Remembering with heartfelt gratitude the munificence of Great Britain, Germany, Austria, Russia, Italy, Switzerland, Denmark, Belgium, Holland, Sweden, Norway, Greece, Turkey and India, I trust it will not appear invidious for me to especially commend two of their sister countries.
The Red Cross of France, acting in strict accordance with the principle of neutrality, gave generously and equally to the Red Cross societies of Spain and the United States for the benefit of the sick and wounded; while many of its private societies and citizens sent us substantial remembrances of the long-continued friendship that binds together the two countries. To all these we say: “God bless you; we shall not forget.”
Soon after the United States had declared war against Spain I received a letter from the Duke of Palmella, the President of the Portuguese Red Cross Society, in which he tendered the services of his society to act as a friendly intermediary between the societies of the belligerent powers. The geographical position of Portugal, being on the border of Spain, and the well-known neutrality of her people, made her the natural agency for this purpose; and as all mail facilities between Spain and the United States had ceased, we gladly availed ourselves of this opportunity to communicate with “our friend, the enemy.” Of course, the same offer was tendered to Spain and accepted by that country.
The prime reason for the duke’s suggestion was his desire to open a way for the prisoners of war of both countries to inform their relatives and friends of their condition and whereabouts. The arrangement worked perfectly, and many anxious hearts were saved from the rack of uncertainty; while others were informed of the sad fate that had befallen their loved ones. How well satisfied our Portuguese friends are with the service that was rendered is best told in the following copy of a letter received some time since:
Lisbon, October 22, 1898.
The American National Red Cross, Washington, D.C.:
Dear Mr. Secretary:—We beg to acknowledge receipt of your esteemed favor of the first October, enclosing three more letters, the last to be returned to Spain.
Our work being now arrived at a close, we take advantage of this opportunity for presenting to the American National Red Cross and your worthy president our earnest thanks for their kind support in the accomplishment of the task we have undertaken in behalf of Spanish prisoners in the United States and their relatives and friends in Spain.
Again, we have true pleasure in acknowledging, in the name of hundreds of mothers and wives, whose sorrow and anxiety were extreme, the invaluable services you and your government have rendered to them, in order to assure correspondence between the prisoners and their families—a fact quite new in the annals of war—the benefits of which are certainly to be valued and cherished by every sensible heart. For we must not conceal that when we were determined to ask the assent of the American and Spanish Governments for such a work, through your kind mediation and that of our friends in Madrid, most people shook their heads incredulously, and while admiring the spirit that animated our good wishes, feared that our efforts would be in vain, and that the Red Cross would find itself hopelessly out of place in the unusual position it was about to fill. It is a consolation—indeed, amidst such gloom it is a transient happiness—to know that such was not the case; and we feel happy in proclaiming that the most efficient part of that work was, undoubtedly, yours.