"6 THE TREATY OF WASHINGTON. 
bers of the Tribunal and to the representatives of thé 
two Governments access to numerous official exhibi: 
tions and entertainments; and, at a suitable time, it 
made for us a special fostival at Geneva, as the Fed. 
eral Government did at Interlaken and at Berne. 
Switzerland, and Geneva especially, looking at the 
several acts of arbitration provided by the Treaty of 
Washington as constituting great steps in the prog: 
ress of public peace, welcomed us the more heartily 
because of the recent organization there of a society, 
whose objects are defined by its title of “Comité In- 
ternational de Secours aux Militaires Blessés.” This 
society had acquired universal respect by its acts of 
disinterested philanthropy in the late war between. 
Germany and France. Its symbol of the red. cross 
had been the harbinger of relief to many-a suffering 
victim of battle. It was organized under the’ Pres: 
idency of that General Dufour who, in 1847, had led 
to victory the forces of Switzerland against the Seces: 
sion [Sonderbund] Cantons. And men could not fail 
to note the coincidence, when they saw this great 
Tribunal of Arbitration organized under the auspices 
of the victorious commander of our own Union forces 
[General Grant], as the International Commission for 
the Succor of the Wounded had been under the 
auspices of the veteran General Dufour. It was im- 
pressive to see the greatest Generals of the two coun- 
tries laboring to diminish the chances and lighten the 
evils of war. 
The Tribunal of Arbitration occupied the same gl 
in the Hétel de Ville which had just before been oc 
