government.
Please accept, Mr. Ambassador, the expression of my highest esteem and my heartiest good wishes for the return of prosperity to Sicily and Calabria.
Yours, sincerely,
MABEL T. BOARDMAN.
To this letter the Ambassador replied that the testimonial had already been completed, and he begged that no action against its acceptance be taken.
[Illustration: THE ELIZABETH GRISCOM HOSPITAL AT VILLAGIO DE REGINA ELENA. IN PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTION.]
A beautiful reproduction in yellow gold of the ancient civic crown of Rome, sent in a most artistic leather jewel case, was later presented to Miss Boardman, in the name of the Italian government, by the Marquis Montagliari, the Italian Charge d’Affairs, in the absence of the Ambassador. On a plate in the case is engraved:
To Miss Mabel Boardman Of the American Red Cross Society. The Italian Government as a Token of Gratitude. 1908-1909.
A translation of the graceful letter of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Signor Tittoni, which accompanied the gift, is given below:
ROME, June 16, 1909.
ILLUSTRIOUS LADY: The royal Ambassador has already expressed, and will reiterate, to you the sentiments of our gratitude for the highly generous work inspired by you, and accomplished with such intelligent love, during the terrible disaster which overwhelmed our country at the end of the last year.
Now I desire to address you personally, offering to you, in the name of the government and the Italian people, an object which is inspired by our artistic traditions, and which will serve to recall to you the benefactions rendered and the memory which we preserve thereof.
We have wished to see in the action, so prompt, so efficacious, so vast, and so enduring of the American Red Cross, something more than a simple evidence of human fraternity. We love to consider it a fresh proof of the spiritual ties by which the United States feel themselves bound to the Mother Italy; therefore this action has been doubly dear to us. To you belongs so large a share of the merit, allow us to see personified in yourself all the feminine grace of the institution which has known how to give expression to these ties in the form most acceptable to the grateful beneficiaries.
With the most cordial regards, yours, most devotedly,
TITTONI.
YOUR EXCELLENCY: Permit me to express, through you, to the Italian government and to the people of Italy my most profound appreciation of the honor conferred upon me by the presentation of the beautiful reproduction of the civic crown of Rome, as a token of gratitude for the sympathy and assistance of the American Red Cross after the terrible disaster in Sicily and Calabria.
It was with a sense of the greatest sorrow and the sincerest sympathy that the people of the United States, through their Red Cross Society, found means to express in tangible form these heartfelt emotions. To many of our people Italy is the motherland, and to many others she has given so rich a treasury of art and literature that we must remain forever in her debt. Stricken by one of the great and mysterious forces of nature, thousands of her people were destroyed and thousands were left homeless, suffering, and in dire distress. Our people, overwhelmed by her misfortune, were glad, in the spirit of brotherly love, to take some share in her assistance.
That the Italian government selected as a token of gratitude an object around which clusters the great traditions of ancient Rome moves us deeply, and will be an inspiration for our Red Cross to continue constant in its efforts to conquer suffering and be worthy of such recognition.
Permit me to express my own gratitude, and to say that what little I have been able to do personally has been done with sincere affection for Italy and her people, and because of the sympathetic and hearty support of our people and Red Cross officers.
With earnest wishes for the prosperity of your country, and for the speedy rehabilitation of the stricken communities, and with cordial regards and many thanks for your excellency’s most kind communication, I am
Yours, sincerely,
MABEL T. BOARDMAN.
Senator TITTONI, _Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rome, Italy_.
On June 10, 1909, the Executive Committee adopted the following resolution:
WHEREAS, It has sometimes occurred that members of the American Red Cross, engaged in some special work, have been presented with gifts because of appreciation of this work; and,
WHEREAS, The Executive Committee of the American Red Cross considers that this is an unwise custom to permit to continue; and,
WHEREAS, The American Red Cross itself provides a medal of merit for recognition of especially meritorious relief work;
_Be it resolved_, That hereafter no member of the American Red Cross shall be permitted to receive any valuable gift in recognition of special relief work in which he or she has taken part, and that no testimonial or medal shall be accepted without authority of the Executive Committee.
PORTUGUESE EARTHQUAKE RELIEF
[Illustration]
LISBON, PORTUGAL, August 5, 1909.
_The American National Red Cross, Washington, D. C._
GENTLEMEN: Through His Excellency, Colonel Page Bryan, American Minister at Lisbon, we have just received your new contribution of $300 for our Earthquake Relief Fund, your credit on that account having thus risen to $1,300.
We beg to present to you our earnest thanks for this generous manifestation of your sympathy and take the liberty of enclosing a photo showing the design of the houses you kindly have aided us to build for 160 families of the poorest classes in the four villages destroyed by the earthquake.
Very faithfully, yours,
PELA SOCIEDADE PORTUGUEZA DA CRUZ VERMELHA,
G. L. SANTOS FERREIRA, Secretary.
CANAL ZONE RED CROSS
By Major C. A. DEVOL, U. S. Army.
Of the three great classes of Red Cross work, war relief, international relief and emergency relief, the last is the field in which the Canal Zone Branch is making itself peculiarly useful.
[Illustration: PRESIDENT TAFT ADDRESSING AUDIENCE OF RED CROSS MEMBERS AT THE Y. M. C. A., CULEBRA.]
On the Canal Zone there is less need of such an organization in some ways than there would be in a community of 50,000 people in the United States, because here the government, through the Isthmian Canal Commission, maintains a good system of hospitals and district physicians, and also because there are few people here who cannot work, and almost none who cannot get work if they want it. But there is a limit beyond which the Commission may not go in the expenditure of government funds, and, broadly, that limit is that it may not aid people who are not employed on the Canal work. To the cases that lie outside this limit the Red Cross addresses itself.
[Illustration: VIEW OF HOSPITAL GROUNDS FROM ENTRANCE, ANCON.]
[Illustration: WRECK OF STEAM SHOVEL NO. 261. BAS OBISPO, DECEMBER 12, 1908.]
An instance arose recently in Colon, where a family was destitute because it had been deserted by the husband and father. The mother and three children were kept alive by private subscription until the Red Cross was organized. The Red Cross then sent the family to New York, where the members of the Masonic order came to their relief and sent them to the mother’s home in England. The Commission could not help in such a case, but the Red Cross could, and did.
A citizen of France, living near Tabernilla, and not employed on the Canal work, was bitten by a mad dog a few weeks ago. He had no money to pay his way to a Pasteur Institute; attempts to inoculate for hydrophobia on the Isthmus have been of uncertain value, and the Commission could not send a non-employee to the United States. The Red Cross appropriated $50 for his steamship fare to New York and he was successfully treated in the Pasteur Institute in that city.
[Illustration: CULEBRA CUT. LOOKING SOUTH. FEBRUARY, 1905.]
A Spanish laborer who had lost both his legs on the Isthmus was sent to New York by the Commission, where he was fitted with two cork legs and then sent back to his home in Spain. The Red Cross gave him $50 to help him on his way, for the Commission could not advance more than his actual transportation and medical fees.
Not long ago a Boer, who had become naturalized as an American, was declared so far gone with tuberculosis that he could not work on the Isthmus nor remain here with safety. He had been in Mexico a few years before, and felt sure that if he could return to the plateau region his health would be restored. The Red Cross advanced him $150 to defray his expenses—in other words, gave him another chance for his life.
A number of cases have been relieved where the necessity was just as pressing but where a smaller amount was sufficient.
It is not improbable that there may be a call for immediate relief on a larger scale before the Canal is completed and the Americans in this big construction camp pass on to other work. If an accident occurs, it will find a thorough organization with funds in hand and ready to begin work without any preliminaries.
Lectures on first aid are delivered by the district physicians along the line of the Canal to members of the police and fire departments. To what extent this instruction will aid in time of emergency is conjectural, but it should have the effect of adding instructed men to the corps of nurses and doctors in case of a big accident. It is probable, however, that there is no place on earth where the hospital corps is so well equipped to give prompt aid as on the Canal Zone. On this account, the instruction of the police and firemen is not likely to prove such a benefit as it would in a less thoroughly organized community.
[Illustration: GATUN DAM SITE. LOOKING EAST FROM SPILLWAY. AUGUST, 1908.]
The Canal Zone Branch has already spent about $500 in its relief work, and its balance on July 1, 1909, was $1,577.17.
The suggestion that a branch of the American National Red Cross be organized on the Canal Zone was made by Miss Mabel T. Boardman, member of the Executive Committee, to Major C. A. Devol, U. S. A., Chief Quartermaster of the Isthmian Canal Commission, in a letter dated October 26, 1908. At the request of Major Devol, Major Lynch, of the Medical Department, U. S. A., author of the text-book, “How to Prevent Accidents and What to Do for Injuries and Emergencies,” came to the Isthmus in January, 1909, and addressed Red Cross meetings at Ancon, Culebra, Gorgona and Cristobal. Major Devol accompanied Major Lynch, and invited all persons interested to help organize a Canal Zone Branch. On January 17, at a meeting held in the Hotel Tivoli, at Ancon, a permanent organization was effected, with Major C. A. Devol as president; Mr H. D. Reed, treasurer; Miss J. Macklin Beattie, secretary. The Canal Zone was divided into fourteen districts, and the work of perfecting district organizations was begun. At a meeting held in the Hotel Tivoli, February 28, twelve district organizations were represented. The central organization was perfected by electing Mrs. Lorin C. Collins, Lieutenant-Colonel John L. Phillips, Major Chester Harding, and Mr. A. Bruce Minear an executive committee; and Mr. W. W. Warwick, auditor. A Committee on First Aid Lectures was appointed, consisting of Lieutenant-Colonel Phillips and Mr. H. D. Reed.
A noteworthy event in the early history of the Canal Zone Branch was the visit of President-elect Taft, National President of the Red Cross, to the Canal Zone in February, 1909. On the night of February 3 he made an address at the Commission Club house in Culebra, in which he outlined the work of the Red Cross. The meeting was attended by over 1,200 members of the Red Cross, and had a marked effect in arousing popular interest in this most important work.
The Canal Zone has now a membership of 1,300, divided among fourteen districts. The following are the officers of the district organizations:
Ancon—Dr. John L. Phillips, chairman. Corozal—Alfred P. James, chairman. Pedro Miguel—Ernest Bitely, chairman. Paraiso—Harry Dundas, chairman. Culebra—Mrs. C. A. Devol, chairman. Gatun—Major William L. Sibert, chairman. Cristobal—Dr. M. E. Connor, chairman. Empire—W. M. Wood, acting chairman. Las Cascadas—Mrs. Frank I. McAllister, acting chairman. Bas Obispo—X. D. Holt, acting chairman. Camp Elliott—Mrs. B. F. Fuller, acting chairman. Gorgona—Mrs. Frank M. Morrison, acting chairman. San Pablo—V. L. Kearney, acting chairman. Tabernilla—C. D. Thaxton, acting chairman.
THE USE AND ABUSE OF THE RED CROSS BRASSARD
By G. H. RICHARDSON, M. D., Late First Lieutenant Medical Reserve Corps, U. S. A.
In a War Department order issued on February 10, 1909, the importance of regulating the issue of brassards to those entitled to neutrality by virtue of the first paragraph of article 9, and articles 10 and 11 of the Geneva Convention, was recognized. At the same time, and by the same order, the Medical Department was authorized to provide and deliver the “necessary certificates of identity to those persons attached to the sanitary service who do not have a military uniform.”