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RED CROSS WORK

British - The British Red Cross organizations existing before 1905 were, in that year, amalgamated and formed into a new body called the British Red Cross Society. The immediate object of the society was preparation in time of peace for the ultimate work of rendering voluntary aid to the sick and wounded in war. The War Office, which in the past had been somewhat embarrassed by casual offers of similar help from private individuals, undertook that, in the future, all such offers, other than the supply of certain personnel, should reach them only through the channel of the B.R.C.S., which accordingly began its task under powerful auspices. But it was not at first easy to interest the necessary numbers of people in proceedings depending for fruition on a contingency which most of them believed to be remote. The advance of science, also, together with modern ideas of humanity, had naturally resulted in the creation of an efficient army medical service, possessed of its own military hospitals and nurses, as well as complete equipment for the transport and treatment of wounded men. It was uncertain, therefore, what scope there would be for only partially trained helpers, even if there should be another great war in the future. The formation of the Territorial Force in 1908 provided a solution of the difficulty. Being a volunteer body called into existence for the purpose of home defence, its medical department was not such as would be self-sufficing in a campaign. The War Office accordingly invited the British Red Cross to apply itself to the formation of what are now known as Voluntary Aid Detachments, both of men and women, for service in connexion with the Territorial Force. The members of these detachments were to be prepared by instruction in first aid, sanitation, nursing, ambulance, cooking and other work, and to make provisional arrangements in respect of transport and temporary hospitals for the assistance of regular medical units during military operations in Great Britain. When war broke out in 1914, the B.R.C.S. and the Order of St. John, which was also engaged in organizing V.A.D.'s, had between them 2,374 detachments with a personnel of 7 0 ,35 2. Before the Armistice they numbered 4,083 with a personnel of 125,993. The original idea of the V.A.D. providing supplementary aid to the Territorial medical service was, owing to the exigencies of a European war, thrown into temporary abeyance. Their usefulness, however, was quickly adjusted to the necessities of the hour. They turned to excellent account the arrangements already made in accordance with the War Office scheme, and took a leading part in the transport and reception into auxiliary hospitals of the wounded.

But although the British Red Cross owed to the V.A.D. the advantage of having been able to enroll and educate voluntary workers in time of peace, its main object extended much farther afield. The root idea of the Red Cross is that whatever it can do to save the life or limb of a wounded soldier, or to alleviate his suffering, it is willing to do, without question, whenever and wherever its assistance can be usefully employed; and whatever can be provided to cheer or comfort him, in addition to what the taxpayer supplies, it will provide so long as its funds permit. On the other hand, the medical service of the army exists in order to do all that is reasonably necessary for its patients. That service may fail under stress, as may the army itself; but in principle it does not admit that voluntary aid is indispensable, except in so far as some of it may avoid the necessity for compulsory measures. No doubt, however, arises in connexion with additional comforts. Common sense draws the line between what a Government can be expected to give its wounded men, and what luxury, which must be left to spontaneous generosity on the part of the public acting through the Red Cross. The ostensible appeal of the British Red Cross was therefore for funds to enable the sick and wounded to be given comforts which they would not otherwise receive. But in practice a large part of Red Cross expenditure never strictly meets this description, and much but not all of it relies for defence on the ground that it has been the means of saving life. Thus, the Red Cross war library, which during the war provided over 5,000,000 books for hospitals, etc., and the 2,800 Red Cross work parties and depots, in so far as the articles they produced were not among those in army schedules, may be described as pure Red Cross efforts. But the ambulance launches sent to Mesopotamia for the transport of wounded, though they saved innumerable lives and their cost probably yielded better results, pound for pound, than any other department of Red Cross work, were nearer the dividing line which separates the field of Red Cross activities from what should be army work. These launches alone carried 414,000 passengers and travelled 683,000 m., while at the various seats of war and in the British Isles Red Cross motor ambulance cars moved 10,000,000 sick and wounded cases. Yet, in fact, the transport of wounded, on which considerably more than £2,- 000,000 were expended by the Red Cross, was not strictly Red Cross work. It is the business of the army to clear up its own battle-fields at its own cost and take the wounded to hospital. Nevertheless, the enormous number of cases which the Red Cross was allowed to carry remains the best justification for the expenditure incurred until we know what would have happened had voluntary aid not been at hand. It is less easy to account for grants such as those made to the King George Hospital, a military establishment of 1,655 beds set up in the buildings of the Stationery Office, which was equipped by the Red Cross, and towards the expenses of which 1, 1 J4,000 were contributed, twothirds of that sum being for payment of salaries, wages and ordinary expenses.

On the outbreak of war the B.R.C.S. appealed for funds, as did also the Order of St. John, which had rendered much service in the S. African War. The emergency was altogether exceptional, and the War Office soon broke away from its own regulation as to the sole agency of the B.R.C.S. in respect of voluntary assistance. In the result a joint war committee of the two organizations was formed, subscriptions were pooled, and this committee carried out all Red Cross war work undertaken in Great Britain with some exceptions. Scotland, which elected to proceed separately, raised over £2,000,000, thus providing for a fine independent effort. In addition the principal Dominions Red Cross societies sent commissions to the areas of war where their own contingents were serving, and made generous contributions to the work. Canada, Australia, S. Africa and Egypt were conspicuous examples. India was closely associated with the joint committee in connexion with Mesopotamia and E. Africa, and the American Red Cross gave valuable support. No voluntary collection in Great Britain had ever before reached the amount raised by the Red Cross during the war. Its success was very largely due to the generosity of The Times, which opened its columns freely to the advocacy of British Red Cross claims and the acknowledgment of subscriptions. The Times fund reached over £16,500,000 and covered many special efforts, such as the annual collections throughout the Empire, known as" Our Day."These produced for the four years in which they were held, over £8,500,- 000, of which more than five-eighths came from overseas. The farmers sent £1,000,000; the coal-owners and miners nearly £500,- 000; sales of pictures, jewels, etc., at Christie's amounted to £322,000; church collections to £283,000; and pearls given by ladies from their necklaces were sold for £94,000. Every class of society contributed either in money, work, or kind, and the sums received from individuals varied from 3d. to £25,000.

In addition to the cash which passed through The Times fund, gifts of stores to the value of £1,000,000 were made, and a very large unascertained sum was given locally through the auxiliary home hospitals above referred to. These latter, each of which was connected with one of the military centres, were set up in most of the principal towns throughout the country. Private houses, schools and suitable buildings of various kinds were converted into temporary wards, to which, in most instances, the minor cases were sent. They were, as a rule, served by V.A.D. members under a trained nursing staff and local medical men. In some a high degree of efficiency was reached, and to a few wounded were sent direct from the hospital ships. Rent and equipment were provided by subscriptions in the neighbourhood or private munificence, with, when necessary, grants from Red Cross headquarters; and the Government paid a capitation fee in respect of each patient, also affording through the country directors special facilities for rationed food supplies. It is estimated that over 3,200 auxiliar y home hospitals were opened during the four years of the war. Their work received warm approval from the Army Council, who issued an inscribed scroll to each building as a permanent memorial of the patriotic purpose to which it had been devoted. That these institutions may claim to have afforded special comfort to wounded soldiers is indicated by the fact that the disciplinary measure most severely felt by refractory patients was their return to the military quarters from whence they came. Apart from the auxiliary home hospitals, a large sum was expended in equipping and maintaining hospitals abroad, special hospitals at home, and convalescent homes. Responsibility for the British Red Cross Society's hospital at Netley and the St. John Ambulance Brigade hospital at Etaples was undertaken by their respective associations. Nlention should also be made of the British Red Cross Society's Star and Garter home at Richmond for totally disabled men, an institution intended to provide a harbour for those suffering from incurable spinal paralysis. In all, a sum exceeding £5,000,000 was spent by the joint committee on hospitals and stores, excluding local expenditure on the auxiliary home hospitals. The stores department covered a great variety of items under general headings, such as textiles, provisions, tobacco, furniture, medical requirements, etc., and involved extensive business arrangements, with warehouses, bu y ers, and all the machinery of a large commercial establishment. Speed in delivery was a distinguishing feature, and the services of this department were on many occasions invited by the War Office. It was claimed with justice that no reasonable request which it was possible to comply with was ever refused.

A kindred department to the stores was the Central Prisoners of War Committee. The necessity for sending food to prisoners of war had resulted in various efforts which required coordination. The Government, as such, being prevented by Germany from supplying food to British prisoners of war, approved the formation of a committee under the Red Cross, which, by resolution of one of its international conferences, was entitled, and was consequently allowed by the enemy, to regard prisoners as coming within its duties. The committee administered a sum of over £4,000,000 and regularly dispatched parcels of bread, other food and clothing to the prison camps. Enquiries for wounded and missing, undertaken by the Red Cross from early in 1915 onwards, were also a much appreciated effort, resulting in over 384,000 reports being obtained at a total cost of less than 3s. 6d. each. Work for interned prisoners in Switzerland and Holland was another undertaking of high character, one of its chief objects being educational and industrial training. Much attention was bestowed by the Red Cross on the after-care of disabled men, both in connexion with accommodation for convalescents, and institutional treatment for patients suffering from neurasthenia, epilepsy, tuberculosis, paralysis and the results of wounds. It is obvious that medical or surgical treatment in such cases may be prolonged and yet not be inconsistent with some form of employment. The Government, realizing this, was prepared to maintain the patients, but difficulties arose on the question of capital outlay: ' ` In any case," says the report of the joint committee, "as far as the Government was concerned, we were faced by delay in circumstances where promptitude was of vital importance to the success of the work. Being ourselves unhampered by restrictions other than the broad objects for which the public had subscribed to the Red Cross, and our funds being immediately available, we were able to obtain the sanction of the Joint Finance Committee for grants which met the necessities of the case. Thus, once again, was demonstrated one of the most valuable uses of such a fund as that administered by the Joint War Committee." The report from which the foregoing extract is taken deals in detail with Red Cross activities in the various theatres of war, at all of which the joint committee was represented by a commissioner and staff suited to the circumstances. The most extensive work, of course, was that carried out in France and Belgium. There the first commission was sent in Aug. 1914, while the last of many proceeded to Vladivostok a fortnight before the Armistice in 1918. Some idea of the number of people employed by the joint committee will be gained from the fact that the total staff at home and abroad on Oct. 20 1918, was 9,234. Of these 1,353 worked at headquarters in London, 850 of whom were paid and 503 were honorary workers. It is only possible in this article to mention some of the efforts which were specially associated with the Red Cross during the war and have not already been alluded to. The supply of provisional limbs was a useful measure; invalid diet kitchens at Malta, Salonika and Egypt were a new and very successful experiment; and in Italy the ambulance units, among which may be mentioned one devoted to X-ray work, attained some remarkable results. Wherever it was possible to set up recreation rooms or to entertain the wounded, especially at Christmas time, the Red Cross undertook to do so; and at the conclusion of the war t after assisting in repatriation at Berlin and elsewhere, it continued, as it will continue for some years, to look after and help wounded men, particularly while they are waiting for final decisions as to pensions. Although the general direction of Red Cross business was in the hands of men, it is not too much to say that its outstanding feature was women's work. By hospital nursing and organization at home and abroad, motor-driving, reststation attendance, and general service - including the humblest domestic occupations, to which ladies turned their hands for long periods - British women established a lasting claim to national gratitude; and it may be said that the example they set did more to gain for them their present place in the constitution than several decades of propaganda.

At the end of the war the joint committee was left with a considerable surplus, which approximated roughly to the amount received from the "Our Day" collection taken a few weeks before the Armistice. An Act of Parliament enabled such part of this balance as might not be required for the sick and wounded to be applied to kindred objects. A sum of £ 1 ,339,7 00 was given to civil hospitals and other institutions in England and Wales, and £544,300 to similar purposes in the dominions and colonies.

A heavy distribution of, for the most part, well-earned honours was made to Red Cross workers during and after the war, the chief criticism in connexion with which was that the higher grades allotted to the honorary and paid staff at headquarters in London were out of proportion to those recommended for commissioners and others XXXII.-9 who had served for long periods abroad, often under trying conditions and sometimes in no small personal danger. On the whole it may safely be said that the Red Cross war fund was managed on sound business lines which gave general satisfaction to the subscribers, the Government, and the participators in its benefits, and reflected great credit on those who carried out the work.

Authorities

Charters of Incorporation of the British Red Cross Society, 1908 and 1919; Field Service Regulations, Part II.; Organization and Administration (1905); Royal Army Medical Corps Training (1911). Schemes for the Organization of Voluntary Aid in England and Wales, 1909 and 1910. Reports of the Joint War Committee and the Joint War Finance Committee of the British Red Cross Society and the Order of St. John of Jerusalem in England on voluntary aid rendered to sick and wounded at home and abroad and to British prisoners of war, with appendices (1914-9, H.M. Stationery Office). (J. D. P.) (2) United States. - The "American Association of the Red Cross" was organized in 1881, by the special efforts of Clara Barton ( see 3.45 2) and with the approval of President Garfield and Secretary of State Blaine. Miss Barton was its first president. In 1905 the name was changed to National Red Cross, and the organization was incorporated and nationalized; the President of the United States became its president, and the War Department its auditor. By 1912, state relief boards operating under the National Relief Board of the Red Cross had been organized in practically all of the states in the Union as well as in the Philippine Is. and Porto Rico. In 1913 there were bo chapters with about 12,000 members. In that year the association provided "disaster relief" in response to 13 calls in the United States and five from abroad. $3,000,000 were used in relief operations, of which sum One and a third were contributed directly through the Red Cross. In the same year steps were taken to erect a national memorial building in Washington as a tribute to the heroic services, in connexion with the Sanitary Commission and other activities for the benefit of soldiers, rendered by women of the North and South in the Civil War. To an appropriation by Congress of $400,000, as much more was added by private gifts, and the corner-stone of the building was laid on March 27 1915. The building was occupied as national headquarters early in 1917.

World War Work

Early in the World War, before America's entry, the Red Cross, with the consent of the Government and in conformity with the treaty of Geneva, offered through the State Department the aid of its trained personnel and contributions of hospital supplies to every country involved in the war. The offer was accepted by all the belligerents with the exception of Belgium, which at first desired only supplies and did not ask for personnel until the spring of 1915. Japan, at first accepting, later declined assistance, as its own Red Cross was able to meet all demands, while Italy, when it entered the conflict, asked only for certain supplies. The Red Cross called the attention of the American people to the contributions made by European Red Cross societies during the Spanish-American War, and the President made a public appeal for funds. As a result, sufficient money was soon at the disposal of the Red Cross to undertake active aid to the various belligerents. Large quantities of hospital supplies and about 200 nurses were sent to Europe and distributed in England, Belgium, France, Germany, Austria, Serbia and Russia. Seventy-one physicians and surgeons were also sent, and a special sanitary commission of 43 doctors and nurses went to Siberia to fight the typhus plague there. The value of the relief supplies sent to Europe by the Red Cross before the United States entered the war exceeded $1,50o,- 000, of which about $350,000 worth went to Germany and Austria. In the latter part of 1915, when the sanitary and general medical services of the belligerents had become sufficiently developed to make outside personnel aid unnecessary, the American surgeons and nurses were withdrawn from Europe.

In May 1917, a few weeks after the United States entered the war, President Wilson, as titular head of the American Red Cross, appointed a special Red Cross War Council of seven nationally known men, headed by Henry P. Davison of New York, to direct all the activities of the organization during the war. The first task of this War Council, besides effecting an expansion and elaborate reorganization, was that of obtaining funds on a large scale to support the extensive work planned. It was decided to appeal at once to the people for a special war fund of $100,000,000, and President Wilson designated the week of June 18-25 as "Red Cross Week" for the collection of money. Quotas were assigned to each state and city and a vigorous nation-wide campaign was begun. The result was a popular subscription of over $114,000,000. The second great campaign undertaken by the War Council was a Christmas membership drive during the week of Dec. 17-24 1917. When the United States entered the war the Red Cross membership was about 500,000, comprised in about 500 chapters. By Nov. I 1917 the membership had increased to 5,000,000, distributed among 3,287 chapters. The first aim of the special membership drive was for 5,000,000 further memberships, but when the campaign was actually launched the goal was set at 10,000,000. At the end of the drive week over 16,000,00o new members had been added to the organization. By the spring of 1918 it was found necessary to launch a new drive for funds, so extensive had been the war undertakings of the Red Cross. Again a nation-wide appeal was made, and during the week May 20-27, approximately $170,000,000 was subscribed. These two great collections of 1917 and 1918, together with membership dues of about $37,500,000 and special funds and supplies from various other sources, made up a grand total of a little more than $400,000,000, of which about two-thirds was available for the needs of the national headquarters and one-third for the special needs of the 3,500 chapters. These special needs were such as purchase of materials to be made into relief articles, local canteen and home service, general operating expenses, etc. The undertakings of the American Red Cross during the war-time and armistice period can be classified under two heads: first, the relations of the Red Cross to the armed forces of the Government both at home and abroad, and, second, civilian relief abroad. With regard to the first category a paragraph in a report of the American Red Cross, prepared for the tenth International Red Cross Conference at Geneva on March 30 1921, sets out so admirably the manifold activities carried on that it may well be quoted. It is as follows: "The primary function of the Red Cross in war, of course, is to provide volunteer relief to the sick and wounded, and to serve as a medium of communication between the soldiers, sailors and marines and their families and the American people, but in the late war the American Red Cross activities for the fighting men covered a much wider field. From the time the American soldier entered the service until he had been demobilized, the Red Cross, at the request of the War Department, assisted him in many ways possible only to a large volunteer organization officially recognized. The American Red Cross recruited, organized and equipped hospitals and ambulance units, assisted in the care of the sick and wounded in emergencies, and mobilized nurses for the army and navy. The labour of volunteer Red Cross women provided the men in the service with knitted garments not a part of the army equipment, as well as an unlimited quantity of surgical dressings and supplemental medical supplies. Canteens established at many points in the home country and in the war zone provided the soldier en route with food, tobacco and other creature comforts. Home Service helped to maintain moral by rendering assistance in many forms to soldiers' and sailors' families. American fighters held prisoners in enemy camps, after being located through the International Red Cross, were supplied by the American Red Cross with food and other comforts. The sick and wounded behind our own lines were cheered and aided in their convalescence, the home-coming and demobilized troops were helped in readjusting themselves to civil life, and, finally, the graves of the fallen were photographed at the request of the War Department for the comfort of the home folks." The details of the manner and extent of these various activities cannot be described here in detail. Place can be given to only a few special facts. Fifty Red Cross Base Hospital units, each consisting of 22 surgeons and physicians, 65 Red Cross nurses, and 152 Enlisted Reserve Corps men, were sent to England and France and one to Italy for duty with the American Expeditionary Forces. Forty ambulance companies of 124 trained men each were likewise sent abroad. Over 23,000 trained nurses were mobilized, of whom nearly 20,000 saw active service, one-half of these in Europe. Sanitary service in America was carried on by 29 units of trained personnel assigned to districts in 16 states. A Woman's Volunteer Motor Corps of 11,000 members organized in 300 communities covered over 3,500,000 m. in their activities. Seven hundred canteens staffed by 55, 000 women workers were operated in railway stations and camps. Ninety-two convalescent homes were built in the training and embarkation camps. One hundred and thirty canteens were established in France. Also, in France, the Red Cross maintained 24 military hospitals and 12 convalescent hospitals. Thirty-three canteens were established in Italy. Twenty-eight military hospitals and 82 canteens were established just behind the lines in that small part of Belgium never overrun by the Germans. A Home Service with 50,000 workers helped soldiers' families in many ways in America. Finally, 8,000,000 Red Cross women were engaged all through the war in producing comforts and hospital supplies for the American soldiers and sailors. Under the general category of "civilian relief abroad" is included the work done by the American Red Cross, from the time the United States entered the war up to 1921 when this work was still going on, in relieving the civilian populations of the war-ravaged regions of Europe. The distress during the war of the people of the Allied nations, especially in the devastated regions of Belgium, France, Italy, the Balkan States, Poland and Russia, seriously menaced the moral of those countries, so that this "civilian relief abroad" by the American Red Cross during the war period was of actual military assistance to the Allies. After the war this assistance, no less necessary, took on a more purely benevolent aspect and was extended in some measure to former enemy countries as well as to the Allies. The largest need and the largest response by the Red Cross was in France. A million and a half refugees from the to invaded French departments were scattered throughout other parts of the country. Besides, many Belgian refugees came into France. Disease, especially tuberculosis, threatened to become epidemic. The Red Cross undertook the task, for a time at an expense of $1,000,000 a month, of housing, clothing, feeding and extending hospital and general medical aid to these civilians. This work was constantly done in association with national and local French organizations. Over 150 such organizations were aided. Sixty-seven hospitals and dispensaries, primarily for refugees, were operated by the Red Cross. Over 30,000 tuberculosis patients were directly reached and helped. A child-welfare campaign was also undertaken, partly of educational character. Special doctors and visiting nurses not only directly helped the children but organized instructional meetings and held special child clinics where modern methods were explained to nearly 300,000 French attendants. Perhaps the second largest item in civilian relief during the war was that of aid to Russia. A special commission was sent to Petrograd by way of Vladivostok, arriving in 1917, while Kerensky was in power, and provided 50o,000 cans of condensed milk for children. An ambulance train of 125 cars was also sent to Russia, and $1,500,000 was devoted to the assistance of Russian soldiers who were returning from the prison camps.

During the war the Red Cross lent assistance to 75 Belgian refugee colonies in free Belgium, France, Switzerland, Holland and England. In Italy 50 kitchens were maintained for needy civilians and direct financial assistance was given to the families of 326,000 Italian soldiers. In Rumania two hospitals and an orphanage were taken over and maintained, and in three districts 40,000 persons were fed' daily. Special commissions went to Serbia and Greece and aided materially in caring for refugees and poor families in those countries. In 1918, at the height of the war activities, the American Red Cross. had over 20,000,000 adult and 11,000,000 child (junior Red Cross) members comprised in over 3,500 chapters. Eight million of these members were listed as "war workers." The total revenues of the national headquarters and chapters together for the 20 months ending Feb. 28 1919 were $400,178,000, of which 8272,676,000 was actually expended in war relief work in America and 25 foreign countries during the 20 months' period named, which covered all the time during which the United States was in the war plus the first three and a half months of the Armistice. Of this sum 8169,096,000 was expended by the national headquarters and 8103,580,000 by the various chapters. The former included $28,978,000 for relief in America; $57,207,000 in France; 863,841,000 elsewhere overseas; $4,660,000 for collections, enrolments, and publications; $2,727,000 for operation of relief bureaus; 85,530,000 for operation of bureaus handling relief supplies and transportation in America of these supplies; and $4,360,000 for operation of administrative bureaus at national headquarters and divisional headquarters. The expenditures of the chapters included $60,660,000 for materials purchased; $8,790,000 for home service; $3,070,000 for military hospitals and ambulances; $2,320,000 for canteen service; $1,680,000 for influenza relief; and $7,490,000 for general operating expenses. The total resources (cash and supplies) of the national headquarters Feb. 28 1919 amounted to 8110,156,000, including unexpended appropriations of 816,714,000; in addition the chapters had in hand a balance of $33,460,000. A total of 101,000 tons of relief supplies had been sent overseas; 3,780 French and more than 1,500 Italian hospitals had been aided. The relief articles (surgical dressings, hospital garments and supplies, refugee garments, and various articles for soldiers and sailors) produced by Red Cross volunteer workers during this time numbered over 370,000,000 of an estimated value of nearly $100,000,000. Eleven million of these items were knitted articles given to soldiers and sailors in the United States.

Post-war Work

On March 1 1919, the War Council dissolved and all authority and responsibilities were taken over by the Executive Committee with Dr. Livingston Farrand as chairman. The foreign commissions were gradually closed and withdrawn, although late in 1919 over 1,000 Red Cross workers still remained in Europe. The total membership after the roll-call of Nov. 1919 was about 10,000,000. After the Dec. 1920 roll-call it was about 7,000,000. Relief work was carried on after the war in Albania, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czechoslovakia, France, Great Britain, Greece, Germany, Italy, Montenegro, N. Russia, Palestine, Poland (where more than loo workers were engaged), Serbia (where 30 doctors, 50 nurses and five dentists worked at various points), S. Russia, Switzerland (caring for American soldier prisoners coming from German prison camps), Siberia (where 600 workers fought against typhus, cholera and other epidemics), and western Russia and the Baltic states. During a part of 1920 operations still continued in most of these countries, but by the end of the year the list had been reduced to Poland, S. Russia, Czechoslovakia, Montenegro, Serbia, the Baltic states, Austria (Vienna), Hungary (Budapest) and Turkey (Constantinople). In Poland 258 hospitals with 26,123 beds were established in 1920. Thirty dispensaries and 207 orphanages were aided, clothing was distributed to over 80,000 children and 2,316 towns with a total population of more than 700,000 were given general relief. In Rumania six hospitals were operated, 322 soup kitchens maintained, and relief supplies provided for 219 schools and 232 orphanages. In western Russia and the Baltic states 300,000 civilian poor, 21,000 refugees and 2,500 war prisoners were helped. In Vienna 98 hospitals were aided. Similar work was done in Budapest. In Siberia the cargoes of 30 American relief ships, and part cargoes of 92 ships from other countries were distributed. Eighteen hospitals were operated and numerous sanitary trains organized and an average of seven articles of clothing was given to each of 387,500 women and 775,000 children. Late in 1920 it was decided to restrict further operations in Europe so far as possible strictly to medical care, and $5,000,000 was appropriated for this work. Twenty child medical units were put into the field. In America the peace programme of the Red Cross in 1920 contained as its most notable features the further development of its nursing service. Enrolment in this service increased in 1920 from 35,426 to 36,705. The number of Red Cross public health nurses grew from 162 to 908 and the number of women and girls completing the Red Cross course in home hygiene and care of the sick increased during the year from 34,033 to 93,093. There were 57 major disasters in the United States in 1920 which required Red Cross relief. Altogether $780,000 was expended in this relief. (V. L. K.)