. Letters from Beatrice (to a private in the Medical department) . ng some help in an emergency. Is that the ideain back of Red Cross work? We had a very heated discussion the other nightat the club, regarding the Caduceus. The question wasbrought up by Margaret Bradbury. She wanted toknow the meaning of the symbol. Margaret is incorri-gible. She always wants to know the meaning ofthings. Some said it was a kind of a tree, others a sortof Maltese Cross, and still others said it wasnt any-thing at all. Then Margaret, who is a trouble-maker, asked whyit was used as an emblem. If it did not mean
. Letters from Beatrice (to a private in the Medical department) . ng some help in an emergency. Is that the ideain back of Red Cross work? We had a very heated discussion the other nightat the club, regarding the Caduceus. The question wasbrought up by Margaret Bradbury. She wanted toknow the meaning of the symbol. Margaret is incorri-gible. She always wants to know the meaning ofthings. Some said it was a kind of a tree, others a sortof Maltese Cross, and still others said it wasnt any-thing at all. Then Margaret, who is a trouble-maker, asked whyit was used as an emblem. If it did not mean anything,why should the Medical Department of Uncle barnsarmy adopt it as an emblem? They might have takensomething that had some sense to it, at least—a roll ofbandage or an amputating knife or something like that. To settle the matter, we decided to call up a news-paper office, and they told us that it was the walking-stick of some old prune of a god—Greek, I think it were more puzzled than ever. Why should they take the walking-stick of a Oreeic 30. god for an emblem? Especially when they are alwaysstarting campaigns of America First. Surely theymight have adopted something which was made inAmerica, instead of Greece. And then I couldnt forthe life of me see the connection between a walking-stick and hospital work. Mrs. Mason, president of our Red Cross chapter,explained the matter to me in full. She said that mostof our men, when they get out of the hospital, will haveto use walking-sticks to get about. That is why theyhit upon the idea of using a walking-stick for a went back to ancient Greece, she said, because itwouldnt have done to use a modern cane—that was toocommonplace. They needed something classical for anemblem. I was quite satisfied with her explanation.(In the Evening) Mr. Jerrins, the banker, came to see mother thisafternoon about some busineses^ and I asked him aboutit. He refuted all the other theories and declared theCaduceus was a
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