. The American Red Cross in the great war . rgical instruments do not weighmuch singly, but they cost prodigiously, and in July theRed Cross dehvered over 170 tons of them across the seasto mend shattered and twisted bodies. In sheer weight,it is interesting to observe, cigarettes and tobacco ran aclose second to automobiles and ambulances, which showa total of over 1300 tons. In three months alone 280,000,000cigarettes were sent overseas. There were 237 tons ofbandages and 209 tons of absorbent cotton; 400 tons ofdrugs; 320 tons of soap; 274 tons of sheeting; 48 tons ofsUppers; 32 tons of pil
. The American Red Cross in the great war . rgical instruments do not weighmuch singly, but they cost prodigiously, and in July theRed Cross dehvered over 170 tons of them across the seasto mend shattered and twisted bodies. In sheer weight,it is interesting to observe, cigarettes and tobacco ran aclose second to automobiles and ambulances, which showa total of over 1300 tons. In three months alone 280,000,000cigarettes were sent overseas. There were 237 tons ofbandages and 209 tons of absorbent cotton; 400 tons ofdrugs; 320 tons of soap; 274 tons of sheeting; 48 tons ofsUppers; 32 tons of pillow-cases; 170 tons of surveyorsinstruments, and 30 tons of towels. There are some ofthese totals that are mystifying, for example, 40 poundsof yardsticks; but 63 tons of chewing-gmn confirms theoft-reiterated declaration that the Red Cross tried to makethe American soldier feel at home. In war time foodstuffs was the most comprehensiveword in the EngUsh tongue; it meant everything frompepper and jam to priceless ham and white wheat flour;. SUPPLIES AND TRANSPORTATION 113 even big business economizes on the clerical items when itcomes to foodstuffs. There were times also when emergency was a most de-scriptive word. In contemplation of its task the SupplyDepartment classed all the provisions it made for civilianrelief, military relief, and foreign relief as the crisis of necessity all the red tape was cut. Forinstance, when the earthquake shattered Guatemala, therecame on Saturday afternoon a cry for help. It was in themiddle of winter and, naturally, the next day was Sunday,but Monday was New Years Day; a telegram brought theinformation that a ship was clearing from New Orleans forGuatemala on Tuesday noon; at once a list of food and drugsand clothing was telegraphed together with instructions toa Red Cross man, a New Orleans banker, that these thingsmust be on board when the vessel cleared, which they were. When the explosion of December, 1917, shook HaUfax,it was
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Keywords: ., boo, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectworldwar19141918
