The Work American Red Cross No. II American Red Cross WASHINGTON, D. C. fi > ■""^"""""""""""""""Tr The Work of the American Red Cross Financial Statement of Red Cross War Fund, March 1st, 1918. with details of the various activities through which this fund is distributed American Red Cross WASHINGTON. D. C. I \ , THE AMERICAN RED CROSS Founded 1881—Incorporated 1905 President.....................Woodrow Wilson ^ Vice-President................Robert W. de Forest Treasurer....................John Skelton Williams Counselor....................John W. Davis Secretary....................Stockton Axson General Manager..............Harvey D. Gibson Comptroller...................Charles G. DuBois Central Committee Appointed by the President of the United States William Howard Taft, Chairman Eliot Wads worth, Vice-Chairman Robert Lansing, Secretary of State, to represent the Department of State. John Skelton Williams, Comptroller of the Currency, United States Treasury, to represent the Treasury Department. Major General William C. Gorgas, Surgeon-General U. S. A., to represent the War Department. Rear-Admiral William C. Braisted, Surgeon-General U. S. N., to represent the Navy Department. John W. Davis, Solicitor General, to represent the Department of Justice. Elected by Board of Incorporators Miss Mabel T. Boardman, Washington, D. C. Robert W. de Forest, New York, N. Y. John Bassett Moore, New York, N. Y. Judge W. W. Morrow, San Francisco, Cal. John D. Ryan, New York, N. Y. ' James Tanner, Washington, D. C. Elected by Delegates Cornelius N. Bliss, Jr., New York, N. Y. John M. Glenn, New York, N. Y. Franklin K. Lane, Washington, D. C. Alfred T. White, Brooklyn, N. Y. Charles D. Norton, New York, N. Y. Henry P. Davison, New York, N. Y. 3 Executive Committee Elected by the Central Committee William Howard Taft, Chairman ex-officio Major General William C. Gorgas Miss Mabel T. Boardman Rear-Admiral William C. Braisted Henry P. Davison Franklin K. Lane Robert W. de Forest Charles D. Norton War Council Appointed by the President Henry P. Davison, Chairman Cornelius N. Bliss, Jr John D. Ryan William Howard Taft, ex-officio Eliot Wadsworth, ex-officio William G. McAdoo, Treasurer Red Cross War Fund Harvey D. Gibson George B. Case 4 To the American People This book is published by the War Council of the American Red Cross for the purpose of rendering to you an account of its stewardship. Since President Wilson appointed the War Council, May 10, 1917, Americans have contributed more than one hundred mil- lion dollars to their Red Cross. Since that date also more than twenty-two million Americans have signified their desire to aid in Red Cross work by becoming members. Virtually all of the first war fund has now been appropriated, and most of it actually disbursed in such ways as the War Council has deemed most effective in maintaining the morale of the armies of our Allies, in humanitarian work among the civilian war victims, and in promoting the welfare of the American soldiers and sailors at home and abroad. It is the purpose of this book to explain each item of appro- priation in sufficient detail to give you an adequate picture of the scope and methods of American Red Cross war relief work. 5 AMERICAN RED CROSS Financial Statement of Red Cross War Fund March 1st, 1918 Total Red Cross War Fund receipts to March 1st, 1918 including interest $106,158,143.59 Less Refunds to Chapters, etc. 16,881,424.26 Net available for appropriation $ 89,276,719.33 Total appropriations to date (made up as follows) 77,721,918.22 *Balance available for appropriation—March 1st, 1918 $ 11,554,801.11 *At the normnl rate of appropriation this sum, avail- able March 1st, 1918, will have been virtually all allotted by June 1st, 1918. Among appropriations already made from this balance, are, $1,193,125.00 as an additional contribution to the "British Red Cross" and $500,000.00 to the" Canadian Red Cross." APPROPRIATIONS TO MARCH 1st, 1918 RELIEF WORK—FRANCE $30,936,103.04 Military Affairs 1 Rest Stations, clubs, and recreation and welfare service for U. S. Army $1,145,867.50 2 Revitaillement Service:—Portable kitch- ens, lighting plants, ice plants, laun- dries, baths, disinfecting plants, dental ambulances, mobile complementary hospitals, etc. 4,263,385.00 3 For the operation of the portable kitchens, lighting and ice plants, laundries, etc. mentioned above 67,375.00 4 Nitrous Oxide and Oxygen Service 117,780.00 5 American Red Cross Hospital Supply Service 3,119,000.00 6 American Red Cross Surgical Dressing Service 1,963,925.00 7 Equipping, maintaining and contributing to various hospitals 1,548,687.50 8 Diet Kitchens 168,412.50 9 Norton-Harjes Ambulance Unit 227,300.00 7 Military Affairs—Continued 10 Emergency Allowance for American soldiers and Army nurses abroad $ 15,000.00 11 Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention of Disease and Injury, as an Urgent War Problem 165,625.00 12 Investigation and Relief Service 78,650.00 13 Prisoners, Casualty and Information Service 87,000.00 14 Canteens at the front, behind the lines, at railway stations, etc. 1,671,789.00 15 Relief of Mutiles 156,596,37 16 Scottish Women's Hospitals for Home and Foreign Service 175,000.00 17 Miscellaneous appropriations for the De- partment of Military Affairs, including donations to French societies, comfort kits, surgical specialties, and general supervision of that department 156,657.00 Civil Affairs 18 Reconstruction of villages and general relief work in the devastated areas 2,709,739.50 19 Refugees and relief, including better housing and living conditions for 11,000 families 2,867,866.25 20 Care and Prevention of Tuberculosis 2,147,327.00 21 Care of needy children and Prevention of Infant Mortality 1,149,129.70 22 Re-education of Mutilated 322,293.50 23 Assistance of Repatriated 129,750.00 24 Clothing, employment, transportation and home relief of Reformes 129,750.00 25 Model Red Cross Health Center 1,000,000.00 26 Support of the work of the Friends War Victims Relief Committee—Joint Eng— lish and American Unit 213,971.20 ' 27 Women's War Relief Corps in France 43,550.00 28 Miscellaneous appropriations for the De- partment of Civil Affairs, including general civilian relief and supervision of that department 100,626.20 Transportation 29 Automobiles, Camions, spare parts, tools, and machinery for the Transportation Department 1,539,410.97 30 Operating expenses of the Transportation Department 1,000,257.50 Miscellaneous 31 Relief of sick and wounded French soldiers and their families 1,000,000.00 8 Miscellaneous—Continued 32 Operating expenses of 27 warehouses throughout France $ 297,186.00 33 Engineering and construction, including machinery for reconstruction work in devastated districts 147,009.25 34 General supervision of the Commission to France, including general office expenses, insurance, purchasing, accounting, liai- son service, etc. 432,139.00 35 Miscellaneous, including Contingent Re- lief Fund for emergency purposes 578,047.10 RELIEF WORK—BELGIUM $2,086,131.00 36 Canteens for Belgian soldiers and equip- ping, maintaining and contributing to Military Hospitals 401,360.00 37 Equipping, maintaining and contribu- ting to various Civil Hospitals 59,962.00 38 General Relief of Belgian Refugees 1,015,510.00 39 Relief of Belgian Children 436,004.00 40 Warehouses, barges, automobiles and operating expenses of the Transporta- tion and Supply Departments 141,341.00 41 Miscellaneous — including Emergency Fund and General Supervision of the Department for Belgium 31,954.00 RELIEF WORK—ITALY $3,588,826.00 42 General Relief through Temporary Com- mission 204,000.00 43 Military Affairs 1,248,310.00 Relief of Soldiers at the front 53,600.00 Surgical Dressings Service 132,480.00 Hospital Service 692,120.00 Ambulance Service 239,100.00 Military Canteens and Rest Houses 131,010.00 44 Civil Affairs 1,718,832.00 Relief of Refugees 913,202.00 Civilian Canteen Service 106,680.00 Relief work for Italian Chil- dren 52,870.00 Relief of Italian Soldiers Families 324,780.00 Materials and Wages for Refugee Workrooms 321,300.00 45 Contingent Relief Fund for Emergency Purposes 174,700.00 46 Cost and Operation of Automobiles, Camions, etc., for Transportation Ser- vice, Warehouses and operation cost of the Supply Service 97,282.00 9 Civil Affairs—Continued 47 Miscellaneous—including general office expenses, purchasing, accounting and expenses of temporary and permanent commissions $ 145,702.00 RELIEF WORK—RUSSIA $1,243,845.07 48 Medical—surgical supplies 421,101.09 49 Condensed milk for Russian babies 531,000.00 50 Foodstuffs and other supplies 187,548.00 51 Ambulance Unit 84,195.98 52 Relief of destitute Russians 20,000.00 RELIEF WORK—ROUMANIA $2,676,368.76 53 Clothing, Medical and Hospital Supplies, foodstuffs, etc. for relief work for both Military and Civilian population 2,480,368.76 54 Other general relief work 100,000.00 55 Maintenance of "Roman" and "Civil" Hospitals 49,000.00 56 General Supervision, including expenses of Commission 47,000.00 RELIEF WORK—SERBIA $ 875,180.76 57 Foodstuffs, clothing, blankets and other relief supplies 258,343.76 58 General Relief Work 200,000.00 59 Blankets for Serbian Prisoners of War 70*200.00 60 Agricultural implements, seed, etc. 244,438.00 61 Equipment and maintenance of hospital at Vodena, Greece 30,113.00 62 Dental and surgical supplies, including expenses of doctors and dentists sent to Serbia 44,110.00 63 Miscellaneous, including Information Bureau for Serbian Relief and General Supervision and expenses of the Com- mission 27,976.00 RELIEF WORK—GREAT BRITAIN $1,885,750.75 64 Contribution to the British Red Cross 953,000.00 65 Supplies, etc. for London Chapter 436,007.00 66 Maintenance and equipment of several hospitals, including the Liverpool Hos- pital 300,667.50 67 Relief work in connection with sinking of "Tuscania" 20,521.75 68 Infant Welfare and Maternity Centers 23,800.00 69 British-American War Relief 25,000.00 70 Contingent Relief Fund for Emergency Purposes 47,725.00 10 RELIEF WORK—GREAT BRITAIN—Continued 71 Miscellaneous, including Transportation and Supply Departments and General Supervision $ 79,029.50 RELIEF WORK—OTHER FOREIGN $3,576,300.00 72 Contribution for Armenian and Syrian Relief 2,200,000.00 73 Foodstuffs and other supplies for relief work in Palestine, including the opera- ting expenses of the Commission 390,000.00 74 Relief of Children in Poland , 200,000.00 75 Contribution to International Red Cross at.Geneva ' 29,800.00 76 Clothing for French and Italian Prisoners of War 5,500.00 77 Freight, insurance and forwarding charges on shipments abroad 751,000.00 RELIEF WORK FOR PRISONERS, Etc. $ 343,304.00 78 Relief of American Prisoners in Germany, including foodstuffs for invalid Ameri- can prisoners, incidental comforts and relief of destitute Americans in Ger- many 343,304.00 79 EQUIPMENT AND EXPENSES OF RED CROSS PERSONNEL SENT ABROAD $ 113,800.00 RELIEF WORK—UNITED STATES $8,589,899.27 80 United States Army Base Hospitals Special Headquarters expenses in connec- tion with equipping and outfitting Army Base Hospitals 54,000.00 81 United States—Navy Base Hospitals Special Headquarters expenses in connec- tion with equipping and outfitting Navy Base Hospitals 32,000.00 Medical and Hospital Work in United States 531,554.60 82 Maintenance and equipment of Red Cross General Hospital No. 1, Philadelphia, Pa...... 52,500.00 83 Construction and equipment of four mobile laboratory cars. 52,000.00 84 Maintenance and Transporta- tion expenses of mobile labor- atory cars 30,000.00 85 Hospital Funds 220,000.00 11 Medical and Hospital Work in United States—Continued 86 Equipment of Army and Navy Nurses 100,000.00 87 Nurses school in connection with Vassar College 75,000.00 88 Miscellaneous, including mobile operating unit and survey for Isolation Hospitals 2,054.60 United States—Sanitary Service $ 403,000.00 89 Development, Equipment and maintenance of 28 Sanitary units in zones surrounding camps and cantonments in the United States, in con- junction with the United States Public Health Service and local health authorities 303,000.00 90 Control of dangerous communi- cable diseases 100,000.00 United States—Camp Service 6,451,150.86 91 Sweaters, Helmets, Socks and other supplies and comforts for distribution to the army and navy of the United States 5,653,435.86 92 Construction of Red Cross Convalescent Houses in con- nection with hospitals at camps and cantonments throughoutthe United States 512,000.00 93 Contribution to the Training Camp Activities Commis- sion 250,000.00 94 Soldiers' Club House, Chilli- cothe, O. 30,000.00 95 Bathing Pool, Fort Oglethorpe, Ga. 5,715.00 United States—Miscellaneous 1,118,193.81 96 Expenditures to complete do- nated articles for shipment abroad 684,699.31 97 Automobiles and parts for do- mestic and foreign service 424,494.50 98 Canteen Service 9,000.00 12 Restricted as to Use by Donors $ 2,520,409.57 99 Appropriations totaling $2,520,409.57 have been made from time to time of moneys received in the War Fund but restricted as to use. These moneys have been appropriated, in accordance with the wishes of the donors, for out- fitting base hospitals, for ambulances, for relief of Serbian Prisoners of war, for the Red Cross Institution for Crip- pled and Disabled Men, etc., etc. Working Capital for the Purchase of Supplies for Resale to Chapters or for Shipment Abroad $15,000,000.00 100 This appropriation covers the capital needed from the date supplies are pur- chased to the date that money is received in the case of supplies sold to Red Cross Chapters, or the date they are charged to other appropriations in the case of supplies shipped abroad. Working Cash Advances for France and United States $ 4,286,000.00 101 Cash advances to the Commission to France, Division Offices in the United States and other Red Cross agents, which, when disbursed, will be ac- counted for under appropriations made for specific activities. 13 Red Cross Work in France $30,936,103.04 Although a large part of the total appropriation made for relief in France is for the French population, both military and civil, the chief aim of the American Red Cross is to guard the welfare of the American soldiers and sailors in that country, and every effort has been made to take care of the health and comfort of our soldiers while they are in a strange land and far from home and friends. While working for France we have also been preparing for the arrival of the United States forces, and although it is impossible definitely to state just how much of the sum appropriated for relief work in France is for the U. S. forces, because of the fact that a great many of our activities cover both relief for American soldiers and sailors as well as for the Allies, a large proportion of the appropriations under this heading are strictly for the American armed forces. ;.. Beginning with the complicated problem of intelligent preparation for the arriving masses of the American Army, the work has divided itself into two broad fields ©f activity. Supply- ing immediate demands—and preparation for future events. It is easy to understand that both of these fields of activity will continue to widen until the war is won. The Red Cross will back the American soldier in every possible manner, give him medical service when necessary, food, clothing, and in short, work hand in hand with the American Army for the welfare of its members, and to this end will meet every demand that the Army authorities may make upon us. 14 What we are doing for the U. S. Forces in France The American Red Cross is the army's emergency depot. If the army wants splints or dressings, tobacco or books for the hospital wards, games or magazines for our convalescent huts, diet delicacies or any number of a hundred different things, we supply them. Beyond that we have vast stocks of material in the right quantities and in the right places to meet the unex- pected, and while delivering tons of goods in December, we were busy preparing for the requirements next June. We are operating rest stations and infirmaries for our own soldiers, where they will be taken care of if anything happens to them on their way from the ports to permanent or other stations. We are also operating line of communication rest sta- tions, similar to the canteens established for the French, where our soldiers may rest, play games, read or eat, and canteens at the front where hot and cold drinks are served to our soldiers just going in or coming out of the trenches. We have established a mobile service of complementary hospitals, and portable kitchens, lighting plants, laundries, baths and disinfecting plants, and dental ambulances, all to follow our men when they make their great offensives, moving with them and ready to aid them wherever they may be. We are also establishing a system of movable ice plants, which can be used to manufacture ice for our soldiers in the summer time. We are establishing diet kitchens in connection with U. S. hospitals, to furnish to the badly wounded, delicacies which are not included on the regular hospital list, but which aid mate- rially in the rapid recovery of the patient. We have three military hospitals, all of the highest grade, which are operated for the American and French Armies—a great many of the doctors who serve in them having been loaned by the U. S. Army 15 We have installed a plant for the manufacture of nitrous oxide and oxygen, which gas can be used as an anaesthetic in cases where the patient is too weak to take ether. The use of this gas in our army will undoubtedly save many lives of our soldiers who would die under ordinary anaesthetics. We maintain in each hospital, in connection with the Ameri- can Army in France, a representative who follows every engage- ment and supplements the information received from the Gov- ernment by the families of the wounded, killed or missing. Our representatives, by contact with the wounded, or by obtaining the details from those who were near the man at the time he was killed, keep the family fully informed and give them, in case of death, as complete a story as possible of the circumstances under which the soldier was killed. We also are the exclusive means of communication between American prisoners in Germany and their relatives at home, and we have undertaken, in co-operation with the Government, to feed all American prisoners held in Germany. This is done by supplying 20 lbs. of food, properly selected, to each prisoner every week. The food is furnished by the Government although the Red Cross maintains an emergency supply in Switzerland. Another activity which is now well under way is the estab- lishing of farms in France, which will be located near our base hospitals and which will raise fresh vegetables and provide eggs, butter and milk for these hospitals, and at the same time will afford healthful employment to convalescents. Secretary of War Baker, on his recent trip to France, made an inspection of the Red Cross activities there, accompanied by General Pershing, after which he made the following state- ment: "When one is in the zone of the armies or in the supply areas, words of appreciation or praise for the American Red Cross seem superfluous. The foresight that has characterized its present and prospective operations has been a source of pride to the commanding officers of the American Expeditionary Forces and should be a source of comfort to the people of the United States who have made it possible and who, I know will ena- ble it to carry on and expand." 16 French Health and Morale Although the French Government has done and is doing everything in its power to back up its men at the front, it must be borne in mind that, after four years of such an exhausting struggle and with every available able-bodied man either at the front or engaged in some kind of war work, it was impossible for them to undertake on the necessary scale the many and varied relief measures that are so greatly needed behind the lines and among the people. Here was the chance of the American people to help suffering France, and here the Ameri- can Red Cross as the representative of that people stepped in. After conference with the French Government and with the full co-operation of the French societies already in the field, the Red Cross has undertaken not only to aid and relieve the suffer- ing and want, but to build up the health and morale of the French people. This war is not a war of armies. It is a war of nations. There isn't a man, a woman, or a child in France, in Great Britain, in Belgium or in Italy, that is not a factor in this war. The armies will do their part, and do it to a finish, if they are supported by the people behind them. The great crying need in Europe today is to build up the spirit of the people behind the lines, and it is that great work which the Red Cross has performed and which has been the largest single factor of our help since our entry into the war. • Our canteens for the French Army have been very success- ful in this regard, as is evidenced by the following quotation from a certain French General:— "The only thing that matters in this war is to beat the Boche, and to accomplish this the all im- portant factor is the morale of the men. This you have done much to uphold, and the atmosphere you create is more valuable than even you can realize. Your work is that of good Americans, good French- men and good Allies, and I wish to thank you for it in my own name and in that of General Petain. Your canteens have always been well run * * * * the morale of the men has never been better than it is now, and we call on you to help to keep it where it is." 17 Although the scale of the work is already very large it will be double at least in the next six months. Our Medical Division which works both for the French and American soldiers by taking over some hospitals, assisting others, inaugurating new activities such as invaluable dispensary work for the civilian population which surrounds our Army Zone, and by dispensing a vast amount of medical and surgical supplies, as well as in other ways, makes more and more apparent to the French soldier the meaning of America's entry into the war. General Pershing explained that the work of assisting a French soldier directly meant more than "promises to France." The Red Cross has at all times conferred with the French Army Commanders about Red Cross work and has done everything in its power to give material assistance to the French soldier, who more than ever has won the admiration of the Americans since they have come into closer contact with him. What we are doing for the French We are giving at less than cost prices ample hot repasts to 20,000 men a day in our canteens on the French Army Lines of Communication, as well as serving them with hot and cold drinks in our canteens at the front. At our Metropolitan canteens over 3,000,000 soldiers have been fed by us during the last four months^ We are furnishing to about 3,800 French hospitals, medical and hospital supplies. We are operating a number of hospitals in France for the benefit of the French Army and the civilian population, and are helping others through grants of money to expand and increase their operations. We are co-operating with the French in supplying mutilated soldiers with artificial legs, and arms and arm-chairs, and are assisting in their re-education so that they may once more become self-supporting. We are endeavoring, in co-operation with the French Govern- ment, to reduce in time the number of deaths of infants in France from 80,000 a year to 40,000 a year, by a system of dispensaries and hospitals and by educational work. It is our aim to visit every baby born in France in 1918. We are aiding the refugees from occupied France and Belgium arriving at Evian, via Switzerland, by assisting in their distri- 18 bution to homes of relatives or to billets, by medical examination and treatment, and by aid to those suffering from tuberculosis. We are assisting in the work of getting the refugees already in France out of the wretched condition of life which has been forced upon them, and to give them decent housing conditions, together with fuel, furniture, clothing and food. We are assisting in the reconstruction of the devastated regions of the North, by undertaking the provisional repair of seven villages and by distributing farm machinery, furnishings, clothing and food. In conjunction with the Rockefeller Foundation, we are conducting an unparalleled campaign against tuberculosis, through a system of education, sanatoriums for bad cases and the establishment of a great system of 300 dispensaries through- out France, with visiting nurses attached. Organization of our Commission to France On June 2nd, 1917, Major Grayson M.-P. Murphy and 18 men sailed for France as the advance guard of the American Red Cross. Today there are more than 2,500 Red Cross workers in that country, and as the work increases more and more will be needed. The Red Cross Commissioner for Europe, who has headquar- ters in Paris, is in direct charge of all our European activities and is in constant communication with the Red Cross War Council at Washington. For his guidance a Finance Committee has been created which passes on all requests for appropriations and contributions before their submittal to the War Council. Directly under the Commissioner to Europe are the heads of the Red Cross commissions to France, Italy, Great Britain, Belgium and Serbia, who, although reporting to the Commissioner to Europe, are also in direct communication with the War Council at Washington. The Commissioners to Russia, Rou- mania and Palestine operate in such distant territories that they report, not to the Commissioner to Europe, but direct to Washington. The activities of each of these commissions are carried on under two main divisions—the Department of Military Affairs and the Department of Civil Affairs. Under these departments come the following activities: Military Affairs: Canteens Rest Stations and Infirmaries 19 Recreation and Welfare Service Revitaillement Sorvice Military Hospitals and Hospital Supply Service Ambulance Service Prisoners, Information and Casualty Service Nitrous Oxide and Oxygen Service Nursing Service Surgical Dressings Service Civil Affairs: Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Relief of Refugees Care and Prevention of Tuberculosis Children's Bureau Relief of Repatri6s Relief of Reformed Re-education of Mutilated Also reporting directly to the head of each commission are the following bureaus: Bureau of Supplies Section of Purchases Section of Transportation Section of Stores Section of Insurance Bureau of Finance and Accounts Bureau of Engineering and Construction Bureau of the Secretary General Bureau of Permits and Passes Liaison Bureau All of the following appropriations have been approved by the Finance Committee of the Commission for France before being submitted to the War Council in Washington, and for the most part these appropriations cover Red Cross activities in France to April 30, 1918. Item /—Welfare Service $1,145,867.50 In order to prepare for the comfort and welfare of the Ameri- can soldiers, and pursuant to a memorandum from headquarters of the American Expeditionary Forces, the Red Cross in July, 1917, made an inspection of the American lines of communication to determine what facilities there were for caring for the sick and wounded at the stations en route. We found at most of these stations, French infirmaries which showed extreme willingness to co-operate with the American Red Cross in every way, and to provide for our troops until more permanent 20 arrangements could be made. Accordingly, we took advantage of the courtesy of the French Red Cross, and where facilities seemed inadequate, we accepted sites from the French infirmaries for the erection of suitable buildings—the French Red Cross ministering to our troops in the present infirmaries, which were adequate for the time being—until such time as larger quarters would-be needed, which would be provided by the American Red Cross. Each of these infirmaries contain several beds where wounded and convalescent soldiers may be taken care of in cases of emergency, or while waiting for trains. At the request of the U. S. Army, we have also arranged for the installation of a special front line canteen service for the U. S. troops now engaged in actual fighting with the Germans. From these canteens are sent forward daily, often in the small hours of the night, 50 or more large receptacles containing hot drinks which are served free to the men in the trenches and those just coming in or going off duty. This service will be directly in touch with the medical relief stations nearest the front and is known as the "rolling canteen." During the last year most of the work for the U. S. Army was necessarily preparatory—selecting sites, having plans drawn by our Architectural Bureau and assembling material for construc- tion and equipment. Now, however, twelve stations for the U. S. Army along the American lines of communication have either been built or are in process of construction. These rest stations correspond in some respects to the canteens for the French Army and are arranged to improve traveling conditions for the American soldiers, and to supply them between trains and during long waits with comfortable places to rest, write letters, read and eat. Such institutions are not only an aid to the comfort and well-being of our soldiers, but have been found by the British and French Armies to have a marked effect in sustaining the soldiers' morale. There is also in operation a Red Cross canteen serving 1280 U. S. Army Air Service men per day. We are planning for a similar rest station at another aviation camp, which will occupy five barracks. The Recreation and Welfare Service supplies the hospitals and personnel of the hospitals with books, games, tobacco and similar articles. Periodic trips of inspection are made to the U. S. Army and Navy Hospitals to ascertain their needs, and recreation and welfare goods are despatched by Red Cross motor transports for the sick, wounded and convales- cents. For example, to each base hospital the Red Cross sends 21 every month 300 books, 400 games and 2,500 newspapers, and supplies the camp hospitals proportionately. Including Christ- mas gifts to the soldiers, we have distributed among them over 90 tons of tobacco, the greater part of which has been donated through various agencies other than Red Cross. More than 100 tobacco funds have been conducted by American newspapers, the tobacco being distributed by the Red Cross. We are now sending a phonograph to each ward of every base hospital and are installing a moving picture machine in every hospital. A chain of recreation huts is also being erected, to which the hospital patients able to leave the ward may go for entertainment. The Red Cross supplies the huts and they are managed jointly by the Y. M. C. A. and the Red Cross. There is one Red Cross representative in each hospital now in operation. This service, in conjunction with the chaplains supplied by the Red Cross, has stepped into the breach many times during the last few months and filled the emergency requests from the army authorities with speed and decision. It illustrates the best kind of Red Cross service, as it brings us into close contact with the men so that we can study their requirements and extend to them not only material aid, but the sympathy that counts for so much. Of this appropriation $38,500 has been set aside to cover the expenses of officers and enlisted men who are sent away to recuperate from shell-shock, or when they are suffering from over-work. The Red Cross is doing everything in its power for the American soldier in France. In order that we may be kept constantly informed as to how our work is being done for the army and that we may receive suggestions upon how it can be improved, we have now ten American Red Cross representatives with the American Expeditionary Forces and three at base hospitals, headquarters and divisional headquarters. This work requires men of high calibre, who act as Liaison Officers between the army and the Red Cross. These keep an eye on the Red Cross work that is being done in their districts, and give warning of coming army needs in time for us to prepare for them. We are also represented by men at the ports of debarkation of the American troops in France. These men meet the American troops, visit the hospitals and help in cases of sudden illness. We have also placed a Red Cross ambulance at the disposal of the U. S. Marine Hospital at one of these ports for the trans- portation of sick and wounded soldiers from the quay to the hospital. 22 As an illustration of the type of work we are doing for our soldiers we might mention the system of baths, both portable and stationary, that have been and are being installed. The American soldier right from the trenches, with his clothes filthy and alive with trench vermin, on entering these baths, takes off his uniform in one room and his underclothes in another. When he steps out of his bath, clean underclothes are given to him, while his uniform is returned with all the filth and trench vermin removed, so that he steps out feeling like a new man. T*he use of such baths by American soldiers not only helps to keep them healthy and in good physical condition but helps immeasurably in sustaining that most important factor—morale. Items 2-3—Revitaillement Service, $4,330,760.00 This service, which is the largest single appropriation for the U. S. Army, comprises the furnishing of material other than medical, surgical and recreational supplies to the American Expeditionary Force hospitals. It includes portable kitchens, lighting and heating plants, ice plants, laundries, baths and disinfecting plants, dental ambulances and mobile material for Mobile Complementary Hospitals. This service is designed to provide facilities for caring for the wounded during a big drive; these facilities being necessary not only from the humane point of view but as a measure of military effectiveness. Recent events in this war have demon- strated that inability to provide adequate facilities for handling and housing the wounded have resulted in deplorable suffering and the breaking down of offensives. This "revitalizing" service—or service that follows and cares for the American soldier as he advances against the enemy—is one of the most vital supports that can be rendered to our men. The facilities required to prevent great suffering and the nullifying of offensives are included in this service; but the expense of providing the necessary elaborate equipment is great. In such emergencies quick decisions and readily available funds and apparatus are essential. To fill the need of portable hospitals many types have been developed, but the one which seems to be the most mobile, economical and efficient is the latest type developed by the Service de Sante, the Medical Corps of the French Army. This service also includes huts, barracks and miscellaneous supplies for this purpose in accordance with a list made out after 23 careful study of the work done by the British and Canadian Red Cross organizations, and which has been adapted to the probable needs of our own soldiers as they take the field. Item 4—Nitrous Oxide Service, $117,780.00 The American Red Cross, with the approval of the U. S. Army, has erected in France a plant for producing nitrous oxide and oxygen, and has arranged for the distribution of this prod- uct to the U. S. Army. The use of this anaesthetic is growing rapidly in favor, as it can be used in cases where the patient is too weak to take ether. It is almost impossible to obtain this product commercially in France and serious delays and expense would be involved. One of the greatest authorities on this subject in the U. S. Army Medical Corps, is of the opinion that the use of this gas in our army will save the lives of many of our men who might die under ordinary anaesthetic. We had the advantage when organizing this bureau, as in many other instances, of the experience of both the British and the French. We have at present a plant which produces 5,000 gallons a day and can produce 10,000; and another plant capable of producing 15,000 gallons a day is being shipped from America. Item 5—Hospital Supply Service, $3,119,000.00 This service was organized for the purpose of distributing hospital supplies of all kinds to American and French hospitals and to keep them continually stocked with everything they might need, so that they would always be working under the best possible conditions. It covers the work of the American Distributing Service which joined the Red Cross on the first of July, 1917, and the hospital work of the American Relief Clearing House and also takes care of a good many of the hospitals formerly supplied by the American Fund for French wounded. It supplies the American hospitals not only with surgical instru- ments but hospital installation, clothing of all kinds, medicines and everything absolutely necessary to the operation of these hospitals. Its work for the French hospitals is constantly increasing, 3,800 now receiving their supplies through this agency. Distribution to American hospitals has been supported through the organization for distribution to the French and is now 24 organized to supply the American hospitals and army with everything they may call for in the way of hospital supplies and such recreational work in connection with hospital work as the Red Cross is undertaking. A large warehouse in the war zone has been taken over for this service and at the same point we have secured four different buildings with large storage capacity, it being the present plan to use one of these buildings for general hospital stores, another for storage of complete equipment for a 1,000 bed hospital, another for assorted surgical dressings and the fourth for hospital food supplies. An idea of the growth of this work may be obtained from the fact that in July, 1917, this service sent 2,826 bales of supplies weighing 134,- 680 pounds to 1,116 hospitals, while in December of the same year it sent 4,740 bales weighing 255,780 pounds to 1,653 hospitals. The service is operated by having agents call at the various hospitals and obtain from them fists of needed articles which are not regularly supplied by the army, among these articles being special surgical instruments and apparatus, convalescent garments, bandages and slings for special operations and similar articles. These lists are then turned in to the various depots of the Hospital Supply Service and subsequently delivered by them from their stock. Item 6—Surgical Dressing Service, $1,963,925.00 This work was originally started by the American Surgical Dressings Committee, which subsequently became a part of the American Red Cross. The surgical dressings, which may be standardized and which form the largest part of the dressings distributed to French and American Hospitals, are made by the Chapters in America and shipped abroad, but it was found necessary to establish surgical dressings stations in France for the making of non-standardized dressings of every variety and special dressings for special operations and for individual sur- geons. These French stations also manufacture standardized dressings in emergencies where, due to the sinking of ships or for other reasons, the regular shipments from America are delayed. At one station in France there are 440 volunteer workers and 100 paid workers averaging about 184,000 dressings a week, while at another there are 100 volunteers and 90 paid workers. The army considers this work so important that it has assigned a number of nurses to it. Thirteen thousand cases containing 25 \ thousands of dressings, accessories, etc., are packed for shipment every week. Item 7 -Various Hospitals, $1,548,687.50 There are at present three American Red Cross Hospitals in France which are operated for the American and French , Armies and for the male personnel of the American Red Cross. All are hospitals of the highest grade, and, although operated by the American Red Cross, most of the doctors who serve in them are loaned by the U. S. Army. Hospital No. 1 was originally the American Ambulance Hospital at Neuilly. It is operated jointly by the U. S. Army and the American Red Cross and contains between 500 and 600 beds. This hospital was originally for the French and the funds subscribed under previous manage- ment were designated in a large part for such purpose. Condi- tions, however, have now changed, and preparations are being made for the care of our own soldiers in this hospital, but not, however, to the exclusion of the French. It also operates a com- plete dental clinic for the further service of French soldiers, members of the U. S. Army and personnel of the American Red Cross. In connection with this hospital we have an ambulance service which carries the wounded over the entire Paris district, that is, it evacuates the French wounded to all the hospitals in Paris. Furthermore, we have established a sanitary train for the French which brings back the wounded from the front and which is complete in all details and equipped for emergency operations. The American Red Cross has the entire medical and surgical management of this hospital, under an agreement with the U.S. Army, but an American Army officer is assigned to directorship in the hospital and he is, through us, responsible to the army. Hospital No. 2 was formerly Dr. Joseph A.Blake's hospital, and, like Hospital No. 1, was one of the chief means of American support in France during the first years of the war. This hospital has a spendid record, winning the unqualified admiration of the French medical profession, and contains 300 beds, of which 100 are reserved for French wounded and the remainder for members of the American Army and for the personnel of the American Red Cross. Hospital No. 3 was formerly the Reid Hospital. It is situated in a building that was once a home for girl students, being transformed into a hospital by Mrs. Whitelaw Reid, who 26 gave it to the American Red Cross and who pays practically all of its running expenses. It is comparatively a small hospital of 80 beds and is reserved for U. S. Army officers and for the Red Cross personnel. No details which could affect the quality of its equipment have been overlooked. In the interest of the French, the American Red Cross assists five other hospitals, supplying part of the personnel for these hospitals together with ambulances, beds, instruments and other medical and surgical materials. We have established 30 beds in the American Hospital at Paris and 70 beds in the American Hospital at Neuilly, which are at the disposal of the personnel of the American Red Cross, the Y. M. C. A., the Y. W. C. A. and other relief organizations. We are also supporting the hospital of Dr. Ralph R. Fitch at Evreux, which is a small special bone and joint hospital for French wounded. This hospital has been thoroughly re-equipped and the Red Cross has recently delivered to it a demountable barrack to serve as a recreation hut for convalescent patients. The American Red Cross has also purchased for hospital pur- poses one tent unit of 160 beds and four tent units of 250 beds each. Mrs. Trenor L. Park's hospital at Annel (Ambulance des Allies), which had been run by Mrs. Park for French wounded, at her own expense with American aid, has been enlarged from 75 to 300 beds. This hospital, which is in charge of an army officer assigned by the Chief Surgeon of the American Expedi- tionary Force, has also been furnished by the Red Cross with the necessary surgical instruments and considerable other equip- ment. This appropriation also provides for auxiliaries, aid and equip- ment for base hospitals of the American Expeditionary Force, and assistance to other hospitals which we may have to subsidize in the future. It also covers the cost of dispensaries established and to be established for the work of the American Medical Service in carrying on sanitary measures among the civilian population, for the protection of the American Army. We have established a hospital in connection with these dispensaries and the work has been so planned as to cover the surrounding territory wherever the French civil population requires medical attention. Most of the French doctors are in the service of the army, so that in some of the smaller towns there is either no native doctor, or at best, one too old to care for the inhabitants. In developing this service we took special pains not to duplicate the work of the French but to supplement it. Towns where there were sufficient 27 native doctors and equipment were passed over in organizing our routes. Different routes were planned so that our ambulances could visit the various townships at least once every other day. We have*now more than 40 of these dispensaries and a corps of eleven Red Cross nurses in the service. The doctors are assigned by the U. S. Army and work under the direction of the American Red Cross. Under this heading we have also included the nursing service which supplies nurses to the American Red Cross hospitals and to the hospitals subsidized by the American Red Cross and also sends out nurses who are called to the army hospitals. This bureau will also supply nurses to convalescent hospitals as called upon. During the past months it has helped in a number of cases to equip or complete the equipment of the reserve nurses of the Army Nurses Corps. Under the nursing service is also included the Convalescent Nurses' Home. . Item 8—Diet Kitchens, $168,412.50 Diet Kitchens are operated by the Red Cross for the purpose of supplying articles of diet to the wounded and convalescent in hospitals, this diet consisting of special foods very important to the quick recovery of the patient, but which are not included in the regular hospital list. These kitchens are usually in charge of women cooks who parcel out the food to other women distrib- utors. This service has been developed chiefly in co-operation with the French authorities and the French doctors are fully aware of its possibilities. Under the Bien Etre des Blesses we have established three diet kitchens at French hospitals and one at another important French hospital is being planned. We have also subsidized diet kitchens at two other French hospitals. Our diet kitchens could not be established in a very short time because data had to be collected, lists of delicacies made, and, as we wished to work with the French, the proper negotiations had to be concluded. While negotiating with the French and the Bien Etre des Blesses to establish more or less experimental diet kitchens in French hospitals, we ordered in America special diet delicacies for our own base hospitals, with the result that today we have in our warehouses delicacies for the U. S. base hospitals against the time when the military authorities will requisition them. The diet kitchen may seem somewhat of a luxury, but it must be remembered that what is a delicacy for a well man is 28 nothing less than a necessity for a sick man. The English Army hospitals give their patients the best possible fare, yet extreme delicacies, not on the hospital list, are often required. The diet kitchen, far from being a luxury, is an invaluable time- saver, not to say a necessity. In jaw cases, to cite one instance, doctors have been handicapped in some hospitals by being forced to give their patients not what was best for them, but simply the best that the hospital, lacking a diet kitchen, had on hand. Item 9—Norton-Harjes Ambulance, $227,300.00 The Norton-Harjes Ambulance Unit which had been doing such excellent work for French wounded, at the outbreak of war between the United States and Germany was merged into the American Red Cross as the American Red Cross Motors Ambu- lance Service; and the above appropriation was made to cover the purchase of several new sections and the operating expenses of the sections already in service. Last fall, however, this Ambulance Service, together with all other such voluntary organizations in France, was taken over by the U. S. Army, and since that time no further appropriations for its operation have been made by the Red Cross. Item 10—Emergency Allowance, $15,000.00 In July, 1917, the allowance for sustenance to army nurses and American soldier patients in army hospitals was forty cents per day per person. This was found to be inadequate in France, and at the request of the Surgeon General the Red Cross provided an extra allowance of thirty-five cents per capita until the time when the proper legislation could be enacted by the U. S. Govern- ment increasing this allowance. A bill providing for this extra allowance has now been passed by Congress, which will relieve the Red Cross of this expense. Item //—Medical Investigation, $165,625.00 A Committe, composed of eminent men of varied experience in army medical and surgical practice, has been organized for the ascertainment and utilization of all approved methods for the better diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease and 29 injury, with particular reference to the saving of the lives of the soldiers and sailors of the United States, in France, and their speedier and more complete recovery from the effects of sickness and wounds. The Committee is particularly interested in those new kinds of wounds and diseases which have developed during the present war and with which the medical profession was not, therefore, familiar. The Red Cross has helped particularly well-equipped individ- uals to investigate army surgical and medical problems. In Red Cross Military Hospital No. 2 there is a corps of bacteriolo- gists who are making valuable records for the benefit of the army. During the past months, for example, they have carried on in this hospital a careful investigation of some of the causes of trench fever. While the Committee is not in a position to make a final statement at this time with respect to what has been accomplished in the treatment and cure of trench fever, pre- liminary reports indicate that much has been accomplished in this direction, and it is hoped that in the near future an announce- ment can be made of the result of the efforts of the Committee in this regard. There is every reason to believe that this work will be of great and permanent value and that it will result in one of the most important medical discoveries of the war. By means of the work of this laboratory it is being made possible to grasp more thoroughly the original causes of maladies common to soldiers. During the war there has been no lack of attention given to the severely wounded, but through the work of this committee injuries and sicknesses which, in the rush of war seem less important, because less visible, can be watched in the first stages when they are more quickly and more easily cured. The conditioning of men for the trenches, as well as their welfare in after years, often depends on giving the right attention to appar- ently superficial maladies and injuries. Item 12—Investigation and Relief, $78,650.00 This appropriation covers the cost of operating our Bureau on Investigation and Relief, which looks up individuals and organizations applying for help, and also includes donations to individual soldiers and a subscription of $22,750 to the American Fund for French Wounded with whom we are co-operating. 30 During the last two months of 1917 this bureau has helped 98 groups of individuals and 15 French relief organizations, as well as 13 French canteens. Item / 3—Prisoners and Information, $87,000.00 In conjunction with the Casualty and Information Service at National Headquarters in Washington, we have established in Switzerland a bureau fortherelief of American prisoners in Ger- many or in other enemy countries, for the reporting of casualties and for obtaining information on these casualties for the families of the soldiers at home. Under a recent order of the U. S. Army we are allowed to place American Red Cross searchers in the U. S. Army hospitals, who will send information to our Head- quarters Information Bureau. By this method we obtain facts about the killed, the missing and the men taken prisoners, which we send to the families of the men concerned. Letters are written to soldiers' relatives, supplementing the official announcement sent to them by the army, which contain information which may tend to relieve their sufferings and anxiety. Most of the work of this Bureau to date has, of course, been preparatory, as there has not been much of this kind of work to do as yet, with the American forces, but its importance will increase tremen- dously as more and more of our troops take the field. Item 14—Canteen Service, $1,671,789.00 One of the first things brought to the attention of the Red Cross Commission to France upon its arrival was the great assistance that could be given the French Army by co-operating in the organization of canteens, rest stations and sleeping quarters for men passing to and from the front. At railway junction points the ordinary station facilities were inadequate and soldiers returning tired and dirty from the trenches had to wait, often overnight, for train connections. Exposed platforms and all available corners afforded the only resting places on these occasions. Buffets were sorely needed. On an average several thousand men a day arrived at each station and required hot food at low prices, sleeping and reading rooms and facilities for washing and disinfecting, thus ridding their clothing of trench vermin which otherwise would be brought into their homes. Such buffets or canteens would also give additional vigor and enthusiasm to the men returning to the front, all of 31 which tends to develop better morale as well as to help them physically. It was also brought out that disease taken from the trenches to the homes constituted a grave menace to the civil population and that the long journeys and exhausted condition deprived the men of the necessary power of resistance. A plan to relieve this situation was worked out in accordance with the views of General Pershing and the French Army authorities and canteens were established immediately behind the front, on the lines of communication and in and about railway stations in Paris. Canteens at the Front Today the Red Cross has 15 rolling canteens just behind the lines, and this number may subsequently be increased to 40. They are operated in conjunction with the French Red Cross, and each canteen has an American and French convoyer who serve gratuitously such drinks as hot boullion, coffee, tea and cocoa, and cold drinks such as lemonade and mint to the men who are fighting or working close to the firing lines. These canteens are placed in such close position to the second line that they can push out annexes into the first line trenches. Thus they are able to supply in a given sector the men in the trenches, the trench and road workers and the men coming on and going back from furlough, the average distribution made by each canteen ranging between 2,000 and 4,000 rations every 24 hours. Upwards of 700,000 such rations have been served by the Red Cross up to January 1, 1918. These canteens are very popular with the men in the trenches, who are most enthusiastic about their usefulness and the moral support derived therefrom. Line of Communication Canteens The American Red Cross, in conjunction with the French Government, is now operating four of these canteens on the French Army lines of communication, and the number will be increased to six in the near future. In the present canteens 88 American women workers serve daily 20,000 soldiers, which total will soon be greatly enlarged, as the two canteens about to open will each serve a very large) number of men, and the number served at the present canteens increases at the rate of 30 per cent per month. These canteens, as mentioned above, were estab- lished for ihe purpose of providing sleeping quarters, food, baths and disinfecting service for soldiers en route to and from 32 the front. They are also equipped with rest rooms where soldiers can read, write and play games, and small stores where they can buy tinned delicacies, tobacco and similar articles. These canteens are built at junction depots which, in peace times, were equipped to handle about 75 people. Before the establishment of the canteens, sometimes 4,000 soldiers would be forced to wait from 24 to 48 hours for their connecting trains, during which time they slept on the ground, got very little food, and that at high prices. Now trench-stained soldiers may obtain hot meals at less than cost prices (15c per meal), may bathe, play games or sleep until time for their connecting trains. Two of these canteens have been decorated by the Camou- flage Section of the French Army, making it possible for the soldiers to forget, for the time being, the barren ugliness of the ordinary railroad canteen. At some points rolling canteens are also provided, which are used on platforms for the trains that stop for too short a time to permit the soldiers to leave the train. Here, also, American volunteer workers serve hospital trains, climbing up into the cars with the wounded, passing refreshments and helping men who are too badly wounded to help themselves. The quarters and much of the original equipment of these can- teens, and also the equipment of the canteens at the front, were provided by the French Army. Metropolitan Canteens These canteens were, for the most part, French institutions in existence before the American Red Cross took them over wholly or helped them financially. They are situated at the main railroad stations in and about Paris, and are for the purpose of providing sleeping quarters and food to soldiers on leave in Paris. They accommodate not only French soldiers, but all the other soldiers of the Allies. The number of American soldiers using them at present, although comparatively small, is constantly increasing. The Red Cross controls three and subsidizes nine of these canteens. Almost 3,000,000 soldiers have been fed at these stations during the, last four months. Item 15—Relief of Mutiles, $156,596.37 This department provides artificial limbs, splints and other similar forms of relief for the Mutiles or injured soldiers, and has also established a factory for the manufacture of these articles. This item includes an amount for subsidizing the 33 Splint Shop, run by the Committee Franco-American contre les Impotences Fonctionelles, and also includes the cost of equip- ment and operation of an experimental Artificial Limb Shop at the St. Maurice Hospital in conjunction with the re-education of mutilated soldiers. The bureau for the Relief of Mutiles supplied, during the last four months of 1917, 454 legs, arms and arm-chairs to French mutiles. Our work for Mutiles, in so far as we supply them with artificial limbs, is of course related to the work of re-education. Often the French mutile either lacks an artificial limb or has not been able to afford a first-rate one, facts which may prevent him from being able to take up his former trade or learn some other one. The idea of this work is so to equip him that his misfortune shall be the least possible handicap in becoming once more a useful and self-supporting citizen. Item 16—Scottish Women's Hospitals, $175,000.00 On recommendation of its Committee on Co-operation, the Red Cross has contributed a total of $175,000 to the Scottish Women's Hospitals for Home and Foreign Service, represented in this country by Miss Kathleen Burke. Of this amount, $75,- 000 was expended by the Commission for France after a very careful investigation of the needs of the two hospitals of the society in France, the remaining $100,000 being contributed through the British Red Cross. The contribution was made with the knowledge that it would be put to the best possible use by an organization which was doing notable work in caring for the sick and wounded in France, Greece, Corsica, Serbia, Roumania, Russia and Northern Macedonia, and which has also been managed in a highly efficient manner. The Scottish Women's Hospitals, staffed entirely by women, was founded in October, 1914, and on recommendation of the British Red Cross and the British Government, the first hospital unit was offered to the Belgian Government. From this begin- ning hospitals were established in seven countries, the two in France being the most important. The first Red Cross contribution of $75,000 was spent in assisting the Scottish Hospitals in France, of which there are two large ones at Abbaye de Royamount and Villers Cotteret. The former was established in December, 1914, and has recently been increased to 450-500 beds. The French authorities provided 34 the building, but it was necessary for the women of the hospital to provide the water supply, put in electric lights and generally prepare the building for the reception of the wounded. Not long ago the French military authorities decorated every member of the staff as a testimonial of their efficient service. This hospi- tal is used by the Pasteur Institute as one of the chief points of study for the problem of gas gangrene, members of the Institute often working with the women in the laboratories attached to the hospital. Up to a short time ago over 4,000 French soldiers had passed under the care of this hospital. The second hospital, at Villers Cotteret, of 300 beds is an advanced station for the treatment of freshly wounded cases, the injured being later moved back to the hospital at Abbey de Royamount, which, previous to the German retreat, was itself near the first line trenches. This hospital was established in 1917, when Doctor Francis Ivans was asked by the French military authorities to take over a hut hospital of 300 beds at this point in the Soissons district which, until then, had been used as a military hospital by the French themselves. The request was of course acceded to and members of the Royamount staff went up in July, 1917, to direct the necessary alterations and enlargements. There was no official opening, but the first patients were received the latter part of August. All of the appliances, including the X-Ray installation, are particularly up to date, the hospital being designed to care for the more severely wounded cases. Item 17—Miscellaneous—Military, $156,657.00 Among the miscellaneous items coming under this heading are the following: Cost of supplying Christmas comfort bags or similar articles to French soldiers at Christmas time, in addition to those received from America for this purpose. At Christmas time every American soldier on the list given to us by the army received a Christmas remembrance from the Red Cross. A small sum for the purpose of continuing the custom of the American Relief Clearing House of giving small articles to French soldiers such as pocket knives, pipes and articles for personal use similar to those contained in a Lafayette kit, this work having produced beneficial results in the past. A donation to "Mon Soldat," which is a French organization doing individual work with soldiers. This society sends out 35 small packages and gives information and other aid to French soldiers on leave. In the last few months we have referred over 500 cases to this society. A small donation to the "Societe Declopes," which does helpful work for French soldiers who are not seriously wounded. A small donation for Russian volunteers in France, a body of men mostly political exiles, who volunteered at the outbreak of the war to fight with the French Army. Both the soldiers and their families are in great need and without funds. An appropriation for the Bureau of Medical and Surgical Information distributes small circulating libraries through the various hospital staffs in the U. S. Army from a central library at Red Cross Headquarters. This bureau also collects data of value to army doctors and surgeons. In a bulletin which this bureau publishes monthly, digests are made of the most impor- tant French and English medical and surgical articles. In some cases the articles are reprinted in full from American and Eng- lish medical papers, or translated from French reviews of the same standing. This bulletin is widely circulated among American, English and French doctors carrying on war work, and brings to them valuable information which they, themselves under war conditions, have neither the time nor the opportunity to obtain. There has also been printed in convenient form a "Splint manual," which gives illustrated and printed instructions how to use standardized splints. This manual met with instant success among army doctors and surgeons. An appropriation to cover the cost of equipping and operating a dental ambulance, which has done excellent service, and also an ophthalmological ambulance. This service will be greatly amplified in the future. In the past months we have examined a great many ambulance specialties and conferred with manu- facturers and with French and British authorities as to the use- fulness of special kinds of ambulance outfits, and we now propose to place a certain number of such ambulances at the service of American soldiers as they are needed. This item also covers the cost of general supervision, such as salaries of stenographers and clerks, and traveling expenses of the Department of Military Affairs of the Red Cross Commission to France. Item 18—Rehabilitation of Villages, $2,709,739.50 This appropriation covers the work of the Red Cross in 36 France in the temporary reconstruction and economic rehabili- tation of the devastated areas, where w£ have undertaken the work of provisional repair in seven villages. As the Germans retreated from Northern France in 1917 they systematically destroyed the areas which they were vacating. The destruction'was accomplished either through shell-fire or through systematic wreckage by fire, explosives, or with the use of a ram. The shell destruction had in some cases practically annihilated the villages. The systematic destruction was less complete, and in nearly every instance had left a few buildings standing susceptible of repair and in sufficient numbers partially to give shelter to the remaining population. The houses were, however, with few exceptions roofless and robbed of every window and door frame, nor was there any kind of furniture or utensils to be found in them, the pillage having been absolutely complete. As all the buildings were destroyed it became a considerable problem to induce the population to come back. We found that in the larger towns from 20 to 30 per cent of the inhabitants had returned, but that in the small villages very few had returned, one such village having in July only one inhabitant, whereas the population before the war had been 480. In some of the manu- facturing towns where the factories were entirely destroyed and there was little likelihood of their being rebuilt for some time, there seemed very little inducement for the population to come back. In the farming villages, however, often 50 per cent to 60 per cent of the population were seemingly ready to return as soon as they could be assured of a roof over their heads. From the standpoint of food alone it was very important that measures be taken immediately to bring back the population to these villages and to supply them with farming implements so that the land might once more be made productive. Accordingly, the Red Cross, after a thorough investigation of this problem, chose four villages in the liberated areas for temporary recon- struction and economic rehabilitation, this number being subse- quently increased to seven villages with an average population per village, already there or ready to return, of 300, and it was estimated that this population would require the repair of 75 houses per village. It was also deemed advisable to repair the badly destroyed buildings with brick, tiles, lime and cement, which could be manufactured on the spot, rather than encroach on the limited stock of building materials and wood, all of which was badly needed by the French Government. 37 In these villages allotted to the Red Cross by the French Government an experiment in provisional repairs is under way. A gang of Belgian workmen under Red Cross direction and pay are repairing houses and barns to permit a gradual resumption of normal living conditions. At several points this bureau is endeavor- ing to establish local economic enterprises by erecting workrooms where women can make garments for their own families or to be sold as a means of livelihood. A project for the local manufacture of furniture is also awaiting approval by the French authorities. As stated above, the main object in this reconstruction work was the economic rehabilitation of the country by promoting the return of the inhabitants and the cultivation of the land. The region of our activities is quite fertile, the principal industry before the war being the manufacture of sugar and its by-products, but as the factories are now destroyed beyond any immediate repair, the whole agricultural effort has been directed toward the production of cereals. Besides the reconstruction work, therefore, the Red Cross has extended help through six relief districts, acting as a source of supplies for various French, British and American organiza- tions doing field work. This work is administered by six resident delegates whose duties are the oversight of the methods of distribution, the prompt reporting of needs and, through the district warehouses, the prompt delivery of goods. This relief work consists in supplying food, wearing apparel, house furnish- ings, fuel, agricultural implements and small live stock, all as may be necessary for the reconstruction of home and land. In all, about 4,000 articles, comprising everything from pumps for cleaning polluted wells to window glass for repairing damage done by air raids, has been shipped to the devastated areas. Among the interesting activities along this line was the assistance of an association, which was setting out 40,000 fruit trees in the destroyed orchards of the northern departments. Item 19—Refugees and Relief, $2,867,866.25 The number of destitute refugees in France in March, 1917, was stated by the Ministry of the Interior to be 400,000, al- though there was reason to believe that the number was much larger. The position of refugees was becoming more and more difficult as the cost of food rose. Their housing conditions were bad in many instances, especially in the cities, where an entire family often resided in a single room, often with one parent 38 having tuberculosis. Many of the refugees were unable to do much work, and the allowance received from the government was not sufficient in some cases to provide food, lodging and clothing. A large number of these refugees, therefore, required further assistance, as the agencies from which they were receiving aid were not in a position to increase the amount of relief given, and persons living under these conditions of bad housing and malnutrition are very susceptible to disease. It is estimated that there are now in Paris, apartments for 2,000 families either unoccupied or completed at the outbreak of the war, and that provision for 1,000 families in similar manner can be made in the suburbs of Paris, making a total of 3,000 families whom it is proposed to remove to better housing conditions in Paris and in the suburbs. Similar provision as to improving housing accommodations is being made for 8,000 families outside of Paris. This represents a much smaller proportion of the total number of refugees outside of Paris than in Paris, the agency through which the removal to better quarters may be accomplished being less readily set in motion. This item also includes provisions for special relief for families under the care of the tuberculosis dispensaries of the Rockefeller Foundation and maintenance of certain voluntary agencies, such as the American Hostel for Refugees, which have been or are to be taken over by the American Red Cross. A dispensary for refugees at No. 12 rue Boissy d'Anglas formerly a part of the organization of the American Hostels for Refugees, was taken over by the Red Cross about December 1, and now is in operation with special clinics for children, for dental treat- ments and for the care of Serbian refugees. It cared for 302 persons during the month of December, 1917. In connection with it a comprehensive medical social service organization is being worked out. At the request of the French Ministry of the Interior the Red Cross is helping to establish in homes the 600 homeless persons a day repatriated through Evian, who are not received by relatives or friends. Delegates have been sent to more than 20 Departments of France, where repatriated convoys will be billeted, to make the finding of lodging and the establishing of homes as quick and complete as possible. A dispensary and medical center with visiting nurses and classes in home-visiting for French women has been opened recently in the industrial city of Saint Etienne, where war conditions have resulted in over-crowded and un- 39 sanitary living conditions. In addition to this, there are two other dispensaries which are run by this bureau for various forms of family relief. Up to December 31, 1917, grants of goods for refugees had been made under this appropriation through 78 organizations and 28 prefects, mayors or other local officials. In all, 74,372 separate articles of clothing and 257 layettes for infants have been distributed, as well as over 25,000 yards of cloth, dress-making supplies, sewing machines, food- stuffs and medical supplies. Item 20—Tuberculosis Campaign, $2,147,327.00 Early in the course of the work in France it was found necessary to take immediate steps to combat tuberculosis. Many of the French people, particularly the refugees weakened by the necessary sacrifices of war, succumbed to the disease and the epidemic hung over the whole nation, spreading ever faster and threatening increasing devastation. Into this situation stepped the Red Cross in close conjunction with the Rockefeller Foundation The work of the society known as the Tuberculeux de la Guerre, including a hospital of 20 beds in Paris, several uncompleted projects outside the city and a substantial cash balance, was taken over. Close co-operation was established with the Rockefeller Commission for the Prevention of Tuberculosis in France and many other French organizations. Tuberculosis dispensaries were established to provide relief by the three following means: 1. Special home relief for destitute families in which there is a case of tuberculosis, this relief being of such nature and amount as the sanitary conditions require. 2. A hospital to which moderate and advanced cases, whose home conditions are such that they cannot remain there without being a menace to their families, may be sent. Most of these patients will not recover, though they may improve. The primary object of this hospital is not the cure but the safeguarding of the health of other members of the family by removing the tubercular patients. 3. Special provision for the care of children who have already been intimately exposed to a serious case of tuberculosis. These dispensaries are the beginning of what is hoped will develop into a great tuberculosis educational system of 300 dispensaries throughout France, with visiting nurses attached, which, in the opinion of the foremost authorities, will result in the gaining of as much ground in France in four years as was gained in the United States in fifteen. 40 Although it was evident that the far-seeing plan of education contemplated in the dispensaries would be invaluable for the future, there was an immediate problem in oaring for the hun- dreds of acute cases. The need was particularly pressing at Evian-les-Bains, near the Swiss border, where the repatries from the conquered territory of Belgium and Northern France were being returned by the enemy. Many of these exiles needed immediate medical attention, particularly in the treatment of tuberculosis. To fill this need the Ste. Eugenie Hospital, near Lyons, was opened on December 5, 1917, with 220 beds, and has received patients as rapidly as the installation of equipment will permit. A central building, presented to the city of Lyons by the Empress Eugenie, and five newly constructed hospital barracks have been lent to the Red Cross by the General Hospital Board at Lyons, which provides 220 beds and accessories, heating and lighting of all buildings, water, and apparatus for sanitation, without cost to the Red Cross, and furnishes linen, disinfection, and food prepared in a central kitchen, at cost price. The Red Cross is supplying medical staff, nurses and doctors, and medical supplies. The Edward L. Trudeau Sanatorium for 200 women and children received its first patients on Christmas Day. It is situated at Plessis-Robinson, six miles from Paris, in a beautiful park which the Department of the Seine had purchased for development as a garden city and has now lent, with its buildings, to the American Red Cross for the duration of the war and six months thereafter. Repairs and installation of equipment have been made at comparatively small cost through the co-operation of members of the American Friends Unit. The sanatorium, formerly known as the Chateau Hachette, is named in memory of Dr. Edward L. Trudeau, the American tuberculosis expert, who was of French parentage and whose work is well known in France. At Bligny Sanatorium, Briis-sous-Forges, the American Red Cross undertook in September the completion, at a cost of $71,500, of a large building which had stood unfinished since the beginning of the war. This building will provide 300 beds for tubercular French soldiers in connection with a thoroughly modern sanatorium. The remodeling of a chateau at Yerres, near Paris, for a tuberculosis sanatorium, was under way when the institution was turned over to the Red Cross by the Tuberculeux de la 41 Guerre. This building, to be known as the Edith Wharton Sanatorium, will accommodate 53 patients, and ultimately may be enlarged to include 200 beds. A grant of $50,000 was made by the Red Cross to complete a fund which will enable St. Joseph Hospital, one of the best general hospitals in Paris, to remodel a building acquired by it for a tuberculosis sanatorium of 125 beds. A committee has been appointed by the Board of Managers of this hospital to arrange for a dispensary and to co-operate both as to hospital and dispensary work with the Tuberculosis Commission of the Rockefeller Foundation. When the Bureau of Tuberculosis undertook a regular visita- tion of tuberculosis barracks in Paris on September 4, 1917, only 174 beds of an available 718 were occupied. Diet kitchens have been established in four barracks, bowling greens at two, sitting rooms at three, and a dining room, four air cures, two store rooms and additional bathroom and laboratory equipment in others. Games, appetizing food, phonograph records, sewing material for women, books, stamps and tobacco have been distributed, to make these temporary hospitals more attractive, so that tubercular men and women might be induced to leave their homes, where they endangered the health of their families, and enter the hospitals to receive proper care. The number of patients has increased from 174 to 520. In December 73 per cent of the beds available were occupied, as compared to 24 per cent occupied four months previous. In the course of a complete survey of tuberculosis hospitali- zation in France undertaken by the bureau, a detailed examin- ation and report of 76 tuberculosis hospitals outside Paris has been completed. Requisitions for goods, to the estimated value of $39,000, have been approved for 96 provincial tuberculosis hospitals containing 5,610 beds. Of these, goods to the value of $20,000 were granted to 39 hospitals in December, 1917. The articles thus distributed include regular hospital supplies, equipment which institutions may not be able to obtain for themselves, special food needed for invalids, and books, games and other means of recreation. / Item 2/—Care of Needy Children, $1,149,129.70 Of all the activities in which the Red Cross is engaged in France, the work of putting the little children back on their feet again is the most far-reaching and the most beautiful. When the Children's Bureau was organized in August, 1917, 42 it found ready at its hand an opportunity for humanitarian work almost without parallel. How effective this work of saving and properly caring for the babies who are to be the future men and future women of France will prove, will probably never be exactly known, but a tremendous amount of work, beyond any possible reckoning as to value, has been accomplished. The children of France in 1917 needed attention medically and from a social welfare point of view. The nearer one got to the devastated regions the more intense was the suffering and the more numerous the deaths from lack of medical attention. In one district thousands of children were living in caves on account of the nightly bomb attacks, and it goes without saying that proper medical attention under those circumstances was an impossible luxury. Further back, what hospitals there were, were overcrowded by the hundreds of refugees who had been driven in like sheep at the time of the German invasion. In these centers the facilities were strained to the utmost and those physicians who could be spared from the army to supply medical attention were overwhelmed with work. What the Children's Bureau has done The Children's Bureau of the Red Cross began its fight against infant mortality at Toul, thus initiating the first activity of the Red Cross in behalf of the civilian population of France. The need in the surrounding districts was so great that the bureau decided to found a center where medical and social wel- fare work could be carried on in behalf of the children for miles around; and in co-operation with the French authorities opened a refuge for children at Aisle, near Toul, on July 28, 1917, with a staff of nine. This was the beginning of the activities of the Children's Bureau in the Department of Meurthe-et-Moselle— activities which have branched out until now, in addition to the refuge and hospital at Aisle, there has been established, through the generosity of the American Fund for French Wounded, a children's hospital of 80 beds at Toul and at Luxembourg a children's hospital and dispensary with a staff large enough to permit supplying medical care and supervision to the whole district, by sending doctors to different towns to hold weekly or bi-weekly clinics, and to bring back to Toul the cases needing hospital care. These clinics are held twice a week at six towns near Toul and Nancy, and another dispensary has been opened at Foug. That this organization for medical relief has found a wide field 43 may be concluded from the fact that the total number of cases treated in the bureau's dispensary service in the Department of Meurthe-et-Moselle up to January 1, 1918, is 3,925; the total number of cases cared for in the hospital at Toul is 234 and on January 1, 1918, there were 68 children in the hospital and 466 at Aisle. At the Toul dispensary 1,660 patients were treated. The social • welfare work has been concentrated at Nancy, where refugee girls are taught sewing and designing of garments, each girl making small models of different outfits, such as trous- seaux and layettes. These are mounted in folders with patterns, dimensions and instructions to be taken back to their own villages later. The old men and boys are taught carpentering; all the furniture they make being used at once at Aisle or stored away to be taken to their homes as soon as possible. Receiving the Children at Evian On the southern shore of Lake Geneva, near the Swiss border, is the little French town of Evian-les-Bains, to which the repatries who have been held in Belgium or Northern France are being sent by the Germans. It is at this point that the Children's Bureau is acting each day the part of the Good Samaritan to the homeless children of the north. Through Evian are cast off by the Germans all the babies, young children, old men and old women collected from the occupied regions of Belgium and France who can be of no possible use and are in many cases a bur- den. Not long ago this wretched crowd of exiles was descending from the trains at Evian at the rate of 1,700 a day and 60 per cent of them were children. It can all too easily be imagined in what a state of destitution these repatries are when they literally run into the arms of the Red Cross at Evian. Severe cases of measles, scarlet fever, diphtheria and pneumonia were common, and in order to meet the imperative needs of the situation the Children's Bureau opened on November 5, 1917, at the request of the French Government and the local committee, an "acute" hospital for children, in charge of a medical staff. The danger of an epidemic from these contagious diseases entering at Evian and being scattered through France was the main reason for the founding of this hospital of 150 beds. In the first week the hospital received 50 cases of contagious diseases and examined 2,508 children. Each week the hospital has grown until on January 1. 1918, the entire capacity of 44 160 beds was available and the record for the two months' service was 376 children in the hospital, 292 children treated in the dispensary, 268 dental cases treated and 13,708 children examined by American physicians. Since January 1, the capacity of the hospital has increased to 200 beds, and 170 cases are con- tinually in the hospital. Other Work of the Children's Bureau From Evian, the convalescent children go to Lyons and thence to the Chateau des Halles, the convalescent hospital for children which was given to the Red Cross by the Lyons Hospital Com- mittee. This chateau is beautifully adapted to hospital use and was opened November 22, 1917, with a capacity of 200 beds. The hospital at Nesle and the Paris dispensary service are the chief remaining activities of the Children's Bureau. The former, of ten beds, was opened in a tuberculosis pavilion, in the midst of an almost completely devastated region. A dispensary service was begun and now visits six towns, conducting the medical supervision of 2,000 children. During the past winter with snow, bad roads, high winds and short days, pioneer work of the toughest sort was required to keep this hospital going. The Paris dispensary service consists of seven units, two in conjunction with the Rockefeller Commission, and has in con- nection a school for district nursing in which French nurses who have had hospital training are being taught district nursing. In co-operation with the Rockefeller Commission a school is about to be opened in which untrained French women will be given a five months' hospital course and a five months' district nursing course. Infant Mortality Campaign Beginning January 6, 1918, the Bureau undertook a campaign against infant mortality in connection with the Rockefeller Commission. This consisted of a traveling exhibit of posters, pictures, moving pictures, literature, lectures and nurses for the demonstration of methods of saving children's lives. In the town of Chartres, 4,000 people saw the exhibit and attended the conferences. At Dreux over 3,000 attended. The French showed the keenest interest and the French doctors are eagerly co-operating in this effort to save the French babies. 45 Under the slogan "Visit Every Baby Born in France in 1918" the campaign had three main objects: (1) To increase the nursing service in France in the direction of child welfare work. (2) To increase welfare stations all over the country, one or two if possible in every province. (3) To help all hospitals and clinics and Goutte de Laits and any other organization doing children's work to secure the best possible assistance in their Child Welfare Propaganda. It is estimated that 80,000 French babies died last year, of which 40,000 could have been saved, and it is one of the vital objects of the Children's Bureau to save that 40,000 or more in 1918. The bureau has reached, through its hospitals and clinics and assistance given to French societies, 69,000 children from August, 1917, to January 1, 1918. On February 1 the bureau was reaching 71,000 children, had given during January alone, $5,000 to various French children's societies and had a total personnel on February 1, 1918, of 201. Item 22—Re-education of Mutilated, $322,293.50 An extensive survey of re-educational work in France for war cripples has been made. A comparatively small amount of French re-educational work has been agricultural and the Red Cross has, therefore, taken steps toward establishing a model farm and agricultural center. Machinery for this center is on order in France and America, and the general locality of the work has been determined. Several farms are under considera- tion and the actual work of this center should be well established before spring. An extensive survey has also been made of French re-educa- tional schools, and the American Red Cross, under this appropria- tion, has made moderate grants to some of these existing French schools which are doing especially good work and which should be developed in certain directions. Item 23—Assistance of Repatriated, $129,750.00 This was the original appropriation made for the assistance of French "Repatries," and covered the cost of this work up to November 1,1917. Thereafter it was found that this work natural- ly divided itself under the other bureaus, and subsequent appro- priations are included under the headings "Refugees and Relief," "Care and Prevention of Tuberculosis" and the "Children's Bureau." 46 At the time this appropriation was made these "repatries," consisting principally of old men, women and children from the occupied regions of France, were being shipped back to France by the Germans via Switzerland at the rate of about 1,000 a day. These refugees were received at Evian, where they were examined, and those who were ill placed in hospitals, while others were despatched either to relatives or to certain towns or villages in which they were billeted. These people arrived from Germany in most cases insufficiently clad and in very bad physical and mental condition. The American Red Cross in co-operation with the French Red Cross and other societies has endeavored to extend aid to these "repatries" in every possible manner. Each arriving train is met by automobiles and ambulances with Red Cross chauffeurs to help the aged and infirm and, as stated above, the various cases are turned over either to the Bureau of Refugees and Relief for housing, to the Bureau of Tuberculosis in the case of persons afflicted with that disease and to the Chil- dren's Bureau in the case of children. Item 24—Work for Reformes, $129,750.00 The reformes are men discharged from the army on account of wounds or physical disabilities. Those discharged on account of wounds receive a pension; but there is a large number who are discharged on account of physical disabilities and this class re- ceives no pension. When they are discharged from the army they are usually broken in health and their earning power is slight; the government allowance to their wives and children ceases and the family is usually in great need of assistance until the man recovers and finds employment or, if his disease renders him unemployable, they may require relief indefinitely. Many of these discharged men have no money to buy clothes and their uniforms are taken from them soon after their discharge. The amount above mentioned was appropriated for the relief of these men to November 1, 1917. After that date, how- ever, subsequent appropriations for this purpose have been included under the Bureau of Tuberculosis, as most of these Reformes were afflicted with this disease, and naturally, came under the jurisdiction of that Bureau. Item 25—Health Center, $1,000,000.00 In order to conserve vitality and efficiency in France and to arouse interest and confidence in public health work, especially 47 in behalf of children, the Red Cross has made an appropriation of $1,000,000 for the establishment, equipment and maintenance for three years of a Model Red Cross Health Center at some place either in one large center or in two or more smaller ones. A relatively small amount was expended the first year as the plan is still in the initial stages and the work is being under- taken slowly as the needs develop. This health center will include medical and social provision for all phases of health work. Among other things a tuberculosis dispensary, infant welfare and milk station, prenatal dispensary, dental dispensary, general dispensary, bacteriological laboratory, small reception and distributing hospital for children, training school for nurses and social workers, special relief of families in which there is sickness, inspection and improvement of housing conditions and careful efforts toward the control of communicable diseases—all to be done in closest co-operation with local authorities and organizations and from the point of view of health and prevention. This project has been taken up with both the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of the Interior of the French Government, who cordially approve the general plan, the absence of French physicians at the. front making all medical and nursing service particularly welcome and aiding to sustain the morale of the French soldiers by rendering such aid to their families. Item 26—Support of Friends' Work, $213,971.20 American members of the Anglo-American Mission of the Society of Friends are organized under the Department of Civil Affairs as the Bureau of the American Friends' Unit, although the direction of the work is under joint English and American Committees. The support of this Committee by the Red Cross has made it possible for the mission to enlarge all its previous lines of work and, in addition, to establish several new activities such as the Red Cross Baby Home near Vitry-le-Francois, for children under four years of age whose homes are in the dangerous strip of land behind the army; a civilian hospital of 30 beds at Sermaize; agricultural centers at Golancourt and Gruny in the devastated regions; a new factory for the making of portable houses at Orlans; and units for the repair of damaged buildings and erection of portable houses at various points in the devastated areas. The membership of this mission is now over 300, of whom not quite half are Americans. Of the Ameri- 48 cans, several have been detailed for duty in various Red Cross activities for which they were specially fitted, while others are engaged in the manufacture and erection of portable houses, in the repair of damaged buildings, in hospital and general refugee work and in agricultural centers. Agricultural implements, seed, etc., have been shipped by us to them for their agricultural work, also planing mill and other wood-working machinery to aid them in the manufacture and erection of portable houses, which they will be able to make and erect at the rate of twelve each week. Item 27—Women's War Relief Corps, $43,550.00 This appropriation covers the work of the Women's War Relief Corps in France, anauxiliary of the American Red Cross. This organization is an association of the American women in France who have been or are now engaged in War Relief work, or who wish to undertake it either for all or part of their time. It registers at its headquarters nurses, canteen workers, relief workers or those desiring to undertake such work and confers with them as to where their services would be of most value. It supplies the Red Cross with such additional women workers as are needed from time to time to supplement its regular staff in various activities. The society has divisions on canteens, diet kitchens, nursing, propaganda, refugees and social service. Mem- bership is open to all American women in France or American wives of subjects of allied nations. In addition to the registration of women to do Red Cross work there are various other activities which are handled through the Red Cross by this organization. Item 28—Miscellaneous—Civil Affairs, $100,626.20 This item covers various small appropriations made for expenditure by the Department of Civil Affairs, including expenses of the general supervision of that department, and also an item of $51,900 for distribution among American organizations for Civil Relief in France, several of which are doing most excel- lent work along lines closely allied to the work of this department. Item 29—Transportation, $1,539,410.97 When the Red Cross Commission first arrived in France it was found necessary, owing to the congested condition of the 49 railroads, immediately to start the construction of a great system of transportation and warehouses on the theory that for any kind of relief work the Red Cross must have goods, materials and supplies always on hand and some way to move them. Plans .were immediately laid to organize such an efficient and well- equipped transportation service, that the Red Cross supplies might be carried without delay to any point needed and without placing any additional burden upon the already over-loaded railroads of France. The transportation work has been carried out under the supervision of an experienced railroad executive who gave his entire time to the Red Cross in helping to solve the tremendous transportation problems which arise in furnishing tangible assistance to the armies of the United States and her allies as well as to the stricken civilian population. The result has been that the Red Cross has built up a Motor Transportation Service which is second only to the Army Transportation Services in France. This department has had to handle material at prac- tically all the French ports and carries an estimated tonnage of 2,500 tons a week from America and 2,500 tons a week purchased in Europe, or a total of 5,000 tons a week. Unfortunately, also, the conditions of war make it necessary to re-handle goods a great many times and this makes the conditions of transport both extremely difficult and expensive. We require 400 machines of various kinds in operation at all times, and a personnel for this service, including those at the ports, in garages and at railroad stations, of over 900 people. The above amount covers the capital or plant cost of this transportation system up to April 30, 1918. Item. 30—Transportation—Operating, $1,000,257.50 This appropriation covers the operating expenses of the Transportation Department to April 30, 1918. The two largest items of expense making up this amount are those for labor— chauffeurs, dock and garage men, etc., and other supplies con- sumed in operating such as gas, oils, tires and other automobile supplies. Other items included under this appropriation are garage rentals, dock rentals, freight, express and cartage on articles not transported by our own department, railway switching charges and repairs and alterations, the last item being largely due to the terrific damage to cars under the conditions of the roads and the destruction of war. 50 Item 31—French Soldiers' Relief, $1,000,000.00 In August of 1917, the Red Cross, after a full discussion of the matter with General Pershing, made an appropriation of $1,000,000 for the relief of sick and wounded French soldiers and for the families of such soldiers, as it was the consensus of opinion that it was a most opportune time for the Red Cross to do something substantial and on a large scale for the French troops who were doing such splendid work. Part of this sum was distributed through the commanding generals and officers of the army to sick and wounded soldiers whom they deemed in need of such assistance, the balance being used in the aid of needy families of soldiers on active duty. The latter was distributed through the agency of the Conseils Generaux, on the recommen- dation of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, as this was the best possible means for achieving a fair general distribution to the needy families of soldiers. Subsequent facts indicated that, in addition to the actual relief effected through this fund, it also had the effect of indicating to the French people in a very broad way, and establishing in their minds a concrete idea, of American sympathy and the desire of America to assist them. Item 32—Warehouse Expense, $297,186.00 As stated previously, one of the first acts of the Red Cross upon its arrival in France was the construction of a great system of transportation and warehouses. To work out the warehouse system was a very complicated matter for the reason that the French Government had occupied practically all the points that were desirable for warehouse sites, but we now have a system of warehouses at eight of the principal ports in France, great base warehouses in Paris and all along the front. On the various railway routes we have our advance warehouses, all of which are filled with supplies at points where we can get hold of them when trouble comes. The above amount covers the complete operating expenses of these warehouses, including labor, garage rent, heat, light, water, repairs, alterations and other charges incidental to this service. Item 33—Engineering Department, $147,009,25 An Engineering and Construction Department has been formed to work in conjunction with the various other departments 51 of the Commission to France. This department supervises all con- struction work undertaken by the various departments as well as reconstruction work in the devastated areas. Included in this item also are portable saw mill and planing mill outfits, various construction tools, concrete mixers, stone crushers, portable machine shop, tractors, boilers and other machinery and tools which are used in reconstruction work in the devastated districts. Item 34—General Supervision, $432,139.00 This appropriation covers office expenses such as salaries of clerks, office furniture and supplies, rent, heat, light, traveling expenses, taxes, express charges and uniforms for the Administra- tion Bureaus, including the Bureau of Purchases, Insurance, Finance and Accounts, Permits and Passes, Secretary General, General Policy and Legal Advice and the Liaison Service. The headquarters of the Red Cross in Paris is situated in a most commodious and imposing building at 4 Place de la Con- corde. This building has been donated to the Red Cross, rent free, by one of the members of our French Commission through a contribution specially designated for that purpose. Item 35—Miscellaneous—France, $578,047.10 This item is made up almost entirely of various appropriations made from time to time in the nature of general funds for Con- tingent Relief placed at the disposal of the Commission for France, to be allotted by them as emergencies might arise. It also includes a small appropriation to cover the payment of salaries of chaplains attached to base hospitals with the Ameri- can Expeditionary Forces. 52 RELIEF WORK-BELGIUM $2,086,131.00 The Commission for Belgium, which is operated in close conjunction with the Commission to France, is charged with all relief work for Belgium, both military and civil. In general, the statement is true that the needs to be met and the problems to be solved for Belgium are similar to those encountered in the work for the French. Certain important distinctions, however, are to be noted. Free Belgium now consists of an area of about 500 square miles. There is no square yard within this territory which cannot be reached by German shells or by bombs dropped by aeroplanes. About 90,000 Belgian civilians live within this territory at the present time, and it i s believed by all the authorities that this population ought to be encouraged to remain to cultivate the ground and hold together the organizations of local self- government. Of these 90,000 people, probably 10,000 are children under the age of fifteen. These children cannot help in maintaining the country and are constantly subject to extreme danger to life and limb. For safety, therefore, Belgian refugees in the main must be cared for in France; children must be maintained in homes and colonies in France and even many of the wounded soldiers must be sent into hospitals there and the tired soldiers sent there for rest. The resources of the Belgian Government, which is temporari- ly exiled from its own land and from the greater part of its people, are reduced, and its facilities for carrying on the usual institutions for the care of its sick and wounded soldiers and of its civilian population are very much crippled. In these matters Belgium is at a great disadvantage as compared with France. It is, therefore, not practicable to rely upon the Belgian Government for that degree of self-help which may reasonably be expected of France or other strong allied governments. With steady, rapid strokes the American Red Cross has entered upon a program for improving conditions among the Belgian troops, by providing refreshment, recreation and medical service. To meet any even- 53 tuality it has established a system of warehouses at points accessible by railways, canals or highways. It has aided the existing school colonies, erected a pavilion for babies of the Queen's School, broken ground for a new children's colony nearby, and thrown open an old Carthusian monastery in Central France for harboring children from occupied Belgium. It has strengthened agencies for the care of the sick, the infirm and for civilian wounded from the war zone; and has instituted housing and health projects for the great companies of Belgian refugees in the adjoining French provinces. Item 36—Belgian Soldiers' Aid, $401,360.00 The living conditions of the Belgian soldiers are unusually difficult. They are crowded into a small strip of Flanders which in winter is a strip of mud. Many of them pass their hours of rest in low, dark and badly ventilated barracks, where often night shifts have to sleep while the day shifts sit on the edge of the bunks eating their meals. At the various Belgian camps and cantonments the shelters are rough dugouts on the first line, half ruined buildings on the second line and farm buildings, old wooden barracks and new brick barracks in the rear, that is seven or eight miles back from the trenches where the soldiers go after spending their time in the trenches. The Belgian Government, however, is struggling against obstacles brought about by scarcity of building materials and lack of money to erect new brick barracks; but in co-operation with a Governmental Committee the American Red Cross has embarked on a project for erecting recreational and eating huts and double tents in the army zone, equipping them with dishes, baths, moving pictures and reading rooms, the men themselves making the tables and furniture. We are also helping to maintain a reading room and recreation center in conjunction with an existing canteen at La Panne, and have given a barrack for a canteen to be opened by Abbe Francois, a Belgian Army Chap- lain, in a small town between Dunkirk and Calais. This is a small section to which Belgian troops when not on active duty at the front are sent back for rest and drill. As the homes of many of the men lie in occupied Belgium,they have not been able to visit them during the war and they hear from their people infrequently. The families of others are living under refugee conditions in France. There are several thousand Belgian 54 soldiers who have never had a day of real rest since their mobiliza- tion for the simple reason that they have had no money to spend and no place to go. The Red Cross has, therefore, made a grant of money to the "Foyer du Soldat Beige" which gives them ten days' rest in Paris with some pocket money, food, lodging and friendly direction in seeing the sights of the city. The Red Cross is furthermore backing a canteen at the Gare du Nord for Belgian soldiers coming to Paris or passing through. It has also made small donations to a Belgian society which sends out books to soldiers in the field. Under this item is also included a gift of $86,500 toward the cost of the great Belgian Military Hospital at Wulveringhem. In September this hospital was located under severe bomb and shell fire in the converted seaside hotels at La Panne, but La Panne has .become a barracks town, and since the British offensive in the summer of 1917 an object of persistent attack. Inland at Wulveringhem, however, laid out in wide fields like a model village, each range of barrack wards connecting with permanent brick structures, housing modern operating rooms and with roofs and fields unmistakably marked with great Red Crosses, a new ocean hospital was built equivalent to those serving the neighboring armies. As a contribution to the active field service of the Belgian Army, the Red Cross had given $14,000 for a mobile surgical section and $16,000 for autoradiological carriages. It is assisting further the medical service of the Belgian Army where equipment falls short of the standards which Belgium's more prosperous allies have been able to evolve—stationary radiological installa- tions, traction engines to serve these, demountable barracks with double walls of corrugated iron, telescope beds, gloves, tourniquets and other hospital supplies. Item 37—Belgian Civil Hospitals, $59,962.00 This item covers a fund for the establishment and maintenance of a typhoid hospital at Hasbrock, a hospital at Havre for Belgian refugees and assistance in the maintenance of the hospital of Countess Van den Steen at Couthove. Due to an epidemic of typhoid which broke out last fall in the vicinity of Hasbrock, a hospital for typhoid patients was established there, the French Government supplying the necessary buildings, and the British Friends' Ambulance at Dunkirk supplying the personnel. The American Red Cross provided a certain amount of equipment and supplies for this hospital. 55 In the industrial cities of Havre and Rouen, the most serious conditions in regard to refugees present themselves. There are 40,000 to 50,000 more people in Havre than before the war, with the result that families with three or four children are living in one room, rents are high and often these rooms are without adequate light and air, the sanitary appliances being of the crudest. Health conditions are deplorable. While the healthy refugees have had a far from enviable situation, that of the sick has been tragic as the Belgian civilian is not admitted into the Belgian military hospitals. As its first large contribution to health needs, therefore, the Red Cross is giving a 250 bed civil hospital to the Belgian colony at Havre, which will be managed by the Ministry of the Interior, and in the staff of which Red Cross personnel will be included. At the rear of an old estate in the very heart of the British war zone is the Countess Van den Steen's Hospital for Civilians. This hospital was established at a time when the neighborhood was fairly clear of military establishments, but now it is almost entirely surrounded by military storage places, army hospitals, stables and camps. Some of the wards are given up to Belgian soldiers,others to wounded civilians, old folk,women and children. This hospital takes care of the civilian population in that district which still cling to their homes. ■ The Red Cross has made a grant of about $2,000 per month to assist in its maintenance. Item 38—Relief of Belgian Refugees, $1,015,510.00 There are about 250,000 Belgian refugees in France and the French Government is their outstanding benefactor. Since October, 1914,the Belgian families in France who are in destitute circumstances have received the same allowance from the French Government as the French refugees. Many of these are, of course, families of Belgian soldiers. In general, it may be said that the refugees who are capable of working find work readily, but when there are aged parents or babies or sickness, or when some accident occurs, these things create cases of need just as they do in normal times, only there are fewer resources upon the part of the people, themselves, to meet them. When, in 1914, the Belgians came down at the time of the invasion, they were cared for by the various French communities into which they fled or were distributed by the French at the same time and in the same way that French fugitives were cared for. Various committees have been formed to re-assemble families which 56 have been broken up and for the general relief of these refugees; and a great work has already been done in assembling and locating the members of the individual families. A tabulation was made and the vocations of the refugees made known to French employers, with the result that there has been consider- able shifting about, getting miners to mines, farmers to farms and industrial workers to the factories, and large numbers of Belgians are now working in all branches of trade in France. Last summer over 60,000 acres were cultivated by Belgians in France and supplied vegetables for the use of the Belgian Army. The conditions of living of many thousands of these Belgian refugees, particularly in the industrial centers such as Havre and Rouen, are deplorable, and the Red Cross has undertaken measures to relieve these conditions after full discussion with the representatives of the Belgian Government and local relief agencies and personal investigations of its own. The City of Havre, for instance, because of war conditions, has a population far above the normal and, as a result, only the most dilapidated and unsanitary tenement houses have been available for the Belgian refugees. The rents are exceedingly high and inability to meet these prices has compelled the refugee families to crowd themselves into totally inadequate spaces, with the result that they are not only living in quarters which are unfit for human habitation, but are also very greatly overcrowded, adding to the spread of disease among them. The buildings into which thousands of these people are crowded are in the oldest part of the city, many of them dating back to the 16th century, in most instances without sewer connections, filthy, foul smelling, dark and damp—with broken doors, windows and stairways and without water. As is to be expected, refugees living under these conditions are suffering in health and morals. In these dark and noisome places the children are pale and feeble and the rate of mortality will be very high unless conditions are changed. As previously stated, the Red Cross has already furnished a hospital for these refugees, and, in addition, we are constructing wooden huts on high land in the outskirts of Havre and are supplying furnishings for these huts where needed. The conditions found in Havre exist in similar form in other cities and, in order to meet most urgent individual needs in these centers, the Red Cross has sent around a number of agents to visit the different localities, study their conditions and co-ordinate the local relief efforts. Relief supplies are distributed effectively to meet special con- ditions. 57 In this relief work the Red Cross has aimed to work with the local societies wherever possible, and has from time to time contributed funds to certain of these societies performing valu- able work and which require assistance. A large part of this item covers the purchase of general relief supplies which are carried by the Commission to Belgium to meet any emergency relief which may arise. Free Belgium lies directly behind the Allied Armies in their campaigns to turn the extreme left of the western front line. Some sudden turn of events may send a final stream of Belgian refugees back across the French border or may throw open new areas of what is now occupied Belgium, releasing a civilian population actually dependent upon the Belgian Relief Commission. Only by having supplies where they may be gotten in rapidly, can great suffering and perhaps starvation be prevented, and the American Red Cross is preparing for eventualities by erecting barrack ware- houses and stocking them with food, clothing, blankets and such supplies for use wherever an emergency may occur. Item 39—Relief of Belgian Children, $436,004.00 The suffering of the Children of Belgium is one of the most pathetic results of the war and the Red Cross is doing everything possible to preserve the health and welfare of these children. We have erected a portable barrack and water heater for the Refuge for Belgian Boys at Wizernes, which is one of two school colonies promoted by the Belgian Department of the Interior under a special administration bureau known as "Colonies Scholaires." These colonies are scattered through northern France, the first having been set up as early as 1915. There are fifty-eight of them caring for 6,000 children from free Belgium and 2,000 from occupied Belgium. They have had to develop on slender resources, having benefited most from the Belgian Relief Fund raised in England at the beginning of the war. The school facilities in some of these colonies are pitifully meagre, and the dormitories are overcrowded and unheated. At the schools for children at Wulveringhem, now under the direction of the Queen of Belgium, where boys and girls between the ages of four and thirteen years were admitted, but where they were unable to receive younger children, the Red Cross has made a gift of a babies' pavilion, which will take care of 100 babies who can not very well be taken into France without their mothers and have been especially subject to the prevailing 58 hardships. Early in the fall of 1917 the Red Cross made a gift to the "Colonies Scholaires" for a second large colony on Belgian soil, but the site first selected by the Belgian authorities proved too close to the field of military operations and in November and December it was struck by bombs and shells. The erection of the buildings was therefore delayed and in December the Red Cross shipped five large barracks to Cayeaux-sur-Mer in France to enlarge the school there and care for the children who needed to be moved before the new institution would be ready. The Red Cross is also establishing a new colony near Leysele, just at the frontier of France and not far from the Queen's school. Here the Red Cross is maintaining a colony of 600 children who were in continual danger of life and limb, who live in places of especial danger and many of whom had been injured. Two colonies of Belgian children in Switzerland, instituted by the Rockefeller War Relief Commission, have also been placed under the management of the Red Cross, the Foundation continuing to bear the cost of providing for the 400 children cared for. Recent reports which have reached the Belgian authorities of conditions in occupied Belgium—showing a shortage of food, the spread of tuberculosis and infant mortality, and the extreme poverty of many of the people—have given urgency to the pro- ject which must be credited to the generous thought of the Queen, of bringing children to colonies in France. Here the American Red Cross has taken the lead, and the first large company of 570 children was brought through Switzerland in mid-November. These children were despatched to the Carthu- sian monastery at Le Glandier,which consists of a group of 40 buildings taken over by the French Government when the reli- gious orders were disestablished in 1902. Although the structure is old it has running water in every room and electric light; and this equipment especially adapts the structure to its present occupancy. This colony is under the management of a special agent of Queen Elizabeth and is visited periodically by specialists from the Children's Bureau of the Red Cross at Paris. Its capacity will be brought up to 1,000 and the American Red Cross has already completed plans and selected sites in chateaux and monasteries in the hill-country of Auvergne to care for a second thousand. Item 40—Transportation and Supply, $141,341.00 This appropriation covers the cost of erecting barracks to 59 serve as storehouses for supplies at points in Belgium convenient to canals and highways; wooden barges of about 350 tons capaci- ty; and the purchase of camions and automobiles for the dis- tribution of supplies used for relief work in Belgium. This item is similar to the items for the Transportation Department under relief work in France. Item 41—Miscellaneous—Belgium, $31,954.00 This item covers salaries, wages, office expenses and general supervision of the Commission for Belgium, and also includes a fund placed at the disposal of that Commission for special relief in emergency cases to be used by the Commissioner at his discretion. 60 RELIEF WORK-ITALY $3,588,826.00 The American Red Cross started its relief work in Italy by sending last summer a temporary commission to that country to investigate conditions there and report to the War Council at Washington. As the result of this report a permanent commission was in process of formation when the drive on the Austrian front brought matters to a sudden head. A permanent Commis- sion was speedily formed and despatched to Italy, and in the meantime a number of men were detached from the Red Cross Commission to France and ordered to proceed to Italy at once to undertake there whatever relief measure might be needed in the emergency. At this time, when American participation in the war was only a phrase to the mass of Italians, this little body of active workers from the French Commission was able to fill in a breach and make American fellowship a reality. They opened central offices in Rome early in November, canvassed the situation by wire through the American Embassy and Consular Service, despatched an ambulance section and two trains of supplies, made wholesale purchases in Italy, wired money to spend on the spot to American consuls, committees and local agencies, and made a rapid survey of the whole field as a basis for a comprehen- sive plan of help. The part which the American Red Cross played in these first weeks of emergency was of course small compared with the voluntary effort put forward by the Italian agencies, all of which played a tremendous part in the rush of emergent need, but the part which the American Red Cross has been able to play has been larger and more effective with^every day that has passed, and not only the spirit of the doing, but the things done were made the subject, no more than a month from the date the Red Cross Commissioner to Europe reached Rome, of appre- ciative reference by the Italian Premier in his address at the opening of Parliament early in December. He said: "Our soul is stirred again with appreciation and with admiration for the 61 magnificent dash with which the American Red Cross has brought us powerful aid in our recent misfortune. We attribute great value to the co-operation which will be given us against the common enemy by the prodigious activity and by the exuberant , and consistent force which are peculiar to the American people." Every effort was made to relieve the refugees from the occupied regions who were coming down from the north—hungry, athirst, drenched to their skins, packed in cattle cars or sleeping on stone floors when better provision failed. The American note has been been struck in all this Red Cross work in Italy, not in a spirit of self-advertisement for the United States, but rather of assurance for the Italians, to give them tangible evidence that in resisting invasion and in getting under its heavy load of civilian distress, the American people are with them, evidence not merely in sympathetic cables and distant girdings for war, but evidence expressed in such humble but convincing terms as ambulances, surgical dressings and instru- ments for field and base hospitals, and supplies for refugee families all over Italy. At the end of seven weeks this emergency staff turned over the Red Cross work in Italy to the permanent Commission who are now there and who are continuing the work along the lines as stated further in this report. In the relatively short time of our work in Italy we have built up a fabric of goodwill and cordial relations with the Italian Government and voluntary organizations; we have acquired warehouses of 50,000 tons capacity in Rome and at various other centers of distribution; we have established a hospital supply service with a system of co-operating workrooms; and we delivered in January, through the Surgical Dressings Committee, 200,000 surgical dressings. We have contracted for ten complete field hospitals, gifts to the Sanita Militare and the Italian Red Cross; we are estab- lishing a string of rest stations and canteens at eight junction points from the front to the Straits of Messina; a canteen for Italian and Allied troops at Genoa, and a dormitory, rest room and canteen at Milan; one hundred men, and, in conjunction with the Poets' Committee, three complete ambulance sections— the first units of an American Red Cross Ambulance Service for Italy, are already at work on the Piave. We have further established a Red Cross hospital and health center of 50 beds, serving the Venetian colonies at Rimini and adjacent towns, and a similar project at Taormina for the service of the refugees in 62 Sicily; a Red Cross Rest for refugees, the aged, sick and mothers, and a popular kitchen in Milan; storage centers, canteen and district delegates placed for effective help to refugees in transit in case of any further emergency; a project for the evacuation of children, sick and infirm from the zone immediately behind the lines; a constructive program for refugee work based on French experience, and relief measures of various kinds for refugees and soldiers' families. Item 42—General Relief to Italy, $204,000.00 In July, 1917, the Red Cross sent a temporary commission to Italy to study conditions in that country and report to Wash- ington in what way the Red Cross could assist Italy in the war. This commission made a very satisfactory tour and submitted a very valuable report to the War Council on their return, which led directly to the establishment of a permanent Red Cross commission for Italy. The Red Cross placed the sum of $200,000 in the hands of this temporary committee for use for such relief purposes as might need particular attention during their tour and also shipped medical supplies to the value of $4,000 for distribution by them. A large part of the $200,000 was donated to the Sanita Militare who subsequently used it in making good losses of important and costly medical installa- tions which were lost in the Italian retreat of last fall. This temporary commission also made a donation to the American Relief Clearing House in Rome to be used by them for general relief work, principally for furnishing woolen garments to soldiers of which they stood in great need, and for presents to these Italian soldiers at Christmas. They also made donations to the hospitals for mutilated soldiers at Florence and Palermo and a small gift to the wife of the American Ambassador for the pur- chase of cloth to be used in the making of pajamas for Italian soldiers. Item 43—Military Affairs—Italy, $1,248,310.00 The Military Relief Work of the Red Cross in Italy has followed very closely the activities carried out in France by the Commission for France, and may be summarized under the following heads: Relief of Soldiers at the Front $53,600.00 Surgical Dressings' Service 132,480.00 Hospital Service 692,120.00 Ambulance Service 239,100.00 Military Canteens and Rest Houses 131,010.00 63 THE mo RWAYi;s, 1 RED CROSS ; 63 &W ED ft WAR MAP \ SPAIN ) I I INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS $2,676,368 fe4^ffigM'875,18p% BULGARIA iS BLACK SEA !•• 6> $2! M E I> x F R ,800 -=£ ARME N I i AND SYRIA $2,200,000 ^ * & PALESTINE £90,000 ~# A jt S $ RAND MONALLY & CO., N.V. There was one sweeping challenge for help in the Italian experience last fall which had no counterpart when France was invaded in 1914. The French retreat had no such wreckage of hospital equipment, for such equipment did not exist, nor was there a great hospital population of wounded men in the area swept over. The Italians had put their hospitals well up behind the line with no thought of a break. They managed to get out many patients, but the roads were so choked that ambulances, like other lighter vehicles, could not take advantage of their speed and get away. It is estimated that they lost in this retreat not less than 100 hospitals and two of the principal magazines of hospital supplies. They lost all their first and second line base hospitals in the sector through which the retreat ran, and about a quarter in the adjoining sector. Altogether they lost between a third and a half of their medical equipment in the army zone. To work helpfully as well as promptly, the American Red Cross, as soon as it reached Italy, set out to learn particular needs created by the crisis and to make immediate purchase of such instruments and supplies as, from our experience in France, we knew would be called for. The American Relief Clearing House which had been doing such excellent work in Italy had practically emptied its medical stores so that it was necessary to make swift purchases of bedding for 3,000 beds and such instruments and rubber goods as could at that time be purchased in Rome. A lump gift of about $20,000 worth of supplies was ordered for the Sanita Militare—disinfecting wagons, auto- claves for sterilizing dressings, surgical sets, 500 complete beds and quantities of gauze, cotton, drugs, iodine and other medical supplies. We are also giving ten complete field hospitals, one direct to the Sanita Militare and nine through the Italian Red Cross. Each consists of 50 beds, with an overload capacity of 150. Some are tent hospitals, others using tents merely for special uses, the wards being farm buildings or other shelters requisitioned for the purpose as is the Italian custom. There were no volunteer societies in Italy for distributing hospital supplies, but a semi-military bureau known as the Ufficio Doni had acted as intermediary between private donors and the army. The American Red Cross has established rela- tions with the supreme command which permit of developing a group of volunteer inspectors and a shipping system along the lines of the service in France, bringing the Red Cross into direct contact with the hospitals' and the patients. On November 66 30th the hospital supply warehouses had been opened only three weeks but had delivered not fewer than 19,000 articles to hospi- tals all over the country. Hospital supplies shipped from the Red Cross stores in France, together with purchases in Italy, made this emergency work possible. Seven hundred and fifty tons of hospital supplies were subsequently ordered in America for immediate delivery. These include anaesthetics (some Italian hospitals have been performing minor operations without them), surgical instruments, rubber goods, enamel ware, gauze, absorbent cotton and drugs. Paralleling the distribution service for hospital supplies in France has been that for surgical dressings as developed by the Surgical Dressings' Committee of America. In September similar workrooms had been started in Rome, which by November were turning out 30,000 dressings a week. The Red Cross has agreed to help these workrooms, and with workrooms already employing 200 women, millions of dressings are being turned out for delivery through the hospital supply service of the Red Cross. Not only are these dressings helping to fill the gap due to lost supplies, but they are opening up a new standard of practice in Italian hospitals, which have been in the habit of receiving gauze, linen, etc., and making up dressings in the hospitals, with the result that nurses were at work in the wards all day and many spent half the night rolling bandages. Five weeks after the Red Cross reached Rome and less than five days after the United States declared war against Austria, three complete ambulance sections were turned over by the Red Cross to the Italian Medical Service of the Third Army. Each section was made up of twenty ambulances, a staff car, a kitchen trailer, a motorcycle and two camions, and the personnel was made up of veterans of the Norton-Harjes and American Field Service in France. Fifty of these cars were a gift to the Red Cross by the American Poets'Ambulance, which had made a still earlier gift of another 50 ambulances direct to the Italian Army. The present plan of the Red Cross is to bring the number of these ambulance cars in Italy to a total of 200. Answering the staggering need for hospital supplies and equip- ment, those things were the first concern of the Red Cross in Italy, but, following precedents established in France, we have already made plans for recreation and welfare work for convales- cents and for canteen work. The Red Cross has gone into the work which the Italian Red Cross is doing in canteens, as well as their systematic provision of first-aid rooms at the railroad sta- 67 tions, and a project is under way for installing canteens and rest rooms at eight important junctions along the railroad lines running up both coasts from Reggio and Messina to the front. Item 44—Civil Affairs—Italy, $1,718,832.00 The Civil Relief Work of the Red Cross in Italy has also followed closely the activities of the Department of Civil Affairs in France, and individual appropriations have been made for the following purposes: Relief of Refugees $913,202.00 Civilian Canteen Service 106,680.00 Relief Work for Italian Children 52,870.00 Relief of Italian Soldiers' Families 324,780.00 Materials and Wages for Refugee Work Rooms 321,300.00 The relief of the refugees from the occupied districts of the north of Italy was the biggest problem that faced the Red Cross in Italy. Women with young children and the sick, like others, fled from their homes suddenly; families often separated, usually with no time whatever to gather even things needed. They tramped in the mountains or along the roads from two to four days and sometimes a week before reaching a railway station where they could be taken on trains, or before being picked up by camions. In these first days they were subjected to every priva- tion conceivable. Even after reaching railways they were supplied with food irregularly and suffered from hunger as well as from cold. They often had no chance to wash nor to change clothing, and the condition in which some of those who had been ten days or two weeks on their journey arrived in southern Italy was almost indescribable. To appreciate the suffering and hardships involved in the sudden dislodging of perhaps half a million people, it is necessary to bear in mind the loss of their homes and possessions, the breaking up of families, the enforced journey to distant and unknown places where people spoke dialects so different from their own as sometimes to be scarcely intelligible, where occupa- tions were different and where the charitable resources were likely to be already overtaxed by the needs of the families of soldiers and other local conditions resulting from the war. To have cared for such a dislodged population would have taxed the ingenuity and resourcefulness of any country, but it must be remembered that Italy was also engaged in salvaging an army 68 and turning back an invasion with its remaining organized forces. The Italian Relief Societies did wonderful work in relieving this pitiable condition and the Red Cross endeavored to co- operate with them through rapid advances of money to Consuls, field delegates and Italian agencies. The American Red Cross helped these refugees in every possible manner by assisting in feeding them at railroad stations en route from the front, by providing condensed milk for babies, blankets, beds and shelter for homeless families, and lodgings in vacant villas along the sea coast and in convents and monasteries in the south. As an instance of the way assistance was brought to these refugees by the Red Cross, on November 20th a Commit- tee of three was despatched to make a quick survey of relief needs throughout Italy, and they were supplied with about $60,000 to enable them to act on the spot if the need arose. They put sufficient money in the hands of Consul Carroll to enable him to contribute in a large way to the orderly evacuation of Venice and to the Emergency Relief Fund needed to tide over an employment crisis in Padua, and gave quick help to a Provin- cial Committee at Vicenza, which was caring for a large number of destitute mountain folk; founded a Red Cross hospital and health center among the new Venetian colonies at Rimini; made a gift to the Italian Red Cross at Catania to enable it to succor refugees destitute of clothing and bedding in the small Sicilian villages, and left working funds at Naples and Palermo to pro- mote better lodgings and employment for refugees. In all of this emergency relief work the Red Cross was assisted very greatly by Ambassador Page at Rome and the various American Consuls scattered throughout Italy. For future relief of these refugees the Red Cross is following two main lines of procedure. First, the establishment of dis- tinctive relief agencies of its own, such as a hospital, a refuge, a popular kitchen, a station canteen and a housing committee; and, secondly, by working through existing Italian agencies through grants of financial assistance, supplemented, wherever possible, by appropriate forms of personal service. Another special problem which we have brought to the attention of local authorities is that of the children in the actual fighting zone. Along the Piave front scores of children are near enough to be under shell fire and are evidently in great danger if there should be only the slightest retirement. Plans are being adopted similar to those used behind the fighting lines in Belgium for gathering up these children and caring for them at points not 69 too distant from their homes where schooling facilities can be provided and their parents can be informed as to their where- abouts and welfare. The American Red Cross has also made a gift of approxi- mately $120,000 to the Comitato Romano Organizacione Civile, which has been carrying on widespread relief work for the benefit of soldiers' families and is also bringing refugee families within the scope of its activities. This society operates creches and maternal schools for children whose mothers are at work; a workroom employing four or five hundred women on tents and army clothing; popular kitchens for serving meals (many of them free on a ticket system) and higher grade economic kitchens for distribution of cooked meals at cost or less—all of them so many points of attack on the problems of livelihood which the war, the stopped earnings of the men, the high cost of living and the coming of the refugee's have rendered acute. Nothing counts for more in maintaining morale at the front than for the men in the trenches to be sure that their families, whether refugee or merely left behind, are not suffering or in want. We are also developing many workrooms in Italy for the employment of dependent women, and expect to have 2,000 employed very shortly whose output will be distributed to needy refugees and hospitals. In the early days of the war numerous centers of this sort were started in Rome, the official residence of the American Ambassador having been used as a center of these activities, and the Red Cross is undertaking to maintain central cutting agencies supplying the materials and wages for the soldiers' wives and refugee women employed, the Red Cross taking over and distributing the output such as hospital and other supplies for its medical and relief bureaus. Item 45—Emergency Relief Fund, $174,700.00 This fund was placed at the disposal of the permanent com- mission for Italy for use in emergencies that might arise, and it may be expended at the discretion of the Chairman of the Commission upon approval of the Finance Committee. Item 46—Transportation Service, $97,282.00 In Italy, as well as in France, the Red Cross, has had to establish a transportation and warehouse service of its own, in 70 order that supplies may be stored in the proper quantities and in the proper places for use when needed and so that means of transportation would be always at hand, as all the railroads are very much overburdened. In Rome the Red Cross has secured through #the Italian Government two of the top floors of the Magazzini Generali and also at Naples, these warehouses having direct rail and water connections and being equipped with electric hoists for transferring supplies from the boats into the warehouses or into cars. Similar facilities have been secured in Genoa and in Palermo and other storage space has been taken over at centers of need—in Florence, a building given by the Custom House; in Bologna, the basement of a large Palazzo; in Milan, a warehouse lent by an American firm; and lesser provisions elsewhere. Within one month after the German drive last fall the Red Cross had 50,000 tons of warehouse space in Italy and had it practically empty, so rapid had been the movement of shipments and purchases; but it was ready for the large invoices under order by its purchasing department, for further and larger shipments en route from its warehouse in France and for 15,000 tons of supplies being shipped from America of the kind and in the quantities needed most. Item 47—Miscellaneous—Italy, $145,702.00 This item covers the salaries, wages and general office and traveling expenses of both the Temporary and Permanent Commissions to Italy, including the purchasing, accounting, and other general departments of a similar nature. 71 RELIEF WORK-RUSSIA $1,243,845.07 In July, 1917, the Red Cross despatched a Commission to Russia with the idea of assisting Russia in a manner similar to that adopted in other allied countries by the American Red Cross. From the time of their arrival at Vladivostok on July 26th, every courtesy was shown by the Provisional Government to the members of the Mission. A special train was placed at their disposal for the trip over the Trans-Siberian Railroad to Petrograd. The food and personnel on the dining car of this train were furnished by the Russian Red Cross and a representa- tive of that organization acted as a guide and interpreter on the train to Petrograd. The Red Cross Commission was received with enthusiasm by the people of Russia, and,upon its arrival in Petrograd, began at once to establish a permanent organization. Through the courtesy of the American Ambassador they were presented to Mr. Kerensky, Premier, who received them most cordially, and thereafter the Mission received constant and helpful support from the members of his cabinet, as well as from their assistants. • The General Staff of the Russian Army assigned an officer to be in constant attendance upon the Mission. They early estab- lished cordial relations with the various public relief organiza- tions of Russia, and the supplies taken with them were placed in the army warehouses and from there were distributed to the various points where they were most needed through the Dis- bursement Committee of the four public relief organizations, namely, the Provisional Government, the Sanitary Department of the Russian Army, the Russian Red Cross and the All Union of the Zemstvos and Towns. Members of. the Commission were appointed on various committees to investigate relief needs of Russia. A through survey was made by these committees of the'hospital and ambu- lance situation, food situation, sanitation in the army and child welfare work. As the political situation became more unsettled 72 the work of the Red Cross Mission became harder and harder and it became impossible to undertake a great many of the activities which had been planned. The Commission stuck to its task, however, and was still doing everything in its power to convey to the Russian people the help and sympathy of America when it was forced to leave Petrograd with Ambassador Francis upon the advance of the Germans on Petrograd. At the time of writing, however, the Commission is still in Russia,with every intention of staying there to be of such service as they can. Item 48—Medical and Surgical Supp\ies,$421,101.09 At the time when the Red Cross Commission started for Russia there was a great scarcity of medical and surgical supplies of every description in that country. Accordingly, after careful investigation and conferences with Americans recently returned from Russia, the Red Cross despatched with the Commission a large quantity of those supplies most needed. Upon the arrival of our Commission in Russia, they immediately got in touch with the various relief societies in Russia and distributed these medical supplies either through local relief agencies or direct to Russian hospitals. At the same time they requested the shipment of other medical supplies and, in response to these requests, several subsequent shipment were made and dis- tributed. Later the shipment of supplies of any kind to Russia became increasingly difficult, until finally the Red Cross, to its regret, was forced to discontinue shipments of all kinds until the political situation in Russia clears. Item 49—Condensed Milk for Babies, $531,000.00 Shortly after the arrival of the Red Cross Commission to Russia in Petrograd they formed a committee for the purpose of making a thorough investigation of child welfare work in Russia. They found the situation particularly bad in the city of Petrograd, where, in 1915, one quarter of the infants born died before reach- ing the age of one year, as compared with less than one-tenth in New York. They reported that there was an admirable organi- zation of milk stations and baby clinics in Petrograd, one being maintained by the city, eight by the district dumas, five by the Patronage for the Protection of Motherhood and Childhood and twelve by other agencies; that between 5,000 and 6,000 children 13 were cared for at these stations,but that the number should be doubled or trebled,and that the work of the existing institutions was seriously hampered by the lack of milk. Relief of the children of Petrograd was primarily complicated by the growing number of children in that city. At that time it was difficult not only for homeless children, but for all the children in the city to obtain the food they needed. It was estimated that the total number of children in Petrograd from infancy up to the age of seventeen was 500,000. Of this number 60,000 were infants, and 160,000 were under six years of age. According to data obtained from the children's courts, there were 5,000 children in Petrograd without parents and absolutely homeless, and it was estimated that there were about 150,000 children who were practically destitute, their fathers being in the army and their mothers at work. Accordingly, as the milk supply last fall was seriously short in Petrograd, and as it was certain to become smaller with the coming of cold weather, and this shortage would cause much suffering among children, the Red Cross in October decided to ship to Russia 50,000 cases of condensed milk to feed the children from one to three years of age, assurance having been received from the Russian Government for transportation of this milk from Kola, the only ice-free port in the Arctic Ocean. On January 26th, the Red Cross made a further appropriation for milk on cabled advice from the Commission to Russia that they were distributing this milk to about 25,000 children in the greatest need, co-operating with the department of the present government in charge of social welfare, and that they had secured warehouses with a railroad siding, which were being protected by government troops, and that deliveries were being made from these warehouses to independent agencies responsible to them for proper distribution. When Ambassador Francis was forced to leave Petrograd on account of the German advance on that city, all members of the American Red Cross Commission to Russia left with him, with the exception of one man who still remained in Petrograd to supervise the distribution of this milk to the babies of the city. Item 50—Foodstuffs and Supplies, $187,548.00 This item covers a small shipment of foodstuffs shipped to Russia, amounting to about $8,000 for distribution by the 74 Commission, and for its own personal uses. The balance,- about $179,000, however, covers an appropriation made by the War Council on February 13, 1918, for the purchase of about 400 tons of foodstuffs for the relief of Russians along the Murmansk Railway. The Murmansk harbor in Kola Bay is the only harbor of European Russia accessible the year round, Archangel being closed all winter owing to ice jams in the White Sea. The Murmansk Railway, constructed during the war, is a single track railroad about 900 miles long, connecting Murmansk harbor with the Petrograd Trans-Siberian line about 100 miles east of the capital. Both the harbor and the railroad section north of Kandalaksha lie in a wild arctic region and the 25,000 people employed in construction work at the harbor, on the railroad and in unloading shipments are dependent for food on supplies coming from the south of Russia via Petrograd. Because of the food shortage in Petrograd no supplies were arriving in this region, and the people were rapidly approaching starvation. It was very important to keep this railroad open and the Red Cross undertook to supply foodstuffs to these people to relieve the shortage. Part of these foodstuffs were shipped and the remainder were awaiting shipment when the recent complications in Russia arose, and as these supplies could be advantageously used by the Red Cross Commissions to France and Italy, we have stopped the supplies shipped 'which had only reached Great Britain, and are diverting all of these foodstuffs to our Commissions in France and Italy. Item 51—Ambulance Unit—Russia, $84,195.98 Last summer a committee of the Red Cross Commission surveyed the Russian front in regard to ambulances and found the situation very bad. They found but few motor ambulances, most of those in use being horse-drawn. The roads usually prohibited the use of large and heavy cars at the front,so that the Ford type was believed by those most qualified to know to be the best motor ambulance for field and base hospital service in Russia. The wounded, after having been picked up from the field or trench, were carried to the first regimental dressing station by the stretcher bearers attached to their company. From here they were placed in an ambulance, usually two wheeled, horse-drawn affairs and conveyed to the divisional hospital located from three to six miles to the rear. 75 It was found that there was only an average of eight ambu- lances to each regiment, that the motor ambulances then in use were composed of many types of cars and were unusually heavy and not suited to the condition of the roads. They were, moreover, most difficult to repair, as all the parts had to be specially made, thus requiring a great deal of time and expense. None of the motor columns had any repair facilities, and when cars were damaged, it was necessary that they be sent to either Minsk, or even as far as Petrograd and Moscow,to restore them to working order. Accordingly, the Red Cross despatched to Russia an ambulance unit consisting of 125 cars, together with full equipment and spare tires and parts. It was the original idea of the Red Cross to send several more of these ambulance units, but, as in many other matters in Russia, subsequent events made such shipments impractical. Item 52—Relief of Destitute Russians, $20,000.00 On February 5th, 1918, a cable was received through the State Department from Consul General Summers at Moscow, reporting that the situation of officers' families in Russia was desperate, and that intense suffering was reported to him daily; that the British Ambassador had started a fund for these families, subscribing 100,000 roubles; that this was not sufficient to allay the misery, however, and if subscriptions could be raised in this country, the people of Moscow would be most grateful. On receipt of this cablegram, the Red Cross accordingly cabled $10,000 to Consul General Summers for the relief of this suffering, and on February 13th Mr. Summers cabled back that this contribution was greatly appreciated, as the suffering was intense, and that a similar contribution to be used for suffering workmen's and soldiers' families would be extremely valuable, as the situation at Moscow was serious, many factories being closed down entirely, and soldiers being without pay for weeks, and also that there was a great shortage of food and fuel. A similar contribution of $10,000 was cabled to Consul General Summers for that purpose. 76 RELIEF WORK-ROUMANIA $2,676,368.76 Roumania entered the war August 27, 1916, and rapidly drove her main forces through the Carpathians into Transylvania, meeting at first with little resistance. Part of her troops were occupied in guarding the Danube against the Bulgarians, it being understood that the Dobrudja would be defended by others. This not being done the Roumanians crossed the Danube to threaten the Bulgarians, but they were obliged to retreat and the western forces were driven back to the Carpathians. Here they held for some time, but the German forces brought up against them were far too large, and they were forced back to the plains of Wallachia. With this began the exodus. Buch- arest was bombarded extensively by aeroplanes and many left the city some weeks before it finally fell on November 23rd; but the main flight did not begin until the Germans had ap- proached close to the city. The court was transferred to Jassy, which became, therefore, the particular goal of the refugees. Here, with a population almost double the normal, the Roumani- ans suffered terrible hardships. Food and clothing were very scarce and epidemics of disease broke out. The Red Cross Commission to Roumania, with a medical unit of 24 doctors and nurses was despatched from America in August, 1917. To help these people by every possible means this Commission proceeded to Roumania via Vladivostok and upon their arrival at Jassy, in September, were most cordially received by the Roumanians. They proceeded at once to distribute relief supplies which they had taken with them and initiated steps for the procuring of more. They took over and operated two hospitals and assisted the local Roumanian relief societies at every possible point. With the growth of bad feeling between the Russians and the Roumanians,and with the collapse of the Provisional Government in Russia, the difficulties of the Mission were vastly increased,but they held on in Jassy, exerting their best endeavors to aid the Roumanians under the restricted conditions, but were finally forced to leave upon the conclusion 77 by Roumania of separate peace with Germany. When the Red Cross Mission left, Marie, Queen of Roumania, sent the following cablegram to the American Red Cross at Washington:— "At this hour when tragic events leave my country defenseless in the hands of a revengeful and relentless enemy, my thoughts turn with gratitude towards those who in anxious days, but when there was still hope, came to my aid. I wish once more to thank the American Red Cross for the splendid way in which it answered my appeal of a few months ago. * * * * The work the American Red Cross Com- mission did amongst our wounded and amongst the suffering popula- tion, is unforgetable to me and my people. Now that my country has to remain alone and forsaken, surrounded by foes, I wish once more to raise my voice and to thank all those who helped me, and to ask that we and our nation should not be forgotten, although a dreadful and humiliating peace has been forced upon us. I ask of the great heart of America to remember Roumania, if even for a while. Strangulated, her cries will not reach it, and her tears will have to be wept in secret." Item 53—Clothing, Food, Etc., $2,480,368.76 After the Roumanian retreat before the German and Austrian Armies it is estimated that half a million to a million people fled from Wallachia into Moldavia ahead of the army, which resisted as best it could and finally held its ground without Russian help along the line between Moldavia and Wallachia. In Moldavia, a territory not much larger than the State of Connecticut, were gathered half a million to a million refugees from Wallachia, nearly half a million Roumanian soldiers and approximately one million Russians, in addition to its normal population of about 2,800,000. All of this added population came in with few or no supplies of food or clothing and under mental collapse resulting from overwhelming defeat, loss of home and property and the depression of flight and privation. The soldiers were in bad condition from fighting a retreat the whole length of Wallachia, with a demoralized commissary and a country stripped of food by the refugees ahead of them. Mol- davia was so far from the original firing line that extensive hospital provisions had not been made, and hence, those that existed were quickly overwhelmed by the influx of wounded and sick soldiers brought back from the retreating front. Every school and suitable large building was converted into a hospital, but there was lacking the necessary equipment for these impro- vised hospitals—beds were sometimes found or made, but more often sacks of straw or loose straw had to suffice and, above all, 78 the lack of blankets was very serious. With this almost doubled population, the food situation also became very serious, for even where there was an excess of food in some places,its trans- fer to the cities was almost impossible. Moldavia is the moun- tainous, northern part of Roumania, so that although parts of it are good farming and grazing country, it could not produce anything like adequate supplies for the overwhelming influx of soldiers and civilians. To this horde of exhausted, demoralized, partly clothed, underfed people crowded into a country unprepared in every way to arise to the situation came not only famine but disease. At first there were only the ordinary diseases, with a high percentage of pneumonia, but later cholera appeared and finally the dreaded typhus. The stricken population fled hither and thither to escape infection or to find food, warmth and shel- ter, and so spread the disease until it is probable that over one million were infected in a population, including the armies, of something less than five millions. People died on the streets, some from disease and some merely from starvation and exposure. Every hospital and improvised barrack was swarming with typhus cases and the infection spread throughout the buildings, taking not only wounded soldiers, but doctors, nurses, orderlies and all divisions of the hospital personnel. It is said that in the-little city of Jassy as many as 500 died in a single day. Into this situation came the Red Cross Commission to Roumania, bringing with them medical supplies and foodstuffs and a corps of 24 Red Cross doctors and nurses. Immediate steps were taken by the Commission for the distribution of these supplies and more were ordered from America, while further large purchases were made in Russia, particularly of clothing and foodstuffs for distribution throughout the country. As affairs in Russia became more and more unsettled, it became increasingly difficult to bring these supplies through Russia into Roumania, but the Commission persisted, and, with the aid of the Commission to Russia, the American Ambassador and Consul General Summers at Moscow, relief supplies of all kinds were brought through Russia and distributed to both the military and the civilian populations. Item 54—Other General Relief Work, $100,000.00 This appropriation covers a fund placed at the disposal of the Commission to Roumania upon leaving this country, to be 79 used by them for emergency relief work in that country as the occasion might arise, and it was subsequently used by the Com- mission for various relief works in conjunction with the relief organizations in Roumania. Item 55—Maintenance of Hospitals, $49,000.00 As stated previously the Red Cross Commission to Roumania was accompanied on its Mission by 24 Red Cross doctors and nurses, and this organization was used in the operation of two hospitals which were taken over by the American Red Cross after the arrival of its Mission in Jassy. One of these hospitals was the military hospital "Roman," which had been operated by the British Red Cross, which had been unable to continue its operations. This hospital was well equipped with 500 beds, the Roumanian Government providing the fuel, lighting and the military personnel; while the American Red Cross provided the hospital supplies, paid the civilian personnel and had general control of the operation of the hospital. The second hospital taken over by.the Red Cross was the new "Civil" hospital of 150 to 200 beds in Jassy, with a public dispensary in connection. This second hospital was operated under the same terms as the "Roman" hospital. Item 56—General Supervision, $47,000.00 This item covers the traveling expenses of the Commission to Roumania, salaries of its subordinate personnel, including the unit of 24 doctors and nurses; and also the general office and administration expenses of the Commission since their arrival in Jassy last September. 80 RELIEF WORK-SERBIA $875,180.76 Serbia, as the result of the war, has been placed in a position vastly different from that of any of the other Allied Powers. The country was overrun by hordes of vicious soldiers. The able and strong were almost entirely driven out,leaving behind only the old men, the women and children. In the great retreat of the army through Montenegro and Albania soldiers perished by the thousands. The part of the army which was not captured or killed reached Corfu and, after suffering severe losses by death at that place, was rearmed and re-equipped by the French Government and again sent to the front. Since then it has participated in all of the fighting that has been carried on along the Balkan front; and in the severe battles in and about Monastir it took a conspicuous part and sustained severe losses. The net result is that there are now Serbian prisoners remaining in the hands of the Germans, Austrians and Bulgarians, numbering —to the best of our information—154,000 men, less such as may have perished by reason of lack of proper food and shelter. In addition there are many thousands of soldiers more or less disabled at Bizerta, North Africa, and in Macedonia and in and about Saloniki. Of the civil population many thousands are scattered throughout Macedonia, Italy, France and the Island of Corsica, where several thousands are living, supported by the French Government. In the reoccupied portion of Serbia, which consists of the City of Monastir and a small strip of land lying south of it and extending for a short distance east and west, there are in round numbers 50,000 people, mostly old men, women and children. When the Austrians were driven out of the reoccupied part of Serbia, they took with them practically everything that was movable. The people were left only a few oxen and substantially no tools, implements or seeds. Their villages were looted and their inhabitants are now living in a state of wretchedness, supported almost entirely by the charity dealt out to them by 81 their own government, supplemented to a limited extent by the Serbian Relief Fund of London. The Red Cross has been represented in Saloniki for some time and has been carrying on relief measures there, but in August, 1917, we despatched a Commission to Serbia to investigate more fully conditions in that country and report to the War Council at Washington. This commission, accordingly,proceeded to Saloniki and after a thorough investigation of conditions there and in the adjoining territory initiated, with the approval of the War Council at Washington, various relief measures, and established an organization for carrying on Red Cross work in this territory. Item 57—Foodstuffs, Clothing, Etc., $258,343.76 Since Serbia has been occupied by enemy forces, a large number of Serbian refugees have been scattered over Northern Greece and Macedonia and in and about the city of Saloniki. The Red Cross has been endeavoring to relieve the hardships and sufferings of these refugees by supplying clothing, foodstuffs and other necessary articles, and by aiding existing hospitals and institutions with medical and surgical supplies. The Red Cross has purchased and distributed through its representatives in Saloniki a large quantity of shoes, blankets, woolen stockings and underwear to these refugees, and has also purchased from the American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief the cargo of the U.S. Collier "Caesar" and distributed these supplies to those in need. The "Caesar" had been sent to Turkey in the fall of 1916 by the American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief with a mixed cargo of foodstuffs, clothing, medical and other supplies to be distributed as Christmas gifts in Armenia and Syria. For various causes this ship was detained and did not arrive in Alexandria, Egypt, until February, 1917. By that time the attitude of the government of Turkey had changed and it was impossible for the ship to go through to Beirut. According- ly, as these goods were greatly needed in Saloniki, the Red Cross purchased the cargo from the American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief, and shipped it to Salon'ki for distribution by our representative there. Item 58—General Relief Work—Serbia, $200,000.00 The above sum was placed at the disposal of the Commission to Serbia to be used by them for any general relief purposes 82 which might arise during their trip, and was disbursed by them for the following purposes: Furnishing artificial legs to soldiers who had been disabled in the war. Aiding refugees, who had returned to their villages south of Monastir, to build proper shelter for themselves in place of their houses which had been destroyed by the retreating enemy. A large number of these inhabitants lived in the cellars of the houses which still remained standing, and the living conditions among them were so desperate that unless remedied they would very possibly have resulted in a new epidemic of typhus. Supplying 25 tents to the Serbian hospitals at the front, those then in use having suffered severely from the storms of the two previous winters. Establishing canteens at Jelak, which is a short distance behind the Serbian front and where convalescent soldiers coming back to the front from the hospitals could obtain refreshment on their way. Supplying canvas for the making of beds for Serbian hospitals at the front, for the purchase of automobiles for the transporta- tion of clothing, foodstuffs and other supplies being distributed through our representatives, and for various other purposes, including a contribution of $10,000 to the Serbian Relief Fund, which is a London organization doing work among the Serbians, including the maintenance of a hospital of 300 beds near Monastir, and the supplying of food and other relief supplies. Item 59—Blankets for Prisoners, $70,200.00 As the cold weather was coming on last fall the condition of a large number of Serbian prisoners in Bulgaria as regards lack of blankets and warm clothing was very serious. The American Minister to Serbia at Corfu brought this matter to the attention of the Red Cross in Washington and asked assistance. Large numbers of these prisoners had died during the previous winter from exposure to cold, and there is no doubt that many more deaths would have taken place last winter had not these blankets been supplied. Accordingly, the Red Cross made an appropria- tion of the above amount to cover the purchase and shipment of a quantity of blankets for these prisoners. Item 60—Agricultural Supplies, $244,438.00 In the small portion of Serbia still occupied by Serbians in the vicinity of Monastir there are about 21,000 acres of fertile 83 plain where about 40,000 people were depending on charity. The enemy had stripped this country of all tools, machinery, foodstuffs, horses and nearly all of the oxen. After an examina- tion of this district by experts who came to the conclusion that farming implements, seed, etc. should be shipped from America for the cultivation of this land, the Red Cross purchased and sent to Saloniki for transportation to Monastir a large supply of tractors and other agricultural implements, together with seeds for the purpose of cultivating this tract of land. We are also sending a party of six agricultural experts to instruct the Serbians in the proper use of this machinery. This is, perhaps, the most important and far reaching work which could be undertaken at this time for the relief of the popu- lation of re-occupied Serbia and the Serbian refugees in Mace- donia. It is particularly desirable for the reason that it will enable the Serbians through their own efforts to assist in main- taining themselves and, in view of the present shortage of food- stuffs, the great and increasing difficulty in transporting supplies to Saloniki, and the limited supply of food there, this was deemed the best method of providing the necessary food for the Serbians in this territory. This work has the unqualified endorsement of the British, French and Serbian authorities at Saloniki. Item 61—Hospital at Vodena, Greece, $30,113.00 The Red Cross is at present supporting about 3,000 Serbian refugees in the village of Vodena, which is about midway between Monastir and Saloniki. In this colony there is a considerable amount of medical work necessary, particularly among the women and children. Accordingly, the Red Cross has established a small hospital of 40 beds at Vodena and has been given by the Serbian Government a proper building in which to house this hospital. We have also sent forward the necessary doctors and medical supplies. Item 62—Dental and Surgical Supplies, $44,110.00 The Commission to Serbia found a crying need for dentists to work not only in caring for the Serbian Army, but also among the civilian population, there being at one time only one dentist on the entire Serbian front. On the recommendation of the Commission to Serbia, therefore, the Red Cross sent ten complete 84 sets of dental equipment and six American dentists to Serbia, it being thought that other dentists could be supplied by educa- ting the Serbians. This dental equipment is mounted on camions, so that equipment and dentists can travel from place to place as required, both through the villages and to the front. We have also supplied 50 army dental field kits for extracting teeth, to be used for simple operations not requiring skilled dentists. Item 63—Miscellaneous—Serbia, $27,976.00 This item covers the general supervision of our representa- tives in Saloniki and throughout unoccupied Serbia, the traveling expenses of the Commission including the salaries of its sub- ordinate personnel and the cost of operating an Information Bureau for Serbian relief. 85 RELIEF WORK-GREAT BRITAIN $1,885,750.75 The work of the American Red Cross in Great Britain was carried on by the London Chapter until October, 1917, when, because of the increased work and the large number of American troops passing through England on their way to the front, the War Council thought best to appoint a Red Cross Commission for Great Britain similar to our Commissions in other foreign countries. This Commission is working in close co-operation with the London Chapter and is doing considerable work for the British forces and for the English people, but primarily its function is the aiding of American troops going to and return- ing from the front. At the time of the sinking of the "Tuscania," Red Cross representatives arrived on the scene by the first train from Lon- don, helped to equip the survivors, advanced moneys for the purchase of necessities and comforts, made cash contributions to British Regimental Funds to replace stores used, covered all places where survivors were, visited practically all of the sick and returned to England with the final detachment. We have also taken steps to prepare for other emergencies similar to that of the sinking of the "Tuscania," and are arranging to have emergency supplies and transport service organized for such disasters. We have also made a substantial contribution to the British Red Cross to aid them in their work for wounded and disabled British soldiers. We are maintaining two hospitals for British and American soldiers in Great Britain and are installing a 500 bed hospital at Liverpool for the exclusive use of American soldiers and sailors. We have a well-equipped club for American nurses in England, are looking after the comfort of our soldiers, operating a distribution service of books for American soldiers and sailors in France and on the high seas, and are aiding in the work of the infant welfare and maternity centers in London and other cities of Great Britain. 86 Item 64—British Red Cross, $953,000.00 On October 18, 1917, which was "Red Cross Day" in Great Britain, the American Red Cross made a contribution of £200,000 to the British Red Cross to be used by them: (1) for relief and comfort to sick and wounded in the hospitals, casualty clearing stations and on lines of communication in the territories where the British were fighting; (2) for the maintenance of British Red Cross Auxiliary Hospitals and Convalescent Homes in England; (3) for orthopedic and facial treatment and for other institutions in England for general restorative work for disabled British soldiers, thus helping the wounded British soldiers at the theatre of war, in the hospitals and convalescent homes, and helping disabled soldiers to earn their own living. The British Red Cross has an excellent record and organiza- tion, it has given freely in all directions for the alleviation of suffering during the war, and its co-operation has greatly bene- fited the American Red Cross. At the time this appropriation was made the American Ambassador to Great Britain stated that such a subscription to the British Red Cross was sadly needed, as it had borne a heavy burden for three years, and unless generous donations were received on "Red Cross Day" some of its work would have to be suspended. He further stated that such a sum would be wisely administered, would have prodigious effect on British and American relations and would show the same spirit as the British hospitals and organizations had shown by their generous service to our soldiers and sailors. This gift was greatly appreciated by the British people, Premier Lloyd George having made the following statement in regard to it: "I should like personally to express our profound appreciation of the action of the American Red Cross in contributing £200,000 to the funds of the British Red Cross. It is a gift characteristic of the generous and friendly heart of the American people. It will bring relief to thousands of suffering men and women and will be a further means of strengthening the real understanding between the United States and Great Britain which the former's whole-hearted entry into the war for Liberty has created. I know that I am expressing the thought dominant in the minds of my fellow countrymen when I say that they will always remember this gift with deep gratitude." Item 65—Supplies, London Chapter, $436,007.00 This item covers the expenses of the London Chapter of the American Red Cross which carried on all our Red Cross activities 87 in Great Britain previous to the appointment of a Commission for that country. Since the establishment of the Commission, this Chapter has been working in close co-operation with it. The work of this Chapter consists of a distributing service for forwarding hospital garments, bandages and other supplies to hospitals in France and England. It operates the St. Cather- ine's Lodge Hospital for officers which has 40 beds for orthopedic cases and a well-equipped club for nurses in a house near the American Embassy for the use of American nurses in England while visiting London. It has active committees dealing with comforts for soldiers, with the distribution of books for American soldiers and sailors in France and on the high seas, the entertain- ment of officers and nurses in London and kindred activities. It also operates a workshop which at present employs about 2,000 women in London and adjacent cities in the manufacture of dressings, bandages, splints, pajamas, dressing gowns and other hospital necessities. The largest item included under this appropriation covers the purchase of raw material and supplies which are being principally used for American troops and American units passing through Great Britain. Item 66—Hospital Service, $300,667.50 Hospitals at Paignton and Lancaster Gate were established by American efforts in September, 1914. As the funds previously available from former sources were becoming low and as it would have been deplorable to abandon this effort, the American Red Cross made appropriations for their maintenance. The hospital at Paignton is for enlisted men with a capacity of about 250 beds and, although intended primarily for English soldiers, is available also for American soldiers when occasion requires. The hospital at Lancaster Gate is a 44 bed hospital for officers and is generally regarded as one of the best hospitals for officers in London. Both institutions have done notable work during the war and their usefulness is now being continued by the American Red Cross. The American Red Cross has also established a hospital in Liverpool for sick American soldiers and sailors. This hospital is staffed by American Army surgeons, but was equipped and will be maintained by the American Red Cross. It is situated on the outskirts of Liverpool and was originally established as a 88 150 bed hospital, but is now being increased, at the request of the Army, to a capacity of 500 beds. The need for this hospital was most pressing, as the British hospitals were already over- crowded and the taking of American patients was considerable of a burden to them; but with the establishment of our Liverpool hospital adequate facilities will be at hand to take care of our sick and wounded soldiers and sailors. Item 67—Tuscania Relief Work, $20,521.75 On receipt of the first news of the sinking of the steamship Tuscania with over 2,000 U. S. troops on board, the Red Cross immediately despatched representatives to Ireland with authori- ty to disburse any amount necessary to meet the emergency, and to do everything possible for the comfort of the survivors and the care of those in hospitals. Through the kindness of the British Red Cross a supply of sweaters, helmets, mufflers and socks were placed at our disposal, which made possible a much more prompt delivery than if the ,articles had been shipped from our stores in London. Necessities and comforts were shipped to a Rest Camp where the troops remained for a short period, small amounts of money were advanced to needy officers and men and a supply of food was arranged for en route. We also made cash contributions to British regimental funds to replenish stores used for our troops, covered all places where there were survivors and visited prac- tically all of the sick. That the services of the American Red Cross were fully appreciated by the officers and men of the American Forces in this emergency is without question. The commanding officer of the American troops stated that he desired to thank the American Red Cross for the generous and efficient aid tendered American troops landed from the Tuscania, and wished to express his hearty appreciation of the admirable service rendered. Anticipating that there may possibly be in the future occur- rences similar to the sinking of the Tuscania, the Red Cross will establish emergency depots in Ireland and other places for the storage of supplies found by experience to be needed by the troops under those conditions, and will organize a motor trans- port service for the forwarding of these supplies to the ports. We are also making arrangements for the temporary housing and feeding of any of our men who may be landed at ports where there are no British military camps. If there are great 89 naval engagements or sea disasters, the Red Cross, through these supply depots, will be ready to take care of our sailors as well as troops from torpedoed transports as in the Tuscania disaster. Woolen caps, mufflers, gloves, socks, flannel shirts, cardigan jackets, underclothes, comfort bags, towels, shaving materials, wash cloths, soap, combs, tooth brushes and hand- kerchiefs are being purchased and will be packed in bales of convenient size, properly marked and ready for distribution. Item 68—Infant Welfare, $23,800.00 The above appropriation was made for the purpose of promoting infant welfare work and maternity centers in London and the chief provincial cities of Great Britain. After a complete investigation, the Red Cross believed that they could do no more effective social work than this and that such work would be an entirely fitting supplement to the work for the sick and wounded and the rehabilitation of maimed men. Mothers and babies in London suffer severely from the effects of air raids. Since the mothers are requisitioned for war work, and without such centers must leave their babies uncared for, the result is that one baby in eight dies during the first year. Another factor in the support of these centers is the strong evidence of increased war efficiency, because the soldiers at the front are relieved of great anxiety regarding their families and are more contented if they have assurance that their wives and children are being properly cared for. Item 69—British-American War Relief, $25,000.00 On the basis of a recommendation by its Committee on Co-operation, the Red Cross has made a contribution of $25,000 to the British-American War Relief Fund, an organization which has been very efficiently managed, and has long been noted for its admirable service abroad in the aid of a great many hospitals, chiefly in France and England. Item 70—Contingent Relief Fund, $47,725.00 This item covers a fund placed at the disposal of the Commis- sion for Great Britain to be expended at the discretion of the Finance Committee of that Commission for emergency purposes. This fund was used for the purchase of pipes, tobacco and Christ- mas cards for sick and wounded British soldiers in selected 90 hospitals throughout England; for the Women Munition Workers' Rest Room at Woolwich; to equip and furnish a house where women workers may leave their children during the daytime; for the purchase of raw material for the Belgravia workrooms which are under American auspices and employ entirely volunteer labor in the manufacture of articles for British hospitals; and for the care and repatriation of destitute Americans to be expended through the American Benevolent Committee. Item 7/—Miscellaneous, $79,029.50 This item covers cost of the transportation and supply departments of the Commission for Great Britain, including warehouses where goods, principally for export for France and Belgium, may be held pending shipment; and automobile trucks for the transportation of merchandise intended for France, as well as for the transportation of their own supplies. It also covers the expenses of general supervision of this Commis- sion, including salaries and wages of clerks and other labor, heat, light, repairs, traveling expenses and other necessary charges 91 RELIEF WORK-OTHER FOREIGN, $3,576,300.00 Item 72—Armenian and Syrian Relief, $2,200,000.00 In recommending contributions of $2,200,000 to the American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief, the Red Cross Committee on Co-operation based its action on three facts: (1) The efficient and economical organization, both in America and Western Asia, of the American Committee. (2) The geographical extent of the need, unparalleled con- dition of destitution and suffering, and large number of people whose deaths could be prevented by direct and continued assistance. (3) The fact that the American Committee is the only organization outside of the Red Crescent (controlled by the Turkish Government) in a position to administer this relief. I. Efficient Administration The American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief v, was organized in October, 1915, for the purpose of securing immediate relief for Armenians and Syrians, cabled reports of whose persecutions were at that time just beginning to reach this country. Since October 1, 1915, it has received from all sources and distributed for relief approximately $9,000,000. The entire administrative expenses of this Committee are met privately, enabling it to devote to distinctly relief work 100 cents of every dollar received for this purpose. The work of distribution in Asia is handled by 100 or more responsible American citizens, consuls, physicians, educators and others who give their services to relief administration without salary or expense to the relief funds. The Committee's audited reports show that some $25,000 more has been spent for relief than has been received in contributions, the difference being accounted for by the interest on daily balances. Money transmitted to Western Asia is so handled by means of sight drafts on New York under license of, and through the War Trade Board, that there is no possibility of diversion or 92 miscarriage of funds. At the time of the severance of diplomatic relations between the United States and Turkey, it was feared that the work of Armenian relief would be interrupted,but it was already so thoroughly organized that arrangements were easily made for continuing even in the absence of the embassy and United States consuls. It is now being carried on effectively in all centers under increasing friendliness on the part of the Turkish officials. A large part of the correspondence of the Committee is conducted through the official channels of the State Department, and its operations have the full approval of the Secretary of State. By this means the Committee is in constant touch with relief needs in Asia and its information is constantly being increased through numerous reports from its commissioners, by interviews with returned American consuls and ambassadors, and by meetings attended by experts on conditions in the Near East. The relief administered by the American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief has been intelligently and efficiently handled and the society has also been active in securing by country-wide appeals donations of large sums in addition to those granted by the Red Cross. In the month of January, 1918, the total sum so raised was in excess of $850,000. As an instance of the business-like methods employed, it was reported late in the fall of 1917 that food prices were rapidly advancing in Turkey, Armenia, Syria and the Caucasus, and that by the time winter came food would, in all probability, be cornered to such an extent that prices would be much higher than at the time of writing. Accordingly, the Red Cross, at the request of the American Committee, appropriated in October, $600,000 for the months of November and December, 1917, to make possible the purchase of food at the lower rate. The actual record of prices as later reported during the winter months shows that at least $500,000 was saved by this advance purchase. II. The Need for Relief The field of operations includes not only Asia Minor with those portions of Armenia and Syria that are in the Ottoman Empire, but also the large section of Armenia until recently dominated by the Russian Army, as well as the Russian Caucasus, Persia, Mesopotamia, Palestine, and portions of Egypt and Mace- donia, into which regions Armenians, Syrians and Greeks have fled in large numbers. Of the Armenians, about 1,000,000 were massacred or driven to their death during the summer of 93 1915, and the remainder within Turkish dominions were deported from their homes into the deserts or other regions where self- support was practically impossible. Similar persecution of the Syrians broke out about the same time. Also Greeks to the number of approximately 500,000, who formerly resided in comfort in prosperous villages south of the Black Sea have been deported in a similar manner and large numbers of them are now destitute and helpless. Leading authorities agree that the minimum number of Armenian, Syrian and Greek survivors is 2,140,000, of whom 400,000 are orphans and that, including a large number of Greeks who had recently been deported, the destitute population is more than 3,000,000. For months innumerable cables relating details of the most terrible suffering and deplorable conditions of the inhabi- tants of Asia Minor have been received by the Committee. On January 15, 1918, American Consul Smith, at Tiflis, in the Russian Caucasus cabled that the condition of the refugees there was critical; that the responsibilities were almost entirely on the American Committee; that it was besieged by appeals from all districts, delegations of hungry people often numbering 100 coming long distances begging for bread, and refusing to leave without food or promises. Reports from Armenia tell of 40,000 destitute in Teheran alone, people eating dead animals and women abandoning infants. Mr. Stephen V. Trowbridge, Chairman of the ^led Cross Chapter in Cairo and representative of American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief in Palestine, recently wired from Cairo that 23 Armenian exiles had arrived at Port Said after inconceivable suffering and two and a half years' wandering from Caesarea through the mountains of Asia Minor and the Arabian desert, 227 having perished en route. The cruelty of the Turks has multiplied these incidents to such an extent that the total suffering is almost beyond belief. At the outbreak of the European war the Greeks constituted the most numerous Christian element in Turkey, and at the beginning of the Armenian troubles in 1915 they weie spared the horrors of deportation, although commandeered and heavily crushed by military measures. Recently, however, the Greeks in large numbers have been deported from their homes along the south shore of the Black Sea. and have suffered indescribably from hunger, exposure, hardship and resultant diseases. Thousands of them escaped east to 94 Trebizond within the Russian lines, where they are now being ministered to by relief agents of the Committee. The recent melting away of the Russian Army has introduced new problems in the administration of this relief and if the Turkish Army advances eastward to wreak its vengence on the inhabitants, the problem will be vastly enlarged. The American Committee is aiding no people in Turkey who otherwise would receive any help from the Turkish Govern- ment. Should this relief be wholly cut off, these people would be left miserably to perish, as was clearly indicated recently when delayed grants threatened wide-spread suffering and death. III. Unique Position of American Committee With the exception of the work being done by the Jewish Relief Committee, the American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief is the only agency organized for affording relief in this great area of the Near East. In Persia and Russia some small British funds are spent by the field commissioners of the American Committee. The American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief is the only organization outside of the Red Crescent (controlled by the Turkish Government) in a position to administer relief to the starving Armenians and Syrians, and certain portions of the Greek population in the Turkish Empire. Item 73—Commission to Palestine, $390,000.00 With the advance of the British Army from Egypt to Jerusalem, it has become possible to offer relief to the inhabitants of Pales- tine and Syria who have for many months been suffering greatly from famine and disease, especially from cholera and typhus. These conditions were being continually aggravated by the cruel treatment of the natives by the retreating Turks. Stories of long-drawn famine and fresh Turkish cruelties were related by Syrian refugees and conditions became so serious that finally, in the latter part of 1917, the British Syria and Palestine Relief Fund of London, at the request of the British Military authorities established four medical units at Gaza, Jaffa, Jerusalem and Hebron. The Cairo manager of the Red Cross was co-operating and at least one contribution of $25,000 had been received from the American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief. About the middle of December, 1917, the British Syrian and Palestine Relief Fund brought to the attention of certain Ameri- can relief societies the opportunity for assisting their four medical units already in Palestine, and for broadening the scope of the work as the British Army advanced north. These sug- 95 gestions resulted in an investigation of opportunities by the Red Cross, and after the project to send relief had received the hearty approval of the British Foreign Office, a Commission was organized and left New York in March 1918. As the American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief had appealed to the public for funds based on the needs of people in Bible lands, it was arranged that the Red Cross Commission should disburse for civilian relief, particularly for children, any funds which the American Committee should turn over for that purpose. As a large amount has been collected by the American Committee, effective relief to the children of Palestine and Syria is assured upon the arrival of the Commission in those countries. The British Syria and Palestine Relief Fund, being familiar with the requirements in Palestine and Syria, suggested that the co-operation most needed was four medical units and financial help in general relief work. Accordingly, four medical units of the Commission to Palestine were organized to specialize along definite lines: the first in public health, sanitation and preventive medicine; the second, to combat epidemic diseases such as 'typhus and cholera; the third to establish a well-equipped surgical hospital in some large center; and the fourth, to organize dispensaries and village work in the less densely populated districts. This, in brief, is the present organization of the Commis- sion which necessarily cannot be considered final until conditions in the Near East have been carefully analysed at first hand. A large amount of medical and surgical supplies has been shipped, and, in addition, the commission took with it a general camp and traveling equipment in order to permit the units to be independent of the British Army in the matter of transporta- tion and housing. Foodstuffs, clothing, cloth materials, tools and industrial implements for relief work made up the remainder of the supplies. The foodstuffs are primarily for the staff expedition and for use in the hospitals. It has been felt that in securing ordinary foodstuffs for distribution to civilian popula- tion, reliance can be placed upon stores in Egypt under the control of the British Government. Letters received just before the Commission left for Palestine indicated that the field was wide open for the Red Cross; that there would be hearty co-operation on the part of all relief organizations already in the field, and that the need was even greater than had been anticipated when the original plans were laid. 96 Item 74—Relief of Children in Poland, $200,000.00 In August, 1917, there was brought to the attention of the Red Cross the pitiable condition of the inhabitants of Poland, particularly the children, due to lack of food. Closed factories had thrown the whole industrial population out of work, the entire transportation system had broken down, all products of the soil, except a small part insufficient for the support of the Polish population, was being monopolized and requisitioned by the occupying powers, and 1,000,000 adults and more children were facing famine conditions of the most threatening kind. The General Relief Committee in Poland with Headquarters at Vevey, Switzerland, reported that Warsaw was feeding more than 300,000 people by public kitchens, but provisions were almost exhausted and immediate help was needed. In view of the relief furnished to Belgium the inhabitants of Poland looked as their last resource to the United States. Owing to the many questions involved, a most careful in- vestigation of the advisability of undertaking relief in Poland was made, and finally, with the consent of the Department of State and the Food Administration, $100,000 each for November and December, 1917, was contributed on condition that the General Relief Committee in Poland could give assurances, satisfactory to the Red Cross, that the money so contributed would not result in releasing food or funds for the benefit of Germany. Investigation showed that Poland produces a surplus of foodstuffs, most of which is seized after each harvest by the occupying powers and a certain portion of the production is returned to the producers, the balance being requisitioned for other purposes. It was therefore felt that the shipment of money for the purchase of food would be preferable to sending relief in kind. Through the United States Legation at Berne, Switzerland, the Red Cross arranged with the'General Relief Committee for the distribution of the money exclusively for food and clothing for poor children under ten years of age. A special committee, headed by the Archbishop of Warsaw, was appointed to adminis- ter the relief, and the necessary guaranties having been received, the money was forwarded through the United States Legation at Berne. On February 13, 1918, the Red Cross received from Warsaw grateful acknowledgement of the November contribution with 97 the statement that by its means the lives of thousands of Polish children would be saved. Item 75—Gift to International Red Cross, $29,800 In order to support the invaluable humanitarian work conducted by the International Red Cross at Geneva, the American Red Cross has contributed $29,800. A part of this money was the portion due from the American Red Cross of the total amount to be subscribed by all the Red Cross societies of the world. The remainder was given to support the tremendous amount of extra work necessitated by the entry of additional belligerents into the war. Although the American Army was not engaged in fighting when this contribution was made, and America required only slightly the service of the International Red Cross in obtaining information concerning prisoners in enemy countries, there was no doubt of the value of supporting the work of a neutral international agency which could still communicate with the various belligerents. The International Red Cross maintains numerous agents in all the belligerent countries and by this means is able to conduct in Switzerland a clearing house for all the National Red Cross societies of the world. It thus obtains lists of the prisoners in all the belligerent countries and answers the innum- erable inquiries from the various Red Cross societies concerning prisoners, wounded, or missing men. Without reading some of the thousands of inquiries that are directed to the Red Cross from anxious relatives of soldiers fighting in France it is almost impossible to comprehend the scope of the humanitarian work being carried on by the Inter- national Society. Time and again the agents of the society in enemy countries are able to send a message from a wounded prisoner that sets at rest fears regarding his death. As soon as the American forces are engaged in heavy fighting the International Society at Geneva will become of ever in- creasing value to the American Red Cross and it was the idea of maintaining this organization at its highest efficiency in anticipation of future needs that prompted this contribution. Item 76—Clothing for Prisoners, $5,500.00 Through the representative at Berne, Switzerland, it was reported to the Red Cross that certain Italian prisoners in 98 Austria and French prisoners in Germany were suffering from lack of proper clothing during the colder months of the year,and the Red Cross met this need by appropriating the above amount for the purchase of the required clothing. Item 77—Foreign Shipping, $751,000.00 This item is largely made up of insurance charges on the immense shipments of supplies already sent abroad by the Red Cross to its commissions. Every Red Cross shipment going abroad carries war risk and marine insurance, so that if through any accident Red Cross shipments are lost, due to either sub- marines or natural causes, we are fully protected from a money standpoint. Practically all brokerage charges on this insurance are donated to the Red Cross. In regard to ocean freight, the Red Cross has been unusually fortunate, practically all space used having been donated. Free shipping space to the amount of nearly 44,225 cubic tons was donated to the Red Cross between May 1st, 1917, and March 1st, 1918. Had the Red Cross been forced to pay for this trans- portation, even at the minimum commercial average cost of $100 per cubic ton, the total charge would have amounted to $4,422,500. 99 RELIEF WORK FOR PRISONERS, ETC. $343,304.00 Item 78—American Prisoners, $343,304.00 When the United States entered the war in April, 1917, some 75 Americans, mostly members of crews of captured merchantmen, were at once interned as prisoners in Germany. Since that time the number has increased until today the Red Cross, through its Central Committee for American Prisoners at Berne, Switzerland, is supplying the needs of 230 American prisoners in Germany. Every day of the war adds to the number and in order to assure these men and the others who will inevitably follow, every necessity and a few comforts, the Red Cross is storing at Berne a large quantity of foodstuffs, clothing and other articles. At present, 20,000 pounds of foodstuffs are being shipped into Germany from Switzerland every month for the American prisoners. This food is contained in wooden boxes weighing ten pounds each, four of which are shipped to each prisoner every two weeks. The following is a list of the contents of one of these Red Cross kits: 2\i lbs. Corned Beef 2 lbs. Bread 1 lb. Biscuits 1 lb. Sugar % lb. Pork and Beans i/6 lb. Cocoa 1 lb. Coffee 1 lb. Oleomargarine Y2\\i. Soap M lb. (50) Cigarettes This list is varied from time to time to include salt, chocolate, rice, candy, evaporated milk, and dried fruits. In each kit is a postal card addressed to the Committee 100 at Berne, on which the prisoner reports the condition of the parcel at the time he receives it. Thus a close check is kept on all shipments. If a card fails to return from a certain prisoner within a reasonable time the Committee at Berne investigates through the German Red Cross, the International Red Cross which has headquarters at Geneva, or through the Spanish Embassy at Berlin, whose attaches are continually caring for the interest and health of American prisoners. By these means the Red Cross knows for a certainty exactly how well the Ameri- cans in the German prison camps are being cared for and can supply with the least possible delay any articles that are needed by the prisoners. Letters from prisoners indicate that most of the Americans depend exclusively on the food shipped by the Red Cross and turn over to prisoners of other nations, not so well provided for, the rations furnished by the prison camps. In less than a year the Red Cross has sent to its Committee at Berne for distribution among the American prisoners in Germany a vast quantity of stores, some of the shipments being as follows: fifteen tons of tinned meat, 40 tons of flour, 49 tons of rice, 22 tons of chocolate and cocoa, five tons of smoking tobacco, 910,000 cigarettes, several thousand pipes and 5,000 cigars. Shipments are being made regularly to keep the warehouses at Berne fully stocked. Perhaps the most interesting feature of this service is the range covered by the requisitions of the Committee at Berne. For instance, the shipments range all the way from tooth- brushes to safety razors and powdered naphthalin used to exter- minate trench vermin. The Red Cross has also sent mending kits, familiarly known as house-wives, shoe-polishing outfits, small canvas toilet cases, shoe laces, clothes brushes and lead pencils. The total Red Cross shipment to date is approximately 600 tons, exclusive of clothing. Although the Red Cross has so far conducted the relief of all American prisoners in Germany, the Quartermaster's De- partment of the Army, immediately on the declaration of war prepared to furnish sufficient food to care for 10,000 men for a period of six months. Owing to the restricted shipping facilities, the army supplies are just beginning to reach Switzerland and in the future the greater part of the food distributed by the Red Cross to prisoners in Germany will be furnished by the army, although the Red Cross will continue to administer the entire supply. 101 Item 79—Expenses of Personnel, $113,800.00 This item covers the necessary expenses incidental to the outfitting of the large number of people whom the Red Cross has sent abroad. It also covers the necessary traveling expenses such as steamship fares, etc., of these people, and their uniforms. It was found necessary to uniform the Red Cross workers abroad so that they could properly carry on their activities in the war zones. 102 RELIEF WORK IN UNITED STATES $8,589,899.27 Under authority of the Secretary of War the Red Cross has assigned a field director and an organization of from 12 to 20 men to each camp and cantonment in the United States. These men, working in co-operation with the officers at the various camps, render emergency relief of every kind at the request or suggestion of the officers in charge; and they are furnished by the Government with warehouses and offices to enable them properly to carry on their work. The Red Cross has supplied sweaters, socks, mufflers and similar articles to a very large percentage of the men in our army at home, and to parctically all troops sent abroad. The Red Cross maintains representatives in every camp who are in constant touch with the base hospitals to maintain inti- mate contact between soldiers and their families, where the soldier, himself, is too sick to communicate. The Red Cross has provided in each cantonment an attractive Red Cross house where the convalescent hours of the sick men are eased by being in a pleasant atmosphere with facilities for entertainment. These Red Cross houses provide facilities for housing the relatives of the men who are critically ill. The Red Cross maintains at every cantonment representatives who are charged with the task of seeing that any soldier who is worried about the family conditions at home has an opportunity to communicate his troubles to the Red Cross which, through the Home Service Section of the local Chapter, gets in touch with the family and endeavors to straighten out the difficulties. It is the general purpose of the Home Service work to see that the dependents of soldiers and sailors shall live under proper con- ditions while he is away, affording any help necessary to assure their physical or moral well-being. In connection with its Home Service Section, each Chapter maintains an information bureau from which families of soldiers and sailors can secure full information covering the provisions 103 which the Government is making for the dependents of soldiers and sailors in the matter of allowances, insurance, etc. The Red Cross has representatives in every military and naval camp or cantonment in this country who are co-operating with the medical authorities to furnish any emergency supplies needed for the proper care or comfort of the sick. The Red Cross maintains a canteen service at 500 railroad and embarkation points throughout the country at which the soldiers are given coffee, sandwiches, etc., as a supplementary and emergency service to the Quartermaster's Department of the army. The Red Cross, in co-operation with the- United States Public Health Service and local health authorities, has undertaken the work of maintaining the highest degree of sanitary conditions in the area surrounding our cantonments in this country. The Red Cross has equipped four laboratory cars with the finest medical equipment and with a staff of expert bacteriolo- gists. These cars are rushed, at the request of the Surgeon General, to any cantonment in which an epidemic threatens, in order that the utmost precautions may be taken to check the scourge. The Red Cross has organized 50 complete base hospitals for service in the Army Medical Corps, 21 of which are already in service in France with their equipment. Forty-five ambulance companies, each comprising 124 men have been turned over to the Army Medical Corps. More than 19,000 nurses have been enrolled by the Red Cross, nearly 9,000 of whom are now in active service, nearly 3,000 being in France. The Red Cross sends its nurses fully equipped and trained to the Army Medical Corps. The Red Cross has established an institute where a complete study will be made of the measures to be taken in order to insure the proper rehabilitation of the permanently disabled soldier or sailor. Item 80—U. S. Army Base Hospitals, $54,000.00 This appropriation covers special Headquarters' expenses in connection with equipping and outfitting Army Base Hospi- tals. The major cost of equipping these base hospitals and hospi- tal units, which was about $75,000 for each base hospital, and between $3,000 and $7,000 for each hospital unit, has been made partly from Restricted Funds received for that specific purpose. Fifty Army Base Hospitals and nineteen Hospital Units have 104 been organized by the Red Cross and placed at the disposal of the Surgeon General's office of the U. S. Army, by far the greater part of these hospitals and hospital units having been fully equipped by the Red Cross. We have also assembled the per- sonnel of these units and have acted as a clearing house for all matters pertaining to hospitals. To increase the efficiency of these units the policy has been to select a large hospital or university to act as a parent institution and from its medical and nursing staff to choose a group of individuals who have been accus- tomed to working together. The personnel of a Base Hospital Unit consists of a Command- ing Officer from the Army Medical Corps; a Quartermaster from the Quartermaster's Reserve Corps; 22 doctors, commis- sioned in the Medical Officers' Reserve Corps; two dentists, commissioned in the Dental Officers' Reserve Corps; 65 nurses enrolled as Red Cross nurses; 153 men of the Enlisted Reserve Corps of the Medical Department of the army; six civilian employees, including a registrar, a dietitian, laboratory techni- cians, and stenographers; and one Chaplain, who is commissioned under the Red Cross. The personnel of a hospital Unit consists of twelve doctors, commissioned in the Medical Officers' Reserve Corps; 21 nurses enrolled as Red Cross nurses, and 50 men enlisted in the Enlisted Reserve Corps of the Medical Depart- ment of the army. The equipment for a base hospital which has been designed to meet the needs of modern warfare comprises everything which is essential to the operation of a 500 bed hospital except housing, while the equipment for a hospital unit is less extensive as it is intended that such units shall be used to supple- ment the personnel of an existing hospital. Some idea of the variety of equipment needed for a base hospital may be obtained from the following list: Beds Ambulances Bedding Touring Car Ward Furniture Motor Trucks Drugs Motor Cycle Surgical Instruments Complete X-Ray Plant Dental Instruments Kitchen Laboratory Supplies and Equipment Disinfectors Mess Gear Surgical Dressings and Hospital Sterilizers Garments In some instances Base Hospitals have been shipped with a complete refrigerating and laundry equipment, telephone system, and machine shop necessary to the manufacture of splints, braces, and the repair of surgical instruments. 105 Base Hospital Units and Hospital Units are not certified to the Surgeon General's Office until they are complete in every detail. This means that all officers of the Unit must have received and accepted their commissions; that the nurses must be duly enrolled Red Cross nurses; that all of the enlisted men must be properly enlisted in the Enlisted Reserve Corps of the Medical Department; that the civilian employees must be duly qualified and approved; and that all members of the above groups must be successfully inoculated against smallpox, typhoid, and para- typhoid. When this has been accomplished and the equipment list has been purchased and stored ready for shipment, the Unit is then reported to the Surgeon General's Office as being complete and ready for active duty. Twenty-one Base Hospitals and four Hospital Units have been organized by the Red Cross and sent abroad for active service. Twenty-five more base hospitals and fifteen hospital units have been certified as complete and ready for duty. After the certification of a unit and before it is ordered for service abroad, the personnel receives special intensive training. The members of the staff are variously assigned to the regular army training camps where they are familiarized with the necessary paper work connected with the administration of an army hospital; or to special courses which have been developed at some of our largest medical schools; the nurses are mobilized prior to sailing and receive instructions from members of the regular Army Nurse Corps; the enlisted personnel are in some instances assigned to training camps where they are instructed in military drills and in the performance of the duties to which they will be assigned when their hospital is called to active service. In connection with the instruction of the enlisted men,an extreme- ly interesting program for intensive training has been developed and put into practice by the director of Base Hospital No. 38. The personnel of this Unit which was mobilized in an armory in its native city, was given a course of training consisting of both didactic lectures and practical experience in hospitals, hotel kitchens, and machine shops where the men were especially trained along the lines of their particular assignment in the Unit. The Red Cross has also established a News Service for the benefit of these base hospitals through which the directors on active duty abroad have reported the special needs of their institutions as developed by the constantly changing methods of warfare. 106 Through this Bureau such information is immediately transmitted to the directors of Base Hospitals now forming in this country. Supplementing these advices, a classified biblio- graphy, covering all of the important literature which has been published dealing with the medical aspects of the war, has been compiled and forwarded to the directors of all of the units. In order that an accurate and complete list of the personnel of all Base Hospitals may be available in the event of any casu- alties, such lists together with the name and address of the nearest relative of each individual serving with a Base Hospital Unit or a Hospital Unit are on file in this office. The following list indicates the status of the various base hospitals and hospital units, the name of the director, and the location at the time of writing: No. U. S. ARMY BASE HOSPITALS Parent Institution Location 1 Bellevue Hospital, N.Y.C. Dr. G. B. Wallace, Director 2 Presbyterian Hospital, N.Y.C. Dr. Geo. Brewer, Director 3 Mt. Sinai Hospital, N.Y.C. Dr. Howard Lilienthal, Director 4 Lakeside Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio Dr. George W. Crile, Director 5 Harvard University, Boston, Mass. Dr. Harvey Cushing, Director 6 Mass. General Hospital, Boston, Mass. Dr. F. A. Washburn, Director 7 Boston City Hospital, Mass. Dr. J. J. Dowling, Director 8 N. Y. Post Graduate Hospital, N.Y.C. Dr. Samuel Lloyd, Director 9 New York Hospital, N.Y.C. Dr. C. L. Gibson, Director 10 Pa. Hospital, Phila., Pa. Dr. R. H. Harte, Director 11 St. Joseph, St. Mary & Augustana Hospital Chicago, 111. Dr. N. M. Percy, Director 12 Northwestern Univ. Med. School, Chicago Dr. F. A. Beasley, Director U.S.A.Base Hospital No. 1, A.E.F. No. 1 General Hospital (Presbyterian U.S.A.) B. E.F., France U.S.A. Base Hospital No. 3, A.E.F. No. 9 (Lakeside U.S.) Gen- eral Hospital B.E.F. No. 13 (Harvard U.S.) Gen- eral Hospital A.P.O.No.3) B.E.F. U.S.A. Base Hospital No. 6, A.E.F. Camp Devens, Mass. U.S.A. Base Hospital No. 8, A.E.F. U.S.A. Base Hospital No. 9, A.E.F. No. 16 (Pennsylvania U.S.) General Hospital, B.E.F. Camp Dodge, Iowa. Xo. 18 (Northwestern Chi- cago) General Hospital, B.E.F. 107 13 Presbyterian Hospital, Chicago Dr. Dean D. Lewis 14 St. Luke «fc Michael Reese Hospital, Chicago, 111. Dr. L. L. McArthur, Director. 15 Roosevelt Hospital, N.Y.C. Dr. Charles Peck, Director 16 German Hospital, N.Y.C. Dr. Fred Kammerer, Director 17 Harper Hospital, Detroit, Mich. Dr. Angus McLean, Director. 18 Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, Md. Dr. John M. T. Finney, Director 19 Rochester Gen'l Hospital, Rochester, N. Y. Dr. John M. Swan, Director 20 Univ. of Pa. Hosp., Phila., Pa. Dr. John B. Carnett, Director 21 Wash. Univ. Med. School, St. Louis, Mo. Dr. Fred T. Murphy, Director 22 Milwaukee Co. Hospital, Milwaukee, Wis. Dr. C. A. Evans, Director 23 Buffalo General Hospital, Buffalo, N. Y. Dr. M. Clinton, Director 24 Tulane University, New Orleans, La. Dr. John B. Elliott, Director 25 Cincinnati Gen. Hosp., Cincinnati, Ohio Dr. William Gillespie, Director 26 State Univ. of Minn., Minneapolis, Minn. Dr. Arthur A. Law, Director 27 Univ. Pitts. Med. School, Pittsburgh, Pa. Dr. R. T. Miller, Director 28 Christian Church Hosp., Kansas City, Mo. Dr. J. F. Binnie, Director 29 Med. School Univ. of Denver, Denver, Colo. Dr. J. W. Amesse, Director 30 Univ. of Calif., San Francisco, Calif. Dr. E. S. Kilgore, Director 31 Youngstown Hospital, Youngstown, Ohio Dr. Colin R. Clark, Director 32 City Hospital, Indianapolis, Ind. Dr. Edmund D. Clark, Director 33 Albany Hospital, Albany, N. Y. Dr. A. W. El ting, Director 34 Episcopal Hospital, Phila., Pa. Dr. A.P.A. Ashhurst, Director 35 Good Samaritan Hosp., Los Angeles, Calif. Dr. J. J. A. Van Kaathoven, Director General Hospital No. 6, Fort McPherson, Ga. Camp Custer, Mich. U.S.A. Base Hospital No. 15, A.E.F. 51 E. 66th St., N.Y.C. U.S.A. Base Hospital No. 17, A.E.F. U.S.A. Base Hospital No. 18, A.E.F. 3rd Regt. Armory, Roches- ter, N. Y. 1st Pa. Cavalry Armory, Phila., Pa. No. 12 (Wash. Univ., St. Louis, Mo.) Gen. B.E.F. Milwaukee Auditorium, Milwaukee, Wis. U.S.A. Base Hospital No. 23, A.E.F. U.S.A. Base Hospital No. 24, A.E.F. Camp Sherman, Ohio Ft. McPherson, Ga. U.S.A. Base Hospital No. 27, A.E.F. General Hospital No. 6, Ft. McPherson, Ga. Camp Cody, New Mexico Camp Merritt, New Jersey U.S.A. Base Hospital No. 31, A.E.F. U.S.A. Base Hospital No. 32, A.E.F. Troop B. Armory, Albany, N. Y. U.S.A. Base Hospital No. 34, A.E.F. Camp Kearney, Calif. 108 36 College of Medicine, Detroit, Mich. Dr. Burt R. Shurly, Director 37 King's County Hospital, Brooklyn, N. Y. Dr. Edwin H. Fiske, Director 38 Jefferson Med. School, Phila., Pa. Dr. Wm. M. L. Coplin, Director 40 Good Samaritan Hospital, Lexington, Ky. Dr. David Barrow, Director 41 University of Va., University, Va. Dr. Wm. H. Goodwin, Director 42 Univ. of Md. Med. School, Baltimore, Md. Dr. A. C. Harrison, Director 43 Emory University, Atlanta, Ga Dr. E. C. Davis, Director 44 Mass. Homeopathic Hosp., Boston, Mass. Dr. Wm. F. Wesselhoeft, Director 45 Medical College of Virginia, Richmond Va. Dr. Stuart McGuire, Director 46 University of Oregon, Portland, Ore. Dr. Robert C. Yenney, Director 47 San Francisco Hospital, San Francisco, Calif. Dr. Chas. Levison, Director 48 Metropolitan Hospital, N.Y.C. Dr. William Francis Honan, Director 49 State University, Omaha, Nebr. Dr. A. C. Stokes, Director 50 University of Washington, Seattle, Wash. Dr. J. B. Eagleson, Director 102 Loyola University, New Orleans, La. Dr. Joseph A. Danna, Director U.S.A. Base Hospital No. 36, A.E.F. 23d Regt. Armory, Brook- lyn, N. Y. 2d Regt. Armory, Phila- delphia, Pa. Camp Taylor, Ky. Camp Sevier, North Caro- lina. Camp Meade, Md. Camp Gordon, Ga. Camp Dix, N. J. Camp Lee, Va. Camp Lewis, Wash. Camp Greenleaf, Ga. Ft. McHenry, Baltimore, Md. Gen. Hosp. No. 2 Ft. DesMoines, Iowa, Gen. Hosp. No. 13 Camp Fremont, Calif. 716 Maison Blanche Bldg., New Orleans, La. Original Name of Unit , HOSPITAL UNITS Base Hospital to Which it is Attached Hospital Unit "A" U.S.A. Base Hospital No. 18, A.E.F. Hospital Unit "B" U.S.A. Base Hospital No. 23, A.E.F. Hospital Unit "C" U.S.A. Base Hospital No. 3, A.E.F. Hospital Unit "D" U.S.A. Base Hospital No. 31, A.E.F. Hospital Unit "F" U.S.A. Base Hospital No. 27, A.E.F. Hospital Unit "G" U.S.A. Base Hospital No. 34, A.E.F. Hospital Unit "H" U.S.A. Base Hospital No. 29, Camp Cody, New Mex. Hospital Unit "I" U.S.A. Base Hospital No. 1, A.E.F. Hospital Unit "K" U.S.A. Base Hospital No. 8, A.E.F. Hospital Unit "L" U.S.A. Base Hospital No. 24, A.E.F. Hospital Unit "N" Not Assigned. Hospital Unit "O" U.S.A. Base Hospital No. 6, A.E.F. Hospital Unit "P" U.S.A. Base Hospital No. 15, A.E.F. Hospital Unit "Q" U.S.A. Base Hospital No. 20, 1st Penna. Cavalry Armory, Philadelphia, Penna. 109 Hospital Unit "R" U.S.A. Base Hospital No. 32, A.E.F. Hospital Unit "S" U.S.A. Base Hospital No. 17, A.E.F. Hospital Unit "T" U.S.A. Base Hospital No. 30, Camp Merritt, N. J. Hospital Unit "V" U.S.A. Base Hospital No. 26, Ft. McPherson, Ga. Hospital Unit "W" U.S.A. Base Hospital No. 33, Troop B. Armory, Albany, N. Y. Item 81—Navy Base Hospitals, $32,000.00 The plan for Navy Base Hospitals was adopted from the original conception of base hospitals previously in successful operation in the army. In brief, the plan contemplated the building up through the agency of the Red Cross of a medico- military organization at many of the larger civil hospitals, each constituting a group of medical men of the highest standing, together with nurses and attendants, all known to each other personally and professionally and who were constantly working along identical lines. This plan insured successful team work immediately upon the organization being called into service in the event of war, an advantage sadly lacking in large hetero- geneous groups drawn from various communities and animated to some extent by different professional standards. It was also found that local esprit de corps did much to stimulate the work of each unit. The base hospital plan was adopted in the navy with the result that by March 1, 1918, various chapters of the Red Cross had organized five Naval Base Hospitals. The original average cost of organizing these hospitals was comparatively small because provision was made for only 250 patients as compared with 500 in the army base hospital. In September, 1917, the War Department requested the Secretary of the Navy to authorize the mobilization, for service with the Marine Expeditionary Forces, of four of these five base hospitals and at the same time it was requested that they be expanded to a 500 bed capacity, at an estimated total expense of $200,000. Although the navy had available sufficient funds to meet the larger part of this cost, the Red Cross was able to supply special equipment for these hospitals, consisting of articles which the Government does not provide and which were deemed indispensable for good surgical work, or which are necessary for the efficient operation of the hospitals. The amount set aside for this expenditure was compara- tively small because the several chapters which had originally provided the equipment for these units, claimed the privilege of meeting the cost of the expansion. 110 MEDICAL AND HOSPITAL WORK, $531,554.60 Item 82—General Hospital No. /, $52,500.00 In July, 1917, the Mayor of Philadelphia offered to the Red Cross without rent and for an indefinite period the Medico- Chirurgical Hospital of Philadelphia, owned by the University of Pennsylvania, which had been condemned in order that a boulevard of the new city park system might be cut through a part of the lot on which the building stood. Instead of tearing down the entire structure as had been planned, certain out- buildings were removed, permitting the cutting of the boulevard, and the remaining buildings, fully equipped for about 250 beds, were gladly accepted by the Red Cross, and named Red Cross General Hospital No. 1. Almost at once this hospital was turned over for use of the navy and the Red Cross assumed financial responsibility for its operation under the direction of a resident naval medical officer. An arrangement was made whereby navy patients should receive free of charge the best of medical attention from the physicians attending the regular patients of the hospital, for whom some 150 beds were reserved. Owing to certain income from private patients and from the State of Pennsylvania, the cost to the Red Cross of operating this hospital was comparatively slight, particularly because less than 75 navy patients have so far been under treatment at the hospital at any one time. In case of an emergency the entire complement of 250 beds can be put at the disposal of the navy. Items 83 and 84—Laboratory Cars, $82,000.00 At the time of the construction of the camps and cantonments in the United States,it was realized that one of the most important services which the Red Cross could perform would be the immediate control of any epidemic that might break out among the soldiers at the camps or in the civil communities near the 111 camps. Meningitis and diphtheria were especially feared and although it was planned to establish laboratories in each camp, neither their equipment nor staffs could be expected to cope with an epidemic. The enlargement of these laboratories would be expensive and the setting up of an emergency laboratory would involve loss of time and much confusion. The Red Cross found that the most practical way of meeting this situation would be by a number of laboratory railway cars fully equipped and distributed at various points throughout the country so that one of them could be delivered at a given point within 24 hours. Various large laboratories offered to furnish volunteer staffs of the most competent men in the country, ready to respond immediately to any call. The United States Public Health Service had found a car of this type of great service, particularly at the time of an outbreak of meningitis at the Great Lakes Naval Training School. On the recommendation of the Surgeons General of the Army, Navy and the Public Health Service, the Red Cross purchased and outfitted four mobile laboratory railway cars: "Metchnikoff," "Lister," "Reed" and "Pasteur," which were put under the management of the Red Cross Bureau of Sanitary Service. These cars were manned by volunteer staffs of expert physicians and bacteriologists, and early in December, 1917, were put at the disposal of the Surgeons General of the Army, Navy and Public Health Service, ready for immediate dispatch to meet any emergency in the control of epidemics at the military camps or civil communities. Converted from "Pullmans" for the purpose, these cars included not only complete laboratory equipment, but sleeping quarters for a maximum personnel of ten workers and assistants. Under ordinary circumstances a professional staff of about five men accompanied each car when in service. No sooner had these cars been placed in operation than calls were received from various parts of the country and for three months the cars were in almost constant use at the various camps, assisting the base hospitals in the control of outbreaks of communicable and other diseases. Their activities for that period took them into eight states, in two of which the epidemics were among the civilian population. In March, 1918, the Medical Corps of the army had found these cars so valuable thai a request was made to the Red Cross to turn three of them over to the office of the Surgeon General of the Army. Complying with this request, the Red Cross 112 turned over, at cost, three of these cars with the understanding that the fourth should be loaned to the army Medical Corps if and when available. Item 85—Hospital Funds, $220,000.00 At the request of the Surgeon General of the United States Army, the Red Cross appropriated $220,000 for the purpose of establishing hospital funds of $500 each for the 40 hospitals in the United States at the training camps and cantonments, and of $1,000 each for the 200 large hospitals overseas which the Army Medical Department proposes to establish within the coming year. These hospital funds are analogous to the company funds of other organizations of the army and in the case of the established hospitals were built up from various sums received from officers and civilians treated in the hospitals, by savings on the rations of the enlisted men of the Medical Department and dividends from the post exchange. These funds are disbursed in the interest of the sick, the nurses and the enlisted men of the Medical Department, being used to purchase suitable food and comforts for the sick and members of the Nurses' Corps, and extra articles of diet for the enlisted men of the Medical Department, together with periodi- cals and apparatus for the recreation rooms. As it requires considerable time for a hospital to accumulate a fund of sufficient size to meet these requirements, and as the hospital fund of the Surgeon General's office was totally inadequate for the large number of new hospitals being established, the Red Cross made the above appropriation for establishing a nucleus of a fund for each of the hospitals mentioned above. Item 86—Equipment of Nurses, $100,000.00 More than 18,000 nurses have been enrolled by the Red Cross. Of these nearly 9,000 are now inactive service, of whom more than 3,000 are in France and elsewhere abroad. Following close upon the declaration of war the necessity of an outdoor uniform be- came apparent. A special committee was appointed in New York and a uniform was designed consisting of a heavy ulster, dress, regulation hat and gloves. All units for Europe have been supplied with this equipment and, in addition, with capes, caps and steamer blankets, and also with gray indoor uniforms which have been adopted by the army in place of the white 113 uniforms formerly used. These nurses are not furnished uniforms or equipment by the army, and as, if they had to furnish their own equipment it would be a great hardship to most of them, and inasmuch as most of them were going to France at great personal sacrifice to themselves, and in view of the expense of this equipment, which, in the opinion of the Surgeon General's Office was too heavy to be borne by the individual nurses, the Red Cross has undertaken to furnish uniforms and equipment to all army and navy nurses and has made an appropriation of $100,000 for this purpose. Item 87—Nursing School, $75,000.00 The Surgeon General of the Army has announced that 25,000 trained nurses will be needed during 1918 in the army alone. Although the Red Cross was active in enlisting registered nurses before the United States entered the war, it soon became evident that the demands of the army would very seriously cut into the number of registered nurses and that a shortage was inevitable. Today the Red Cross has over 18,000 registered nurses enrolled. With the two-fold object of training as soon as possible a large number of college women in nursing and in order to de- monstrate to the educated women of the country the opportuni- ties in the nursing profession, a plan for a school for training nurses at Vassar College was decided upon. This arrangement was made possible through the generosity of the Board of Trustees of Vassar College, who offered to the Red Cross the use of the campus and buildings of the college, the proposal meeting with the immediate approval of the Committee on Nursing of the Council of National Defense and the Chairman of the National Nursing Committee of the Red Cross. Under the arrangement, the American Red Cross assumes the cost of financing this school of the sciences applied to nursing, which will extend from June 15, to September 15, 1918. The course of study consists of intensive work in psychology, bacteri- ology, physiology, biology, sociology and chemistry, with some theoretical instruction in nursing and practical observation at three hospitals in the neighborhood of Vassar College which deal respectively with surgical, tubercular and abnormal cases. The students will then enter the best hospitals in the country for their hospital training as nurses and it is expected that this period of training will be materially shortened by the thorough 114 preparatory work. Arrangements have been made to accom- modate 500 students at the coming session and a full enrollment has already been secured. Since the Red Cross appropriated the money for this under- ' taking it has become more and more evident that some such constructive and far-seeing plan is absolutely necessary. The demands of the army are steadily draining the supply of trained nurses available for the civilian population and some method must be devised for replacing those who go abroad. Item 88—Miscellaneous Medical Work, $2,054.60 This item covers the cost of a survey by the Red Cross Bureau of Sanitary Service to determine the need of isolation hospitals in or about cantonment and camps, and equipment furnished to the Surgeon General of the Army for use in the outfitting of a Mobile Operating Unit which was being formed by the Army Medical Corps. 115 SANITARY SERVICE $403,000.00 Item 89—Red Cross Sanitary Units, $303,000.00 The Red Cross has established a Bureau of Sanitary Service, under the Department of Military Relief, and on July 17th, 1917, an appropriation of $10,000 was authorized for its organi- zation and development. The primary object in establishing this Bureau was for the purpose of giving aid to Federal, State and local authorities in securing and maintaining effective sanitary control in the civil districts surrounding or adjacent to National Army Canton- ments, National Guard Camps and Naval Bases. The control of sanitary matters in the civil districts adjacent to the various military areas is a function delegated by legislative enactment to State health authorities, and through them to local health organizations. State and local funds for such purposes in the past have been extremely limited, a condition that can be remedied only by legislative action, a procedure requiring a considerable period of time to accomplish. The relatively rapid mobilization of troops in certain areas, accompanied by almost equally sudden and great increase in the civilian population in the vicinity of the selected camp sites, created new conditions and increased the necessity for more rigid sanitary control in extra-cantonment areas, an emergency that would tax the resources of the best health organization to meet. The local health authorities were therefore, forced in nearly every instance to call on State or Federal authorities for assistance. Under a broad plan of co-operation between Federal, State and local health authorities and the American Red Cross, the Bureau of Sanitary Service is furnishing personnel and funds to complete the sanitary organizations in extra-cantonment areas, supplementing the resources of the local communities, the State and the U. S. Public Health Service until some provision can be made for supporting these organizations without the aid of the Red Cross. Assistance is given by the Red Cross only upon request from local or state authorities and on recommendation 116 of the Surgeon General of the U.S. Public Health Service, based upon a preliminary survey, under his direction, of sanitary conditions and health administrations in the civil districts surrounding and adjacent to extra-cantonments and naval bases. The Red Cross furnishes supplementary assistance by assign- ing to the district a group of trained assistants, bacteriologists, sanitary inspectors, Red Cross public health nurses, and makes an appropriation sufficient to provide the necessary equipment, transportation and maintenance. Each group is organized into a Red Cross Sanitary Unit. The co-operative health organizations thus established represent the combined resources of Federal, State and local authorities supplemented by auxiliary assistance from the Red Cross. The administration of its activities is placed under the direction of the public health officer who acts also as Director of the Red Cross Sanitary Unit. To him State authorities delegate the power and authority of deputy State health officer and all activities are co-ordinated and centralized under his supervision. An officer of the United States Public Health Service, or one recommended by that Service, is appointed Director of the Unit and is immediately responsible for the work. Associated with the Director of the Unit is a Fiscal Officer, usually a local business man appointed on the recommendation of the local Red Cross Chapter,who is the Fiscal Agent responsible for the funds appropriated, and who renders such services without compensation. Sanitary Units have been already assigned to the following places and more will be organized as necessity demands:— Unit No. 1 Columbia, S.C. 16 Chattanooga, Tenn. 2 Little Rock, Ark. 17 Spartanburg, S.C. 3 Louisville, Ky. 18 American Lake, Wash. 4 Des Moines, Iowa 19 Montgomery, Ala. 5 Leavenworth, Kan. 20 Charlotte, N. C. 6 Hattiesburg, Miss. 21 Waco, Texas 7 Petersburg, Va. 22 Alexandria, La. 8 Anniston, Ala. 23 Fort Worth, Texas 9 Newport News, Va. 24 Wrightstown, N. J. 10 Ayer, Mass. 25 Augusta, Ga. 11 Atlanta, Ga. 26 San Antonio, Texas 12 Chillicothe, Ohio 27 Houston, Texas 13 Greenville, S. C. 28 Portsmouth, Va. 14 Macon, Ga. 29 Jacksonville, Fla 15 Manhattan, Kan. 117 The work of these local organizations in which the Red Cross unit co-operates is also varied to moot conditions, but in general it includes the following: A public health laboratory, in (charge of a competent bacteriologist established for bacteriolo- gical examinations of water and milk supplies and to assist in the diagnosis of infectious diseases. A house-to-house inspection of sanitary conditions is made in the whole district. Insanitary conditions must be remedied by the property owners, after which regular inspections are made at frequent intervals. Systematic inspection is established for dairies, milk depots, restaurants, markets and all places where food" and refreshments are prepared or sold. Special effort is made to have all cases of infectious diseases promptly reported and to have each case, as reported, visited by an inspector or a public health nurse to instruct the attendant in necessary prophylactic measures and to see that they are carried out. Special work is necessary in most Southern Districts for the prevention of malaria. This requires the eradication of malaria- bearing mosquitoes in a fairly wide zone surrounding the can- tonment, and also the adjacent centers of population which are visited frequently by men from the encampment. The work of mosquito eradication is not confined to communities in which malaria is highly prevalent. It is being carried out in all the districts where malaria mosquitoes are found in considerable numbers, and where there is a possibility that malaria might become more prevalent with the increase of population due to the establishment of the camp. Steps have also been taken to inaugurate an auxiliary nursing personnel to be available in case of epidemic or other emergency. Item 90—Communicable Diseases, $100,000.00 The Red Cross, upon the recommendation of the army and navy, and United States Public Health Service, has made an appropriation of $100,000 to be expended in co-operation with the army and navy, United States Public Health Service, and with state and local health authorities, in the control and treat- ment of dangerous, communicable diseases. In connection with the Sanitary Service work undertaken by the Red Cross at the instance of the United States and Local Health Authorities, nineteen clinics for the treatment of such diseases have been established for the protection of military forces at points outside of the military area, but adjacent thereto. 118 The United States Public Health Service has assigned officers as directors of sanitation in each of the cantonment areas, who are also Directors of the Red Cross Sanitary Units. The local administration, and whatever measures are instituted for the control of these diseases, is by the Directors of the Red Cross Sanitary Units in the areas in question. This work is carried on under the supervision and direction of officers of the United States Public Health Service in co-operation with officers of the army and state and local health boards, and has already proved to be a service of great value, and its usefulness promises to be much extended. 119 CAMP SERVICE $6,451,150.86 Item 91—Supplies for Army and Navy, $5,653,435.86 In order to provide everything possible for the comfort and welfare of the soldiers and sailors of the United States, the Red Cross has organized a Bureau of Camp Service which, with the approval and under the authority of the Secretary of War, aims to relieve discomfort and suffering among the soldiers and sailors in this country whenever possible. This Bureau distributes sweaters, mufflers, helmets, socks, comfort kits and similar articles at the various camps and cantonments, receiving the assistance and co-operation of all the officers in seeing that the distribution is equitable and effective. It renders emergency relief of every kind upon the request or suggestion of the officer in charge, upon the approval of the commanding officer. In order to render the above outlined service to the best advantage, the American Red Cross has stationed a field director with assistants at each divisional headquarters. These Red Cross officials are required to wear the regulation uniform of the American Red Cross, together with the insignia approved by the Secretary of War; and the commanding generals of camps and cantonments are authorized to furnish to the Red Cross anything that they may request within reason, such as warehouses, offices, light, heat, telephones and similar service in order to enable them properly to carry on the work to which they are assigned. The Red Cross has distributed through its Bureau of Camp Service hundreds of thousands of knitted articles to our soldiers and sailors. The great majority of these articles were made by the patriotic women of the country, but owing to the great de- mand and to the difficulty in obtaining a supply of wool yarn, it was even necessary to supplement this large quantity of knitted goods by a quantity of machine-made goods, so as to insure an adequate supply of such articles for our soldiers and sailors. Through some of the very coldest weather last winter the Red Cross supplies were freely distributed at the cantonments 120 and did much to enable the men to endure the extreme cold. The Red Cross also provided an emergency supply of blankets, ready at a moment's notice to fill any need, and the severe cold brought a great many demands on it for this emergency blanket supply. At one time when the market conditions were such that blankets could be bought only at very high prices, the Red Cross purchased 50,000 comforters and distributed them through the camps. One place where these supplies were most appreciated by the soldiers was during the trip overseas last winter. The first transports left during the warm weather, and troops going abroad at that time did not need the protection which they required later in the fall. As winter drew on it was found that although the army provided the usual heavy winter clothing, the helmets and sweaters provided by the Red Cross came in extremely handy on the cold overseas trip. Few of the thousands embarking had sweaters, helmets or wristlets of their own, and the Red Cross saw to it that all of the men who required these extra comforts had them. These goods were retained by the men on landing and obviated the necessity at that time of distributing sweaters and helmets through the Red Cross repre- sentatives to our soldiers in France. Through our field directors at the camps and cantonments, the Red Cross has distributed emergency relief supplies of every conceivable kind, either upon the request or suggestion of the officer in charge. Medical and hospital supplies, special drugs not on the regular hospital list, stoves, handkerchiefs, pneumonia jackets, foot powder, bath robes, slippers, hot water bottles,* operating caps and gowns, convalescent robes, jelly, sewing kits, foot-warmers, ice bags and a variety of articles ranging all the way from flowering plants for brightening up the hospital wards to Ford automobiles for the use of base hospitals have been furnished through the Bureau of Camp Service of the Red Cross. Item 92—Convalescent Houses, $512,000.00 It has become evident at all the large base and general hospi- tals that there is need of a place for the recreation of convalescents. At the request of the Surgeon General of the Army and with the approval of the Secretary of War, the Red Cross has under- taken to erect Red Cross Houses for convalescents connected 121 with each of the army base and general hospitals, and similar buildings are also being erected in connection with naval hospitals. The erection of these buildings is not confined to the large camps and general hospitals, but similar buildings smaller in size and adapted to meet special conditions are being erected at certain smaller posts and stations. It now seems probable that between 50 and 60 of these buildings will be erected. These houses are intended primarily for the comfort and recreation of convalescent patients and will include, in addition to smaller rooms, a large assembly room equipped with books, magazines, papers and writing materials. There will be a solarium at one end which can be converted into a stage for moving picture shows and other entertainments and a limited number of bedrooms, for the accommodation of relatives called to the camp in cases of emergency. General Order No. 17, issued by order of the Secretary of War, provides that the Red Cross shall have a representative attached to each base hospital to furnish emergency supplies when called upon, to communicate with the families of patients, to render Home Service to patients, and such other assistance as pertains to Red Cross work. In order to administer these activities efficiently a small staff of assistants will be attached to the Red Cross representative, and he and his assistants may be quartered and given office room in the Red Cross Houses. Item 93—Training Camp Activities, $250,000.00 In September, 1917, the Red Cross entered into a co-operative agreement with the Commission on Training Camp Activities, which has for its object the mobilization, for the protection of soldiers and sailors, of the best forces of the community in the vicinity of each training camp. This commission sends representatives from Washington to organize the separate interests in the vicinity of each camp, such as the Y. M. C. A., Board of Trade, Elks and Red Cross, into a co-operative organization for the welfare of the soldiers and citizens in the zone immediately surrounding the cantonment. A local committee is formed composed of a representative from each of the local organizations and the • representative of the Camp Activities Committee from Washington The repre- sentatives from Washington are trained organizers and have been secured from the Playground Association of America, where they have had experience directing work of a similar character. 122 As it was the original intention that the overhead expenses of this work should be borne by the communities adjacent, there ghas been no appropriation from the War Department to carry on this work in the extra cantonment zone. Last fall, there were about 88 representatives of the Camp Activities Committee with salaries and overhead expenses amounting to about $600,000 per year. The Camp Activities Committee has bee** drawing its financial support from local contributions and through grants from the Government, national societies and individuals. The Red Cross recognized the value to the community and the army of the work which the Camp Activities Committee is directing, and also as an indication of the cordial co-operation between the Committee and the Red Cross, the latter granted a total of $250,000 as a contribution toward meeting the overhead expenses of the Commission on Training Camp Activities. Item 94—Club House at Chillicothe, $30,000.00 Early last fall it was reported to the Red Cross that recrea- tion facilities and opportunities for parents to meet their sons in training at the camp near Chillicothe, Ohio, were unequal to the demand. Upon recommendation of the Commanding General the Secretary of War authorized the acquisition of 30 acres of land adjoining the camp and on this ground the Red Cross constructed what is known as the Red Cross House—a building in the shape of a cross 200 feet by 200 feet. This building is used as a place for the meeting and entertainment of the families of soldiers and officers. It contains a well equipped restaurant capable of seating over 250 people at one time. It is attractively furnished, has a commodious stage for concerts and other entertainments, rest rooms, sleeping accommodations for the employees and a few extra bedrooms used by those in charge and by representatives of the press stationed at the camps. The Red Cross House was opened on Thanksgiving Day and has proved a great success. The plant is now on a self-sustaining basis. In connection with the Red Cross building, dormitories for the use of transient guests have been built from funds donated by various organizations, the entire establishment being in charge of a committee made up of a representative of the National 123 Recreation Committee, a representative of the Chillicothe War Council, the Red Cross Field Director and a representative of the Commanding General of the camp. Item 95—Bathing Pool, Ft. Oglethorpe, $5,715.00 One of the first activities undertaken by the Red Cross after the appointment of the War Council last summer was the construction of a bathing pool at Ft. Oglethorpe, Ga. This pool was almost ready to hand when the Red Cross started operations, a large quarry providing a smooth rock-bound basin which, when filled with water, afforded an excellent pool where 600 men could bathe at one time. Item 96—Completing Donations, $684,699.31 This item covers appropriations made by the War Council from time to time for the purchase of certain surgical dressings which could not be made by the chapters and which were badly needed in France, and for certain dressings which were purchased to place in "front parcels" which were being manufactured by the chapters. It also covers the sterilization of these "front parcels" and surgical dressings, and paper and other wrapping materials for the packing of these articles pre- paratory to shipment to France. Item 97—Automobiles and Parts, $424,494.50 A contribution of the sum of $500,000 was made to the War Fund by the Ford Motor Company to be used in the purchase of Ford automobiles or parts, and this item represents the above contribution less certain sums used for specific activities and which have been transferred to other items. Item 98—Canteen Service, $9,000.00 The Canteen Service is operated by Red Cross chapters under the general direction of Headquarters at Washington. As the U. S. soldiers are moved from their homes to the various camps and cantonments or from one camp to another camp, or to the seacoast for embarkation to France, the Red Cross is notified of their coming or of their passing through and the women of the Red Cross chapters go in force to the stations and prepare coffee, sandwiches and other refreshments for them. More than 500 chapters from the Atlantic to the Pacific have established re- 124 freshment units which are organized on a military basis. When heavy troop movements are in progress—particularly "to an Atlantic port" preparatory to embarkation for the battlefields of France—the work of the refreshment units has been tested times without number and has proved uniformly successful. The work of the units is particularly valuable in cases of dis- arrangement of train schedules due to floods, blizzards or other causes resulting in the exhaustion of troop train supplies. As stated above, the expense of this service has been practi- cally all borne by the Chapters, but as it was found that at one of the ports of embarkation a considerable sum could be saved by having Red Cross trucks transfer the refreshments from the canteen to the piers instead of paying others for its transporta- tion, an appropriation of $9,000 was made for the purchase of a number of trucks sufficient for this duty. Item 99—Restricted Funds, $2,520,409.57 Appropriations of the above amount have been made from time to time of moneys received in the War Fund but restricted as to their use by the donors. Every effort has been made by the War Council to see that these moneys were used in strict accordance with the wishes of the donors as specified by them when the money was contributed. In accordance with the donors' wishes these funds were appropriated by the War Council for the following purposes: Equipment and outfitting of Army Base Hospitals ... $ 641,385.67 Ambulances 214,562.50 Institute for Crippled and Disabled Men 62,250.00 Other Hospitals 62,783.96 Remittance for Prisoners and others in like cases 1,386.20 Relief of Serbian Prisoners— This was a fund received from the Serbian Minister at Washington for the purchase of food and other supplies for Serbian prisoners of war 1,000,000.00 Contributions for the American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief—through the Red Cross 8,654.01 Lithuanian Relief 127,734.90 For various relief purposes in France—received by the Red Cross Commission to France $287,121.46 For various relief purposes in Great Britain, received by the Red Cross Commission to Great Britain 41,949.15 Miscellaneous 72,581.72 125 Item 100—Working Capital, $15,000,000.00 It has been necessary for the Red Cross to carry on a tre- mendous wholesale supply business in order to furnish supplies to its Chapters all over the country to be manufactured into knitted articles, surgical dressings, etc., and also to purchase in this country supplies for account of our foreign commissions. Through our National Purchasing Office at Washington, we have purchased millions of pounds of wool, millions of yards of gauze and vast quantities of other materials which are sold to the Chapters. The Chapters then manufacture supplies for our soldiers, donating the manufactured articles to Headquarters for distribution through the divisional warehouses of the Red Cross to our soldiers or for shipment to our men abroad. The raw materials for manufacturing these supplies are purchased from Headquarters by the Chapters from that portion of the War Fund which the Chapters retain, amounting in the First War Fund to about $17,000,000, or through the purchase of these raw materials by the women of the country from the Red Cross Chapters. Large numbers of knitted garments, sweaters, helmets, wristlets, mufflers and socks have been made by the women of the country and sent to soldiers in the cantonments and abroad through the Red Cross. Innumerable surgical dressings have also been provided as well as comfort articles such as bed wrap- pers, ward slippers, sheets, blankets, pillows and pillow cases, bed socks, pajamas, and small khaki comfort kits containing such personal accessories as soap, wash cloths, heavy socks,' shaving materials, pipes and tobacco, writing materials and games. The first detachment of General Pershing's Expeditionary Forces were all supplied with these comfort kits before they sailed for France. The Red Cross has authorized the purchase of over $10,000,- 000 in supplies for account of our foreign commissions which will be charged to specific foreign appropriations upon distribution by our commissions abroad. An endless variety of such articles have been sent abroad including principally foodstuffs, clothing, drugs, surgical equip- ment, hospital supplies, blankets, ambulances, automobiles, shoes, lumber, saw mills, artificial limbs and in, fact, everything which might be mentioned from pill rolling machines to a com- plete nitrous oxide plant ready to erect on French soil. 126 Item 101—Working Cash Advances, $4,286,000.00 This item represents cash advances to the foreign commissions, divisional offices in the United States and other Red Cross agents. This sum as it is disbursed is accounted for under other appropriations made for specific activities and the agents, upon accounting to Headquarters for their disbursements, are reim- bursed, so that a sum of cash is continually in the hands of our commissions and agents, for use under specific appropriations. 127 £■