EIGHTEENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART VH 399 



base hospital, where the major operations are performed, and from the 

 base hospital to the convalescent hospital ; and then when the soldier is 

 able to be out, they send him to a place where he can recuperate until 

 he can get back to the firing line. The Red Cross operates and is back 

 of every one of these hospitals. 



You know in our own country the Red Cross is not a military organi- 

 zation; it is for the relief of suffering wherever it may be. In the Halifax 

 disaster, the Red Cross v/as immediately there, reaching out its arms to 

 succor the di£tressed in that city, where 25,000 people are homeless: If 

 it were not for the Red Cross there would be no organized relief work for 

 Halifax. In the case of the cyclones in Illinois, the Red Cross was down 

 at Charleston and those other towns in Illinois and Indiana within a few 

 hours after the cyclone. But the military work is the big activity at 

 this time. 



The Cbristmas campaign is to increase the membership from five mil- 

 lion, which is now the largest membership of any nation, to fifteen mil- 

 lion. On the first of January, 1917, there were only 250,000 members in 

 the United States; Japan had 1,800,000. There are now five million 

 members in the United States, and Iowa is one of the leading states per 

 capita, with 350,000. I believe the population of Iowa is 2,358,611. The 

 objective of our campaign in Iowa at this time is to make at least one 

 out of every four persons a member. That would mean approximately 

 600,000. In many localities in Iowa today, I am glad to say that that 

 quota is already passed; there are several towns that closely approxi- 

 mate one to every two. Our minimum quota is 600,000, but we wish that 

 the maximum quota might be 1,000,000, which would not be quite one 

 to every two persons. There is only one way in v/hich we can get 

 600,000 members, and that is by organization. 



When any of you are called upon to do anything in these times, I 

 think it is your business to do it. It may not be convenient to do it, 

 but if you are called upon to go out and work for the Red Cross, you 

 should do it gladly. If you have any doubts as to whether you should 

 become a member of the Red Cross and give some of your time to 

 Interesting people in it, just measure your time or money or anything 

 else that you give by the gift of the boy who leaves a good business job 

 and gives up everything. 



Now, our plan of campaign in Iowa is to organize thoroughly every 

 county. Mr. Ingham has told you eloquently of organization, and you 

 can't do very much without it. We want the message of the Red Cross 

 carried to every farm home in Iowa, and that is one of our biggest 

 problems. Where people are gathered in towns, it is an easy thing to 

 get at them. In Des Moines there are a large number of men wlro have 

 a large acquaintance, and they get together and parcel out the territory, 

 and we see that all our people are seen in any of these campaigns. I 

 think there is no question but what the farm people can do more to put 

 across this Red Cross caipipaign this time than the city people; but they 

 will have to be willing to get out and do just as we do — give up a little 

 of their time and work — and we are going to ask you to do that. When 

 they asked me to take the state chairmanship, I was glad to do it, be- 

 cause I felt it was my duty. 



