The Life of Clara Barton, Founder of the American Red Cross (Vol. 2 of 2)Barton, William E. (William Eleazar)
History
The Life of Clara Barton, Founder of the American Red Cross (Vol. 2 of 2)
Barton, William E. (William Eleazar)
American National Red Cross -- Biography; Barton, Clara, 1821-1912; Nurses -- United States -- Biography
The Pasha listened most attentively to the speech of Mr. Terrell,
thanked him, and replied that this was well understood; that they knew
the Red Cross and its president, and, turning to me, repeated: “We
know you, Miss Barton; have long known you and your work. We would
like to hear your plans for relief and what you desire.”
I proceeded to state them, bearing fully upon the fact that the
condition to which the people of the interior of Asia Minor had been
reduced by recent events had aroused the sympathy of the entire
American people until they asked, almost to the extent of a demand,
that assistance from them should be allowed to go directly to these
sufferers, hundreds of whom had friends and relatives in America--a
fact which naturally strengthened both the interest and the demand;
that it was at the request of our people, _en masse_, that I and a
few assistants had come; that our object would be to use the funds
ourselves among the people needing them wherever they were found, in
helping them to resume their former positions and vocations, thus
relieving them from continued distress, the State from the burden of
providing for them, and other nations and people from a torrent of
sympathy which was both hard to endure and unwholesome in its effects;
that I had brought skilled agents, practical and experienced farmers
whose first efforts would be to get the people back to their deserted
fields and provide them with farming implements and material wherewith
to put in summer crops and thus enable them to feed themselves. These
would embrace ploughs, hoes, spades, seed-corn, wheat, and, later,
sickles, scythes, etc., for harvesting, with which to save the miles
of autumn grain which we had heard of as growing on the great plains
already in the ground before the trouble; also to provide for them
such cattle and other animals as it would be possible to purchase or
to get back; that if some such thing were not done before another
winter, unless we had been greatly misinformed, the suffering there
would shock the entire civilized world. None of us knew from personal
observations, as yet, the full need of assistance, but had reason to
believe it very great. That if my agents were permitted to go, such
need as they found they would be prompt to relieve. On the other hand,
if they did not find the need existing there, none would leave the
field so gladly as they. There would be no respecting of persons;
humanity alone would be their guide. “We have,” I added, “brought
only ourselves, no correspondent has accompanied us, and we shall
have none, and shall not go home to write a book on Turkey. We are
not here for that. Nothing shall be done in any concealed manner. All
dispatches which we send will go openly through your own telegraph,
and I should be glad if all that we shall write could be seen by your
Government. I cannot, of course, say what its character will be, but
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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