City Relief Station. The story of the eleven, how 

 they were used and misused, is a fascinating one in 

 which the personality of the founder of the Red Cross, 

 Miss Clara Barton, is revealed. 



Cuba 



The summer of 1897 had brought reports of great 

 suffering among the unfortunate people in Cuba, 

 who were then in armed revolt against the Spanish, 

 and by the close of the year President William Mc- 

 Kinley had issued an appeal to the people of the 

 United States to contribute money or materials in 

 an effort to relieve them. This assistance program 

 was carried out by General Fitzhugh Lee, U.S. 

 consul general in Cuba, but despite all the successes 

 achieved the program fell short of being adequate. 



With the approach of 1898, Miss Clarissa Harlow 

 Barton (Clara Barton, as she was popularly known) 

 decided to offer the services of the American Red 

 Cross. Although Miss Barton early in 1897 had 

 become interested in the Cuban revolt, she had 

 avoided doing anything until the end of that year, 

 largely to avoid provoking international complica- 

 tions which might lead to war between the United 

 States and Spain. At the end of 1897, however, she 

 was moved to secure permission from the Spanish 

 military authorities to perform Red Cross work in 

 Cuba. 



Miss Barton met with the President and the Secre- 

 tary of State at the Executive Mansion, and at this 

 conference it was decided to form in New York a 

 committee whose primary mission would be to 

 solicit from the general public money and material 

 to be shipped to Cuba in an effort to relieve the suffer- 

 ing that was mounting daily. The U.S. Government 

 was reluctant at first to accept the services of the Red 

 Cross. It was not until a month after the declaration 

 of war against Spain on April 25, 1898, that the U.S. 

 Government officially accepted the proffered aid of 

 the American National Red Cross. 



The Committee, having been called in the name 

 of the President, was originally established as the 

 "President's Committee for Cuban Relief," but later 

 became known as the "Central Cuban Relief Com- 

 mittee." Upon the recommendation of Miss Barton, 

 the Committee selected as its chairman Stephen E. 

 Barton, nephew of Miss Barton, who had served for 



some time as second vice president of the American 

 Red Cross. Others selected for the Committee were 

 Charles Schieren, treasurer, and Louis Klopsch, as a 

 third member. Such notable individuals as Chauncey 

 M. Depew, J. Pierpont Morgan, Levi P. Morton, and 

 John D. Rockefeller were soon added to the Com- 

 mittee. Shortly after the formation of the Central 

 Cuban Relief Committee, a subsidiary of that Com- 

 mittee was organized as Auxiliary no. 1 under the 

 title of the "First New York Ambulance Equipment 

 Society." Its purpose was to purchase and equip 

 ambulances, and its president was Mrs. W. S. Cowles. 

 By May 22, 1898, the Mew York Daily Tribune was 

 reporting its success, saying that three of the eleven 

 ambulances had been ordered, and that the Society 

 treasury had collected over $36,000 although more 

 money was needed. The ambulances were ordered 

 from the Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Co. of 

 South Bend, Indiana, and were to be the same as the 

 Tooker ambulance, a type formerly built by Stude- 

 baker for the Government. Each ambulance was 

 equipped with supplies in New York by the Society, 

 and since each must have a name, those given by 

 individuals were named after or by the donors. 



The list of contributors of S2,000 for one ambulance 

 each (the total was $24,000), consisted of Perry 

 Belmont, Mrs. Royal Phelps Carrol, Mrs. Bayard 

 and Mrs. Fulton Cutting, Mrs. Robert Goelet, Levi 

 P. Morton, D. O. Mills, J. P. Morgan, Miss Emily 

 Trevor, Mrs. A. E. Wood, Mrs. M. Orme ^V'ilson, 

 and William Cutting, Jr. ($4,000). An additional 136 

 persons contributed amounts of less than $500 each. 

 Composed of such wealthy society and business 

 leaders as Mrs. Anna Roosevelt Cowles, J. P. Morgan, 

 Mrs. Whitelaw Reid, J. R. Roosevelt and others, the 

 auxiliary continued collecting and in the meantime 

 provided eleven equipped ambulances at a cost of 

 $280.00 each and forty mules from the funds gathered 

 by the Society. It is not clear why only 11 were 

 purchased instead of 12 as planned. 



Miss Barton left Washington for Cuba via Jackson- 

 ville, Tampa, and Key West, and landed in Cuba 

 on February 9, 1898. Immediately upon her arrival, 

 she set about surveying the needs in the area and 

 making improvements that would best relieve the 

 suffering. On March 2, 1898, Stephen E. Barton 

 wrote her from New York that the Central Cuban 

 Relief Committee had five ambulances stored in 

 their warehouse in Brooklvn and that the First New 



170 



BULLETIN 24 1 : CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 



