Article August 17, 1907 Issue

At the Red Cross conference recently held in London...

Alexandra

The Christian Herald

At the Red Cross conference recently held in London the subjects discussed were many, varied, and most interesting. As Professor Martens of Russia and Professor Renault of France, two renowned authorities on international law, were likewise the representatives of their respective governments at The Hague Peace Conference, and were due there the latter part of the week, the subjects that they desired to discuss were first taken up: the extension of the provisions of the Geneva, or, as it is sometimes called, the Red Cross Treaty, to naval warfare, so that hospital ships shall receive its full protection; the succor of prisoners of war by the Red Cross Societies, and the question of the abuse of the Red Cross name and emblem. In speaking of the second subject, Professor Martens, who was in charge of this special Red Cross department during the Japanese-Russian war, said: "Indeed, by a happy innovation, the Japanese and Russian Prisoners Aid societies of the Red Cross corresponded directly and regularly with reference to the prisoners of war. The St. Petersburg office replied to over seventeen thousand inquiries for information and forwarded some fifty-five thousand letters and seven thousand postal packages. Baron Knesebeck, President of the German Red Cross, told of the care given by this society to the Japanese prisoners when they passed through Germany to embark at Hamburg for hom.

The kindest hospitality was shown the delegates by their English hosts. A reception was given by the Kind and Queen at Buckingham Palace, at which the delegates were each presented in person. Slight, fair, and almost girlish looking, the sweet-faced Queen, dressed in purple velvet, went from delegate to delegate, talking of her interest in the Red Cross; and his Majesty, looking well and hearty in his brilliant red uniform, welcomed in English, French, or German the representatives of the various countries. Baron Ozawa, vice president of the Japanese Red Cross, entertaiend the delegates one evening with stereopticon views and a description of the Red Cross work during the war. Nothing reveals more the horrors of war than the Red Cross reports and its exhibitions of trains, ambulances, litters, and other appliances to mitigate suffering.

An invitation was extended by the American National Red Cross to the Central Committees of the other Red Cross Societies to hold the next International Conference in 1912 in the United States, and it is highly probable that this invitation will be accepted. Long before then, it is hoped, our people will be aroused to such an interest in and enthusiasm for this wonderful and noble organization that in 1912 we may prove by the size, strength, and system of our American Red Cross that we are not any longer behind the other peoples of the world in our patriotism and humanity. The following is the Queen's welcome to the members of this conference:—

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