American National Red Cross; Red Cross and Red Crescent
Following close on the organization in Rochester, the citizens of the
sister city of Syracuse and vicinity, in Onondaga County, N.Y., met at
the Board of Trade rooms and perfected their organization under the
above name. Rev. Dr. Richmond Fiske, a widely known philanthropist,
prominently connected with the principal charities of the city, assisted
by Professor G.F. Comfort, of the Syracuse University, led the movement.
The constitution, embracing in admirable form the principles of the
Geneva Convention, was signed by a large number present and officers
were appointed representing the names of the leading people of the city.
These were the first steps of the American National Association of the
Red Cross in relief work and in the organization of auxiliary societies.
The completion of this work, which may have seemed premature and
preliminary, left the association free to continue its efforts with the
Government of the United States on behalf of its accession to the
treaty.
MISSISSIPPI AND OHIO RIVER FLOODS--1882.
The spring rise of the waters of the Mississippi brought great
devastation and a cry went over the country in regard to the sufferings
of the inhabitants of the Mississippi valley. For hundreds of miles the
great river was out of its bed and raging madly over the country,
sweeping in its course not only the homes but often the people, the
animals, and many times the land itself. This constituted a work of the
relief clearly within the bounds of the civil part of our treaty, and
again we prepared for work. Again our infant organization sent its field
agent, Dr. Hubbell, to the scene of disaster, where millions of acres of
the richest valley, cotton and sugar lands of America, and thousands
upon thousands of homes under the waters of the mightiest of
rivers--where the swift rising floods overtook alike man and beast in
their flight of terror, sweeping them ruthlessly to the gulf beyond, or
leaving them clinging in famishing despair to some trembling roof or
swaying tree top till relief could reach and rescue them.
The National Association, with no general fund, sent of its personal
resources what it was able to do, and so acceptable did these prove and
so convincing were the beneficences of the work that the cities of
Memphis, Vicksburg and New Orleans desired to be permitted to form
associate societies and work under the National Association. This was
permitted, and those societies have remained until the present time, New
Orleans organizing for the entire State of Louisiana. The city of
Rochester, proud and grateful of its success in the disaster a few
months before, again came to the front and again rendered excellent
service.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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