The American Red Cross Bulletin (Vol. IV, No. 2, April 1909)

by American National Red Cross

CENTRAL COMMITTEE.

With the change in the administration there occurs a number of changes in members of the Red Cross Central Committee who represent the Governmental Departments. It is with the very greatest regret that the Red Cross loses from that committee such men as James R. Garfield, of the Department of the Interior, Robert Bacon, of the Department of State, Beekman Winthrop, of the Treasury, Henry Hoyt, of the Department of Justice, and Major-General O’Reilly, of the War Department. The service that these members have given to the Red Cross cannot be too highly appreciated. Besides the time and thought they have expended at committee meetings, they have done much special work for the Society. Mr. Bacon, at the time of the foreign relief rendered after many disasters in other lands, Mr. Winthrop as National Treasurer, Mr. Hoyt as Counsellor and General O’Reilly as Chairman of the War Relief Board, and to all of these members of the Central Committee of the American Red Cross our people owe a debt of gratitude for their unselfish assistance and deep interest in our National Society.

The new members to be appointed by the President of the United States we feel will soon take a like interest in this great international institution. A sketch of the new members will be given in the July Bulletin.

The War Department has prepared the following form of certificate to be issued by that Department to such members of the American Red Cross as are accepted for the volunteer active personnel in time or war.

Field Service Form 58 R

Series ____

No. ____

____________ 19__

This Certificate is designed to identify ________________________ a member of ____________ branch of the American National Red Cross, who is attached to the sanitary service of the Army of the United States and who does not wear military uniform.

The bearer belongs to the personnel protected in virtue of Articles 9, 10 and 11, International Red Cross Convention and has fixed to the left arm a brassard with a red cross on a white ground, delivered and stamped by competent military authority. The number of said brassard is ____

__________________________
Medical Corps, U. S. Army.

Seal

The Central Committee has accepted as an affiliated body the New York Red Cross Hospital, of which affiliation a report will be made in a later Bulletin.

The Western Union and Postal Telegraph-Cable Companies granted the Red Cross the free use of their wires and cables for all messages pertaining to the Italian earthquake relief, and the Central Committee hereby extends its thanks to these companies for this generous act, which has saved to the relief fund a considerable amount of money.

The action of the South Carolina and Georgia Branches in returning unexpended balances of their relief funds is most heartily to be commended. Nothing will do more for our American Red Cross than such illustrations of careful administration of the funds entrusted to it, and the desire of the State Branches to turn back into the General Emergency Fund of the National Red Cross all balances given for Emergency Relief that such balances may be immediately available for future disasters. The Central Committee desires to express its appreciation of this act and the good work done by the South Carolina and Georgia Red Cross Branches.