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diff --git a/64967-0.txt b/64967-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..409ab6a --- /dev/null +++ b/64967-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,17218 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook of Clara Barton a Centenary Tribute, by Charles +Sumner Young + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and +most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions +whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms +of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at +www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will +have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using +this eBook. + +Title: Clara Barton a Centenary Tribute + To the World’s Greatest Humanitarian Founder of the American Red Cross + Society Author of the American Amendment to the International Red Cross + Convention of Geneva Founder of the National First Aid Association of + America + +Author: Charles Sumner Young + +Release Date: Mar 30, 2021 [eBook #64967] + +Language: English + +Produced by: Richard Tonsing, Roberta Staehlin, Charlene Taylor, Carlos + Colon and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at + https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images + generously made available by The Internet Archive/American + Libraries.) + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CLARA BARTON A CENTENARY TRIBUTE +*** + + +[Illustration: + + CLARA BARTON + + See Contents. +] + + + + + CLARA BARTON + A CENTENARY TRIBUTE + + TO + THE WORLD’S GREATEST HUMANITARIAN + FOUNDER OF THE AMERICAN RED CROSS SOCIETY + AUTHOR OF THE AMERICAN AMENDMENT TO THE INTERNATIONAL + RED CROSS CONVENTION OF GENEVA + FOUNDER OF THE NATIONAL FIRST AID + ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA + + + CHARLES SUMNER YOUNG, A.M. Ph.D + + ILLUSTRATED + +[Illustration] + + BOSTON + + RICHARD G. BADGER + + THE GORHAM PRESS + + + + + COPYRIGHT, 1922, BY RICHARD G. BADGER + + All Rights Reserved + + + Made in the United States of America + + Press of J. J. Little & Ives Company, New York, U. S. A. + + This book is respectfully dedicated to the Boys and Girls of the + World; and to the Men and Women who are still Boys and Girls, in their + love for humanity. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + + + + + ACKNOWLEDGMENTS + + +The author, in the preparation of his pen pictures, begs to acknowledge +with sincere thanks the courtesies extended to him by Mr. Stephen E. +Barton, the Executor of the Clara Barton Estate; by Doctor J. B. +Hubbell, for many years the manager for Clara Barton; by the Oxford +(Mass.) Memorial Day Committee of 1917; by the Twenty-First +Massachusetts Regiment G. A. R.; by many of the Army Nurses of the Civil +War; also for material assistance in data by the American National Red +Cross; by Mrs. J. Sewall Reed Acting-President, National First Aid +Association of America; by Honorable Herbert Putnam, Librarian of +Congress; by General W. H. Sears for the use of his data in his book of +177 pages, prepared for and used in the defense of Clara Barton before +the Library Committee of Congress, and his generous contribution of +incidents in the life of his personal friend; by Honorable Francis +Atwater for data in “The Story of My Childhood,” by Clara Barton; by the +Macmillan Co., Publishers of the Life of Clara Barton by Percy H. Epler, +the book of the best data on her life now before the American people; by +the National First Aid Association of America and likewise to many other +associations, personal friends and admirers of America’s most remarkable +woman. + + + There is a woman at the beginning of all great things. + LAMARTINE. + +Honor women! they entwine and weave heavenly roses in our earthly life. +SCHILLER. + + “The fairest chaplet Victory wears + is that which mercy weaves.” + + I live to learn their story, + Who suffered for my sake; + To emulate their glory + And follow in their wake; + Bards, patriots, martyrs, sages, + The noble of all ages, + Whose deeds crown History’s pages, + And Time’s great volume make. + + · · · · · + + For the cause that needs assistance, + For the wrongs that need resistance, + For the future in the distance + And the good that I can do. + + + + + THE FOREWORD + + +The author undertakes to produce a few pen pictures of a personal +friend—humanity’s friend. They are pictures of sentiment, pictures of +reality—pictures of humanity. + +Although precluded the use of data left by Clara Barton for her +biography the author, nevertheless, is conforming to the sentiment of +her oft expressed wish that he write the story of her life. Recognizing +the wish to be a sacredly imposed trust, for the past six years he has +gleaned what he could for his sketches from public documents, from her +personal friends in California, New England, New York, Washington and +elsewhere, as well as from his memory of facts developing through the +years he enjoyed her confidence and received from her highest +inspirations. + +The author assumes not a rôle literary—has herein no aspirations, +literary. His impulse to write is not fame; it is sentiment, a +love-sentiment for a woman whom all the world loves and whose “life +gives expression to the sympathy and tenderness of all the hearts of all +the women of the world.” His motive in writing is to point a moral in “a +passion for service”; to limn scenes, vivid, along “paths of charity +over roadways of ashes”; to depict for the lesson it teaches a career, a +career the memory of which must remain a rich heritage to the American +people. + +In life’s drama, wherein Clara Barton played the leading rôle, there +appear faces to inspire, faces to instruct, but also the faces of +intrigue. In the closing incidents of a life-heroic time’s detectives +disclose the plotters, and the motive in their plot to destroy— + + Like a led victim to my death I’ll go, + And, dying, bless the hand that gave the blow. + +Except now and then in dim outline, the faces of intrigue in the +_tragic_ scene do not appear. These faces are un-American—inhuman—and +would mar humanity’s picture. + +The Divine Humanitarian forgave His enemies, but the picture of the +crucified on the cross ever suggests the Pontius Pilate and the +executioners. Clara Barton also forgave her enemies, and yet some day a +literary artist may portray the Judasette Iscariot, or possibly the +plotting Antony and Cleopatra, to make a Clara Barton picture +historically and tragically complete. + +In biography is the world’s history. If, in human logic, the silencing +of truth in biography be an imperative virtue, then literature should be +relegated to the ash-heap of forgotten lore. As “in a valley centuries +ago grew a fern leaf green and slender,” leaving its impress on what +have become the rocks of the centuries, so truth leaves its impress +imperishable on what become the tablets of history. Truth crushed to +earth again and again will appear; and, when Clara Barton’s Gethsemane +appears with all its delineations in a picture complete, there will be +none so poor to do reverence to Clara Barton’s character assassins, nor +to the Clara Barton ghouls who desecrate her tomb and use the United +States mails to traduce the dead. + +Sentiment is the soul of action. The highest tribute to mortal is the +angel-sentiment—the tribute to self-sacrificing woman that blazes her +“path where highways never ran.” + + Ever the blind world + Knows not its angels of deliverance + Till they stand glorified ’twixt earth and heaven, + +and yet more powerful than armies is the soul-sentiment that protects +fame,—the fame of the Florence Nightingales, the Clara Bartons and the +Edith Cavells. + +Her “friends” say time will vindicate Clara Barton. The more such +“friends” the more’s the pity. It’s not time, it’s truth, that +vindicates. “Procrastination is the thief of time.” The thief of time +must not be permitted to steal from the present, even under pledge to +disgorge in the future. The present is ours to possess, ours to enjoy. +It’s not that the millions can do something for Clara Barton; instead, +the Clara Barton spirit can do something for the millions. The plotter +may revile the Red Cross Mother; the Red Cross Artist may picture the +cross of red on the breast of a fictitious “Greatest Mother in the +World;” the self-constituted autocrat in Red Cross literature may +suppress, and belie, truth; but the spirit of Clara Barton is the +Mother-Spirit still, the real spirit of the American Red Cross, the Red +Cross spirit in all Christendom. The fighting sons of America on the +“Western Front” may not have read of Clara Barton in recent Red Cross +literature but, trooping under the Red Cross peace-banner that Clara +Barton brought here from Europe, were more millions of her followers in +America than in the world war there were soldiers marshalled under the +military banners in all the armies in Europe. + +Grant was “Grant the Great” at Appomattox; Lincoln was more than “six +feet four” when in the home of Confederate General Pickett he stooped +down to kiss the brow of “Baby George” Pickett; Stephen A. Douglass was +more than “the little giant” when at the inauguration on the east steps +of the capitol he held the hat of Abraham Lincoln; Clara Barton was more +divine than human when, with love for her enemies, in her last world +prayer she gave expression to the forgiving sentiment of the Divine +Humanitarian. + +Clara Barton said that the bravest act of her life was crossing the +pontoon bridge under fire at Fredericksburg. The historian will say that +the bravest act of her life was snatching her Red Cross child from the +social—political—fat-salaried-swiveled-chair clique at Washington, and +handing over her best beloved unharmed to the country for which in the +smoke of battle and terrors of disaster she had many times risked her +life. The historian will further say that in refusing to accept a +pension of $2500 for life and Honorary Presidency of the Red Cross from +that “clique” as the price of her child, and suffering persecution for +life as the penalty, there was shown the true mother spirit that must +commend her for all time to those who respect the spirit of +self-sacrificing Motherhood. + +President Warren G. Harding, the president also of the Red Cross, +“entertains the highest sentiment regarding the splendid service of +Miss Barton.” Ex-President Woodrow Wilson—also ex-president of the +Red Cross—has voiced the sentiment of the American people in no +uncertain sound as has a second Clara Barton,—the soldier-angel +Margaret Wilson. General John J. Pershing has not been silent in his +admiration of the great woman, nor have the hundreds of thousands of +American boys on the “Western Front” been unmindful in gratitude to +the Founder of the American Red Cross; and, if signs fail not, from +the American Congress there will come to America’s greatest +humanitarian a testimonial—accompanied by an acclaim that will be +heard around the world. + +On a certain state occasion the statement was made that there is less to +censure, and more to commend, in the public life of Clara Barton for the +twenty-three years she was President of the Red Cross than in the public +life of any one of the twenty-eight Presidents from George Washington to +Woodrow Wilson. There commenting on the statement, America’s beloved +Mrs. General George E. Pickett significantly said: “Yes, that’s true, +but Clara Barton was a woman.” But woman is coming into her own, and +Clara Barton said, “My own shall come to me.” Never was prophecy more +certain of fulfillment. With hundreds of thousands of Americans +receiving the benefits of “First Aid”; with more than thirty thousand +brave American nurses, ten thousand of these following the illustrious +example of Clara Barton by going to the battlefield; with more than +thirty millions of Americans serving the Red Cross in time of war; with +more than a billion of human beings making use of the Red Cross American +Amendment in times of peace and war, Clara Barton already has come into +her own. + +The American nation will come into its own, as did respectively two +great nations of Europe, when she wipes out from the scroll of history +its foulest blot,—by giving national recognition to a national heroine; +the American Red Cross will come into its own when it shall repossess +the name Clara Barton; the American people will come into their own when +they patriotically recognize, and sacredly cherish, that immortal +Mother-Spirit which, after a half century of heroic sacrifices in the +war of human woes, passed triumphant through the archway ’twixt earth +and heaven. + +If these pen pictures give to the boys and girls of America inspiration +to loftier patriotism and higher ideals in achievement; if truth in the +biography give renewed impulse to American Red Cross philanthropy; if +through this volume immortal deeds, and a name unsullied, be treasured +for world-humanity then Clara Barton’s dying message to the author shall +not have been in vain. + +[Illustration: + + CHARLES SUMNER YOUNG +] + + + The only picture of myself that I have cared anything about at all is + the one taken at the time of the Civil War (1865), in which I am + represented in the uniform of a nurse. If my friends had let me have + my way, I would never have had another picture taken. (_Frontispiece_) + + CLARA BARTON. + + + + + CONTENTS + + + CHAPTER PAGE + + I Babyhood Impressions 21 + + II School—Childish Memories—Military 24 + + III On Her Favorite Black Horse 28 + + IV Phrenology—Read Her Characteristics—Basis of Friendship 30 + + V “Spontaneous Combustion” Laid to Clara Barton 34 + + VI Christmas—a Christmas Carol 36 + + VII “Button”—“Billy”—Clara Barton Ownership 38 + + VIII Pauper Schools; from Six to Six Hundred 43 + + IX Child Love—Joe and Charlie—Appreciation 45 + + X Temperance—Clara Barton and the Hired Man—Stranger than + Fiction 48 + + XI Looking for a Job—Equal Suffrage 51 + + XII Credulous Ox—Innocent Child—Clara Barton, a Vegetarian 55 + + XIII Fell Dead on the Ground beside Her 57 + + XIV Wickedness of War—Settles no Disputes 59 + + XV Her Wardrobe in a Handkerchief—The Battle Scene 63 + + XVI The Bravery of Women—Clara Barton’s Bravest Act 66 + + XVII Yes, and Got Euchred 69 + + XVIII To Dream of Home and Mother 71 + + XIX Tribute of Love and Devotion 74 + + XX Cheering Words—Always Ready—Wears a Smile 76 + + XXI Horrible Deed—Leads American Navy—Angel of Mercy 80 + + XXII Confederates and Federals alike Treated 86 + + XXIII The Enemy, Starving—Tact—The White Ox 89 + + XXIV Bullethole—Amputated Limbs Like Cordwood—God Gives + Strength 91 + + XXV Fearless of Bullets and Kicking Mules 95 + + XXVI His Comfort, not Hers; His Life, not Hers 97 + + XXVII Does not Need any Advice 99 + + XXVIII Had but a Few Moments to Live 102 + + XXIX Enlisted Men First—The Colonel’s Life Saved 104 + + XXX You’re Right, Madam—Good Day 107 + + XXXI Bleeding to Death—His Headless Body—Women in the War 109 + + XXXII Timid Child—Timid Woman 112 + + XXXIII Ez Ef We Wuz White Folks 115 + + XXXIV In Her Dreams—Again in Battle 117 + + XXXV Four Famous Women 120 + + XXXVI Simplicity of Childhood—Pet Wasps—Pet Cats—Loved + Life—Domestic 122 + + XXXVII Clara Barton in the Literary Field 128 + + XXXVIII The Art of Dressing—Clara Barton’s Individuality 133 + + XXXIX The Jewelled Hand and the Hard Hand Meet 138 + + XL Clara Barton and the Emperor 140 + + XLI America—Scarlet and Gold—Europe 143 + + XLII Three Cheers—Wild Scenes in Boston—Tiger!! No, Sweetheart 147 + + XLIII The Last Reception—Her Autograph—The Boys in Gray 150 + + XLIV Open House—Cost of Fame, Self-Sacrifice—Best in Woman 152 + + XLV Kneeled Before Her and Kissed Her Hand 158 + + XLVI I Never Get Tired—Eating the Least of My Troubles 160 + + XLVII Royalty Under a Quaker Bonnet 163 + + XLVIII Still Stamping on Me—Personally Unharmed 165 + + XLIX At the Memorial—“The Flags of all Nations”—A Good Time 167 + + L Clara Barton Kept a Diary 171 + + LI Nursing a Fine Art—Over the Washtub 176 + + LII Immortal Words—A Million Thanks 178 + + LIII The Pansy Pin—For Thoughts 180 + + LIV Clara Barton Pays Respects to Florence Nightingale 182 + + LV The Passing of Years—Right Habits of Life 184 + + LVI She Won His Heart 186 + + LVII You Buy It for Him 188 + + LVIII Or God Wouldn’t Have Made Them 190 + + LIX Clara Barton—Mary Baker Eddy 192 + + LX Like Tolstoi She Lived the Simple Life 194 + + LXI Clara Barton—Florence Nightingale 196 + + LXII The General Has Money—I Am His Reconcentrado 201 + + LXIII Abraham Lincoln’s Son 204 + + LXIV The Butcher Didn’t Get It 207 + + LXV The Kind of Girls that Needed Help 209 + + LXVI A Romance of Two Continents 211 + + LXVII The Little Monument—For all Eternity 215 + + LXVIII Story of Baba—Dream of a White Horse—Life’s Woes 218 + + LXIX People, Like Jack Rabbits—No “Show-Woman” 223 + + LXX Clara Barton’s Heart Secret—$10,000 in “Gold Dust” 227 + + LXXI Fell on Their Knees before “Mis’ Red Cross” 231 + + LXXII Clara Barton’s Tribute to Cuba 233 + + LXXIII At the Birthplace of Napoleon—The Corsican Bandit 235 + + LXXIV When Cares Grow Heavy and Pleasures Light 238 + + LXXV A Red Cross Red Letter Day 240 + + LXXVI Patriotic Women of America Self-Sacrificing 242 + + LXXVII Opposition—The American Red Cross “Complete Victory” 246 + + LXXVIII Greetings—National First Aid Association of America 255 + + LXXIX Humanitarianism, Unparalleled in All History 264 + + LXXX Clara Barton’s Prayer Answered 268 + + LXXXI Not the Value of a Postage Stamp 272 + + LXXXII Honorary Presidency for Life—Proposed Annuity 275 + + LXXXIII Clara Barton’s Resignation 279 + + LXXXIV No Red Cross Controversy 285 + + LXXXV International Red Cross—American Red Cross—American + Amendment 287 + + LXXXVI Blackmail Alleged—“Congressional Investigation”—Truth of + History 294 + + LXXXVII Of Graves, of Worms, of Epitaphs 332 + + LXXXVIII Turkey—Statesmanship of Philanthropy—Armenia 340 + + LXXXIX Treason—Lincoln Assassinated—Grant Protects Clara Barton 349 + + XC President McKinley Sends Clara Barton to Cuba 352 + + XCI In Details—Clara Barton, a Business Manager—World’s + Record 355 + + XCII Superintendent of Woman’s Prison 363 + + XCIII Greatness—An Immortal American Destiny—Immortality 365 + + XCIV What Was Her Religion? 369 + + XCV One Day with Clara Barton 373 + + XCVI The Personal Correspondence—Clara Barton’s Proposed + Self-Expatriation 377 + + XCVII Closing Incidents—The Biography—Other Correspondence 392 + + XCVIII A Record History at the Funeral 398 + + XCIX Clara Barton’s Last Ride 401 + + C Chronology of the Leading Achievements in the Life of + Clara Barton 403 + + CI The Press and the Individual 411 + + CII The Clara Barton Centenary—Memorial Address, 1921 415 + + CIII Clara Barton—Memorial Day Address, 1917 422 + + + I want the last picture of the friends I love to show them in their + strength, and at their best, not after time and age shall have robbed + them of all _characteristic_ features which represented them in actual + life.—CLARA BARTON, from her diary of December 13, 1910. + + + + + LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + + CLARA BARTON _Frontispiece_ + + FACING PAGE + + CHARLES SUMNER YOUNG 12 + + THE UNIVERSALIST CHURCH, MAIN STREET, OXFORD, + MASSACHUSETTS 35 + + SUMMER HOME OF CLARA BARTON, OXFORD, MASSACHUSETTS 35 + + BIRTHPLACE OF CLARA BARTON, NEAR OXFORD, MASSACHUSETTS 42 + + OFFICERS OF THE W. N. M. A. PRESENT AT THE DEDICATION OF + THE CLARA BARTON MEMORIAL ON OCTOBER 12, 1921 42 + + HISTORIC IN EDUCATION, BORDENTOWN, N. J. 53 + + The School House + + The Desk Used by Clara Barton + + The Clara Barton Museum + + REPRESENTATIVE TEMPERANCE ADVOCATES 56 + + Annie Wittenmeyer + + John B. Gough + + Mary Stewart Powers + + Frances Willard + + REPRESENTATIVE SUFFRAGE LEADERS 69 + + Susan B. Anthony + + Carrie Chapman Catt + + Dr. Anna Howard Shaw + + WARREN G. HARDING 72 + + REPRESENTATIVES RESPECTIVELY OF THREE WARS 83 + + William T. Sampson + + Isaac B. Sherwood + + Joseph Taggart + + REPRESENTATIVE OF TWO WARS 90 + + Mathew C. Butler + + Joseph Wheeler + + Harrison Gray Otis + + LEONARD WOOD 117 + + THE RED CROSS HOME OF CLARA BARTON, GLEN ECHO, MARYLAND 120 + + REPRESENTATIVE OF THE LITERARY WORLD 133 + + Ida M. Tarbell + + Lucy Larcrom + + Elbert Hubbard + + Alice Hubbard + + W. R. SHAFTER 136 + + THE ROYALTY OF GERMANY 149 + + Empress Augusta + + Emperor William I + + Luise, The Grand Duchess of Baden + + Friederich, The Grand Duke of Baden + + THE ROYALTY OF RUSSIA 152 + + Nicholas II, The Czar of Russia + + Alexandra Feodorowna, The Czarina of Russia + + Maria Feodorowna, The Empress Dowager + + FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE between pages + 182 and 183 + + FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE MEMORIAL ON THE MALL, LONDON between pages + 182 and 183 + + CO-WORKERS WITH CLARA BARTON 195 + + Count Lyof Nikolayevitch Tolstoi + + Dr. Henry W. Bellows + + Dr. Julian B. Hubbell + + WOODROW WILSON 202 + + SENTIMENT IN HISTORY 213 + + The Clara Barton Baby Cradle + + The Pet Jersey Calf + + Colony of Constantinople Dogs + + HISTORIC AND SENTIMENTAL 216 + + Baba, Clara Barton’s Pet Horse + + The Baba Tree and William H. Lewis + + THE CLARA BARTON MONUMENT 229 + + MARIO G. MENOCAL 232 + + WILLIAM MCKINLEY 241 + + JAMES A. GARFIELD between pages + 246 and 247 + + CHESTER A. ARTHUR between pages + 246 and 247 + + THE INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS (in 1898) 252 + + CLARA BARTON 275 + + HARRIETTE L. REED 275 + + MRS. JOHN A. LOGAN 282 + + AMBASSADOR BAKHMETEFF 289 + + ELUTHEROS VENIZELOS 293 + + GROVER CLEVELAND 296 + + FIVE PHOTOGRAPHS OF CLARA BARTON 300 + + ATTORNEYS FOR THE AMERICAN RED CROSS SOCIETY UNDER THE + PRESIDENCY OF CLARA BARTON 321 + + Richard Olney + + Lewis A. Stebbins + + William H. Sears + + BADGES, MEDALS, DECORATIONS between pages + 326 and 327 + + DORENCE ATWATER 332 + + DEDICATION OF MEMORIAL TO CLARA BARTON AT ANDERSONVILLE, + GEORGIA 332 + + CEMETERY AT ANDERSONVILLE, GEORGIA 339 + + DR. G. PASDERMADJIAN between pages + 342 and 343 + + I. H. R. PRINCE GUY DE LUSIGNAN between pages + 342 and 343 + + ABDUL-HAMID 346 + + WILLIAM R. DAY 355 + + HER BUSINESS RECORD between pages + 358 and 359 + + Benjamin F. Butler + + Francis Atwater + + Leonard F. Ross + + REDFIELD PROCTOR between pages + 358 and 359 + + THE AMERICAN RED CROSS BUILDING, WASHINGTON, D. C. 362 + + HENRY BRECKENRIDGE 369 + + REPRESENTATIVE OF UNITED STATES CONGRESS 380 + + Champ Clark + + Charles F. Curry + + Denver S. Church + + REUNION OF 21ST MASSACHUSETTS REGIMEN between pages + 390 and 391 + + THE MEMORIAL TREE PLANTING TO THE MEMORY OF CLARA between pages + BARTON, 1922 406 and 407 + + Lieutenant-General Nelson A. Miles, with the first + shovel of dirt + + Mrs. John A. Logan, with second shovel of dirt + + The Clara Barton Oak + + Miss Carrie Harrison, planting the Clara Barton Rose + + Charles Sumner Young, while delivering the memorial + address + + WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT 417 + + THE INSIDE OF MEMORIAL BUILDING, OXFORD, MASSACHUSETTS between pages + 422 and 423 + + THE OXFORD, MASSACHUSETTS, MEMORIAL BUILDING between pages + 422 and 423 + + REPRESENTATIVE MASSACHUSETTS STATESMEN 428 + + Henry Wilson + + Charles Sumner + + George F. Hoar + + UNITED STATES SENATORS WHO SAW THE WORK OF CLARA BARTON 430 + + Charles E. Townsend + + Jacob H. Gallinger + + H. D. Money + + NELSON A. MILES 433 + + JOHN J. PERSHING 435 + + ABRAHAM LINCOLN 442 + + THE RED CROSS MONUMENT 444 + + The embossed cut on the front cover is a reproduction of a bronze bust + by Mrs. Otto Heideman. + + + + + CLARA BARTON + + + There is a kind of character in thy life, + That to the observer doth thy history + Fully unfold. + + + + + I + + +I take my pencil (at 86 years of age) to describe the first moment of my +life that I remember. CLARA BARTON—In _The Story of My Childhood._ + +Do not sin against the child. GENESIS. + + The fir trees dark and high, + I used to think their slender tops + Were close against the sky. + HOOD—_I remember, I remember_. + +The rude wooden cradle in which Clara Barton was rocked is now one of +the very interesting curios in possession of the Worcester (Mass.) +Historical Society. THE AUTHOR. + +The child’s grief throbs against the round of its little heart as +heavily as the man’s sorrow. CHAPIN. + +Baby lips will laugh me down. TENNYSON. + + A child’s sob curseth deeper in the silence + Than the strong man in his wrath. + E. B. BROWNING. + +Dispel not the happy delusions of children. GOETHE. + +Happy child! The cradle is to thee a vast space. + + SCHILLER. + + Who can foretell for what high cause + This destiny of the gods was born. + ANDREW MARVELL. + + + BABYHOOD IMPRESSIONS + +Babyhood repeats itself. Babyhood is practically the same yesterday, +today and forever. And yet who does not try to recall first impressions +and first experiences? Clara Barton says her first baby experience that +she recalls was when she was two and one half years of age. She thus +describes it:— + +“Baby los’ ’im—pitty bird—baby los’ ’im—baby mos’ caught ’im. + +“At length they succeeded in inducing me to listen to a question, ‘But +where did it go, Baby?’ + +“Among my heart-breaking sobs I pointed to a small round hole under the +doorstep. The terrified scream of my mother remained in my memory +forevermore. Her baby had ‘mos’ caught’ a snake.” + +Her second experience that she recalls was when four years old, at a +funeral of a beloved friend of the family. She previously had been +terrified by a large old ram on the farm. On this occasion she was left +in care of a guardian, in a sitting room. The four windows were open. +Suddenly there came up a thunder storm. Sharp flashes of lightning +darted through the rising, rolling clouds. She thought the whole heavens +were full of angry rams and they were coming down upon her. Her screams +alarmed, and her brother rushed into the room only to find her on the +floor in hysterics. + +Sorrows put permanent wrinkles on the face, in maturity; on the mind, in +childhood. Only strangeness may produce fear in babyhood but, with a +baby, strangeness is everywhere. Darkness and strange noises frighten. +Forms of phantasy float on the imagination; when gradually, it’s comedy; +when suddenly, it’s tragedy. + +These tragic moments left their impressions on Clara Barton’s plastic +mind. Such impressions ever must remain. Miss Barton said she remembered +nothing but fear in her earlier years; and terror-stricken she remained +to the end, except when she could serve someone in distress, or rescue +someone from danger of death. An English philosopher says: “the least +and most imperceptible impressions received in our infancy have +consequences very important and are of long duration.” The greatest +minds of earth, in all ages, have tried to recall baby experiences, and +have wondered what they had to do with success or failure. + + + + + II + + +At three years Clara Barton was taken a mile and one-half to school on +the shoulders of her brother Stephen; at eleven years she ceased +growing, then but five feet three inches. THE AUTHOR. + + +When I found myself on a strange horse, in a trooper’s saddle, flying +for life or liberty in front of pursuit, I blessed the baby lessons of +the wild gallops among the beautiful colts. + + CLARA BARTON. + +Clara Barton—The memories of her childhood belong to our little town, +and are our most precious heritage. + + MRS. ALLEN L. JOSLYN, Oxford, Mass. + + +Remember that you were once a child, full of childish thoughts and +actions. CLARA BARTON. + + Sweetly wild + Were the scenes that charmed me when a child. + LYDIA H. SIGOURNEY. + +The sports of children satisfy the child. GOLDSMITH. + +Children’s plays are not sports, and should be regarded as their most +serious actions. MONTAGUE. + +When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I +thought as a child. I CORINTHIANS. + +A sweet child is the sweetest thing in nature. C. LAMB. + + Sweet childish days, that were as long + As twenty days are now. + S. WORDSWORTH. + +The scenes of childhood are memories of future years. + + J. O. CHOULES. + +I do not like to beat my children—the world will beat them. + + ELIHU BURRITT. + + How dear to this heart are the scenes of my childhood + When fond recollections present them to view. + S. WORDSWORTH. + + Deep meaning often lies in childish plays. SCHILLER. + + Backward, turn backward, O time, in your flight! + Make me a child again, just for to-night. + ELIZABETH A. ALLEN. + + Toil without recompense, tears all in vain; + Take them, and give me my childhood again! + E. A. ALLEN. + + + The Baker homestead (Bow, N. H.)—Around the memory thereof cluster the + golden days of my childhood. + + MARY BAKER EDDY. + + A long way seems the dear old New England home—its sheltering groves + and quiet hills; amid the clustering memories my tears are falling + thick and silently like the autumn leaves in forest dells. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + Children have more need of models than of critics. + + JOSEPH JOUBERT. + + Children think not of what is past nor of what is to come but enjoy + the present time, which few of us do. + + LA BRUYERE. + + + Women are only children of a larger growth. + + CHESTERFIELD—_Letter to his son_. + + The only fun is to do things. CLARA BARTON. + + I pledged myself to strive only for the courage of the right and for + the blessedness of true womanhood. CLARA BARTON. + + + SCHOOL—CHILDISH MEMORIES—MILITARY + +What woman has not said “I remember when I was a girl....” Clara Barton +at eighty-six years said, in the story of her childhood, I remember ..., +I remember riding wild colts when I was five years of age. I remember +how frightened I was, but acquired assurance when my brother used to +tell me to “cling fast to the mane.” To this day (at eighty-six years of +age) my seat in the saddle, or on the bare back of a horse, is as secure +and tireless as in a rocking chair. I remember I thought the President +might be as large as the meeting house and the Vice President perhaps +the size of the school house. I remember telling my teacher that I did +not spell such little words as “cat” and “dog,” but I spell in +artichoke, artichoke being the first word in the column of three +syllables. + +I remember writing verses, many of which for years were preserved—some +of these verses by others recited to amuse people—some verses to tease +me. I remember, in school, making a mistake in pronouncing ‘Ptolmy,’ +when the children laughed at me, and I burst out crying and left the +room. + +I remember that my father taught me politics; and that, as an old +soldier,[1] he amused the other children and myself by giving us +practical lessons in military life. We used improvised material, such as +children are accustomed to use in “playing soldier,”—paper caps, plumes, +banners, kettle for the kettle drum, tin swords, sticks for guns and +bayonets—all of which were perfectly satisfactory to us. + +Footnote 1: + + A Clara Barton paternal ancestor immigrated to America from + Lancashire, England, about twelve years after the landing of _The + Mayflower_. Since that date a direct descendant of his has + participated in every war, by this country. + + Our muskets were of cedar wood + With ramrods bright and new; + + With bayonets forever set, + And painted barrels, too. + + We shouldered arms, we carried arms, + We charged the bayonet; + And woe unto the mullen stalk + That in our course we met! + +The armies played havoc with each other, had fearful encounters and, +what seemed to our young minds then, suffered disastrous results. Camps, +regiments, brigades, military terms, she said, thus became familiar to +her as the most ordinary matters of home. + + Is it warm in that green valley, + Vale of childhood, where you dwell? + Is it calm in that green valley, + Round whose bowers such great hills swell? + Are there giants in the valley— + Giants leaving footprints yet? + Are there angels in the valley? + Tell me—I forget. + + + + + III + + + In my home here at Oxford, we would listen with intense interest to + the story of her early years, to childhood and girlhood, and to scenes + and events in her old home on the hillside. Clara Barton, by her + shining example to our children and our children’s children, has left + a rare legacy to the town of her birth. + + MRS. A. L. JOSLYN—In _Clara Barton In Memoriam_. + + + Bucephalus was calmed, and subdued, by the presence of Alexander and + became his favorite war-horse. + + ABBOTT. + + My arms, my arms. My horse; come quick, my horse——. + JOAN OF ARC. + + + My brother David was the “Buffalo Bill” of all that surrounding + country. + + CLARA BARTON. + + My father was a lover of horses, one of the first in the vicinity to + introduce blooded stock. + + CLARA BARTON. + + The first horses imported into the United States were brought to New + England in 1629. Surviving the ocean voyage were one horse and seven + mares. Oxen being used for all farm work, horses did not come into + general use until one hundred years afterwards. + + THE AUTHOR. + + + Joan of Arc, Clara Barton and Florence Nightingale was each an expert + horsewoman and each made use of her skill in horsemanship, in war. + + THE AUTHOR. + + + ON HER FAVORITE BLACK HORSE + +Like many other country girls, Clara Barton was fond of horseback +riding. When twelve years of age, on one occasion, she ran away from +home to go for a ride. She came down stairs quietly and slipped out for +a ride on her favorite black horse. + + What a wild triumph, that this “girlish hand” + Such a steed in the might of his strength may command! + +Falling from the horse, she injured her knee. Determined to keep the +injury a secret she joined her brothers in the field as though nothing +had happened. But she limped, and her brothers noticed it. She merely +told her brothers she had injured her knee, but would say no more. They +sent for a doctor. By plying many questions as to how it happened, the +doctor drew from her a confession. In later life—in the Civil War, in +the Franco-Prussian War, in the Spanish American War, her skill as a +horseback rider was of great service to her. On several occasions she +had to “ride for her life.” In speaking of this accomplishment, she used +to say “When I was a little girl I could ride like a Mexican.” + + + + + IV + + + Clara Barton—the pitying sweetness which fills her eyes and the + sympathetic lines which have been drawn about her mouth bear witness + to a long intimacy with suffering and death. + + Central (Mo.) _Christian Advocate_. (1912) + + Physiognomy is the language of the face. JEREMY COLLIER. + + + Physiognomy is reading the handwriting of nature upon the human + countenance. CHATFIELD. + + Palmistry is a science as old as the history of the human race. The + mind deceives; the hand tells the truth; the thumb in particular, the + tell-tale of character. + + DOLORES CORTEZ, _Queen of the Spanish Gypsies_. + + Show me an outspread hand and I’ll show you whether or not its master + is honest, is kind, is affectionate. + + ARTHUR DELROY, _Author_. + + * * * * * + + Human nature, as unfolded by phrenology, is being universally accepted + by all classes of people. CRANIUM. + + Phrenology can be used in every phase of life. C. S. HARDISON. + + Phrenology is very fruitful in its capacity to paint mental images. + + MISS JESSIE ALLEN FOWLER. + + Phrenology,—a science that has been of great help to us in the + progress of life. DOCTOR CHARLES H. SHEPARD. + + The shape of the brain may generally be ascertained by the form of the + skull. O. S. AND L. N. FOWLER. + + Phrenology professes to point out a connection between certain + _manifestations of the mental and peculiar conditions and developments + of the brain_. O. S. AND L. N. FOWLER. + + Of all the people in England, I was most glad to meet Doctor L. N. + Fowler, the same gentle, kind man he used to be so many years ago, and + who has done so much for the middle classes of England, giving them + helpful advice they could not get from other sources. CLARA BARTON. + + + Remembering that fully one-fifth of my life (1856) has been passed as + a teacher in schools, it is not strange that I should feel some + interest in the cause of education. CLARA BARTON. + + ’Tis education forms the common mind; just as the twig is bent the + tree is inclined. ALEXANDER POPE. + + + PHRENOLOGY—READ HER CHARACTERISTICS—BASIS OF FRIENDSHIP + +The physiognomist reads character in the face; the palmist in the hand; +the phrenologist in the skull. Physiognomy since the origin of man has +been nature’s open book. The science of palmistry is at least five +thousand years old; but the science of phrenology is of comparatively +recent origin. When Clara Barton was a little girl phrenology received +its really first great impulse in this country, through the lectures and +writings of the Doctors Fowler of England. In England, as in this +country, phrenology was then the subject of much ridicule. Of this +strange science Thomas Hood sarcastically writes: + + ’Tis strange how like a very dunce, + Man, with his bumps upon his sconce, + Had lived so long; and yet no knowledge he + Has had, till lately, of phrenology— + A science that by simple dint of + Head-combining he should find a hint of, + When scratching o’er those little pole-hills + The faculties threw up like mole hills. + +Little Clara was bashful, afraid of strangers, too timid to sit at the +family table when guests were present; would not so much as tell her +name when asked to do so. When spoken to by a stranger she would burst +out crying—sometimes leaving the room. Now and then she would go hungry +rather than ask a favor even of a member of the family. Doctor L. N. +Fowler visited Oxford. While there he was a guest at the Barton home. + +Doctor, what shall we do with this girl, asked the mother; she annoys us +almost to death. We can hardly speak to her without her crying, from +fear. The doctor examined her head. He replied, she is timid, that’s +all. The “bump” of fear is over-developed. Nothing will change a child’s +innate fear; that is a characteristic of her nature. She may outgrow it +to some extent but her sensitive nature will remain as long as she +lives. The doctor advised the parents to give her something to do; to +keep her at work, and thus to let her forget herself. Don’t scold her; +encourage her. When she does anything well, give her full +credit—compliment her. Throw responsibility on her; when she is old +enough give her a school to teach. + +To be understood is the basis of friendship. The Doctor understood +Clara; little Clara understood the Doctor. They became friends. That +friendship lasted through life. Many years after the Doctor visited +Oxford Clara Barton visited the Doctor, in London. They spent evenings +together. The Doctor renewed his interest in the people of those early +days in New England. He especially recalled the characteristics of Miss +Barton’s father;—they became mutually reminiscent of the days of her +childhood. The Doctor had then become old and decrepit but was still +giving lectures on phrenology. The happiest hours Clara Barton spent in +England were in the home of the Fowlers; with the Doctor, his charming +wife and three beautiful daughters. + + + + + V + + + The earth can never have enough women like Clara Barton. + + Detroit (Mich.) _Free Press._ + + Clara Barton belonged not only to the United States but to the entire + civilized world. Boston (Mass.) _Globe._ + + A merry heart doeth good like a medicine. PROVERBS. + + Laugh and the world laughs with you. ELLA WHEELER WILCOX. + + With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come. + + SHAKESPEARE. + + A little nonsense now and then + Is relished by the best of men. ANONYMOUS. + + The next best thing to a very good joke is a very bad one. + + J. C. HARE. + + Full well they laughed with counterfeited glee + At all his jokes, for many a joke had he. GOLDSMITH. + + If ever there were lost, or omitted, a well-turned joke or a bit of + humor by the various members of the Barton family it was clearly an + accident. CLARA BARTON. + + Joking decides great things stronger and better of’t than earnest can. + MILTON-HORACE. + +[Illustration: + + THE UNIVERSALIST CHURCH, MAIN STREET, OXFORD, MASSACHUSETTS + + Where Clara Barton attended church. Oldest Universalist Church in the + world, built 1792. Society second oldest. Organized April 27, 1785. + Denomination organized here, September 14, 1785. +] + +[Illustration: + + SUMMER HOME OF CLARA BARTON, OXFORD, MASSACHUSETTS + + Arrow points towards the window of the room where Clara Barton was + bed-ridden for several months, through her last fatal illness, in + the latter part of 1911. +] + + + “SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION” LAID TO CLARA BARTON + +A timid child is invariably the butt of jokes. Clara Barton, in her +youth, was not an exception. As a little girl she had learned to weave, +working in a North Oxford satinet mill. She had not been it work there +very long when the mill took fire and burned down. Then, as no +satisfactory explanation of the cause could be given by the members of +the Barton family, the fire was attributed to spontaneous combustion, +brought on because Clara had worked so fast as to set the mill on fire. +Clara Barton did not object to, but rather enjoyed, a joke on herself. +She used to tell her friends of this joke and said that in her own town +and among her playmates that joke was “told on me for many years.” + + + + + VI + + + Forget not Christmas. HENRY _IV._ of England. + + At Christmas be merry, and thankful withal, + And feast thy poor neighbors, the great with the small. TUSSER. + + Those who at Christmas do repine, + And would fain hence despatch him, + May they with old Duke Humphry dine, + Or else may ‘Squire Ketch catch him.’ + POOR ROBIN’S ALMANAC, 1684. + + Without the door let sorrow lie, + And if, for cold, it hap to die, + Wee ’le bury ’t in a Christmas pye, + And evermore be merry. + WITHER’S JUVENILIA. + + Now Christmas is come, + Let us beat up the drum, + And call all our neighbors together. + And when they appear, + Let us make them such cheer, + As will keep out the wind and the weather. OLD SONG. + + A Christmas baby! Now, isn’t that the best kind of a Christmas gift + for us all? FATHER STEPHEN BARTON (1821). + + Clara Barton was a Christmas present, given to the world. + + Bridgeport (Conn.) _Standard_ (—In 1912). + + The sweet love-planted Christmas tree. WILL CARLETON. + + A good conscience is a continual Christmas. + + BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. + + This day shall change all griefs and quarrels into love. + + SHAKESPEARE. + + I will honor Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year. + CHARLES DICKENS. + + On Christmas Day we will shut out from our fireside nothing. + + CHARLES DICKENS. + + ’Tis the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall, the + genial fire of charity in the heart. WASHINGTON IRVING. + + I was born on one bright Christmas day, and I am told that there was a + great family jubilation upon the occasion. CLARA BARTON. + + For which the shepherds at their festivals + Carol her goodness loud in rustic lays. JOHN MILTON. + + The winds ever chant on the bright Christmas morn, + The sweetest of carols for “Two” that were born. + E. MAY GLENN TOON. + + + CHRISTMAS + A CHRISTMAS CAROL + (1894) + + For my 30,000 Sea Island Friends + + A Loving Greeting and Merry Christmas. CLARA BARTON. + + Lo! The Christmas morn is breaking, + Bring the angels bright array, + For the Christian world is waking, + And the Lord is born to-day. + Shout then, brothers; shout and pray, + For the blessed Lord is born to-day. + + No more tears and pain and sorrow, + Hark! I hear the angels say + Blessed be the bright to-morrow, + For the Lord is born to-day. + Shout then, sisters; shout and pray, + For the blessed Lord is born to-day. + + Forget your night of sad disaster, + Cast your burdens all away, + Wait the coming of the Master, + For the Lord is born to-day. + Shout then, children; shout and pray, + For the blessed Lord is born to-day. + + In the sunlight, soft and golden, + Round the babe the angels play; + List, their notes so grand and olden, + Lo! The Lord is born to-day. + Shout, all people; shout and pray, + For the blessed Lord is born to-day. + + + + + VII + + + The life of Clara Barton should be familiarized to every child. + + Woonsocket (R. I.) _Call._ + + Learning to ride, Clara, is just learning a horse. + + BROTHER DAVID (“Buffalo Bill”) in 1826. + + How can I learn a horse, David? SISTER CLARA. + + Catch hold of his mane, baby, and just feel the horse a part of + yourself—the big half of the task being. + + BROTHER DAVID. _Heroines of Service._ + + Love me, love my dog. HEYWARD’S PROVERBS. + + The one absolutely unselfish friend that a man can have in this + selfish world, the one that never deserts him, and the one that never + proves ungrateful, or traitorous, is his dog. SENATOR VEST. + + We are two travellers, Roger and I—Roger’s my dog—so fond, so + unselfish, so forgiving. JOHN TOWNSEND TROWBRIDGE. + + I have seen many friends in my travels, + Some friends whom the world would call game, + But the friendship of my old dog Roger + Would put all the others to shame. + WILLIAM DEVERE. + + I would rather be a dog and bay at the moon + Than such a Roman. JULIUS CAESAR. + + Every dog has his day, why not I? + Dogs are very much like people— + I am Preacher Smith’s dog, whose dog are you? + ABBIE N. SMITH, “_Bobtail Dixie_.” + + A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse! SHAKESPEARE. + + O for a horse with wings. CYMBELINE. + + Champing his foam, and bounding o’er the plain, + Arch his high neck and graceful spread his mane. + SIR R. BLACKMORE. + + A good rider on a good horse is as much above himself and others as + the world can make him. LORD HERBERT. + + I die,—but first have possessed + And come what may, I _have been blessed_. BYRON. + + Aspiration sees only one side of every question; possession, many. + + LOWELL. + + How senseless is the love of wealth and treasure. GUARINI. + + Remember not one penny can we take with us into the unknown land. + SENECA. + + + “BUTTON”—“BILLY”—CLARA BARTON OWNERSHIP + +A dog is a real philanthropist, his whole existence is living for +others. The best “war-scout” known is the Red Cross dog, wearing the +insignia. In a dog Miss Barton found a congenial spirit. Her first +ownership was a dog, and known by the name of “Button.” He was +medium-sized, very white, with silky ears, sparkling black eyes, and a +very short tail. “Button” was Clara Barton’s guardian in the cradle, her +playmate in childhood. + + Some little dogs are very good, + And very useful too:— + +“Button” would try to pick her up when she fell down, sympathize with +her in her troubles,—ever unselfish, helpful, loyal. + +Clara Barton’s second individual ownership was “Billy.” “Billy” was a +horse. She said he was high stepping; in color, brown; of Morgan +ancestry, with glossy coat, slim legs, pointed ears, long black mane and +tail, and weighing nearly nine hundred pounds. + +Ownership endowed “Billy” with wonderful characteristics. He could trot, +rack, pace, single-foot,—a Bucephalus worthy of world fame. “Like beads +upon a rosary” she would count and recount the joys of memory, memory of +her saddle horse, and she on his back, riding like mad, at ten years of +age. He had many characteristics, doubtless, that she didn’t recount. As +a horse is known to be “a vain thing for safety” “Billy” could probably +run away, get frightened at a shadow, senselessly “kick up” and +“smash-up,” as do other horses. But fun is in the danger; the greater +the danger to life and limb the greater the fun. “Billy” would not stand +over her to guard her, nor help her up when she fell down, but was +useful and gave her pleasure. “The true, living love is love of soul for +soul,” hence mankind loves, in return for love, only what gives love; +but mankind also pretends to love what it can force to serve man’s +purpose. The dog spirit and the horse spirit satisfy the longings of +human nature—all the world loves a dog and assumes to love a horse. + +In hearing of the cannon’s roar one afternoon, an officer galloped up +asking, “Miss Barton, can you ride?” “Yes sir.” “But you have no +saddle—could you ride mine?” “Yes sir, or without it, if you have +blanket and surcingle.” “Then you can risk an hour.” An hour later the +officer returned at breakneck speed—and leaping from his horse said: +“Now is your time Miss Barton; the enemy is already breaking over the +hills.” + + Oh! not all the pleasures that poets may praise,— + Not the wildering waltz in the ballrooms blaze, + Nor the chivalrous joust, nor the daring race, + Nor the swift regatta, nor the merry chase, + Nor the sail heaving waters o’er, + Nor the rural dance on the moonlight shore,— + Can the wild and fearless joy exceed + Of a fearless leap on a fiery steed. + +Romance enters into ownership of pet animals. Probably “Button” was +_just_ a dog and “Billy” _only_ a horse. But one has said that the right +of ownership is the cornerstone of civilization. Ownership of what is +worthy of love at least enriches character—contributes to the happiness +of human existence. If the Father of his Country was right, that the +object of all government is the happiness of the people, then the love +of animals serves a very high purpose. + +With the first “gold dust” suddenly acquired, an illiterate Western +miner built on the desert a stone mansion. He ornamented it with gold +door knobs door hinges of silver—the doors opening but to golden keys. + + Yet some there be that by due steps aspire + To lay their just hands on that golden key, + That opes the palace to eternity,— + To such my errand is:— + +Where human beings throng, and men and women suffer, Clara Barton built +a structure and ornamented it with a RED CROSS on a white ground—the +emblem of service to the suffering. With unusual earning capacity for +seventy-five years, and at all times practicing greatest economy, Clara +Barton’s ownership at her passing was but $21,000. The Glen Echo Red +Cross home that had been used, free of cost to the RED CROSS, was valued +at $5,000. While the owner lived she continued to keep it as a charity +center—a home for the homeless and indigent—ex-soldiers, civilians, +children. + +In her closing years she had, therefore, for her own personal and +exclusive use in money and realty, not to exceed $21,000. This was nine +thousand dollars less than the value of her property when she first +became interested in Red Cross work. “Mere money,” she said, “never +separates me from my friends. I don’t care for money; I wish only not to +become an object of charity, and to be a burden to my friends when I am +unable to work for others.” + +[Illustration: + + BIRTHPLACE OF CLARA BARTON, NEAR OXFORD, MASSACHUSETTS + + On March 14, 1921, the title to the Barton Homestead was transferred + by Carl O. Carlson to The Woman’s National Missionary Society of the + Universalist Church. It is now known as The Clara Barton Memorial + Home. Mementoes, Red Cross literature and all else possible to + obtain that appertain to Clara Barton’s life work will be assembled + here and become a part of the Memorial. The homestead consists of + the house where Clara Barton was born, and eighty-five acres of + land. It was dedicated as a shrine for the public, October 12, 1921. + + Arrow points to the room where Clara Barton was born. Size of the room + 8 × 10 feet. Ceiling 8 feet high. Clothes closet 5 feet 2 inches × 2 + feet 5 inches. Two windows each 4 feet 5 inches high × 2 feet 3 + inches wide. Two sashes in each window; six panes of glass in each + sash. +] + +[Illustration: + + OFFICERS OF THE W. N. M. A. PRESENT AT THE DEDICATION OF THE CLARA + BARTON MEMORIAL ON OCTOBER 12, 1921. + + Left to Right: Mrs. Bertram O. Blaisdell, Trustee; Mrs. Ethel M. + Allen, Rec. Sec’y (now President); Mrs. Marietta B. Wilkins, + President; Mrs. Fred A. Moore, Literature Secretary; Miss Susan M. + Andrew, Trustee (Chairman Clara Barton Guild). +] + + + + + VIII + + + Every child in the country has known of Clara Barton. + + Oakland (Calif.) _Tribune_. + + Pestalozzi was the Father of the Public School; Washington the Father + of his Country; Lincoln, the Father of a Race; Clara Barton, the + Mother of the Red Cross. THE AUTHOR. + + The building which housed Clara Barton in her efforts for popular + education is still standing along with other historic landmarks. + + Bordentown (N. J.) _Register_. + + If you will let me try, I will teach the children free for six months. + CLARA BARTON. + + I thank God that we have no free schools—in the colony—and I hope we + shall not have these hundred years. + + GOVERNOR BERKELEY of Virginia in 1670. + + The first incorporation to provide free schools, under the provisions + of the State, was passed in New York in 1805. + + THE MODERN SCHOOL SYSTEM. + + The basis of free government is in education; in a republic the hope + of the millions is the free public school. + + THE TWO REPUBLICS. + + The hope of all modern civilization is the public free school. + + ANCIENT SCHOOL SYSTEMS. + + I taught in an uninclosed shed at North Oxford, there being no house + for that purpose. CLARA BARTON. + + The first meetings for the establishment of a kindergarten system at + Washington was held at the Clara Barton home, in Washington; among + others present Phoebe Hearst and Mrs. Grover Cleveland, wife of the + President, the chairman. THE AUTHOR. + + Let us live in our children. FREDERICK FROEBEL. + + + PAUPER SCHOOLS; FROM SIX TO SIX HUNDRED + +New Jersey had no public schools. The people said they were not paupers +and would not have their children taught at public expense—would not +send them to “pauper schools.” In New Jersey Clara Barton opened, for +the first time, what was called a “free school for paupers.” Since those +puritan days, what a change in public sentiment! Then it was “Pauper +school” education; now + + Free education is the poor man’s marble staircase that leads upward, + and into, the palaces of wealth, health and happiness. + +Clara Barton was told that a public school was impossible; every time it +had been tried, it had failed. At Bordentown she found herself with six +bright boys, and the public school[2] commenced. At the end of twelve +months her six pupils had grown to six hundred pupils—among whom no +corporal punishment had been administered. + +Footnote 2: + + The School Building, erected in 1837. School taught by Clara Barton, + in 1853. Building and site the property of New Jersey, purchased + through contributions by teachers and pupils. Building dedicated June + 11, 1921, and now known as The Clara Barton Memorial School but used + as a Clara Barton Museum. + +“Pauper schools” became thence in fact the free public school; now the +free public school is the one institution from whose flagstaff freedom’s +flag is never hauled down. + + + + + IX + + + Clara Barton taught the rich to be unselfish and the strong to be + gentle. CHARLES E. TOWNSEND, U. S. Senate. + + Her voice was soft, + Gentle and low; an excellent thing in woman. + SHAKESPEARE. + + Miss Barton was a soft-voiced, retiring little woman, yet she had a + way of approaching her work in a most telling manner. + + Buffalo (N. Y.) _Express_. + + Miss Barton followed her own light with steadfast steps. + + Springfield (Mass.) _Republican_. + + Clara Barton—a model of the beautiful simplicity of a life given to + others. Bridgeport (Conn.) _Standard_. + + The severest test of discipline is its absence. CLARA BARTON. + + Social, friendly and human, Clara Barton joined with the children in + the playgrounds;—instead of being locked out as the previous teachers + had been she “locked” herself “in” the hearts of every boy and girl. + _The Life of Clara Barton_, by Epler. + + Show me a child well disciplined, perfectly governed at home, and I + will show you a child that never breaks a rule at school. + + CLARA BARTON. + + Whenever corporal punishment is inflicted on a pupil it is a sign of + negligence and indolence on the part of the teacher, says Seneca. + + ANCIENT SCHOOL SYSTEMS. + + In refinement of taste and beauty of action, or purity of thought and + delicacy of expression, nature’s own best teacher is woman. + + THE MODERN SCHOOL SYSTEM. + + + CHILD LOVE—JOE AND CHARLIE—APPRECIATION + +To the child nothing is small; nor does the child forget. Whatever +kindness comes to the child is stored in one of the cells of the brain +for future years. As an heirloom, the longer it is possessed the more it +is cherished. + +Referring to her teacher of long ago, Dr. Eleanor Burnside recently +related this incident in her school life: “I recall when a little girl +in her school Clara Barton’s friendly interest in the progress of her +pupils; unvarying patience, no matter what the circumstances might be. I +do not think she knew how to scold, nor were scoldings and other +manifestations of ill temper necessary. Her quiet, firm word, pleasantly +expressed, seemed sufficient always.” + + Speak gently; it is better far + To rule by love than fear— + + + Speak gently; ’tis a little thing + Dropped in the heart’s deep well; + The good, the joy, which it may bring, + Eternity shall tell. + +Not easily disturbed, Miss Barton did not notice little misdemeanors by +the children at all. She seemed not to observe one day when some fun was +started by a boy sitting back of Joe Davis. The mischievous boy was +putting his finger in Joe’s red hair and pretending his finger was +burnt. Of course it amused the children, but only for a moment. To +govern too much is worse than to govern too little. This was an incident +merely of a child’s humor, requiring no reprimand. “But no matter what +happened, Clara Barton did not scold. Her pupils loved her and that made +what she did, and what she said too, right.” + +The old desk used by Clara Barton recently has been found in possession +of one of the old families at Bordentown, New Jersey. By tracing back +the ownership it has been proved conclusively to be the original desk +used by Miss Barton. The desk refuted the libel that she was a +disciplinarian, and not a humanitarian. The libel referred to was that +she had a particularly unruly boy; that she seized him by the nape of +the neck, lifted the lid of the desk and dropped him inside. Now that +the desk has been discovered, her admirers point to the interesting fact +that it doesn’t have a top lid; it has a small drawer. + +Childhood is ever of the living present. Up the stream of time the eye +keeps fixed on memory’s treasures of youth. In one of the battles of the +Civil War, Clara Barton stooped down to place the empty sleeve, then +useless to the bullet-shattered right arm, over the shoulder of a +soldier boy. Recognizing the face of his former teacher the fair-haired +lad dropped his face into the folds of her dress, then threw his left +arm around her neck, in deepest grief, crying: “Why, Miss Barton, don’t +you know me? I am Charlie Hamilton who used to carry your satchel to +school.” + + + + + X + + + Like a patriotic soldier Clara Barton responded in the youth of her + womanhood to the call of service to others. + + York (Pa.) _Gazette_. + + Clara Barton is one of the greatest heroic figures of her time. + + _Buffalo Press._ + + Clara Barton—our greatest national heroine. _Literary Digest._ + + + We reckon heroism today, not so much on account of the thing done as + the motive behind the act. CHAUNCEY M. DEPEW. + + + Yes, it is over. The calls are answered, the marches have ended, the + nation saved. CLARA BARTON. + + The best blood of America has flowed like water. + + CLARA BARTON. + + The soldier is lost in the citizen. CLARA BARTON. + + + The proudest of America’s sons have struggled for the honors of a + soldier’s name. CLARA BARTON. + + Their glory, bright as it shone in war, is out-lustered by the + nobleness of their lives in peace. CLARA BARTON. + + I shall never take to myself more honesty of purpose, faithfulness of + zeal, nor patriotism, than I award to another. CLARA BARTON. + + What can be added to the glory of a nation whose citizens are its + soldiers? Whose warriors, armed and mighty,—spring from its bosom in + the hour of need, and peacefully retire when the need is over. CLARA + BARTON. + + I have taught myself to look upon the government as the band which the + people bind around a bundle of sticks to hold it firm, where every + patriot must grapple the knot tighter. + + CLARA BARTON. + + If our government be too weak to act vigorously and energetically, + strengthen it till it can act; then comes the peace we all wait for, + as kings and prophets waited—and without which like them we seek and + never find. CLARA BARTON. + + + Henry Wilson worked on a farm at six dollars per month. Then he tied + up his scanty wardrobe in a pocket handkerchief, and walked to Natick, + Massachusetts, more than one hundred miles, to become a cobbler. The + trip cost him but $1.88. + + HENRY MAKEPEACE THAYER. + + I am the son of a hireling manual laborer who, with the frosts of + seventy winters on his head, lives by daily labor. I too lived by + daily labor. HENRY WILSON. + + Henry Wilson, born in New Hampshire, February 16, 1812; elected to U. + S. Senate, 1855; elected Vice-President, 1872; died November 22, 1875. + THE AUTHOR. + + + We should yield nothing to our principles of right. + + HENRY WILSON. + + The sorrows of drunkenness glare on us from the cradle to the grave. + HENRY WILSON. + + I would not have upon my soul the consciousness that I had by precept + or example lured any young man to drunkenness for all the honors of + the universe. HENRY WILSON. + + Clara Barton’s never-failing friend, Senator Henry Wilson. + + PERCY H. EPLER. + + + TEMPERANCE—CLARA BARTON AND THE HIRED MAN—STRANGER THAN FICTION + +Way back in 1857 in Worcester, Massachusetts, Clara Barton showed her +humanitarian spirit and organization ability. Under the Reverend Horace +James, she assisted in the organization of the Band of Hope,[3] a +society originating in Scotland whose object was: “To Promote the Cause +of Temperance and Good Morals of the Children and Youth.” + +Footnote 3: + + First Temperance Society organized in America, in 1789; First National + Temperance Convention, in 1833; a “temperance revolution” urged, in + 1842, by Abraham Lincoln; Women’s Christian Temperance Union organized + in 1874; National Prohibition went into effect January 16, 1920. + +On the breaking out of the Civil War, the Reverend James became Chaplain +of the Twenty-fifth Massachusetts Regiment, and two of the boys that +Clara Barton induced to join the society became officers of the +Fifty-seventh Massachusetts Regiment. One was Colonel J. Brainard Hall +and the other Captain George E. Barton. At the Battle of the Wilderness +the Colonel Hall referred to was seriously, then thought to be fatally, +wounded. Clara Barton was the first at his side to nurse, and to care +for, him. As soon as he was able to be moved, she sent him to Washington +to be cared for there by one whom she told him was her very dear friend. +Stranger than fiction, on reaching Washington, Colonel Hall discovered +this friend to be the “Hired Man,” previous to 1839, who worked in his +grandmother’s shoe-shop,—the late Henry Wilson, Vice-President of the +United States. + + + + + XI + + + Every woman who loves her country and who realizes what true + patriotism means will always revere the name of Clara Barton, and + connect it with the highest ideal of service to one’s country. DR. + ANNA H. SHAW _President American Woman Suffrage Association_. + + Clara Barton has won the hearts of the women of the world. CARRIE + CHAPMAN CATT, _President American Woman Suffrage Association_. + + + John Marshall, for thirty-five years Chief Justice of the U. S. + Supreme Court, held the female sex the equals of men. + + JUSTICE JOSEPH STORY. + + + I had not learned to equip myself—for I was no Pallas ready armed but + grew into my work by hard thinking and sad experience. + + CLARA BARTON. + + I am a woman and know what barriers oppose all womanly efforts. + HARRIET G. HOSMER. + + Clara Barton is the best clerk, either man or woman, I ever had in my + office. MR. MASON, _Commissioner of Patents_. + + It is less difficult for a woman to obtain celebrity by her genius + than to be forgiven for it. BRISSOT. + + + Only the machinery and plans of Heaven move unerringly and we + short-sighted mortals are, half our time, fain to complain of these. + CLARA BARTON. + + It is possible for the wisest even to build better than he knows. + + CLARA BARTON. + + Who furnished the Armies; who but the Mothers? Who reared the sons and + taught them that liberty and their country was worth their blood? Who + gave them up and wept their fall, nursed them in their suffering and + mourned them, _dead_? CLARA BARTON. + + There is none to give woman the right to govern herself, as men govern + themselves by self-made and self-approved laws of the land. + + CLARA BARTON. + + Only the Great Jehovah can crown and anoint man for his work, and he + reaches out and takes the crown and places it upon his head with his + own hand. CLARA BARTON. + + Whenever I have been urged as a petitioner to ask equal suffrage for + women a kind of dazed, bewildered feeling comes over me. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + In making an appeal to her soldiers for “votes for women” Clara Barton + said: “When you were weak and I was strong, I toiled for you; now you + are strong, and I am weak. Because of my work for you, I ask your aid; + I ask the ballot for myself and my sex. As I stood by you, I pray you + stand by me and mine.” THE AUTHOR. + + Clara Barton advocated “Votes for Women” on the platform of the First + National Suffrage Convention in this country. + + Buffalo (New York) _Courier_. + + + LOOKING FOR A JOB—EQUAL SUFFRAGE + +Among the ancients, controlling the certain affairs worthy of man, were +many goddesses; of these, Venus, Ceres, Juno, Diana, Pomona, Minerva. +Such man’s inherent respect for femininity that feminine names in +classic days were given to temples of worship; to the continents, +Europe, Asia, Africa, and later to America.[4] Feminine names with few +exceptions, also, have been given to all countries,—“she” and not “he,” +likewise the word used to identify great things mechanical and useful. +Long and hard has been the contest for woman to achieve in fact what in +spirit seemingly comports with womanhood. In this contest through the +last half of the nineteenth, and the first half of the twentieth, +century Clara Barton was conspicuous. + +Footnote 4: + + In 1507, by Martin Waldseemuller, the name of America was given to the + then newly discovered continent. + +[Illustration: + + THE SCHOOL HOUSE + + Built of brick, in 1839, where Clara Barton taught school in 1853. See + page 47. +] + +[Illustration: + + THE DESK USED BY CLARA BARTON + + See page 47. +] + + + HISTORIC IN EDUCATION + + Bordentown, N. J. + +[Illustration: + + THE CLARA BARTON MUSEUM + + The old school house reconstructed. See page 47. +] + +Alone in the world, dependent upon her own efforts for a living and +looking for a “job,” the following is what in letters Miss Barton says +of herself in 1854 and 1860 respectively: + +In a letter to her friend Miss Lydia F. Haskell, Washington, D. C., +January 20, 1854, Clara Barton said: + + “Well, I am a clerk in the United States Patent Office, writing my + fingers stiff every day of my life.... The truth is, I have written + nights until one or two o’clock for the last two weeks. I shall not be + so very busy long. I am just now fitting the mechanical report for the + press; that off my hands and I shall be quite at ease, I suppose.” + +In a letter to Frank Clinton, Bordentown, New Jersey, dated January 2, +1860, Clara Barton said: + + “I can teach English, French, drawing and painting.... I am a rapid + writer or copyist, and have the reputation of being a very good + accountant ... and if, in your travels through the South, you see an + opening for me, tell me.” + +As the pioneer woman in Government service Clara Barton was the object +of commiseration. And only because she was a woman, she suffered through +jeers and hoots and cat-calls, and tobacco smoke in her face, and +slanderous whisperings in the hallways and boisterous talks about +“crinoline”—all sorts of offensiveness, on the part of Government +employees. Clara Barton in the public school, in the patent office, in +the Civil War, in the Franco-Prussian War, in the Cuban War, in national +disasters, in the presidency of the Red Cross, now filled by the +President of the United States, is a series of object lessons of the +greatest significance in the progress of womankind in the public +service. Clara Barton the _intruder_ among men in the patent office in +1855, and Jeannette Rankin, the _honorable_ among men in Congress in +1918, are the exponents respectively of two conditions of American +sentiment as to the public function of women in the United States. + +Possibly because of her sad experience as a woman in the public service, +she became one of those who, with Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady +Stanton, and other suffragettes, blazed the way to equal rights for +women—equal rights now approved by the President, the United States +Congress and the American people. At a meeting of the American Suffrage +Association held in Washington, D. C., in language most caustic and +argumentative, in part in a public address Clara Barton said: + + A woman shan’t say there shall be no war—and she shan’t take any part + in it when there is one; and because she doesn’t take part in the war, + she must not vote; and because she can’t vote she has no voice in her + Government. And because she has no voice in her Government she is not + a citizen; and because she isn’t a citizen she has no rights, and + because she has no rights she must submit to wrong; and because she + submits to wrong she isn’t anybody. Becoming optimistic, she said, the + number of thoughtful and right minded men who will approve equal + suffrage are much smaller than we think and, when equal suffrage[5] is + an accomplished fact, all will wonder as I have done, what the + objection ever was. + +Footnote 5: + + The Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution proclaimed August 26, + 1920. + + + + + XII + + + Clara Barton’s simple life was long, and so full of stirring incidents + that all the books will not record the whole of it. + + Worcester (Mass.) _Telegram_. + + Be not like dumb-driven cattle. + + LONGFELLOW—_The Psalm of Life_. + + The Ox has therefore stretched his yoke in vain. + + A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM. + + And the plain ox, + That harmless, honest guileless animal, + In what has he offended? he whose toil, + Patient and ever ready, clothes the land + With all the pomp of harvest. + THOMPSON—_The Seasons_. + + A man loves the meat in his youth that he cannot endure in his age. + MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. + + Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are. + + BRILLAT SAVARIN. + + The sign of true, not casual, progress, ... is the progress of + vegetarianism ... more and more people have given up animal food. + TOLSTOI. + + I had not then learned the mystery of nerves. CLARA BARTON. + + + CREDULOUS OX—INNOCENT CHILD—CLARA BARTON, A VEGETARIAN + +Among the Puritans the horse was a luxury; the beast of burden was the +ox. In the first half of the nineteenth century the ox made possible in +Massachusetts even the existence of man. In the snows of winter, at seed +time and at harvest, the toiling ox was loyal—faithful to the best +interests of the family. The ox himself was unsuspecting, and untutored +in the art of deceiving others. He couldn’t think his kindly attentive +Master, Man, unappreciative, disloyal—wholly obsessed with greed. He +didn’t know that money was above life,—he hadn’t read war-history. He +didn’t know that through the love of money, by man, come life’s woes. +The ox knew only that _he_ was the friend to man; and he thought man +must be _his_ friend. Poor credulous ox! And yet in the child the +friendship of the ox is not misplaced. Innocent child! to man and beast +Heaven’s best gift, a loyal friend. + +Captain Stephen Barton kept a dairy. When a small girl Clara used to +drive the cows and oxen to, and from, the pasture. Clara also assisted +morning and evening in milking the cows. One evening she observed three +men, one holding in his hand an axe, driving a big, red, fat ox into the +barn. She saw the man with the axe strike the ox in the head, then saw +the ox drop to the floor. At the same moment she fell unconscious to the +ground. She was carried to the house, placed on a bed, and a camphor +bottle freely used. When she regained consciousness, in reply as to why +she fell, she said: “Someone struck me.” “Oh, no, no one struck you,” +they said. “Then what makes my head sore,” she asked. At that time her +desire for meat left her; and in later years she used to say, “all +through life to the present, I have eaten meat only when I must for the +sake of appearances. The bountiful ground always yields enough for all +of my needs and wants.” + +[Illustration: + + ANNIE WITTENMEYER + + Clara Barton is second to none of womankind.—MRS. ANNIE WITTENMEYER, + First President W. C. T. U. +] + +[Illustration: + + JOHN B. GOUGH + + Clara Barton’s lecture—I never heard anything more thrilling in my + life.—JOHN B. GOUGH, America’s Greatest Temperance Lecturer. +] + + + REPRESENTATIVE TEMPERANCE ADVOCATES + +[Illustration: + + MARY STEWART POWERS + + Clara Barton was prominent among women as an advocate of the cause of + temperance. Through her leadership in practical humanitarianism she + endeared herself to the whole world. Her good name will live + forever.—MRS. MARY STEWART POWERS, Public Lecturer and State + Superintendent of Scientific Temperance of Ohio. +] + +[Illustration: + + FRANCES WILLARD + President W. C. T. U. + + In the name of your God and my God, ask your people and my people not + to be discouraged in the good work (Red Cross) they have + undertaken.—CLARA BARTON. From Armenia, in 1896, to Miss Willard. + + See page 347. +] + + + + + XIII + + + The Mother, patriot though she were, uttered her sentiments through + choking voice and tender trembling words, and the young man caring + nothing, fearing nothing, rushed gallantly on to doom and to death. + CLARA BARTON. + + The soldier’s fear is the fear of being thought to fear. BOVEE. + + Self trust is the essence of heroism. EMERSON. + + I have no fear of the battle field; I want to go to the suffering men. + CLARA BARTON. + + I was always afraid of everything except when someone was to be + rescued from danger or pain. CLARA BARTON. + + Like the true Anglo-Saxon, loyal and loving, tender and true, the + Mother held back her tears with one hand while with the other she + wrung her fond farewell and passed her son on to the State. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + FELL DEAD ON THE GROUND BESIDE HER + +The first time Clara Barton visited in New Haven, she wore a gray dress +that had bullet holes in it—received in caring for the wounded at +Fredericksburg. In describing the battle scene Clara Barton said: “Over +into that City of Death; its roofs riddled by shells, its very Church a +crowded hospital, every street a battle line, every hill a rampart, +every rock a fortress, and every stone wall a blazing line of forts!” + + At Fredericksburg + They rated blood as water, + And all the slope shone red, + Past Valor’s call + By bristling wall; + Defeat linked arms with slaughter + Astride the blue-robed dead. + +As Miss Barton was being assisted off the bridge by an officer, an +exploding shell hissed between them, passing below their arms as they +were upraised, carrying away both the skirts of his coat and her dress. +A moment later, on his horse, the gallant officer was struck by a solid +shot from the enemy; the horse bounded in the air and the officer fell +to the ground dead, not thirty feet in the rear. + +In her usual modest manner, in relating _war incidents_, she described +the experience to a lady friend and said: “I never mended that dress. I +wonder whether or not a soldier ever mends a bullet hole in his +clothes.” + + + + + XIV + + + Military glory—that attractive rainbow that rises in showers of blood, + that serpent’s eye that charms to destroy. + + ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + The friends of humanity will deprecate war, whenever it may appear. + GEORGE WASHINGTON. + + There is no need of bloodshed and war. ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + * * * * * + + Wars are largely the result of unbridled passions. + + CLARA BARTON. + + War is only splendid murder. JAMES THOMSON. + + War is the mad game that the world so loves to play. SWIFT. + + * * * * * + + Every battleship is a menace to the peace of the world. With each new + battleship every nation carries a chip on its shoulder. + + CLARA BARTON. + + The Red Cross took its rise in, and derived its existence from, war. + Without war it had no existence. CLARA BARTON. + + Deplore it as we may, war is the _great act_ of all history. + + CLARA BARTON. + + War has been the rule, if not largely the occupation, of the peoples + of the earth from their earliest history. CLARA BARTON. + + Scarcely a quarter of the earth is yet civilized, and that quarter not + beyond the probabilities of war. CLARA BARTON. + + General Sherman was right when, addressing an assemblage of cadets, he + told them “war was hell!” Take it as you will, it is this;—whoever has + looked active war full in the face has caught some glimpse of regions + as infernal as he may ever fear to see. + + CLARA BARTON. + + Only time, prolonged effort, national economics, universal progress + and the pressure of public opinion could ever hope to grapple with the + existence of war, the monster evil of the ages. + + CLARA BARTON. + + I have studied the massing of forces and scanned from point to point + the old battle-grounds of Marengo and Jena and Waterloo and the + Magenta and Solferino and it has seemed to me that these armies had a + fairer field and a better chance than ours, in the Civil War. CLARA + BARTON. + + War may be a _great harmonizer_, but it is not a _humanizer_. + + CLARA BARTON. + + That which is won by the sword must be held by the sword, whether it + is worth the cost or not. CLARA BARTON. + + If there be any power on earth which can right the wrongs for which a + nation goes to war, I pray it may be made manifest. + + CLARA BARTON. + + If there be any good wars, I will attend them. + + SIR PHILIP SIDNEY. + + That noble and numerous class of patriots who are brave with other + men’s lives and lavish of other men’s money. GLADSTONE. + + There never was a good war, nor a bad peace. + + BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. + + Don’t talk about war; we have done with war. The Peace of the world is + the question now. CLARA BARTON. + + + WICKEDNESS OF WAR—SETTLES NO DISPUTES + +Clara Barton was a patriot, but “not a war woman.” She had no sympathy +with the religion such as was Odin’s, of the ninth century, which +religion assured for him who had killed in battle the greatest number +the highest seat reserved in the Paradise of the Valhalla; nor with the +sentiment of the King of Denmark of that day, “What is more beautiful +than to see the heroes pushing on through battle, though fainting with +their wounds;” nor with the sentiment of that same king’s boast, “War +was my delight from my youth, and from my childhood I was pleased with a +bloody spear.” + + Princes were privileged to kill, + The numbers sanctified the crime. + +Wolves in “packs” seek prey; so do men—in sheep’s clothing. Wolves +truthful, in howls, send forth their propaganda—hunger; men untruthful, +in words, send forth their propaganda—hate. If the “survival of the +fittest” be nature’s law only brutes conform to nature—by using no +weapons. Men kill their own “kith and kin”; brutes combine to protect +their own species. The more one sees of men on war’s slaughter-fields +killing their friends or strangers, for prospective profit, the more he +must admire the ethics of the brute. In brute history there have been no +wars. Facing human record, the record of 3,400 years, there have been +3,166 years of war, and only 234 years of peace; facing the picture of +which history makes no mention and which in the wake of armies she had +seen, Clara Barton says: “Faces bathed in tears and hands in blood, lees +in the wind and dregs in the cup of military glory, war has cost a +million times more than the world is worth, poured out the best blood +and crushed the fairest forms the good God has ever created.” + +Through war and its consequences, one third of “civilized man” since the +world began has come to an untimely end, by violence, as did Abel at the +hands of Cain. + + Earth’s remotest regions + Lie half unpeopled by the feuds of Rome. + +“Mankind is the greatest mystery of all mysteries,” says Clara Barton, +and insists that she can never understand the history of human conduct +in this world, and wonders whether or not she will in the next. In the +light of war’s history and, trying to solve the “mystery of all +mysteries,” she asks: “Heavenly Father! what is the matter with this +beautiful earth that thou hast made? And what is man that thou art +mindful of him?” + +Further philosophizing on the “Wickedness of War,” in a masterful public +address, she says: “There is not a geographical boundary line on the +face of the earth that was not put there by the sword, and is not +practically held there by this same dread power. War actually settles no +disputes, it brings no real peace; it but closes an open strife;—the +peace is simply buried embers. The war side of the war could never have +called me to the field—_through and through_, thought and act, body and +soul, _I hate it_. We can only wait and trust for the day to come when +the wickedness of war shall be a thing unknown in this beautiful world.” + +Again philosophizing she says: “As I reflect upon the mighty and endless +changes which must grow out of war’s issues, the subject rises up before +me like some far-away mountain summit, towering peak upon peak, rock +upon rock, that human foot has not trod and enveloped in a hazy mist the +eye has never penetrated.” + + + + + XV + + + In the same year, and about the same time in the year, that Clara + Barton first started for the battlefield her warm personal friend, + Julia Ward Howe, wrote “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” + + THE AUTHOR. + + You remember the time was Sunday, September 14th, 1862. + + CLARA BARTON. + + Society forbade women at the front. CLARA BARTON. + + Tradition absolutely forbade a good woman to go unprotected among + rough soldiers. CLARA BARTON. + + And what does woman know about war, and because she doesn’t know + anything about it she mustn’t say, or do, anything about it. + + CLARA BARTON. + + It has long been said, as to amount to an adage, that women don’t know + anything about war. I wish men didn’t either. They have always known a + great deal too much about it for the good of their kind. CLARA BARTON. + + I struggled long and hard with my sense of propriety—with the + appalling fact that “I was only a woman” whispering in one ear; and + thundering in the other the groans of suffering men dying like + dogs—unfed and unclothed, for the life of every institution which had + protected and educated me. CLARA BARTON. + + When war broke over us, with an empty treasury and its distressed + Secretary, Salmon P. Chase, personally trying in New York to borrow + money to pay our first seventy-five thousand soldiers, I offered to do + the work of any two disloyal clerks whom the office would discharge + and allow the double salary to fall back into the treasury. When no + legal way could be found to have my salary revert to the national + treasury, I resigned and went to the field. + + CLARA BARTON. + + I could not carry a musket nor lead the men to battle; I could only + serve my country by caring for, comforting, and sustaining the + soldiers. CLARA BARTON. + + I broke the shackles and went to the field. CLARA BARTON. + + Washington, D. C., June 20, 1864. + + Dr. J. M. Barnes, + Acting Surgeon General, U. S. A., + + Sir: The undersigned, Senators and Representatives of Massachusetts, + desire you to extend to Miss Clara Barton of Worcester, Massachusetts, + every _facility_ in your power to visit the army at any time or place + that she may desire, for the purpose of administering to the comfort + of our sick and wounded soldiers. Also that such supplies and + assistants, as she may require, may be furnished with transportation. + + We are, very respectfully, + + H. L. DAWES, + ALEX. H. RICE, + D. W. GOOCH, + JOHN D. BALDWIN, + THOS. D. ELIOT, + GEO. S. BOUTWELL, + CHARLES SUMNER, + HENRY WILSON, + JNO. B. ALLEN, + OAKES AMES, + W. F. WASHBURNE. + + + HER WARDROBE IN A HANDKERCHIEF—THE BATTLE SCENE + +On September 14, 1862, Clara Barton started from the City of Washington +to the firing line, then at Harper’s Ferry. She took with her no +Saratoga, no grip, no “go-to-meeting clothes.” The articles in her +wardrobe on that eventful trip will never be known but it is known to a +“dead certainty” that whatever “worldly goods” she did take with her +were all tied up in a pocket handkerchief. + +Her only escort was a “mule skinner.” He, wearing the blue, held the one +_jerk line_ to the team of six mules, animals known in the west as +“Desert Canaries.” The vehicle in which Clara Barton took that eventful +ride was an army freight wagon covered with canvas, such wagon sometimes +called the “prairie schooner.” “In the Days of Old, the Days of Gold,” +as “Westward the Course of Empire Takes its Way,” the “prairie schooner” +was almost the exclusive vehicle of conveyance over the deserts for +freight and passengers. It was in the “prairie schooner” that the +Mormons went to Utah in 1848, and the Argonauts to California, in “’49 +and ’50.” It was from a “prairie schooner” that, rising from a sick bunk +and looking out over that beautiful valley of Salt Lake, Brigham Young +exclaimed: “This is the Place!” + +After an eighty-mile ride bumping over stones and dykes and ditches, up +and down the hills of Maryland, Clara Barton arrived at the battlefield. +There, side by side, cold in death with upturned faces, were the brave +boys of the Northern blue and the Southern gray. In closing a +description of this battle scene Clara Barton says: “There in the +darkness God’s angel of Wrath and Death had swept and, foe facing foe, +the souls of men went out. The giant rocks, hanging above our heads, +seemed to frown upon the scene, and the sighing trees which hung +lovingly upon their rugged edge dropped low and wept their pitying dews +upon the livid brows and ghastly wounds beneath.” + + + + + XVI + + + Clara Barton carried on her work in the face of the enemy, to the + sound of a cannon, and close to the firing line. + + Boston (Mass.) _Transcript_. + + So long as the Republic lives the name of Clara Barton will be + honored. _Roswell Record._ + + Clara Barton—Glorious Daughter of the Republic! + + _The Buffalo News._ + + Clara Barton performed work for wounded soldiers often at the risk of + her life. PHEBE A. HANAFORD, AUTHOR. + + Clara Barton—right into the jaws of death she went, ministering to the + wounded, soothing the dying. + + CHAPLAIN COUDON (_of G. A. R._) + _National House of Representatives_. + + Follow the cannon. CLARA BARTON. + + The soldier has been supposed to die painlessly, gloriously, with an + immediate passport to realms of bliss eternal. CLARA BARTON. + + The soldier who has fallen in battle “with his face to the foe” has + been regarded as a subject of envy, rather than pity. + + CLARA BARTON. + + If wounded and surviving, the honor of a soldier’s scars has been + cheaply purchased, it has been supposed, though he strolled a limping + beggar. CLARA BARTON. + + Only a small portion of the thought of the generations of the past has + been devoted to the subject of devising, or affording, any means of + relief for the wretched condition resulting from the methods of + national and international strife. CLARA BARTON. + + The pitiable neglect of men in war appears to have constituted one of + the large class of misfortunes for which no one is to blame, or even + accountable, assuming that wars must be. CLARA BARTON. + + Go card and spin, + And leave the business of war to men. DRYDEN. + + I am a U. S. soldier and therefore not supposed, you know, to be + susceptible to fear. CLARA BARTON. + + + THE BRAVERY OF WOMEN—CLARA BARTON’S BRAVEST ACT + +When asked where occurred her bravest act, Clara Barton replied: “At +Fredericksburg.” She made headquarters at the Lacy House, just north of +the Rappahannock River. While there, the surgeon in charge of the +wounded on the south bank of the river sent a special messenger to Miss +Barton to come across with her assistants and supplies at once. As a +_soldier_ and as an American patriot, she obeyed orders and followed the +flag over the bridge and on to the battle field. In later years +describing the women who went to the war Clara Barton sings: + + The women who went to the field, you say, + The women who went to the field;—what did they go for—? + Did these women quail at the sight of a gun? + Will some soldier tell us of one he saw run? + +In referring to the _incident_, in her experience at Fredericksburg, she +said: “As I walked across this bridge with the marching troops, the +bullets and shells were hissing and exploding in the river on either +side of me, the long autumn march down the mountain passes—Falmouth and +old Fredericksburg with its pontoon bridge,—sharp-shooters—deserted +camps—its rocky brow of frowning forts—the one day bombardment, and the +charge!” There, unperturbed, among the men was Clara Barton, there in +the broad glacis, the one vast Aceldama, where— + + In the lost battle, + Borne down by the flying, + Were mingled war’s rattle + With the groans of the dying. + +[Illustration: + + SUSAN B. ANTHONY + + My dear Clara Barton, you have done some wonderful things in the + world.—SUSAN B. ANTHONY, Pioneer Suffrage Leader. + + Susan B. Anthony was the first woman to lay her hand beside mine in + the promotion of the Red Cross Society.—CLARA BARTON. +] + + + REPRESENTATIVE SUFFRAGE LEADERS + +[Illustration: + + CARRIE CHAPMAN CATT + + One of the great women of the world. Broad of vision, exalted of soul + and absolutely free from selfishness that binds, Miss Barton was a + rare human being.—CARRIE CHAPMAN CATT, President National American + Woman Suffrage Association, 1900–1904; 1913——; Ex-President + International Woman Suffrage Alliance. +] + +[Illustration: + + © _Harris & Ewing_ + + + DR. ANNA HOWARD SHAW + + Every woman who loves her country will revere the name of Clara + Barton.—DR. ANNA HOWARD SHAW, President National American Woman + Suffrage Association, 1904–Dec., 1915. +] + + + + + XVII + + + Clara Barton—soldiers of every battlefield since the Civil War have + almost deified her. Mothers, wives, sisters and sweethearts of the + conflict have ever since held her name in the highest reverence. + + Hartford (Conn.) _Post_. + + + The ears of the sick are strangely acute. CLARA BARTON. + + + A light heart lives long. SHAKESPEARE. + + The burden becomes light that is cheerfully made. OVID. + + A cheerful spirit is one of the most valuable gifts ever bestowed upon + humanity by a kind Creator. AUGHEY. + + + Whatever comes, keep up cheerful and happy and hope for the best. + CLARA BARTON. + + + YES, AND GOT EUCHRED + +During the battles of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania, while the +Federals lay again in Fredericksburg, Clara Barton one evening went to +the hotel which from ground to garret was filled with wounded men. Five +hundred of these were lying upon the bare floors. They had no food to +eat, nor was there any food to give them. Clara Barton was struck with +their fine soldierly figures and features, remarkable even in their +terrible extremity, and stopping near one she asked: “Where are you +from?” “Michigan,” he said. On to another—“Michigan,” and so on +“Michigan”—“Michigan”—“Michigan.” Up one flight of stairs, then another, +still “Michigan.” At length in her surprise, she said somewhat +humorously and without reflection, “Did Michigan take up this hand and +play it alone?” “Yes,” answered a poor fellow lying on the floor nearby, +seriously wounded but one who evidently understood the game better than +she did, “Yes, and got euchred.” + + + + + XVIII + + + With a strong, brilliant, cultivated mind was united a gentle, tender, + loving heart, and nothing was too great, nothing too small to enlist + Miss Barton’s earnest thought and tender sympathy. + + HARRIETTE L. REED, + _Past National Secy. Woman’s Relief Corps_. + + + Men are what their mothers make them. + + RALPH WALDO EMERSON. + + All I have, and am, I owe to my mother. A. LINCOLN. + + All that I am my mother made me. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. + + + Work and words are for the individual soldier—what he does, sees, + feels or thinks in the dread hours of leaden rain and iron hail. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + I remember my mother’s prayers, and they have always followed me. They + have clung to me all my life. A. LINCOLN. + + Happy he + With such a mother! faith in womankind + Beats with his blood, and trust in all things high + Comes easy to him. TENNYSON. + + + As the years sped on and the hands were stilled, there shone the gleam + of the far sighted mother’s watchfulness that neither toil could + obscure nor time relax. CLARA BARTON. + + + His sweetest dreams were still of that dear voice that soothed his + infancy. SOUTHEY. + + + TO DREAM OF HOME AND MOTHER + +At Decatur, Alabama, in a well-remembered scene of the Civil War many +were the songs by southern chivalry started, but none finished. All +efforts to sing one evening having been boisterously tabooed, there +arose in the air a voice carrying the sentiment that thrills the camp, +the field, the hospital. In gloom for today with foreshadowing for +tomorrow, around a score of camp fires thousands of voices following the +leader there broke forth pathetic, in full chorus, “Who will care for +Mother now?” + +While General Butler was digging Dutch Gap in 1863, a hospital boat was +plying daily between Fortress Monroe and Point of Rocks. In the Civil +War, among the wounded brought in from the battlefield to Point of Rocks +was a lad about sixteen or seventeen years of age. One of his arms, and +a leg, had been amputated. + +Away from home! Crippled for life! Homesick, and no “tear for pity.” +Hope gone! No, not all hope. He still has his Mother—“She floats upon +the river of his thoughts.” + + A Mother is a Mother still + The holiest thing alive. + +“Mother, come to me—thine own son slowly dying far away.” “No, you +_can’t_ come. May I come to you, my dearest Mother?” + + Tired of the hollow, the base, the untrue, + Mother, O Mother, my heart calls for you! + +[Illustration: + + © _Harris & Ewing_ + + + WARREN G. HARDING + + The President, also President American Red Cross Society, March 4, + 1921–. + + From a letter by the Secretary to President Harding: “The President + entertains the highest sentiment regarding the splendid service of + Miss Barton and her contribution to the development of practical + modern humanitarianism.” +] + +His soldier chum heard his pleadings and interceded: “Miss Barton, can’t +we _possibly_ find room for this boy on the boat going down to Fortress +Monroe tonight? I think he has grit enough to live.” Miss Barton, +turning to the boy said: “My dear boy, you _shall_ go, though they have +sent word they can take no more.” The boy was taken down a long steep +hill on a stretcher, tenderly placed in a nice comfortable cot way up on +the hurricane deck, to dream of home and Mother. + + + + + XIX + + + The test of civilization is the estimate of woman. + + GEORGE WILLIAM CURTIS. + + + A woman who is resolved to be respected can make herself so, even + amidst an army of soldiers. CERVANTES. + + Clara: Go, if it is your duty to go. I know soldiers, and they will + respect you and your errand. STEPHEN BARTON (_Her Father, an old + soldier_). + + + To a gentleman every woman is a lady, in right of her sex. + + GEORGE ELIOT. + + Man pays deference to woman instinctively, involuntarily. + + GAIL HAMILTON. + + + I gaze upon the men through blinding tears of admiration and respect, + and sing in my heart “It is well to be a soldier.” + + CLARA BARTON. + + + TRIBUTE OF LOVE AND DEVOTION + +“I was young and strong and loved to walk,” says Clara Barton. “I had +four great wagons loaded with supplies for sick and wounded soldiers +coming in the rear, so I decided I would not get my feet wet, but wait +for my wagons and cross in one of them. The soldiers splashed right +through in solid ranks, the water being only about a foot deep. Suddenly +the captain of a company in the middle of the stream called out to his +men ‘Company, Fours, Left, March! Halt! Right, Dress! Front! Now, Boys, +There stands Clara Barton. I want you to kneel down in the water on your +right knees, and let Miss Barton walk across on your left knees.’ This +order the soldiers instantly obeyed, and I stepped from knee to knee, +the soldiers reaching up and holding my hands, and passed dry shod to +the other shore.” As Miss Barton related this incident the tears +streamed down her cheeks, and she said, “This was the most beautiful +tribute of love and devotion ever offered me in my life.” + + + + + XX + + + All the elements of desolation have traced such lines upon that face + as no mortal artist ever drew, and filled it with emotions that no + music could incite. Oh, the power of the expression of the face of + Clara Barton! CONGRESSMAN PORTER H. DALE. + + + Welcome ever smiles + And farewell goes out sighing. + TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. + + + Her smile which cheered—like the breaking day. + + JOHN G. WHITTIER. + + + A smile is a thankful hymn. GERALD MASSEY. + + A smile—the effusion of fine intellect, of true courage. + + CHARLOTTE BRONTË. + + A tender smile, our sorrow’s only balm. YOUNG. + + Smile and the world smiles with you. ELLA WHEELER WILCOX. + + + A smile that turns the sunny side o’ the heart + On all the world. ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING. + + + Duke of Marlborough—his fascinating smile and winning tongue, equally + with his word, swayed the destinies of Empires. + + WILLIAM MATTHEWS. + + + Smiles are the language of love. HARE. + + Smiles more sweet than flowers. SHAKESPEARE. + + Smiles are better teachers than mightiest words. + + GEORGE MCDONALD. + + Smiles are smiles only when the heart pulls the wire. + + THEODORE WINTHROP. + + Smiles, not allowed to beasts, from reason move. DRYDEN. + + Sweet intercourse of looks and smiles, for smiles from reason flow. + + MILTON. + + There is no society where smiles are not welcomed. + + WILLIAM MATTHEWS. + + A beautiful smile is to the female countenance what the sunbeam is to + the landscape. LAVATER. + + Her smiles were like the glowing sunshine. BULLARD. + + + If He has a place and work for me, and I think He has, I believe I am + ready. A. LINCOLN. + + + Clara Barton’s energy and humanity, with a “God bless you.” + + Boston (Mass.) _Journal_. + + A noble and attractive everyday bearing comes of goodness, of + sincerity, of refinement. WILLIAM MATTHEWS. + + + I have no higher ambition than to work obscurely, and singly, where I + can see the greatest necessity. CLARA BARTON. + + + CHEERING WORDS—ALWAYS READY—WEARS A SMILE + +No being other than the human knows how to wear a smile. A smile is as +significant as are words—the smile oft proclaims the mind. Wearing +apparel is the gift of man; the smile, the gift of nature. Wearing +apparel wears out; the smile that is genuine never wears off. Of a woman +it is said her face is her fortune. It also may be said, to rob the +world of woman’s smile would leave the human race poor indeed. Of Clara +Barton an author has said, “her heart made music and her face radiated +sunshine.” Of Clara Barton a soldier said, “No discordant word ever +escaped her lips; in camp or on the field she always wore a smile.” Her +smile and her cheering words won the heart of the private soldier, the +heart of royalty—won the heart of the world. + +A woman without effort may receive a “windfall,” in wealth; but success +is achieved through personal qualities, by effort. Said a writer: “The +life of Clara Barton should be familiarized to every child. Her history +and work should be as well known to the young of the nation as those of +the great Presidents. Her history should be taught in the public schools +for the enlightenment of all pupils, boys and girls, that they may +realize how great a task for humanity was undertaken and accomplished, +by a weak woman.” + +It was at Fredericksburg. The rising sun was casting its rays aslant the +eastern sky. The boys had just come off picket-duty. Their fingers were +stiff with cold; their clothes, wet and frozen. Five or six of the +comrades went to the rear; there they discharged their rifles. Then they +went to a brick house one quarter mile distant—where they found Clara +Barton. In anticipation of their proposed call, Clara Barton was ready. +She had not forgotten, when a little girl, how she suffered from the +cold, fell unconscious in a pew at Church and was taken home with frozen +feet. She had for them a “blazing-hot” fire, and also had prepared for +them plenty of hot ginger tea. In the gloom of war’s woes all must wear +“sorrow’s crown of sorrows;” but, seeing them approaching the house, she +met them at the door with a smile—with greetings as kindly as if they +had been her long-ago friends, of happier days. + +At a recent annual reunion of _her_ regiment Comrade Vincent, in tears +while relating the incident, said “THAT’S CLARA BARTON. I will never +forget that smile and that welcome.” In speeding her parting guests, at +the door she said: “God bless you, my boys! If I can do anything for you +at any time, call on me—it is never too late nor too early. I want you +to know you will always find me ready.” + + + + + XXI + + + From the days of earliest cravings for “fairy stories” there have been + recounted to young people the wonders wrought by that noble woman of + New England. Oakland (Cal.) _Tribune_. + + Clara Barton’s work in Cuba, in 1898, added still greater luster to + her glory. Holyoke (Mass.) _Telegram_. + + We have heard soldiers, who faced death green-eyed, tell with + quivering voice of Clara Barton’s services before the Battle of + Santiago when, perched on a gun-carriage, she gave directions to the + doctors and nurses. Lexington (Ky.) _Herald_. + + + Miss Barton, when your country was in trouble (1776) Spain was the + friend of America; now Spain is in trouble, America is her enemy. + GENERAL BLANCO (_In a Salon, Santiago de Cuba_, 1898.) + + Miss Barton, you will need no directions from me, but if any one + troubles you let me know. ADMIRAL SAMPSON. + + + God will not call me home until my work is done. + + CLARA BARTON. + + There was an Overruling Providence when the “State of Texas” was + loaded for Cuba. CLARA BARTON. + + I have with me a cargo of 1400 tons, under the flag of the Red Cross, + the one international emblem of humanity known to civilization. CLARA + BARTON. + + A man said to me “The Red Cross has been a fairy godmother to us.” + CLARA BARTON. + + + Wherever men fight and tear each other to pieces, wherever the glare + and sound of war are heard, there the Red Cross aims to plant the + white banner that bears the blessed sign of relief. + + CLARA BARTON. + + The Red Cross has come to quicken into fresh new growth the best + things in life. CLARA BARTON. + + + Our Red Cross century tree blossomed in the smoke, and valor, and + wails of the Spanish-American War. CLARA BARTON. + + The highest and best in the land stood under the cooling shade of the + Red Cross, and breathed its atmosphere of peace, love and help. CLARA + BARTON. + + The Red Cross recognizes no features other than the relief of the + victims and the mitigation of the horrors of war. CLARA BARTON. + + The Red Cross is founded in the soundest and noblest principles, in + the deep needs of human nature and in the enduring instincts of + mankind. CLARA BARTON. + + + Men do not go to war to save life; they might save life by keeping the + peace, and staying at home. CLARA BARTON. + + Men go to war solely with the intent to inflict so much pain, loss and + disaster on the enemy that he will yield to their terms. + + CLARA BARTON. + + It is a wise statesmanship which suggests that in time of peace we + must prepare for war. It is no less a wise benevolence that makes + preparation in the hour of peace for assuaging the ills that are sure + to accompany war. CLARA BARTON.. + + In no other country, as in ours, have the people so often risen from a + state of unreadiness and accomplished such wonderful results—at _such + a sacrifice_. CLARA BARTON. + + As friends of humanity, while there is still a possibility of war or a + calamity, it behooves us to prepare. CLARA BARTON. + + + The memories of pitiful Cuba would not leave us. + + CLARA BARTON. + + To those who could not understand, Heaven came; to those who could, + “Cuba Libre.” CLARA BARTON. + + Not with the booming of cannon; not with the shouts of victory, but + with the singing of Christian hymns and the outstretched hand of + help,—never before in the history of warfare was there triumphant + entry such as this. WM. E. BARTON, D.D. + + Oh, the horrible, useless, tragic waste which no Peace Congress has + yet been able to avert! O treacherous fate! That made the great woman + of peace wait to see men of blood go before her to kill, to wound, to + devastate. ALICE HUBBARD. + + + Could it be possible that the commander would hold back his flagship + and himself, and send forward, and _first_, a cargo of food on a plain + ship, under direction of a woman? Did our commands, military or naval, + hold men great enough of soul for such action? It must be true, for + the spires of Santiago rise before us. How sadly the recollection of + that pleasant memorable day has since recurred to me! CLARA BARTON. + + + HORRIBLE DEED—LEADS AMERICAN NAVY—ANGEL OF MERCY + +“Go to the starving Cubans!” She went. She had been entertained by +Captain Sigsbee and his officers on the Maine the evening before the +explosion. “Remember the Maine!” became the war cry. + +War was declared. The Government wired: “Take no chances; get out of +Cuba.” She returned to Florida to await events. The blockade of Cuban +ports followed; the war was on. Let Clara Barton draw a picture of the +war scene: + +“War has occurred four times in the United States in 120 years. Four +times men have armed and marched; and its women waited and wept. But we +cannot always hold our great Ship of State out of the storms and +breakers. She must meet and battle with them. Her timbers must creak in +the gale. The waves must dash over her decks; she must lie in the trough +of the sea. But the Stars and Stripes are above her. She is freighted +with the hopes of the world. God holds the helm; and she is coming into +port.” + +[Illustration: + + WILLIAM T. SAMPSON + + Miss Barton, you need no advice, only the opportunity. If any trouble + happens you, let me know. REAR-ADMIRAL WILLIAM T. SAMPSON, of New + York. Commander-in-Chief, U. S. Atlantic Naval Forces, + Spanish-American War. +] + + + REPRESENTATIVES RESPECTIVELY OF THREE WARS + +[Illustration: + + © _Harris & Ewing_ + + + ISAAC B. SHERWOOD + + Clara Barton is the greatest woman of either the nineteenth or + twentieth century.—ISAAC B. SHERWOOD, of Ohio, Brigadier-General, + Civil War; U. S. Congress, 1869–1875; 1907–1921. +] + +[Illustration: + + JOSEPH TAGGART + + Clara Barton gave expression to the sympathy and tenderness of all the + hearts of all the women in the world.—JOSEPH TAGGART, of Kansas. U. + S. Congress, 1912–1918; Captain, World War. +] + +Bullets had done their ghastly work; disease had run riot amidst filth +and squalor. Starvation had stalked ruthlessly over the island. “May I +return to the starving,” asked Clara Barton, “with my relief ship of +supplies now in waiting?” + +“Not so,” replied Admiral Sampson, “I go first; I am here to keep +supplies out of Cuba.” + +“I know, Admiral, my place is not to precede you. When you make an +opening I will go in. You will go in to do the horrible deed. I will +follow you and, out of the human wreckage, restore what I can.” + +Cervera’s fleet was at the bottom of the sea, or wrecked on the shores. +Spanish Cuba doomed, the enemy had raised the white flag, capitulated; +soldiers, sailors, civilians, women and children, the human wreckage. +Fateful days! Enough crime and misery rampant to satisfy the God of War +and the imps of regions infernal. + + Fair land of Cuba! on thy shores are seen + Life’s far extremes of noble and of mean; + The world of sense and matchless beauty dressed, + And nameless horrors hid within thy breast. + + + Cuba! Thou still shalt rise, as pure, as bright + As thy free air—as full of living light;— + +The American navy, with flags flying, in triumph was ready to enter the +Bay of Santiago. The Red Cross Flag floats from the flagstaff of the +State of Texas. The Admiral gives the order that the “Red Cross Ship” is +to lead; that now “flag-ship” moving majestically, is commanded by a +woman—that woman “The Angel of the Battlefield.” Moving over the smooth +waters of the Bay that Angel with her cospirits thrilled the ear with +the patriot’s song “My Country ’Tis of Thee;” and there too the little +band of crusaders, while nearing the holy wreckage they would rescue, +touched the human heart with the grandest of all hymns of gratitude, +“Praise God from Whom all Blessings Flow.” + +As on the Island of Corsica nearly three decades before, again there +goes in spirit to Heaven the prayer of Clara Barton: “And I pray, Oh! +how earnestly, once more to battle with error; to help sever the +shackles of the oppressed of every name and kind; to hold firm the right +and to set right the wrong; to raise up the weak against the power of +the mighty; to make our country what it should, and must, be—true and +just as well as great and strong. Once more to comfort the afflicted; to +give rest and shelter to the weary, water to the thirsty, bread to the +hungry; to stay the tide and bind the wounds that bleed, or to take the +farewell message and point the glazing eye to hope and heaven.” + + There is a woman, it’s the Red Cross! + My God, boys, it’s Clara Barton! now we’ll + Get something to eat. (_Starving children._) + +“Majestic in simplicity” and of more heraldic splendor than that of the +army and navy, with their thousands of heroes, stands the little woman +overlooking the scene of woe’s misery. There on the peaceful waters are +the destroyers that had done the “horrible deed;” there on the bridge of +the Peace-Ship, leading all others, stands the “Angel of Peace,” who +will restore what she can; and before the eyes of all lay the “Gem of +the Ocean,” strewn with life’s woes—a scene of pathetic grandeur +unequaled in the annals of history. + + Miss Barton: Admiral Sampson, I wish to express to you my sincere + appreciation of your exceeding courtesy in permitting my ship to + precede the battleships into Santiago. + + Admiral Schley (in a side remark): Don’t give the Admiral too much + credit, Miss Barton; he was not quite sure how clear of torpedoes the + channel might be. Remember that was a _trial trip_. + + + + + XXII + + + Clara Barton dressed the wounded of both armies indiscriminately—a + practice which first annoyed and sometimes angered the Union + officers—from whose headquarters she worked. IDA TARBELL. + + + Be generous and noble. CLARA BARTON. + + War is in its very nature cruel—the very embodiment of cruelty in its + effects—not necessarily in the hearts of the combatants. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + As the daughter of a Mason my Father bade me to seek and comfort the + afflicted everywhere, and as a Christian he charged me to honor God + and love mankind. CLARA BARTON. + + + Baron Thomas B. Macaulay thought it not a mitigation but an + aggravation of the evil that men of tender culture and humane + feelings, with no ill will, should stand up and kill each other. + + CLARA BARTON. + + It is comforting, in our reflections upon the past, to know that the + idea of humanity to an enemy in distress is not entirely modern; for + Xenophon in Cyropaedia, about 400 B.C. represents Cyrus the Great as + ordering his surgeons to attend the wounded prisoners. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + A wounded Confederate that Clara Barton had been serving whispered to + her, “Lady, you have been kind to me—every street and lane in the city + is covered with cannon. When your entire army has reached the other + side of the Rappahannock, they’ll find Fredericksburg only a slaughter + pen. Not a regiment will escape. Do not go over or you will go to + certain death.” + + PERCY H. EPLER. + + + AT GALVESTON FLOOD + + Major McDowell, ex-Union soldier, wounded—assistant to Clara Barton: + Comrade, here is some clothing for you. + + Ex-Confederate: But, Major (hesitating), I am an ex-Confederate + soldier.... + + Major McDowell: God bless you, poor suffering soul; what difference + does that make—here, will this fit you? + + Love and tears for the Blue + Tears and love for the Gray. + FRANCES MILES FINCH. + + + CONFEDERATES AND FEDERALS ALIKE TREATED + +Quite a number of wounded Confederate officers were brought to us. They +shared alike with our own men. They were amazed, said C. M. Welles, at +the kindness of northerners, particularly at a Massachusetts lady (Clara +Barton) devoting herself to them as freely as to her own neighbors. One +of them, a captain from Georgia, needed shirt, coat, stockings and +something to eat. After being supplied, he said to me, while tears were +streaming down his face, “Sir, I find that I have mistaken you; and, if +I live to return, I will never fight against such a people any more.” + + An Angel of Mercy,—her touch they will miss, + That was felt by the Boys of the Blue and the Gray; + But her name is still fragrant with Service, and this + Will inspire their sons in the Cause of Today. + +At Fredericksburg a shell shattered the door of the room in which Miss +Barton was attending to wounded men. True to her mission, she did not +flinch but continued her duties as usual. She found a group of +Confederates with their garments frozen fast in the mud. As the wounded +were helpless, Miss Barton got an axe and chopped them loose. She then +built a fire in a negro cabin and, while the wounded were warming +themselves she dressed their wounds, fed them gruel and otherwise cared +for them as if they were her “Brothers in Arms.” + + + A KNOT OF BLUE AND GRAY + + Upon my bosom lies + A knot of blue and gray; + You ask me why; tears fill my eyes + As low to you I say: + + I had two brothers once, + Warm hearted, bold and gay; + They left my side—one wore the blue + The other wore the gray. + + One rode with Stonewall and his men, + And joined his fate with Lee; + The other followed Sherman’s march + Triumphant to the sea. + + Both fought for what they deemed the right, + And died with his sword in hand; + One sleeps amid Virginia hills, + And one in Georgia’s sand. + + The same sun shines upon their graves, + My love unchanged must stay; + And so upon my bosom lies, + The knot of blue and gray. + + + + + XXIII + + + Clara Barton deserves first place in the living memory of the world + today, and of generations to come. + + Jacksonville (Florida) _Times-Union_. + + + She bore herself with a poise that lost for her no friends. + + Utica (N. Y.) _Observer_. + + She had a faculty for seeing what needed to be done, and how to do it. + _New York Examiner._ + + She accomplished what crowned heads failed in. + + _Unity_, Chicago. + + + Things came to me as if ordered by a world-controlling power. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + Goodness does not consist in greatness, but greatness in goodness. + + ATHENÆUS. + + O God! that bread should be so dear, and flesh and blood so cheap. + + HOOD. + + The greatest attribute of Heaven is mercy; + And ’tis the crown of justice, and the glory, + Where it may kill with right and save with pity. + J. FLETCHER. + + + Tact is born with some people. + + WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THAYER. + + Tact is not a single faculty, but a combination of faculties. + + W. M. THAYER. + + What men call “shrewdness” and “Common Sense” usually signify no more + than tact. W. M. THAYER. + + + THE ENEMY, STARVING—TACT—THE WHITE OX + +To know is power, but the power may be latent. Tact is skill, ever +alert. Tact knows what to do, when and how to do it. Queen Elizabeth had +tact, unerring. Her long reign was a series of tactful events. Tact was +the basis of the supremacy of the Elizabethan Age. + +Clara Barton had tact, unerring. Tact gave her position among rulers of +nations, and likewise won for her the esteem of the lowly. Tact +attracted to her unpaid Red Cross assistants, who cheerfully shared her +privations. Through tact she retained her friends, made new friends, and +to an extent unprecedented. + +Clara Barton was with the Army of the Blue, but nearby was a hospital in +which were the wounded Gray, starving. The surgeons from within were +begging for food. The Federal Quartermaster had refused supplies, giving +as a valid excuse that he was a bonded officer and responsible for the +property under his charge. + +A “bunch” of cattle were seen passing. Clara Barton said to the officer: +“I know you are bonded, but I am neither bonded nor responsible.” The +officer taking the “cue” was soon out of sight. Clara Barton then gave +orders to her men, at the same time pointing to the large unsuspecting +white ox that had strayed from the “bunch.” The men appreciated the +_delicate situation_; the ox somehow _strayed_ over to the enemy, and +later received a hearty reception among the starving wounded inside the +hospital. + +[Illustration: + + MATHEW C. BUTLER + + My dear Miss Barton:— + + I do not see how those poor people in South Carolina will ever be able + to thank you enough for your noble work of relief. Certainly you + have been to them a “ministering angel.” I shall never cease to be + grateful for your self-sacrificing, heroic work.—MATHEW C. BUTLER, + of South Carolina, Major-General Civil War, Major-General + Spanish-American War, U. S. Senator 1877–1895. + + General Butler, that busy, hard-worked Senator, prompt and kind. CLARA + BARTON. +] + + + REPRESENTATIVE OF TWO WARS + +[Illustration: + + JOSEPH WHEELER + + I think it due Miss Barton that the government should give to her the + highest possible recognition, and thanks.—JOSEPH WHEELER, of + Alabama, Major-General Civil War; Major-General Spanish-American + War; U. S. Congress, 1881, 1882; 1885–1893; 1895–1900. +] + +[Illustration: + + HARRISON GRAY OTIS + + Clara Barton is one of the blessed ones of the earth, and her name + will remain green in the heart of America.—HARRISON GRAY OTIS, of + California; Brigadier-General, Civil War; Major-General (Brevet), + Spanish-American War; America’s Great Journalist. +] + + + + + XXIV + + + One’s blood runs cold and then mounts high in reading of the amazing + feats of strength and courage of heart shown by this little lone + woman. _The Outlook._ + + Clara Barton—her personal service and self-sacrifice are beyond + praise. _Philadelphia Public Record._ + + + The sum of all human agony finds its equivalent on the battlefield. + CLARA BARTON. + + + We cannot desert our poor charge of humanity, but must stay and suffer + with them if need be. CLARA BARTON. + + And if you chance to feel that the positions I occupied were rough and + unseemly for a _woman_—I can only reply that they were rough and + unseemly for _men_. CLARA BARTON. + + The sooner the world learns the better that the halo of glory which + surrounds a field of battle and its tortured, thirsting, starving, + pain-racked victims exists only in the imagination. + + CLARA BARTON. + + When dying President Garfield murmured: “The great heart of the nation + will not let a soldier die,” I prayed God to hasten the time when + every wounded soldier would be sustained by that sweet assurance. + CLARA BARTON. + + + My business is staunching blood, and feeding fainting men. + + CLARA BARTON. + + I am so sorry for the _necessity_, so glad for the _opportunity_, of + ministering with my own hand and strength to the dying wants of the + patriot martyrs who fell for their country and mine. + + CLARA BARTON. + + I sometimes discuss the application of a compress, or a wisp of hay + under a broken limb, but not the bearing of a political movement. + CLARA BARTON. + + I make gruel, not speeches; I write letters home for wounded soldiers, + not political addresses. CLARA BARTON. + + + You must never so much as think whether you like it or not, whether it + is bearable or not; you must never think of anything except the need, + and how to meet it. CLARA BARTON. + + If it has been granted to me to be ever so little service to those + about me, in need of my help, He alone who granted me the privilege + knows how grateful I am for it. CLARA BARTON. + + + BULLETHOLE—AMPUTATED LIMBS LIKE CORDWOOD—GOD GIVES STRENGTH + +The valley of Antietam lies in Maryland. In September, 1862, on the +night of the 16th, the Federals were on one ridge of the valley; the +Confederates, on the opposite ridge. Somber night was hushed to +stillness. Within the fog that arose from the valley and the smoke of +the campfires there gleamed the stacked bayonets and the properly placed +cannon which portend the fateful tomorrow. On the tomorrow Antietam was +to be the harvest field, death and suffering the harvest. + +In the early morning were heard the bugle notes which call to battle. +The fight to death was on—possibly the fight that would unmake a nation, +or make a new nation. A little lone woman had flanked the cannon at +midnight and, in the early sunlight, stood beside the artillery. +Terrifying the sharp crack of the musketry, deafening the boom of the +cannon. The earth quaked; the sun, obscured. Over her head were shells +bursting or, passing, buried themselves in the hills beyond. Her tongue +was dried by the sulphurous powder smoke; her lips parched to bleeding. +Such the scene of the conflict in which Clara Barton said she had the +most terrible experiences of her life. + +The men were falling, bleeding to death. Within that organized system +for death there was no system to save life,—no surgical instrument, no +bandage, no lint, no rag, no string. Clara Barton hastens to her supply +wagon, and with all things needful rushes into the line of fire. There +on the battlefield, with a pocket knife, she extracted a ball from the +face of a wounded soldier. There, while lifting a canteen of water to +quench the thirst of a soldier-lad, a minnie ball from the gun of the +enemy passed harmlessly through her clothing and fatally into the body +of the soldier she was trying to save. + + Close beside her, faintly moaning, fair and young a soldier lay, + Torn with shot and pierced with lance, bleeding slow his life away! + With a stifled cry of horror, straight she turned away her head; + With a sad and bitter feeling looked upon her dead. + But she heard the youth’s low moaning, and his struggling breath of + pain, + And she raised the cooling water to his parching lips again. + Whispered low the dying soldier, pressed her hand and faintly smiled; + Was that pitying face his mother’s? Did she watch beside her child? + All his broken words with meaning her woman’s heart supplied: + With her kiss upon his forehead, “Mother!” murmured he and died. + +There through the day, in that awful carnage of blood, fearless Clara +Barton worked to save human lives. Did she shrink from danger? She said +“_I am an American Soldier_ and am not supposed to be susceptible to +fear.” + +But the most gruesome of her experiences was after nightfall. Through +the night in a barn near by, she assisted the surgeons. The surgeons had +no bandages, she supplied them; they had no light, she supplied the +lanterns and candles until the operating tables were in a blaze of +light. They had no food; she supplied the gruel made from Indian corn +meal, cooked in great brass kettles. The surgeons were without adequate +assistance; she assisted at the amputating tables. “Through the long +starlit night,” she said, “we wrought and hoped and prayed.” When the +morning came the amputated limbs made a pile so high that you had to +look up to see the top, a pile of human limbs like a cord of wood. + +Not only gruesome was that “cord of wood” but pathetic. In that pile the +limbs were from mere boys,—innocent victims of the greed of men;—not a +leg, not an arm in that pile was from “War’s Profiteers.” And with the +morning came complete exhaustion. When she returned from her uncanny +labors her arms were crimson with blood; her skirts, blood-soaked; her +shoes, blood-sopping. In all human history did woman have such +experience as had Clara Barton through that two days of human +carnage—carnage on one of America’s most famous battlefields in the most +infamous fratricidal war in history? Frail Clara Barton! “The most timid +person on earth!” The same Clara Barton who fainted at the killing of an +ox? Can it be? Let hers be the explanation: “I was always afraid of +everything except when someone was to be rescued from danger or pain. +Human endurance has its limits;—God gives strength and the thing that +seems impossible is done.” + + + + + XXV + + + An Overruling Providence seemed to interpose its hand between Clara + Barton and the perils of war and epidemic alike, for a high and + splendid purpose. Pawtucket (R. I.) _Times_. + + + If Almighty God gives a man a cowardly pair of legs, how can help + their running away with him? A. LINCOLN. + + + Cowards die many times before their deaths + The valiant never taste of death but once. + SHAKESPEARE. + + + For others Clara Barton will be perfectly fearless. + + DR. L. N. FOWLER (Phrenologist.) + + I have no fear of the battlefield; I have large stores but no way to + reach the troops. CLARA BARTON. + + + FEARLESS OF BULLETS AND KICKING MULES + +General Shafter used to say that he did not think Clara Barton knew the +meaning of the word fear. Sharp words passed between the General and +Miss Barton because she would not obey his orders to keep away from the +“firing line,” out of the way of the fighting men and of the bullets. On +one occasion he even threatened to order her out of Cuba, if she +continually disobeyed his orders in this respect. + +Sergeant Henry White, of the 21st Massachusetts Regiment, said that he +had seen Clara Barton in positions of danger where an old veteran would +hardly dare venture. He had seen her passing among the wounded lying +around on the ground, the battle raging in front of them. As she did so, +she supplied the boys in turn with coffee, milk, and other food. Just to +please the “boys” she accepted the Sergeant’s pistol which she carried +several weeks. + +Not only was she oblivious to the danger of the bullets on the +battlefield but even more reckless as to her personal safety in the +camp. She would go around among the army wagons, close to the heels of +kicking mules, where any moment there might be a “stampede,” endangering +her life. In a “stampede” of mules, she would be as helpless as in a +shower of grape and cannister from the guns of the enemy. + + + + + XXVI + + + And when at morning and evening repast, with folded hands and grateful + heart, you bless God for the bounties He has placed before you, let + your thoughts wander a little to find if there is not another than + yourself. CLARA BARTON. + + + Paradise is open to all kind hearts. BERANGER. + + Kind words are the music of the world. F. W. FABER. + + Happiness must be unselfish; only in the happiness of all can one find + happiness. TOLSTOI. + + + Kindness in women, not their beauteous looks + Shall win my love. SHAKESPEARE. + + + I have always refused a tent unless the army had tents also, and I + have never eaten a mouthful of my own soft bread or fresh meat, until + the sick of the army were abundantly supplied with both. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + Clara Barton is the noblest, bravest, and most unselfish woman God + Almighty ever made. JUDGE JOSEPH SHELDON. + + + HIS COMFORT, NOT HERS; HIS LIFE, NOT HERS + +In the winter of 1863–64 Clara Barton lived for a time in an old +plantation house on Chapin’s farm, in Virginia. Chapin’s farm was not +far from the field hospital. In the hospital were the sick and wounded; +her services there were greatly needed. An ambulance was sent as a +detail to bring her to the hospital. The soldier-messenger arrived at +the house, and called for her. It was in the midst of a snow storm, the +thermometer indicator hovering around zero. “Wait a minute,” she said; +“tie your horses and come in. Have you had any dinner?” “No marm,” he +replied. The soldier sat down to a dinner of cold meat, hot biscuit, +cake and cocoa,—a refreshing change from “hardtack” and “salt hash,” the +daily rations of the soldier. + +While the soldier-messenger was eating his meal she had been thinking. +“The soldier has generally no part nor voice in creating the war in +which he fights. He simply obeys, as he must, his superiors and the +laws of his country.” The soldier is under orders, but he is under +_my_ orders now. It’s bitter cold and, while I can ride comfortably on +the inside of the ambulance, he must ride outside on the seat in the +snow. She considered his comfort, not her own; his life, not hers. She +_ordered_ him to put his horses in the barn and care for them. She +made him her guest, standing sponsor for him at military +headquarters—awaiting a pleasant day for the trip. In soliloquizing on +her conduct she said: “God forbid that I should ask the useless +exposure of _one_ man, the desolation of _one_ home.” + + + + + XXVII + + + Advice is seldom welcome. LORD CHESTERFIELD. + + + Men give away nothing so liberally as their advice. + + ROCHEFOUCAULD. + + I do not like giving advice; it is incurring an unnecessary + responsibility. BEACONSFIELD. + + + Those who give bad advice to the prudent both lose their pains and are + laughed to scorn. PHAEDRUS. + + I pray thee cease thy counsel, which falls into my ears as profitless + as water in a sieve. MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. + + + Clara Barton—in her 77th year—followed to the fever ridden tropics, to + lead in the relief work on Spanish battle grounds. + + Grand Rapids (Mich.) _Herald_. + + + In Cuba one saw only + Nodding plumes over their bier to wave, + And God’s own hand in that lonely land + To lay them in their grave. CLARA BARTON. + + + Mr. Cottrell, private secretary of Clara Barton, says: “Miss Barton + was the means of saving thousands of lives in Cuba. She was a small, + unostentatious woman, very quiet in her demeanor and spoke in a soft, + sweet tone. Her habits were simple, but she had a great capacity for + organization work.” + + New Orleans (La.) _Times-Democrat_. + + My post is the open field between the bullet and the hospital. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + DOES NOT NEED ANY ADVICE + +At Santiago Miss Barton approached Admiral Sampson and said, “There is +some doubt about our being able to unload.” + +“Miss Barton,” replied Sampson, “Tell the world that the Red Cross +Society does not need any advice. We only need an opportunity. If any +trouble happens you, let me know.” + +On one of the boats in the harbor of Santiago, the following +conversation took place between a Major-Surgeon and Clara Barton: + +Major: “You have been at the front?” + +Clara Barton: “Yes, Major.” + +Major: “I should think you would find it very unpleasant there.” + +Clara Barton: “Such things are not supposed to be pleasant.” + +Major: “What do you go for? There is no need of your going there; it is +no place for women. I consider women very much out of place in a field +hospital.” + +Clara Barton: “Then I must have been out of place a good deal in my +lifetime, Major, for I have been there a great deal.” + +Major: “That does not change my opinion; if I had my way I would send +you home.” + +Miss Barton: “Fortunately for me, if for no one else, Major, you have +not your way.” Major: “I know it, but again that does not change my +opinion. I would send you home....” + +Miss Barton: “Good morning, Major.” + + “I am with the wounded,” flashed along the wire + From the Isle of Cuba swept with sword and fire. + Angel sweet of mercy, may your Cross of Red + Cheer the wounded living; bless the wounded dead. + + + + + XXVIII + + + Clara Barton—humanity is richer for her having lived. + + Grand Rapids (Mich.) _Press_. + + + Life is a shuttle. MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR. + + Life is a bubble. WM. BROWNE. + + Life is a miracle. KING LEAR. + + Life is a walking shadow. MEREDITH. + + Life is like a stroll on the beach. THOREAU. + + Life is scarcely the twinkle of a star. BAYARD TAYLOR. + + Life lives only in success. SWIFT. + + + That life is long that answers life’s great end. + + YOUNG’S NIGHT THOUGHTS. + + + For the multitude of failures I have encountered I am sorry. + + CLARA BARTON. + + Life is so short at best. CLARA BARTON. + + It’s now three minutes past twelve and I am thirty-three. Alas, my + friend, the years pass swiftly by, but I do not regret them so much + for what I have done, as what I _might_ have done. BYRON. + + + HAD BUT A FEW MOMENTS TO LIVE + +Clara Barton supplied the place of mother and sister to the sick +soldiers, and this she did for many months, while in the deadly miasma +of the South Carolina marshes. Much of this time she was with the +soldiers and facing the guns of Fort Wagner. There with the shot and +shell whistling about her, the heroic woman could be seen at all hours +of the day and night stooping over the wounded soldiers, and tenderly +administering to their wants. An officer who had been with the Army of +the Potomac said that he had seen this woman upon the field of battle, +sitting with the head of a dying soldier in her lap, apparently +unconcerned and then only for the comfort of the poor fellow who had but +a few moments to live. + + + + + XXIX + + + Clara Barton—representing the mercy and magnanimity of the nation. + Columbus (Ohio) _Despatch_. + + Clara Barton—her works of mercy in war and peace made her an + international figure. _New York Tribune._ + + + Everybody’s business was nobody’s business, and the stricken victims + perished. CLARA BARTON. + + The door that never creaked a hinge for the feeble child of want may + swing wide open at the thundering knock of the Marshal’s Staff. CLARA + BARTON. + + The incentive to help and heal another in distress is spontaneous, + generally the result of sympathetic impulse and kindness—a thing of + the feelings and consequently of sudden growth. + + CLARA BARTON. + + “The other ladies could not endure the climate at Morris Island,” and, + as I knew somebody must take care of the soldiers, I went. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + The idea of humanity in distress is not entirely modern; + Alexander was accompanied in his march by the most famous physicians + of the age. CLARA BARTON. + + Homer and Plato were so struck with Egyptian Science and skill that + they declared the Egyptians were all doctors. + + CLARA BARTON. + + It is probable that the first practitioners in common life were women. + CLARA BARTON. + + + A wise physician, skilled, our wounds to heal + Is more than armies to the public weal. + + A sister and family followed me to Washington that I should not be + quite alone in that slave city, for up to 1860 they bought and sold + slaves at the Capital. CLARA BARTON. + + When I think, I fear how supreme an International Court must have been + to be able to induce the Southerners to liberate the slaves, or to + convince them that “mudsills” and “greasy mechanics” and “horned + yankees” are a people entitled to sufficient respect to be treated on + fair international grounds. CLARA BARTON. + + + ENLISTED MEN FIRST—THE COLONEL’S LIFE SAVED + +In ancient Greece, in the Roman Empire, in Europe through the middle +ages, in the more modern chivalry of “Dixie,” among soldiers no slave, +no servant—none but a _gentleman_ carried a gun to kill. Killing in war +time was the occupation of “gentlemen” only. For the first time in the +history of the Centuries—in 1863—the ex-slave alongside the “gentlemen” +on the battlefield, fought for human rights. It was at the battle of +Fort Wagner on Morris Island; Colonel Shaw had led his “colored +regiment” to that field of slaughter. + +The first woman nurse on any battlefield, a veteran nurse at the front, +was there,—the only woman present among the thousands of boys in blue. +The chivalric southern soldiers hated the “mudsills,” the “greasy +mechanics” and the “horned yankees,” but with a still more deadly hatred +the “nigger in blue”—the ex-slave now marshalled in battle array against +his former master. The onslaught there amidst the whizzing of bullets +and bursting of shells is pictured as the “orgy of hell.” + +The Colonel while leading that colored regiment was among the wounded. +“Miss Barton, Colonel Shaw is lying on a dissecting table. His leg has +been taken off. His life is ebbing away; won’t you go to him?” + + Bearing the bandage, water and sponge, + Straight and swift to the wounded I go— + +Miss Barton replied: “Officers generally have friends enough to see that +their wants are attended to, while the poor enlisted men are neglected. +I will go to see the Colonel as soon as I have attended to my charges +here.” When she was through with the wounded enlisted men, Clara Barton +gave her attention to the Colonel, and through her services his life was +saved. + + + + + XXX + + + If any number of Americans were asked off-hand to name the woman who + stands highest in the esteem of the American people, the reply would + be unanimously, “Clara Barton.” + + _Republic Magazine._ + + + The patience, the nobility of soul, the resignation and bravery of our + gallant troops! CLARA BARTON. + + + Love chivalry. ARMAND. + + Chivalry is the essence of virtue. LORD JOHN RUSSELL. + + Chivalry was the parent of honor. A. DELEVAN. + + The true spirit of chivalry is a generous impatience of wrong. + + CHATFIELD. + + Chivalry has not entirely died out in this prosaic age. + + CECILIA FINDLAY. + + + “People say that I must have been born brave,” said Clara Barton. + “Why, I seem to remember nothing but terrors in my early days, I was a + shrinking little bundle of fears, fears of thunder, fears of strange + faces, fears of my strange self.” + + MARY R. PARKMAN—In _Heroines of Service_. + + + Fear loves the idea of danger. S. CROXALL. + + The moment my fear begins, I cease to fear. SCHILLER. + + + The weak most fear, the timid tremble, but the brave and stout of + heart will work and hope and trust. CLARA BARTON. + + + YOU’RE RIGHT, MADAM—GOOD DAY + +Immediately following the Battle of Fredericksburg, every house in the +city became a hospital. Among the thousands of wounded Clara Barton, in +her usual unobtrusive manner, passed in and out of the houses, first on +one side of the street then on the other, on her mission of mercy. +Provost Marshal General Patrick seeing her alone among the soldiers +mistook her for a resident driven from her home. + +The general did not seem to know that any good woman is safe among men, +brave and true, and nowhere else more so than among soldiers. He did not +fully appreciate that when a woman is true to herself + + So dear to heav’n is saintly chastity, + That when a soul is found sincerely so, + A thousand liveried angels lackey her; + +and he did not know Clara Barton. + +So, with admirable southern chivalry, he dashed to her side, bowing with +hat in hand, and said: “Madam, you are alone and in great danger here!” + +“No, I think not, Marshal.” + +“Yes, you are, Madam. May I offer you my protection?” + +“No, Marshal, I think it is not necessary.” Then turning to the ranks of +the soldiers she further commented: “No, Marshal, I am the best +protected woman in the United States.” + +The soldiers appreciating the compliment sent up cheer after cheer, +accompanied with “That’s so! that’s so!” + +The Marshal, taking in the situation and waving his hand towards Miss +Barton with a broad smile, said: “I think you are right, Madam, Good +day!” + + + + + XXXI + + + Clara Barton dared the bullets on the battlefield with the abandon of + a dashing cavalry leader. Pawtucket (R. I.) _Times_. + + In Clara Barton, the world has lost a guardian angel. + + PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN. + + + Death grinned a horrible ghastly smile. JOHN MILTON. + + Says Clara Barton, in one of the battles of the Civil War, “A little + sibley tent had been hastily pitched for me in a slight hollow upon a + hillside. How many times I fell from sheer exhaustion in the darkness + and mud of that slippery hillside I have no knowledge; but at last I + grasped the welcome canvas, and a well established brook which washed + in on the upper side, at the opening which served as the door, met me + on my entrance to the tent.” + + PERCY H. EPLER. + + + Clara Barton slept on the ground, wrapped in a blanket like a soldier, + but her zeal was in no way diminished by hardship. + + St. Paul (Minn.) _Pioneer Press_. + + Clara Barton gave a lifetime of glorious service to humanity—a + ministering angel like a benediction of her God amid the desolate, the + stricken, the hungry and despairing. _Los Angeles Examiner._ + + + Sickness, confusion and death—these are inseparable from every + conflict. CLARA BARTON. + + I can never see a poor mutilated wreck, blown to pieces with powder + and lead, without wondering if visions of such an end ever floated + before his mother’s mind when she washed and dressed her fair-skinned + boy. CLARA BARTON. + + When giant misery stalks to the very threshold, and raps with bloody + hands on one’s door, it is almost a libel upon the good Christian term + to call it charity that answers. CLARA BARTON. + + + Women should certainly have some voice in the matter of war, either + affirmative or negative, and the fact that she has not this should not + be made the ground to deprive her of other privileges. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + “They say”: + + Imagine their skirts ’mong artillery wheels, + And watch for their flutter as they flee ’cross the fields, + When the charge is rammed home and the fire belches hot;— + They never will wait for the answering shot. + They would faint at the first drop of blood in sight— + CLARA BARTON. + + + BLEEDING TO DEATH—HIS HEADLESS BODY—WOMEN IN THE WAR + +One day Miss Barton was asked to tell what was the most terrible +experience she had ever gone through on a field of disaster or war, and +she replied: “It was at the battle of Antietam. The poor boys were +falling so fast that I rushed up into the line of fire to save them from +bleeding to death by temporarily binding up their wounds. Bullets went +through my clothing, but I did not think of danger. I loaded myself with +canteens and went to a nearby spring and filled them with water, until I +staggered under the load. The wounded were crying for water and I went +to one poor boy who was wild with thirst and, stooping, I lifted his +head on my arm and knee and was giving him water from the canteen when a +cannon ball took his head off, covering me with blood and brains. I +dropped the headless body and went to the next wounded soldier, and so +all day I worked through this awful battle and refused to retire, though +officers and men tried to drive me back.” + +In the Civil War there was widespread opposition to the presence of +women on the battlefield—both on the part of civilians and the military +officers. Lincoln was not the exception. He protested that a woman on +the battlefield would be a “fifth wheel to a wagon.” After the close of +the war Clara Barton penned the following, a part of the poem entitled +“The Women who went to the Field”: + + Will he glance at the boats on the great western flood, + At Pittsburgh and Shiloh, did they faint at the blood? + And the brave wife of Grant stood there with them then, + And her calm stately presence gave strength to the men. + + + + + XXXII + + + In spite of her retiring nature and shrinking from publicity, Clara + Barton remained probably the best known woman in America, surely one + of the best-beloved. + + New Orleans (La.) _Item_. + + Miss Barton took the lecture platform, under an agreement to lecture + 300 nights at $100 a night. + + Louisville (Ky.) _Courier-Journal_. + + + Fear is the mother of foresight. HENRY TAYLOR. + + Fear is the mother of safety. EDMUND BURKE. + + Fear makes us feel for humanity. EARL OF BEACONSFIELD. + + In the earlier years of my life, I remember nothing but fear. + + CLARA BARTON. + + It was high counsel that I once heard given to a young person: “Always + do what you are afraid to do.” + + RALPH WALDO EMERSON. + + + Timid as a sheep. OUIDA. + + Timid as a doe. ROBERT NOEL. + + Timid as a fawn. THACKERAY. + + I am the most timid person on earth. CLARA BARTON. + + + Some critic has said that I was visibly agitated when I arose to + address my audience;—the critic was right, and why should I not be? + CLARA BARTON. + + All speech-making terrifies me. First I have no taste for it, and + lastly I hate it. CLARA BARTON. + + Nothing could gratify me more than to know that I had been one of + these self-reliant American girls like our sweet poetess Lucy Larcrom. + CLARA BARTON. + + If I could have gotten over my timid sensitiveness it would have given + far less annoyance to my friends, and trouble to myself, all through + life. CLARA BARTON. + + + TIMID CHILD—TIMID WOMAN + +Fear is relative. The fear of death by flames is greater than by water. +The fear not to do is ofttimes greater than the fear to do. The fear of +failure is supplanted by courage. To the sensitive nature the fear that +others may suffer impels to the greatest courage. Despite innate fear, +courage is uppermost in the minds of those who would achieve results. +The most renowned in the fine arts, in oratory, in patriotism, in the +humanities, are those by nature timid. + +John B. Gough and Clara Barton at one time lived in the same town; were +personal friends; in the lecture season, successively talked from the +same platform. These two Americans were each as timid, probably, as ever +appeared before a public audience. But each achieved an enviable +reputation as a platform lecturer. + +The morning following one of his inimitable temperance lectures, I +remarked: “Mr. Gough, I wish I had your assurance before an audience.” +“Young man,” he replied, “you don’t know me. I have given thousands of +lectures, but I never rise to address an audience that my knees don’t +knock together, from stage fright. Last night, as I arose to address +that splendid body of college boys, I was scared stiff; for some moments +I was so frightened I couldn’t utter a word.” + +In his autobiography he wrote: “For thirty-seven years I have been a +public speaker, but have never known the time when I did not dread an +audience. Often that fear amounts to positive suffering. In my +suffering, trembling seizes every nerve.” + +Clara Barton was a timid child; so much so as to annoy her parents, and +other friends. When about eight years of age she was sent away to school +in the hope that, among strangers, she would become at ease in the +presence of others. At school she grew tired; became thin and pale; said +she was hungry, but refused to eat. It was suspected that it was all on +account of her timidity, and that she might die of starvation. Because +she dared not eat, the teacher returned her to her home. In referring to +this experience, and her later experiences in the presence of strangers, +a few years before she died, she said: “To this day I would rather stand +behind the lines of artillery at Antietam, or cross the pontoon bridge +under fire at Fredericksburg, than to preside at a public meeting.” + + + + + XXXIII + + + The negro has no linguistic laws—his pathetically musical speech is + fast dying away—only will linger the salient printed form to convey to + the future some idea of the olden dialect. + + LA SALLE CORBELL PICKETT—“_In de Miz Series_.” + + + I know of the intelligence of the negro, for I have heard of his + unquestioned loyalty between every war of our land from Bunker Hill to + the Argonne. SECRETARY OF THE NAVY DANIELS. + + The only flag the negro ever carried was when his spirit was stirred + crimson by the sacrificial blood he gave for America. Cite me a negro + traitor! JUSTICE STAFFORD. + + In the World War, in France up in the zone where death was spread + about I found the black man and the white man fallen side by side. + SECRETARY OF WAR BAKER. + + + The courage that faces death on the battlefield, or calmly awaits it + in the hospital, is not the courage of race or color. + + CLARA BARTON. + + Two of the bravest men I ever saw lay wounded, almost side by side, + one white and the other black. CLARA BARTON. + + The patient suffering of the black soldier is fully equal to that of + the Anglo-Saxon. CLARA BARTON. + + + EZ EF WE WUZ WHITE FOLKS + +At Galveston one day, when Miss Barton was busy dictating letters her +companion, Mrs. Fannie B. Ward, came in and told her that there were two +negro soldiers of the Civil War waiting to see her. Miss Barton said, +“Let them come in.” The two old negroes came in with their hats in their +hands and bowing at every step. + +One of them asked, “Miss Barton, do you know us?” She replied, “No, I +don’t remember you.” + +“We knows you, Miss Barton,” was the reply, “We wuz in de battle er Fo’t +Wagner an’ got wounded dyar, an’ you foun’ us an’ tied up our wounds an’ +tuk cyar er us same ez ef we wuz white folks.” + +Proud of their wounds, one of the negroes rolled up his sleeve and +showed a great scar on his arm, saying, “I wuz in de cha’ge, Miss +Barton, an’ a officer slashed me wid a swo’d.” The other pulled up his +trousers and displayed a very deep scar on the calf of his leg and said, +“En’ I got wounded in de leg wid a bullet.” + +Miss Barton’s smile of appreciation and her cordial handshake sent them +away with happy memories. + +[Illustration: + + © _Harris & Ewing_ + + + LEONARD WOOD + + There is a call for women who will carry forward the work begun by + Florence Nightingale and Clara Barton.—LEONARD WOOD, Major-General + Spanish-American War; Major-General World War; Governor-General + Philippine Islands. + + General Wood, alert, wise and untiring, with an eye single to the good + of all, toiled day and night. + + CLARA BARTON. +] + + + + + XXXIV + + + Clara Barton’s name will take its place among the world’s heroines. + Denver (Colorado) _Times_. + + + Life is like a dream. DR. S. JOHNSON. + + Our Life is a dream. CHARLES WESLEY. + + + I have a presentiment that I shall not outlast the rebellion. + + A. LINCOLN. + + + Dreams are the bright evidence of poem and legend, who sport on the + earth in the night season. CHARLES DICKENS. + + Dreams in their development have breath and tears, and torture and a + touch of joy. LORD BYRON. + + + I have dreamed of bloody turbulence; and this whole night + Hath nothing been but forms of slaughter. SHAKESPEARE. + + + It seems to me I have been dreaming a horrid dream for four years; now + the nightmare is gone. A. LINCOLN. + + + O Memory! that midway world, + ’Twixt earth and paradise, + Where things decayed and loved ones lost + In dreamy shadows rise. + A. LINCOLN. + + + To dream of battle—danger of persecution. + + MADAME CLAIRE ROUGEMONT, Author. + + For a woman to dream that she is in battle is a very lucky omen. + + _The Queen of the Romanies._ + + + IN HER DREAMS—AGAIN IN BATTLE + +“What’s that big barn of a house?” + +“It’s the Red Cross house.” + +“Who lives there?” “Clara Barton, don’t you know Clara Barton?” “And +what does she want to live in a house like that for?” + +“It is her headquarters—her home. There is where she does her work; +there is where she keeps her supplies. Whenever there is a cry of +distress anywhere in the United States she is off at a moment’s notice.” + +No paint on the outside of the house, none on the inside—a regular +barn—why wouldn’t the stranger ask questions? + +The inside of the house is also strangely mysterious, with its great +central part open to the ceiling; the balconies protected by railings, +reminding one of a steamship, the atmosphere giving the stranger a sort +of weird, uncanny feeling. + +The visitor when within is still curious, and would ask other questions. +“What are all these things on the wall?” + +“They are diplomas, resolutions of cities, states and nations—medals won +for services rendered in distress—all kinds of souvenirs complimentary +to Clara Barton.” + +“Interesting, very interesting!” + +“Yes, no other place like it in all the world.” + +“But what are these small doors for? They look like doors to sleeping +berths.” + +“No, they are doors to closets. There are thirty-eight rooms in this +house and seventy-six closets.” + +“What are the closets for?” + +“Well, these closets in the walls, on either side of the big hall, are +where she keeps bandages, linen, clothes, food in large quantities, to +be shipped wherever wanted. It is surely no vine-clad cottage; it is a +veritable store-house of food for the needy, a ware-house of clothes for +the suffering,—anywhere in the world. Clara Barton called it her ‘House +of Rough Hemlock Boards’—the boards were from the wreckage of the +Johnstown flood.” + +Hourly in the presence of such environments as to suggest war and flood +and famine, and at times delirious, it is not strange that two nights +before her death, on April 10, 1912, in her dreams there flitted before +her the tragic past; that she dreamt that she was again in battle; that +she saw “her boys” with legs and arms gone; that she gave crackers and +gruel to the sick and bound up the wounds of the soldiers; that again +she felt the twitching at her dress and heard “You saved my life;” that +again she caught the last words of the dying to be sent to the mothers +and sisters and sweethearts, and heard from the lips of her dying +soldier-brother, “Oh! God, save my country!” + + + + + XXXV + + + Minerva, the goddess of wisdom, was the greatest feminine mind of the + ancient deities concerned in human welfare. THE AUTHOR. + + + Bring the feminine mind to bear upon all that concerns the welfare of + mankind. JULIA WARD HOWE. + + + Judge—You voted as a woman, did you not? + + Miss Anthony—No, sir, I voted as a citizen of the United States. + + SUSAN B. ANTHONY. + (In 1872, she then being under arrest for voting + for President of the United States.) + + + Let us “push things” so that every state in the union shall speedily + surrender to the advocates of women’s equality and elevation. + + MARY A. LIVERMORE—Jan. 8, 1870. + + + American women and students of American history have long deplored the + meagre credit which has been given to women for the part they have + taken in the progress and achievement of America, as a nation. MRS. + JOHN A. LOGAN. + + In “Part Taken by Women in American History.” + + + I know nothing remarkable I have done. The hum-drum of my every day + life seems to me quite without incident. CLARA BARTON. + + Speaking of myself, and my own doings, is a thing very distasteful to + me. CLARA BARTON. + +[Illustration: + + THE RED CROSS HOME OF CLARA BARTON, GLEN ECHO, MARYLAND + + “Clara Barton to the end kept open house at her Glen Echo home, for + the soldier boys.” + + “The Red Cross House at Glen Echo was a flag museum of historical + achievements.” + + Historical ground carries its own sentiment: Mount Vernon, American + Liberty; Monticello, American Democracy; Glen Echo, World Humanity. +] + + + FOUR FAMOUS WOMEN + +A famous artist called at Miss Barton’s home and explained to her that +he had been sent out to secure the portraits of the four most famous +women in America. She asked him, “Whom have you been to see?” And he +replied, “I have come to you first.” “And whom will you go to next?” +Miss Barton inquired. “To Julia Ward Howe, of Boston,” he replied. “And +whom for the third?” Miss Barton asked. “I do not know,” he answered. +“You tell me, Miss Barton.” “Well,” replied Miss Barton, “why not go to +Mrs. General John A. Logan?” “I will, Miss Barton,” he said. “And whom +will I go to next?” asked the artist. Miss Barton replied, “I cannot +tell you, but if Susan B. Anthony were living, or Mary Livermore, I +could tell you.” + +Susan B. Anthony wrote to Clara Barton: “I know, in a general way, my +dear Clara, that you have done some wonderful things in the world, but I +would like to have a list of just what you have done, to present to my +audiences. So please prepare a brief story of your achievements for my +use.” In due time came the reply, enclosing a very brief chronological +list of Miss Barton’s achievements. Miss Anthony wrote back at once and +said: “Dear Clara: I cannot present this skeleton to the public. Please +put some clothes on it.” + + + + + XXXVI + + + Clara Barton—a wonderful majesty in the simplicity of her character. + Sacramento (Cal.) _Record-Union_. + + Like the stories from fairy lore are the accounts, modestly written + and simply given, of the tremendous, almost super-human, work done by + this little woman. Oakland (Cal.) _Tribune_. + + Clara Barton loved everything that lived. Roanoke (Va.) _News_. + + + Bugs and other insects, as well as squirrels and other animals, gave + her hourly enjoyment. Clara used to say, “these are my friends, they + have as good a right to live as I have.” + + “SISTER HARRIETTE” L. REED. + + Her love for the farmyard and its animals never left her. + + PERCY H. EPLER. + + It was her heroic soul and deep woman sympathy that made Clara Barton + strong and brave. WILLIAM E. BARTON. + + Nothing endures but personal qualities. WALT WHITMAN. + + + Sir John Franklin,—who never turned his back upon a danger, yet of + that tenderness that he would not brush away a mosquito. + + WILLIAM MATTHEWS. + + + I too have a kitty and he is pretty much master of the house. He + doesn’t speak German, although I have no doubt he understands it. + CLARA BARTON. + + + A harmless necessary cat. MERCHANT OF VENICE. + + A cat may look on a king. HAYWOOD’S PROVERBS. + + In the night all cats are grey. CERVANTES. + + When the cat’s away the mice will play. OLD PROVERBS. + + As vigilant as a cat to steal cream. SHAKESPEARE. + + It has been the providence of nature to give this creature nine lives, + instead of one. PILPAY. + + + Hang sorrow! Care will kill a cat, + And therefore let’s be merry. GEORGE WITHER. + + Confound the cats! All cats—alway— + Cats of all colors, black, white, gray; + By night a nuisance and by day— + Confound the cats! DOBBIN. + + + Even poverty has its compensation. CLARA BARTON. + + There is neither teacher nor preacher like necessity. + + CLARA BARTON. + + No work can retain its vitality without constant action. + + CLARA BARTON. + + Though to bed at daylight, or at best midnight, Clara Barton never + slept late in the morning. J. B. HUBBELL. + + Let us each make haste to do the work set before us, in the Providence + of God, unostentatiously, thoroughly and well. + + CLARA BARTON. + + She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the + bread of idleness. PROVERBS. + + + In October, 1911 (at the age of 90), while she was propped up in bed + and seriously ill, I asked “why, Miss Barton, you haven’t a gray hair + in your head, have you?” Quick was the response, “I don’t know, I + haven’t had time to look.” THE AUTHOR. + + + Oftener than I could wish my heart sinks heavily, oppressed with fear + that I am falling short of the fulfillment of life’s duties. + + CLARA BARTON. + + Domestic Happiness, thou only bliss + Of Providence that hast survived the Fall. COWPER _Task_. + + + SIMPLICITY OF CHILDHOOD—PET WASPS PET CATS—LOVED LIFE-DOMESTIC + +The simplicity of childhood continued with Clara Barton through to her +latest years. Because requested by children in letters to do so, at +eighty-six years she commenced to write “The Story of My Childhood.” She +did not reach second childhood; she was in her first childhood at +ninety. On a certain occasion, having declined to address an audience, +she reconsidered and said: “Oh, yes, I will talk to the children.” + +Pets, as in childhood, continued; she had them wherever she happened to +be,—pets of the chickens, pets of the birds, pets of the squirrels, pets +of the domestic animals. She saw Divinity in nature; loved as does the +believer in pantheism, as does the believer in the “transmigration of +souls.” To the science of entomology she was not a stranger. Among her +swarms of bees she continued the student of those who work for man and +do not “bruise their Master’s flower;” loved even that household “pest,” +the wasp. + + A wasp met a bee that was just buzzing by + And she said, “Little Cousin, Can you tell me why + You are loved so much better by people than I?” + +But in the existence of a wasp Miss Barton did not think there was +wholly of “mischief to do.” Genius philosophizes. To serve its uses, the +wasp is perfect in its organs, and in its symmetry. The male wasp does +not sting at all; and, while the “female of the species is deadlier than +the male,” the female does not sting except in defence, in obeying the +first law of nature,—the law which is the saving principle in the +universe. + +The wasp renders service, service to the fruit-grower by destroying the +caterpillar, especially of the green fly and black fly, and of other +harmful insects. The wasp is not too aristocratic to act as scavenger, +stripping the bones of small dead animals of skin and flesh—for its +grubs—thus precluding carrion from becoming offensive and, through +pollution of the atmosphere, unhealthful. The social wasp is strategic, +is accredited with amazing cleverness, with courage never-failing, with +intelligence higher than instinct,—having a system of living that should +shame its human enemy. He who, in his ignorance, comes to the wasp to +scoff goes away to admire. If only the wasp would toil for man, +appeasing man’s appetite for sweets, that winged “pest” would be _loved_ +as is the honey bee. + +At the Glen Echo Red Cross house, on the window-ledges, in the slats for +window-catches, where the walls and ceilings join, in every nook and +corner, the welcomed wasps had their little mud cells. While at the +dining table, or at her writing desk, Miss Barton would cut an apple and +sometimes around it would gather a swarm of these “pests.” Of the wasps, +that nobody likes, she was wont to say “these are my little friends; +they keep me company;”—as they hovered over and around her she seemed to +get inspiration from them in her literary work. + +In her early years Clara Barton’s special pets were the dog and the +horse; in later years, the cat. She accredited her black and white cat +at Dansville with human personality. Her Maltese cat at Glen Echo she +accredited with _reasoning_ powers, with a _logical_ mind. Of Maltese +Tommie she tells this story. Tommie saw another cat in the mirror. He +stared at it; moved his head in rapid succession to one side of the +mirror, then to the other side. The other cat did likewise. He dashed +like mad to the back of the mirror, but found no cat. Returning to the +front of the mirror, he put his left paw on the glass; the right paw of +the other cat responded. He put his right paw on the glass; the left paw +of the other cat met his. He again put his left paw on the glass, this +time being close to the edge of the mirror and, continuing to hold it +there he reached around to the back of the mirror with his right paw to +grab the insolent intruder. Not seeing the other cat, as he quickly +glanced around the edge of the mirror, and not having found it with his +right paw, “he wiser grew” and walked away philosophizing;—in this vain +world— + + Things are not what they seem—but then, + A pleasant illusion is better than a harsh reality. + +The picture of Maltese Tommie, painted by Antoinette Margot, is still +one of the historic art-treasures on the walls of the Clara Barton Glen +Echo home. + +Those who think of Clara Barton only as the “war woman” within the +battle smoke, or on the rostrum addressing literary audiences, or on +state occasions as the cynosure of all eyes, or as the guest of honor +among the crowned heads of Europe—as masculine and not feminine—have not +seen the daily life-picture of Clara Barton. Clara Barton was most +womanly when most childlike, queenliest when lowliest and, like the +Roman Matron, most aristocratic when most domestic. + +As Divinity lives in all life, as God the first garden made and work was +the best religion Clara Barton had, her applied religion was in the yard +as she cared for the domestic animals; in the garden as she cared for +the shrubs, the flowers, the vegetables, her special pride being in +raising fine strawberries. Frequently was Miss Barton called from the +yard or garden, to meet guests in her “House of Rough Hemlock +Boards,”—there where was welcome ever royal and farewell went out loyal; +there where— + + Honest offered courtesy + Which oft is sooner found in lowly sheds + With smoky rafters than in tapestry halls + And courts of princes, where it first was named + And yet is most pretended. + + + + + XXXVII + + + Of the women writers that lived at the time of the Civil War the mind + of Harriet Beecher Stowe was the most imaginative; “the vehicle of + thought” used by Clara Barton, the best equipped, the most powerful. + In war-literature Mrs. Stowe will live through the genius of her great + novel; Clara Barton, through her descriptive powers, forceful diction, + and patriotic sayings. THE AUTHOR. + + Learn to be good readers. CARLYLE. + + God be thanked for books. CHANNING. + + Mankind are creatures of books, as well of other circumstances. + + LEIGH HUNT. + + The true university of these days is a collection of books. + + HERO AND HERO WORSHIPPERS. + + + Reading to the mind is what exercise is to the body. ADDISON. + + Books that are books are all that you want, and there are but + half-a-dozen in a thousand. THOREAU. + + Books, like friends, should be few and well chosen. FULLER. + + Read much, but not many books. SIR WILLIAM HAMILTON. + + When a new book appears, read an old one. + + ENGLISH APHORISM. + + Old wood to burn, old wine to drink. + Old friends to trust, old books to read. + ALONZO of Arragon. + + + Miss Barton would not rewrite a public address; on looking it over, + not a sentence, not a word, could be improved by changing. + + J. B. HUBBELL, Assistant to Clara Barton. + + She who desires information can sit down, read, and obtain it. + + CLARA BARTON. + + Persons who use their brains, tongues and pens for the improvement of + their kind, are those of whom biographies may profitably be written. + CLARA BARTON. + + + Miss Barton is in the front rank of American lecturers—excelled by + none. AURORA BEACON. + + The Secretary to President McKinley used to say that in his + correspondence at the White House the letters of Clara Barton excelled + all others in literary merit. THE AUTHOR. + + Clara Barton’s lecture is beautifully written. JOHN B. GOUGH. + + + CLARA BARTON IN THE LITERARY FIELD + +The treasure-house of the world is of books. Books are one’s chosen +friends, and friends are of souls with like aspirations. From the +contents of books character is made. The legacy in books is what youth +bequeaths to maturity. In youth Clara Barton entered the “true +university,” that of books. She read not only books from the shelf but +found “books in running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in +everything.” Her favorite authors were Shakespeare, Longfellow, Milton, +Keats, Schiller, Bunyan, Tennyson, Scott and Browning. + +Had she followed the promptings of her head, and not her heart, Clara +Barton might have been a Mrs. Sigourney. One of her admirers says that, +had she been an author, “her gracefulness of expression, her buoyancy of +thought, and brilliancy of imagery” would have placed her in a class +with Maria Edgeworth, Jane Austen, and Charlotte Brontë. But Clara +Barton is now in a class—in a class by herself—and throughout the future +the student of humanity will study Clara Barton. + +Clara Barton’s descriptions of battle, and other, scenes are surpassing +in vividness—unequalled. In her diaries, which she kept for more than +half-a-century, are nuggets of human wisdom. Her wise sayings, as those +of Benjamin Franklin, would fill a volume. Such Clara Barton Red Cross +maxims, and other wise sayings as appear in these pages, are but the +flotsam and jetsam of a cargo of writings, the cargo partly wrecked and +no part of it available by the author. + +Clara Barton was a nurse, but only as Lincoln was a rail-splitter. As an +executive, Clara Barton is accredited as the greatest _man_ in America, +by one of America’s greatest statesmen; as the greatest woman in the +world, by one of America’s greatest generals; as having done more for +humanity than any other woman since the time of Mary of Galilee, by a +great State Executive. By a great writer, it is said that through +reading everything is within one’s reach. Clara Barton’s mental reach +into national and world problems at least widens and heightens the +possibilities of womankind. + +Her Red Cross lectures are not “Caudle Lectures to Ladies”; they, +including official reports, are high-class state papers which would do +credit to the White House—literary, argumentative, statesmanlike. For +twenty-three years in America Clara Barton was the Red Cross +encyclopedia, the Red Cross dictionary. She was also the Red Cross +legislature, the Red Cross Supreme Court, the Commander-in-Chief of our +Red Cross battalions, at home and abroad. Although one of the +“remonstrants,” in the press, referred to the Red Cross as “Clara +Barton’s Bread and Butter Brigade” the Achilles in that brigade had won +for humanity the greatest battle on American soil. + +Her address, “History of the Red Cross; Its Origin and Progress,” is all +comprehensive, showing research, scholarship, logic. Her “Address to the +President, Congress and People of the United States” on “The Red Cross—A +History of This Remarkable Movement in the Interest of Humanity” is as +overwhelmingly convincing, as to the necessity of adhesion by this +Government to the Treaty of Geneva, as was Webster’s historic reply to +Hayne, in advocacy of the perpetuity of the Union. Her address on “What +is the Significance of the Red Cross in its Relation to Philanthropy” is +hardly less meritorious. Her address at Saratoga on “International and +National Relief in War” is more than a literary gem; it is a compendium +of humanitarian history—of Red Cross philosophy. No similar humanitarian +address even approximates it, in wisdom and argument. + +Through seven years, in the field of letters and politics, there raged a +war against woe, a war led by a Master Spirit. Humanity won—won through +that Master Spirit. That Master Literary Spirit, says another great +woman, has “won the hearts of the women of the world.” She not only +“walked like a benediction of her God amid the desolate, the stricken, +the hungry and despairing,” but she walked and talked and lived “in +pulses stirred to generosity.” Her pathos of sentiment and elegance of +diction won the hearts of the American people, won Congress, won the +President, won the Red Cross for America. And “the Red Cross in its +great and human principles, its far-reaching philanthropy, its +innovations upon long established and accepted customs and rules of +barbaric cruelty, its wise practical charity, stands forever next to the +immortal proclamation of freedom to the slaves that crowns the name of +Abraham Lincoln.” + +[Illustration: + + IDA M. TARBELL + + Clara Barton got the preliminary experience which led to the + foundation of the Red Cross work, on the battlefields of the Civil + War. I have a high regard for her devotion, her organization + ability.—IDA M. TARBELL. +] + +[Illustration: + + LUCY LARCROM + + Even a casual observer can not fail to see in Clara Barton’s work a + unity peculiar to itself—a work which has grown out of a character, + and which no one but herself could have done.—LUCY LARCROM. +] + + + REPRESENTATIVE OF THE LITERARY WORLD + +[Illustration: + + ELBERT HUBBARD + + Clara Barton has given us a constant lesson in thrift; a worker from + infancy, taking neither vacation nor recreation. +] + +[Illustration: + + ALICE HUBBARD + + The greatest woman of all times. The people of the United States + admire, revere and devotedly love Clara Barton. +] + + _The Fra_—Elbert and Alice Hubbard. + + + + + XXXVIII + + + Clara Barton’s dress was so simple that no one tried to follow her + fashion. ALICE HUBBARD. + + For personal adornment Clara Barton cared little, choosing green + dresses in her youth; and ornaments of bright red, for cheer, in her + older years. CORRA BACON-FOSTER, Author. + + + Dress changes manners. VOLTAIRE. + + Eat to please thyself, but dress to please others. FRANKLIN. + + Ridiculous modes, invented by ignorance, and adopted by folly. + + SMOLLETT. + + To live to dress well indicates a fool. DR. A. E. WINSHIP. + + The plainer the dress with greater luster does beauty appear. + + LORD FAIRFAX. + + Beauty, like truth, never is so glorious as when it goes plainest. + + STERNE. + + Those who think that, in order to dress well, it is necessary to dress + extravagantly, make a great mistake. Nothing so well becomes feminine + beauty as simplicity. GEORGE D. PRENTICE. + + A plain, genteel dress is more admired and obtains more credit than + lace and embroidery, in the eyes of the judicious and sensible. + + GEORGE WASHINGTON. + + Elizabeth, who died the happy owner of 3,000 dresses, issued a solemn + proclamation against extravagance in dress. + + GEORGE WILLIAM CURTIS. + + loveliness + Needs not foreign aid of ornament, + But is, when unadorned, adorned most. + THOMSON—_Autumn_. + + We sacrifice to dress till household joys and comforts cease. Dress + drains our cellar dry and keeps our larder lean. COWPER. + + The dress that shows taste and sentiment is elevating to the home, and + is one of the most feminine means of beautifying the world. + + MISS OAKEY. + + A lady of genius will give a genteel air to her whole dress by a well + fancied suit of knots, as a judicious writer gives to a whole sentence + by a single expression. GAY. + + A rich dress is not worth a straw to one who has a poor mind. + + AZ ZUBAIDI. + + ’Tis the mind that makes the body rich. SHAKESPEARE. + + + I wear what I want to. CLARA BARTON. + + + THE ART OF DRESSING—CLARA BARTON’S INDIVIDUALITY + +Dress is a sentiment, sentiment of an occasion. Dress is an expression +of the attitude of the mind as to propriety, necessary to accomplish +results. Like smiles, dress is an expression of the intelligence of the +wearer. Dress is an art, one of the highest of the arts. Dress has to do +with the form divine and, whether dress be for good or ill, depends on +the mind that fashions it. Court dress, then the want of _dress_, Clara +Barton disliked and on one occasion would not conform. She thereby +missed the honor of being a guest on a state occasion—proffered her by +the world’s greatest queen. + +There is an individuality of dress, as of conduct. Clara Barton had +individuality. There has been no one else like her, and a famous +American woman says we shall never again produce her like. In religion +she adhered to no creed; in social life, to no rules; in wearing +apparel, to no fashion. In service to the world she wished for something +to do that no one else would do—something that no one else thought of +doing. “Clara Barton was Clara Barton,” individual even in her wearing +apparel. The first straw bonnet she ever had she made herself. She cut +the green rye; she scalded it; she bleached it in the sun; she cut it +into lengths; with her teeth she split the straws into strands, +flattening them. She braided the bonnet by the use of eleven strands; +she fashioned it to suit herself; she wore it; it was Clara’s individual +bonnet, and at 86 years of age she regarded it the great achievement of +her life. + +When advised by a clerk in a store that a woman of her age should wear +lavenders and violets, Clara Barton turned to her shopping companion and +said, “I guess she doesn’t know I wear what I want to.” While on the +lecture platform, to a limited extent, she conformed to custom and wore +trains. On a certain occasion, looking her over from head to feet, an +obtrusive flatterer said to her “How stunning!” Floating on a breeze +several degrees below zero came from Miss Barton’s lips “_What did you +say!_” Nor would she gossip about the dress of others. Says Goethe: The +“highest fortune of earth’s children is personality.” Characteristic of +her observations on personality rather than of dress, on an occasion +when she was a special guest of honor, she thus writes of her hostess: +“I want you to know what a beautiful, bright lady I think Mrs. President +Hayes to be. She is brilliant and beautiful, brunette with abundant jet +black hair, put back over her ears;—she is entirely different from the +Grand Duchess of Baden, and still _bright_ and _full of life_, like +her.” + +Every human being dresses for effect, as does the actress before the +footlights—the greater the intelligence the greater the discrimination. +Clara Barton was the designer of her own fashions, the mistress of her +own stitches. In the use of one of her stitches, she taught the women of +Corsica to do more work in one hour than previously they had done in +five hours. She found forty thousand people in despair, ill clothed. In +her “dress-making shop,” she taught large classes of girls to sew. +Daily, with these poor girls, + + Plying her needle and thread,— + Stitch! Stitch! Stitch! + +she left those people the best clothed people in Europe. + +Clara Barton was as proud of her skill with the needle as was Lucretia +with the spinning wheel, or Florence Nightingale in the art of nursing. +In a western town a lady was discredited, and shunned, because she had +been a sewing girl. Appreciating the situation, and ambitious socially, +she made her home the center of fashionable sewing circles. She taught +fancy crochet, and embroidery stitches; in a very short time she had the +aristocratic women at her feet, and became the social leader. + + The bright little needle, the swift-flying needle, + The needle directed by beauty and art. + +Clara Barton’s apparel was her personal care, and not the care of a +_modiste_. While in charge of relief work on a field of disaster, she +said I have no clothing, and couldn’t attend to it if I had.” She fully +appreciated also that “rags are royal raiment when worn for virtue’s +sake.” She would sew on her own buttons, mend, clean, stitch and +hemstitch, make and remake, her own clothes,—not only as a matter of +economy but as a matter of personal pride. + +[Illustration: + + W. R. SHAFTER + + No governmental red tape system could possibly be as effective as were + Clara Barton’s sensible business methods in Cuba. + W. R. SHAFTER. + Brigadier-General Civil War; Major-General + Commanding the American Army in the Spanish-American War. + + General Shafter, the kind and courteous officer and gentleman. + CLARA BARTON. +] + +Clara Barton received no one until she had donned the, to her, becoming +apparel,—the proper bow at the neck, the proper bow in her hair. +Everything about her dress must be, to her, _au fait_. Propriety of +dress had been a part of her education. She recognized that a tramp +seldom gets by the barking dog at the gate, while the door of the palace +opens wide to the person well-dressed. And possibly also she entertained +the sentiment of Emerson, “The sense of being well-dressed gives a +feeling of inward tranquillity which religion is powerless to bestow.” +She agreed with Walt Whitman that only personal qualities endure, and +dress bespeaks personal qualities. + +That she succeeded in the art of dress—that her personal qualities were +at all times in the ascendancy, is attested by the fact that the press +reporter overlooked her dress, in describing the “ladies’ costumes.” He +would describe her very dark, bright eyes, her face as the ideal one +which conforms to her character, her raven black hair worn in the +fashion of our mothers and grandmothers; or “her hair, black as the +raven’s wing, does not follow fashion’s ways but is dressed like +Longfellow’s Evangeline, low down on either side of her forehead,” and +then possibly dismiss her with the simple statement: “Miss Barton was +attired in black silk.” + + + + + XXXIX + + + Clara Barton—her brilliancy and bravery won her a European reputation; + she was decorated with several honorary orders in recognition of her + exploits. Raleigh (N. C.) _Times_. + + + The whole of Europe is marshaled under the banner of the Red Cross. + CLARA BARTON. + + + In the Grand Duchy of Baden, woman leads in Red Cross work. + + CLARA BARTON. + + Scarcely had man made his first move in organizing the Red Cross, when + the jeweled hand of royal woman glistened behind him, and right + royally she has done her part. CLARA BARTON. + + Sovereigns deeply interested in the work of the Red Cross will be less + and less disposed to precipitate their peoples into war for light and + trivial causes, for small, or personal, or unworthy ends. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + The patrons of the Red Cross in Europe are always of the Crown, or + royal families, as Empress Augusta of Germany, Victoria of England, + Dagmar of Russia, Marguerite of Italy, and the Royal Grand Duchess of + Baden. CLARA BARTON. + + + THE JEWELLED HAND AND THE HARD HAND MEET + +In the Franco-Prussian War the jeweled hand of the princess and the hard +hand of the peasant met, and labored side by side unquestioned and +unquestioning in their God-given mission. Side by side they wrought, +says Clara Barton, as side by side their dead lay on the battlefield. + +Empress Augusta became the active head of the Red Cross Society of +Germany. Luise, Grand Duchess of Baden, only daughter of the Emperor and +Empress of Germany, was untiring in the conduct of the Society she had +already formed and patronized. Her many beautiful castles, with their +magnificent grounds throughout all Baden were at once transformed into +military hospitals. The whole court with herself at its head formed into +a committee of superintendents an organization for the relief of the +wounded soldiers. Clara Barton was the leading spirit in all such relief +work. She says: “I have seen a wounded Arab from the French Armies, who +knew no word of any language but his own, stretch out his arms to my +friend, the Grand Duchess, in adoration and blessing as she passed by.” + + + + + XL + + + Clara Barton—The object of decorations by many sovereigns. + + Tacoma (Wash.) _Ledger_. + + Clara Barton—The rulers of many nations have done her honor. + + Boston (Mass.) _Herald_. + + + The title of Emperor never loses itself. NAPOLEON. + + A throne is but of wood, covered with velvet. NAPOLEON. + + Royalty is no longer the feeling of the age. NAPOLEON. + + + Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown. SHAKESPEARE. + + Every monarch is subject to a mightier one. SENECA. + + The name of Emperor is a word, like another; but he who bears it must + have a better title to render him worthy of posterity. + + NAPOLEON. + + + Clara Barton was the welcome guest in the soldiers’ camp, the + woodman’s hut, and the palace of the king. + + _Universal Leader_, Boston, Mass. + + Clara Barton’s services in the Franco-Prussian War brought her + recognition from the German Emperor in the shape of an iron cross, + Germany’s most prized decoration. + + Bridgeport (Conn.) _Post_. + + The “little woman” accomplished what crowned heads failed in. + + _Unity_—Chicago. + + + Germany, which was in the vanguard of treaty nations was thoroughly + organized and equipped. She was the first to demonstrate the true idea + of the Red Cross—people’s aid for national, for military, necessity. + CLARA BARTON. + + His Majesty, in the name of humanity, was glad to meet and welcome + those who labored for it. CLARA BARTON. + + + CLARA BARTON AND THE EMPEROR + +The royalty of Germany had assembled to speed the parting guest, to pay +tribute of respect to the “little lady” who had sacrificed herself for +the sick and wounded in the Franco-Prussian war. William the First was +there. The Emperor observed, among her many decorations, two decorations +worn on that occasion by the “little lady.” One of these had been +presented to her by His Majesty on his 75th birthday; the other, the +“Warrior Brothers in Arms” of Milwaukee, he had not seen. It was the +“Iron Cross of Germany,” on an American shield. The “American Eagle” +surmounted the arms for defence; and the colors of Germany—the Red, +White, and Black, of the Empire,—united the two. + +The Emperor, with much curiosity, turned to his daughter, the Grand +Duchess, as if to ask “does my daughter understand this?” His daughter’s +explanation was satisfactory, whereupon the Emperor expressed the wish +to know whether or not the Germans make good American citizens. “The +best that could be desired,” responded the “little lady,”—“industrious, +honest, and prosperous.” + +The Emperor then commented on the high compliment thus paid the +German-Americans; “I am glad to hear this; they were good soldiers and, +thank God, they are true men everywhere.” + +In a personal sense the Emperor said: “Of myself, I am nothing. God be +praised; it is all from Him. I am only His. He made us what we are. God +is over all.” + +Miss Barton, “this is probably the _last_ time; we may not meet again in +this world, but we will be sure to meet in the world beyond. Good-bye.” + + Farewell! if ever fondest prayer + For others availed on high + Mine will not all be lost in air, + But waft thy name beyond the sky. + +This was the _last time_. When she again visited Europe he had passed to +the Beyond. But Prince Henry later visited the United States. Clara +Barton was then temporarily at Hotel Willard, Washington, D. C. At the +request of Kaiser William, Lieutenant Commodore Von Egidy, of the Royal +Suite, made a personal call upon Clara Barton at her hotel. She had been +apprised of his coming and was tastefully attired, wearing her historic +souvenirs, including those presented to her by the Royal Family of +Prussia. Among the souvenirs were the Iron Cross of Prussia, by Emperor +William the First and Empress Augusta; Gold Cross of Remembrance, by the +Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Baden; Silver Medal, by Empress Augusta +of Germany; Jewels, including the Ruby Pin, by the Queen of Prussia; +Jewels, including the famed Pansy Pin, by the Grand Duchess of Baden; +Medal of the International Committee of the Red Cross of Geneva, +Switzerland. The Lieutenant Commodore, in full uniform, bore the +greetings of Prince Henry to Miss Barton; and also friendly messages +from the Emperor and other members of the Royal Family. Among the other +pleasant messages from the Emperor was the statement that he still +cherished the “little lady,” as a member of his own family. + + + + + XLI + + + Were all the crowns and laurels of earth won by the kings of earth + within my reach on one hand, and on the other there rested the One + Never Dying Jewel—made brilliant and lustrous by Clara Barton’s good + deeds—I would count myself most blessed of men to—in reverence—touch + the latter rather than become the owner of all the others. T. V. + POWDERLY. + + + Clara Barton’s name was mingled with the orations of statesmen, the + elegance of the pulpit, the command of royalty, the commands of + generals—engraved in the halls of fame, in books of story for children + and adults, and engraved on jewels of costly make and rare art. Bangor + (Me.) _Commercial_. + + What have kings + The privates have not, too, save ceremony? + SHAKESPEARE. + + A crown + Golden in show is but a wreath of thorns. MILTON. + + The crowned heads of Europe were quick to perceive the benign uses of + Red Cross Associations, and bestowed upon the Central Committees of + their countries money, credit and personal approbation. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + Secretary of State Frelinghuysen, insisting that illness was not a + good excuse, and that Clara Barton _must_ represent the United States + at the International Conference at Geneva, in 1884, said: “All the + country knows what you have done and is more than satisfied. Regarding + your illness—you have had too much fresh water, Miss Barton—I + recommend salt and shall appoint you.” + + THE AUTHOR. + + I saw Paris when the Commune fell; the Army of Versailles shot down + its victims on the streets by the ghastly glare of blazing palaces. + CLARA BARTON. + + + In 1872, at the time of the Reign of Terror there, Clara Barton walked + into the city of Paris. When the people saw her entering the stricken + city on her errand of mercy, they cried out: “God, it is an angel!” + PERCY H. EPLER, Author. + + + As Clara Barton and her faithful attendant, Antoinette Margot, a fair + haired Swiss maiden, were on their way in Europe to the front they + heard “Turn back, turn back; turn back; the Prussians are coming.” + “Yes,” said Miss Barton, “that is why we are going, we are on our way + to care for the wounded of the battle.” And the people cried out: + “Dieu vous benisse!” PERCY H. EPLER. + + For services among the Armenians, Turks and Kurds, Sultan Abdul-Hamid + of Turkey decorated Clara Barton with the order of Shefacat and + diploma for charity, and referred to her as “A Missionary of + Humanity.” W. H. SEARS. + + + Miss Barton was President of the Red Cross at the time of the Russian + famine. The total contribution from America was estimated at $800,000. + + In 1902 Clara Barton, and party, was invited to Moscow, Russia, where + she had a royal reception lasting three days. + + Referring to her relief work in Russia, to Clara Barton the mayor of + St. Petersburg said: “The Russian people know how to be appreciative.” + THE AUTHOR. + + The Czar of Russia personally decorated me (1902) with the highest + honor conferred on anyone not of royal blood. I was entertained in the + royal palaces and the imperial railway trains were placed at my + disposal. CLARA BARTON. + + + In 1902 the delegates were received by the Czar, and as such they + passed in review. Everyone bent over and kissed his hand. When it was + Miss Barton’s turn, she attempted to bend over to kiss his hand, but + he pulled his hand away and said: “Oh! no, Miss Barton, not you,” and + shook her hand, instead. B. F. TILLINGHAST, Delegate to Quinquennial + Conference of the International Red Cross Society, in 1902. + + + To honor me, the likes o’ me, not so! Poor little me who has not seen + the present ruler (1909) of her own country. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + AMERICA—SCARLET AND GOLD—EUROPE + +In the autumn of her life honors, like the rich and beautifully colored +leaves from the trees of New England, fell upon Clara Barton in showers. +Twenty-seven testimonials officially were conferred upon America’s +greatest woman philanthropist. The nations thus recognizing her valuable +services to their respective countries are: Germany, Prussia, Austria, +Russia, Switzerland, Servia, Turkey, Armenia, Spain, Portugal and Cuba. +Through official sources it is learned that several of these nations +have under consideration a perpetual Clara Barton memorial, and it is +not improbable that the first great monument to our American +World-Character will be on foreign soil. + +Before the organization of the National Red Cross Society, in 1870–71, +Clara Barton was an active participant in relief work on the following +battlefields: Hagenau, Metz, Strasburg, Sedan; in relief work at +Belfort, Woerth, Montbelard; in hospitals at Baden; in relief work in +Paris at the Fall of the Commune; and for some time thereafter +personally assisted in organizing relief work for the sick and wounded +in France. + +Clara Barton officially represented the United States Government at the +Red Cross International Conferences. She was appointed by President +Arthur in 1884, as our country’s representative at Geneva, Switzerland; +by President Cleveland in 1887 to the Conference at Carlsruhe, Germany; +by President Harrison in 1890 to the Conference at Rome, Italy; by +President McKinley at Vienna in 1897; by President McKinley in 1902 to +the Conference at St. Petersburg, Russia. In person she attended the +Conference at Geneva, at Carlsruhe, at Vienna and at St. Petersburg. + +At Geneva, “Mlle. Barton bien merite de l’human’te,” prepared by an +Italian delegate, was adopted by acclamation by the representatives of +all the governments of Europe—an honor to a woman never before or since +equaled in the world’s history. + +At St. Petersburg Clara Barton and party were received by all the +royalty of Russia; entertained by them at dinners, luncheons, on +excursions, given free transportation with an escort, everywhere. At +Carlsruhe she received signal honors at the hands of the Emperor and +Empress of Germany, Grand Duke and Duchess of Baden, Grand Duchess +Luise, Bismarck, Von Moltke, and other statesmen and military officers. +At the palace of the Grand Duchess Louise, she had attendants liveried +in “scarlet and gold”; received all the honors accorded to royalty; and +on leaving for America all Royalty stood hat in hand wishing her _Bon +Voyage_ and _Dieu Vous Benisse_! + + + + + XLII + + + Clara Barton is the greatest woman in the world. + + GENERAL W. R. SHAFTER. + + + Greatness is the courage to exercise common sense in high places. + + JUDGE T. M. COOLEY. + + + General Shafter, while in Santiago as he had been at all other times, + was the kind and courteous officer and gentleman. + + CLARA BARTON. + + In Cuba General Leonard Wood—alert, wise and untiring, with an eye + single to the good of all—toiled day and night. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + Take whatever three or four years of my existence you will, but leave + the old army life _untouched_. CLARA BARTON. + + + THREE CHEERS—WILD SCENES IN BOSTON—TIGER!! NO, SWEETHEART + +It was on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Grand Army of the +Republic, held at Atlanta, Georgia. Mrs. W. M. Scott, of O. M. Mitchell +No. 2, W. R. C., was the President. At that meeting the President +described the scene occurring at one of the sessions in Boston the +previous year. + +Mrs. Annie Wittenmeyer was the President of the W. R. C. at the session +in Boston. As President she said: “I have the pleasure and the honor to +introduce to you”—and hundreds of lips ejaculated “Clara Barton!” Then +there occurred an ovation seldom witnessed. Handkerchiefs waved from +every part of the hall, and loving little tears of tenderness streamed +down the faces in that vast throng of admirers of the beloved woman. And +Clara Barton talked. She, describing a former meeting, said (her voice +tremulous): “They showed me the wounds they said _I_ had helped to heal, +and the stubs of the limbs they said _I_ had tried to save, and they +clustered around me like loving boys, and I—I cried, and they cried too; +and we talked of those terrible times, and then we talked of those +glorious times. They were grateful to me for what I had done for them, +and I was grateful that I had the privilege of doing it.” “And,” says +Mrs. Scott, “as Clara Barton told the simple story of her experiences +with her soldier boys every one of us women, gazing at her, thought that +if we did not have a sweetheart, or husband, at that time to nurse, +well,—we wish we had.” + +The old soldier boys _brave and true_ in numbers were there. The G. A. +R. too was having its session in Boston, and their heroine also was +there. He, too, whom history will record as one of the greatest of +American generals, was there. As since has the soldier’s idol, the great +General also had “suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous +fortune”—at the hands of schemers and politicians. Under the General she +had served in Cuba—the same fearless woman that at the battle of +Santiago, perched on a gun-carriage, gave orders to the doctors and +nurses. Clara Barton again received an ovation, and General Shafter +shared in the honors. + +[Illustration: + + EMPRESS AUGUSTA + + The Empress—her precious gift, the beautiful cross, is the chiefest + among my treasures. CLARA BARTON. + + See pages between 326–7, decorations Nos. 9, 18. +] + +[Illustration: + + EMPEROR WILLIAM I + (1861–1888) + + Tell the “little lady” I still cherish her as a member of my own + family.—THE EMPEROR. + + See pages between 326–7, decoration No. 3. +] + + + THE ROYALTY OF GERMANY + +[Illustration: + + LUISE, THE GRAND DUCHESS OF BADEN + née Princess of Prussia +] + +[Illustration: + + FRIEDERICH, THE GRAND DUKE OF BADEN + Duke of Zährengen +] + + For more than forty years, I have known dear, beloved Miss Clara + Barton. Great affection and great admiration and great gratitude + united me with her. Her memory I will keep sacred in faithful and + thankful remembrance of her whose friendship was in our never altering + affection so very precious to me.—LUISE, the Grand Duchess of Baden + (in 1912). + + The Grand Duke, one of the kindest and noblest types of manhood. CLARA + BARTON. + + See pages between 326–7, decorations Nos. 2, 4, 5, 16, 17. + +The literary exercises were over. The General had stepped down from the +platform. There at the foot of the steps the General waited. The +audience had remained sitting. In a few moments Clara Barton and her +chivalric old Commander were in private conversation. As that great +audience, composed principally of old soldiers, saw together the +greatest hero and the greatest heroine of the Spanish-American War, +reminiscing of common hardships and common dangers, as one man they rose +to their feet, tumultuously cheering. + +An old soldier at the top of his voice shouted: + + “Three cheers for Clara Barton!” + +The cheers given were uproarious, cheers continuing again and again. At +a still higher pitch of voice another shouted: “Tiger!!” + +Hardly had the echo of that voice died away when still another voice +cried out: “No, Sweetheart!!” + +Then shouts and tears were intermingled and little Clara, with a love as +true to her “soldier boys” as that of her “soldier boys” to her, much +embarrassed and speechless, could only smile back her love in return, +and in tears smile and smile and smile. + + + + + XLIII + + + I have been shaking hands since nine o’clock this morning, and my + right hand is almost paralyzed. + + A. LINCOLN, January 2, 1863. + + My “duties?” Receiving and shaking hands with _two thousand persons_, + sitting down to the May breakfast at one o’clock with eleven + hundred—leaving the table at four P. M. + + CLARA BARTON, May 3, 1910. + + + All speaking terrifies me. CLARA BARTON. + + Formality and parade I hate. CLARA BARTON. + + + Vain pomp and glory of the world + I hate ye. KING HENRY VIII. + + + Who was it that said that life is three-fourths conduct? Matthew + Arnold, I think. BISHOP WILLIAM F. MCDOWELL. + + While Clara Barton’s religion was real, it was a thing expressed not + in words nor creeds, but almost wholly in deeds. + + REVEREND PERCY H. EPLER. + + Such lives as Clara Barton’s teach the world a lesson which it must + never be permitted to forget—namely, that the wealth of human life is + not what it gets, but what it gives. + + REV. WM. E. BARTON, D.D. + + + THE LAST RECEPTION—HER AUTOGRAPH—THE BOYS IN GRAY + +The last great public reception to Clara Barton was in Chicago, May 3, +1910. Miss Barton made the trip alone from Washington to Chicago, she +then being nearly ninety years of age. The reception was given by the +Social Economics Club, in Mandel’s Tea Room, to twelve hundred +delegates, representing the club women of the State of Illinois, Clara +Barton being the special guest of honor. Just back of Miss Barton on the +stage was a snow-white flag bearing in its center a blazing red cross. + +The question to be discussed was “Are We Elevated by Knocks or Boosts?” +Under the spell of Miss Barton’s presence, “Knocks” was omitted from the +program and “Boosts” resulted in a symposium of tributes,—in an ovation +given to Miss Barton “such as few mortals receive.” + +Since her death her autograph has become very valuable. Even then it was +highly prized, and she was not permitted to leave the hall until every +delegate present had her autograph. At the close of the meeting a +delegation of Southern women waited on Clara Barton to thank her for +what she did for the “boys in Gray” during the Civil War. + +The following Sunday evening she was asked to fill the pulpit of a +famous Chicago divine. She declined. “But you must, Miss Barton; it is +announced, and the audience expects you.” + +Commenting on the occasion she remarked to a friend: “I got even with +the pastor, for he had to sit in the pulpit to listen to my talk; but +possibly more annoying to him is the fact that he sat there, facing the +largest audience he had ever seen in his church—wondering all the while +what had been the trouble with his sermons.” + + + + + XLIV + + + I am sure I express the sentiment of our great commonwealth when I say + “All honor to the memory of the great founder of the Red Cross.” + + CHARLES E. TOWNSEND, U. S. Senate. + + + Clara Barton’s fame will live as long as the race honors + self-sacrificing devotion in ministering to the suffering. + + Dayton (Ohio) _Journal_. + + Clara Barton—her fame will live throughout the ages. + + Tampa (Fla.) _Tribune_. + + + Thou art Freedom’s now and Fame’s. FITZ-GREENE HALLECK. + + + Fame outlives marble. W. G. CLARK. + + Fame is but a phantom. J. BROOKS. + + Fame is the echo of action. FULTON. + + Fame is a magnifying glass. PAVILLON. + + Fame is the thin shadow of eternity. MARTIN LUTHER. + + Fame is the perfume of heroic deeds. SOCRATES. + + Fame comes only when deserved. H. W. LONGFELLOW. + + Fame is no plant that grows on mortal soil. MILTON. + + + The temple of fame stands upon the grave. HAZLITT. + + With fame—in just proportion, envy grows. YOUNG. + + He lives in fame that died in virtue’s cause. + + TITUS ANDRONICUS. + + + What is fame? A fancied life in other’s breath. + + POPE—_Essay on Man_. + +[Illustration: + + NICHOLAS II + The Czar of Russia + + Oh, no, Miss Barton, not you. + + THE CZAR. + + The Czar is young and handsome, an educated, refined, kind-hearted + gentleman. I know him. CLARA BARTON. +] + +[Illustration: + + ALEXANDRA FEODOROWNA + The Czarina of Russia + + The Czarina was the active head of the Red Cross, in the Russian + famine of 1892. She and the Czar gave a special audience to Clara + Barton, on the occasion of her visit to St. Petersburg, in 1902. +] + + + THE ROYALTY OF RUSSIA + +[Illustration: + + MARIA FEODOROWNA + The Empress Dowager + _née_ Princess Dagmar of Denmark + + The personal friend of Clara Barton and who, with the Czar, presented + her with a decoration. See page 327, decoration No. 23. +] + + There is nothing vainer than the love of fame. THEOPHRASTUS. + + Earth hath bubbles as the water has. MACBETH. + + What is fame? The advantage of being known by people of whom you + yourself know nothing and for whom you care as little. + + STANISLAUS. + + + Nor Fame I slight, nor for her favors call; + She comes unlooked for, if she comes at all. + ALEXANDER POPE—In _The Temple of Fame_. + + + So long as we love, we serve. ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON. + + Happiness can be attained only by considering the good of others as + our own. TOLSTOI. + + Love gives itself to others, and inclines to extremest sacrifice. + + TOLSTOI. + + + To give up seeking one’s own happiness, as animals, is the true law of + the life of humanity. TOLSTOI. + + When we help someone else, we add to our own resources and power. DR. + EUGENE UNDERHILL. + + If we cannot live so as to be happy, let us at least live so as to + deserve happiness. FICHTE. + + + He serves most who serves his country best. ALEXANDER POPE. + + They never fail who die in a good cause. BYRON. + + + Coarseness and roughness lock doors and close hearts; courtesy, + refinement and gentleness are “open sesame” at which bolts fly back + and doors swing open. WILLIAM MATTHEWS. + + + The years of unsheltered days and nights, the sun and storm, the dews + and damps have done their work and now with bitter tears I turn my + face away from the land I have loved so well and seek in a foreign + clime, perchance, a little of the good strength once lent me here. + CLARA BARTON. + + Reserve your energies, doing those little things that be in your way, + each as well as you can, so that when God shall call you to do + something good and great you will be ready to do the work quickly and + well. CLARA BARTON. + + + We question whether there has been any man or woman in the whole + world’s history who has been a greater blessing to mankind than Clara + Barton. _Topeka Daily Journal._ + + Clara Barton stands as the complete refutation of the spirit of the + age that either great wealth, social position or political power is + necessary to the achievement of success. + + _The Universalist Leader_ (Boston). + + + Life is giving one’s self to save others. CLARA BARTON. + + + Grace was in all her steps, heav’n in her eye, + In every gesture dignity and love. MILTON. + + + OPEN HOUSE—COST OF FAME, SELF-SACRIFICE—BEST IN WOMAN + +Clara Barton kept “open house.” She was “in” to everybody. One had but +to knock and enter. Expressive of her welcome, on one occasion she says: +“You will begin to feel the strings of welcome tugging at your footsteps +when you leave the cars, and will know that it is fastened firmly to the +knob of the door, pulling only the harder as the door swings wide open.” +At one time her Glen Echo home was filled with indigent, homeless +soldiers. About this time “Bessie Beech” was heard to say: “Clara Barton +really needs a guardian; she gives away everything she has and almost +starves herself. Recently she gave to her soldier friends in distress, +$800.00—all the money she had and is “strapped.” A well known +millionaire gave, fearing he might die _rich_; Clara Barton gave, +knowing that she must die _poor_. Giving,—that was Clara Barton’s whole +existence.” “All the world,” she says, “expects me to give something +every time it can get through the door or get a letter to me.” + +“To pay respects” is a convenient excuse for imposing on good nature. To +pay respects to America’s humanitarian became a fad. She not only +personally answered 3,700 letters annually, besides her foreign +correspondence, but thousands of people every year called, on her “to +pay their respects.” On one occasion it would be for her to entertain +the First Lady of the Land, representatives of the Army, the Navy, the +Military, the Members of the Cabinet, the Members of Congress, the +Officers of the Bureau of Education—“Official Washington.” On another +occasion it was for her to entertain 600 members of the American Woman +Suffrage Association, headed by the President Susan B. Anthony. It was +for her almost daily to receive delegation after delegation, titled men +from Europe, “globe trotters,” “sight-seers,” “prominent officials”—and +to receive the “people who want something” all the time. If “the +greatest of all sacrifices is the sacrifice of time,” for others, Clara +Barton made a sacrifice theretofore without precedent,—“the sacrifice of +half a century.” + +Fame is one’s misfortune. Clara Barton did not seek fame, she sought +work; fame was thrust upon her. It may be enjoyable to achieve fame, but +it is misery to be a slave to fame. Only when the possessor of fame is +dead can there come compensation—_that’s a monument_. A famous English +Cardinal moaned, “Would that I had served my God with half the zeal I +served my king!” A world-famed French philosopher soliloquized, “What a +heavy burden is a name that has become famous!” An immortal American +President said: “I wish I had never been born—my position is anything +but a bed of roses.” Again, in the nation’s darkest night, despairingly +this same President said: “Oh, if there is a man out of hell that +suffers more than I do I pity him.” Another, America’s most beloved +President, advised a small boy: “Grow up to be a good man, a useful man, +but don’t try to be President; it won’t pay you.” Responsive to an +admirer, who said “I helped to nominate you,” a world-famed President in +the afternoon of his release, with nerves shattered, from an invalid +chair commented: “Yes, you helped me into a lot of trouble.” + +Even more than a famous man does a famous woman “belong to history and +self-sacrifice.” In the evening following an “afternoon at home” to a +thousand people, in full dress, and while sitting on the floor +entertaining her little children with their toys, America’s most famous +society entertainer and wife of a multimillionaire U. S. Senator, was +heard to say, “This is the only pleasure I get out of Washington +society.” To reach the heights of mere social fame is an achievement of +folly. To live in an atmosphere of social aristocracy is to live on a +desert-waste; the only attraction, the mirage that deceives. + +On the steamer, while in ill health on her way to Europe, in her diary, +Clara Barton philosophizes: Is my life really worth while? I give all of +my time and strength to the public that seems unappreciative. In +obscurity I might have had health, at least personal comfort. I might +have married and had a home, a family of children; I might have taken up +painting or literature, in each of which my friends say I have ability. +In either of such life’s work I might have achieved success. As it is, +even while serving the public, I am alone in the world, buffeted about +and nobody seems to care for me unless to use me for some purpose. I +wonder whether or not any woman thinks her life a success? Oh, well, I +guess it was intended that I should do the work I am doing, forget +myself and live for others, so I might as well make the best of it and +try to be happy. + +All organization is difficult; Clara Barton organized. She brought into +existence the machinery of the organization and her master mind, +unerring, directed the movements of every part of the machinery, “in a +way that the people knew what she had done and are more than satisfied.” +Without a title she occupied such a position as now must be filled by +the male executive of a great nation. In qualities feminine, in sympathy +tender, shrinking from publicity as no other woman in history, she +filled a public-service position as no man could fill it. To an audience +of women in Boston, another self-sacrificing woman who would serve the +human race, said: “Clara Barton is an epitome in her life and character +of all that is best in woman; she is what we would all like to be.” + + + + + XLV + + + She had all the royal makings of a queen. SHAKESPEARE. + + She moves a goddess, and she looks a queen. HOMER—_Iliad_. + + + Clara Barton, America’s uncrowned queen. + + HON. FRANCIS ATWATER. + + + We crown you in our minds and hearts as a “Queen Among Women.” B. H. + WARNER, Chairman, Public Reception, Washington, August 8, 1896, to + Clara Barton on her return from Turkey and Armenia. + + Clara Barton’s “queenliness as a woman and womanliness as a queen” + endear her to our hearts beyond all words. + + President Economics Club, Chicago, Ill. + + Clara Barton should be exalted above queens. + + Central Relief Committee of Galveston, Texas. + + + KNEELED BEFORE HER AND KISSED HER HAND + +In 1902 the International Red Cross Conference was held at St. +Petersburg. At this conference the civilized nations of the world were +either indirectly or directly represented. The Czar and Czarina gave +Clara Barton a special audience. The Dowager Empress also gave her the +honor of a state dinner. Of all the delegates present Clara Barton was +the most sought after personage. Not only at St. Petersburg but wherever +she went throughout Europe, similar queenly honors were accorded Clara +Barton by rulers and world-famed military officers. + +When they came into her presence and were introduced, as to a queen, the +greatest generals kneeled before her, and kissed her hand. They were +invariably profuse in compliments and in undisguised praise of her +services to humanity. Whenever the little, modest, timid woman attended +the sessions of the Conference as she entered the hall the whole +audience would rise to their feet and would remain standing while she +was walking down the aisle to take her seat, and this was not +infrequently accompanied by cheers and the waving of handkerchiefs, as +if in the presence of royalty. + +Referring to Clara Barton, at a public reception, one of America’s great +women said: “No one loves a self-sacrificing woman as well as—as all +other good women.” In America, as in Europe, Clara Barton was honored as +has been no other American woman,—by the “First Lady of the Land,” by +the Julia Ward Howes, by the Frances Willards, by the Susan B. Anthonys, +by all great and good women—all recognizing her “queenliness as a woman +and womanliness as a queen,” and graciously willing to crown her “Queen +Among Women.” Writers also have referred to her as “The Angel of the +Battlefield,” “The Angel of the World’s Battlefields,” “The Beautiful +Lady of the Potomac,” “The American Lady with the Lamp,” “The Angel of +Peace,” “The Angel of Mercy,” “The Angel of Humanity,” “Our Lady of the +Red Cross.” + + + + + XLVI + + + Life at best is so exhaustive. FRANK W. GUNSAULIS, D. D. + + + Clara Barton was a soft-voiced little woman, yet she had a way of + approaching her work in the most telling manner. + + _Buffalo Express._ + + + The Stars make no noise. IRISH PROVERB. + + The secret of my long life, “Hard work and low fare.” + + CLARA BARTON. + + + A surfeit of the sweetest things + The deepest loathing to the stomach brings. + MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM. + + They are sick that surfeit with too much, + As they that starve with nothing. + MERCHANT OF VENICE. + + + This was the afternoon of Monday. Since Saturday noon I had not + thought of tasting food. + + CLARA BARTON (At Battle of Chantilly). + + You have the full record of my sleep—from Friday night till Monday + morning—two hours. + + CLARA BARTON (Among the wounded at Chantilly). + + At Cedar Mountain, among the wounded, Clara Barton had five days and + nights with only three hours’ sleep, and a narrow escape from capture. + PERCY H. EPLER. + + + I never think of weariness. CLARA BARTON. + + Clara had some source of strength that we knew nothing about. + + “SISTER HARRIETTE” L. REED. + + Clara Barton’s endurance is unprecedented, and I have never known her + equal. SURGEON-IN-CHIEF A. MONAE-LESSER. + + Gentleness, sweetness, quiet unobtrusiveness were her armor; from dawn + to midnight usually her working day; the frugal meal at Red Cross + headquarters was frequently prepared solely by her hand. CHARLES A. + BAKER, Treasurer, Red Cross. + + + Clara Barton: My working hours are fourteen out of the twenty-four. + + Port Royal Nurse: You mean eighteen out of the twenty-four, Miss + Barton, don’t you? + + + I NEVER GET TIRED—EATING, THE LEAST OF MY TROUBLES + +“Miss Barton, these workers say they are _starving_,” said “Sister +Harriette”; “it’s four o’clock, and they have had nothing to eat since +early morning.” + +“Why, bless their dear hearts; I had forgotten all about them. Take them +to the restaurant across the street, and get them something to eat.” + +“But, Miss Barton, you need a rest and something to eat as much as we +do.” “Oh, no, I never get tired, you know, and eating is the least of my +troubles.” Miss Barton kept at her work in the warehouse, unpacking and +repacking, preparatory to leaving. + +In the dusk of the evening, her assistants returned and Miss Barton was +still there, alone, and at work. Turning to the workers Sister Harriette +said: “Did you ever see such a tireless worker? Miss Barton must have +some source of strength we know nothing about.” + +The relief workers had cared for, provisioned and resettled in their +homes 30,000 negro refugees, victims of the cyclone and hurricane +disaster on the Carolina Islands. The party arrived at Beaufort late +that night; the “workers,” worn out; Clara Barton, as vigorous as when +the relief-work-campaign opened ten months before. + + + + + XLVII + + + Clara Barton, “Our Lady of the Red Cross”—her real life is measured by + deeds, not days—rich in the joy of service. + + MARY R. PARKMAN—Author of _Heroines of Service_. + + + The ladies of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, presented Clara Barton with a + gold pin having a large diamond in the center. From it hung two small + gold chains to which was attached a superb gold locket with a + beautiful sapphire on the face of it. THE AUTHOR. + + + Clara Barton learned how to care for her many pets which lived in the + farm yard and was especially fond of horses. Her turkeys, dogs, geese, + and cats were added to Clara’s stock of pets. She also learned to milk + the cows. ENGLISH AUTHOR. + + + I was a very poor boy, hired on a flat-boat at $8.00 a month—if you + call this aristocracy, I plead guilty to the charge. + + A. LINCOLN. + + + I have neither clerk nor typewriter; I still _aristocratically_ eat by + myself and do my own work. CLARA BARTON. + + + ROYALTY UNDER A QUAKER BONNET + +Clara Barton had at Glen Echo a beautiful pet Jersey cow. This she +personally cared for, feeding and milking her morning and evening. While +milking the cow she would wear usually a plain black gown, white and +blue checked apron, a white shawl over her shoulders, and on her head a +brown, old-fashioned Quaker bonnet. As pendants on her breast there +would be the elegant Pansy pin, presented to her by the Grand Duchess of +Baden, and the Iron Cross of Prussia, presented to her by the Emperor of +Germany. These royal jewels she had promised the donors to wear as long +as she lived, and the promise she faithfully kept, whether she was in +the parlor entertaining guests or in the yard among the animals doing +the “chores.” + + Miss Barton: What beautiful medals you are wearing. + + Diplomat: Oh, yes, Miss Barton, but mine are from my own country, + while yours are from the whole world. + + + + + XLVIII + + + Clara Barton, a Christian-like spirit. + + Pueblo (Colo.) _Chieftain_. + + Clara Barton—no other woman has come so near the Christ Spirit. + Worcester (Mass.) _Gazette_. + + + Revenge, at first though sweet, + Bitter ere long back on itself recoils. JOHN MILTON. + + + This was the most unkindest cut of all. JULIUS CAESAR. + + Wisdom and goodness to the vile seem vile. SHAKESPEARE. + + The wicked plotteth against the just. PSALMS. + + The black destroyers, the red torturers + Shall vanish—they like smoke shall disappear. + MOTHER ARMENIA. + + + Women always find their bitterest foes among their own sex. + + J. PETIT-SENN. + + + ’Twill not, false traitor! + ’Twill not restore the truth and honesty + That thou hast banished from thy tongue with lies. + JOHN MILTON. + + + The traitor to humanity is the traitor most accursed. LOWELL. + + The utmost ingenuity of metaphysics cannot + Excuse the man who wantonly wounds another. + BENJAMIN CONSTANT. + + + A woman’s shape doth shield thee. SHAKESPEARE. + + Aunt Clara has only Christian forgiveness for others. STEPHEN E. + BARTON (Executor of the Clara Barton estate, 1911). + + Clara Barton had no time to hate; only time to serve, to live, to + give,—one of the greatest souls that ever came to earth. + + ALICE HUBBARD. + + + STILL STAMPING ON ME—PERSONALLY UNHARMED + +In a letter under date of November 20, 1905, Clara Barton said: “I thank +you for the clipping concerning Miss ——’s lecture. I have received +others not at all complimentary to me personally. I am learning some +very bad things of myself. + +“I wonder whether it ever occurs to her that taking a reputation and +appropriating the work of another might be quite honest. I have, +however, nothing to say. I have done with it all and so long as I am +left _personally_ unharmed I expect nothing more. They have long ago +done everything else, and I have lived through it thus far. If they +think their work will progress faster, or show better, by still stamping +on me I shall not complain. I never have.” + + The fairest action of human life + Is scorning to revenge an injury. + + + + + XLIX + + + Clara Barton—Let all flags fly at half-mast, and all the world stand + reverently with uncovered head. + + _Richmond_ (Va.) _Leader_. + + The world stands with uncovered head. + + Chicago (Ills.) _Inter-Ocean_. + + A grateful world pays tribute to her. Boston (Mass.) _Pilot_. + + Her soul goes marching on. Boston (Mass.) _Journal_. + + + The pomp that is attendant on funerals feeds rather the vanity of the + living than does honor to the dead. ROCHEFOUCAULD. + + Let me not be made to appear proud and fond of vain show, when I am + dead. JOHN BURROUGHS. + + + When her mother died Clara Barton wore no evidence of mourning. THE + AUTHOR. + + Clara Barton said that death was only one of the things of life, a + part of life. She is not dead; I cannot even say she is away. + + ALICE HUBBARD—In _The Fra_. + + + Clara Barton still lives. FATHER TYLER. + + + Great sorrows speak not. C. MARAT. + + The deeper the sorrow the less the tongue has it. TALMUD. + + Suspect that sorrow which is anxious to show itself. RUZZIK. + + + Some grief shows much love + But much of grief shows still some want of wit. + ROMEO AND JULIET. + + Excess of grief for the deceased is madness; for it is an injury to + the living and the dead knows it not. XENOPHON. + + Christ never preached any funeral sermons. + + REV. D. L. MOODY. + + + I cannot go to Heaven until my work is done. CLARA BARTON. + + How often I have wondered whether or not the souls will know us in the + Great Beyond. CLARA BARTON. + + + The Red Cross is a peculiar institution, without nationality, race, + creed or sect, embracing the entire world in its humanizing bond of + brotherhood; without arbitrary laws or rules, and yet stronger than + armies and higher than thrones. CLARA BARTON. + + + The world is my country; to do good is my religion. + + TOM PAINE. + + I know no section. In the labors that have come to me the nations of + the world, and their strange tongues, have become my own. CLARA + BARTON. + + + Just to have seen the collection of flags from all over the world, + brought together through the mercy and loving kindness of one woman, + made us feel that a Peace Proclamation is not an improbable thing. + ALICE HUBBARD. + + There flowed in upon Clara Barton blessings uttered in all tongues + known among men. Portland (Ore.) _Telegram_. + + All nations shall call you blessed. MALACHAI. + + + AT THE MEMORIAL—“THE FLAGS OF ALL NATIONS”—A GOOD TIME + +Charon, the ancient guide over the River Styx, was peculiarly equipped +to serve departing souls. Following the souls’ escape from earth, +mourning customs are as numerous as are tribes and nations, as varied as +are nationalities. At funerals, lives have been sacrificed, human forms +disfigured, mourners employed, bells rung, lighted candles used—to serve +their respective purposes, as have food, jewels, implements and weapons +at the “last resting place.” + + Go, call for the mourners and raise the lament, + Let the tresses be torn and the garments be rent,— + +Funerals and memorials sometimes are to honor the dead; sometimes to +cater to the vanity of the living; sometimes seemingly to strengthen an +organization, social, religious, political, but in every instance +following custom’s ways. Were not the public funeral display the custom, +it would be sacrilege—custom sanctifies barbarity. Averse to personal +display Clara Barton was also averse to the use of any custom of public +mourning. + +At the memorial held in honor of America’s greatest humanitarian, soon +after her passing, the stage and the boxes of the theatre were decorated +with flags that had been given to Clara Barton by grateful nations. Some +were of silk, rich and magnificent; some, battle-stained and +bullet-scarred. Some she had carried on the battlefield along with the +Red Cross flag, the emblem to the sick, wounded and dying, that an Angel +of Mercy was winging her way to their presence. There were the flags of +England, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Italy, Norway, France, Russia, Cuba, +Prussia, Holland, Greece, Switzerland, Turkey—and the flag of the United +States. + + To me remains nor place nor time; + My country is in every clime. + +Anticipating that there might be a memorial for her by the Philadelphia +School of Nurses, Clara Barton thus advised the President: “Do not make +it a serious occasion; let the people laugh if they want to, and tell +stories and have a good time. There is no reason why it should be +serious.” + + When I am dead, no pageant train + Shall waste their sorrows at my bier. + + + + + L + + + Clara Barton—a biography of absorbing interest. + + Duluth (Minn.) _Tribune_. + + Clara Barton wrote several golden pages in the history of the + brotherhood of man. Houghton (Mich.) _Gazette_. + + + “Amici! diem perdidimus” (Friends! we have lost a day), said Titus + when at the end of a day he had nothing memorable for his diary. THE + AUTHOR. + + + Nothing is of greater value than a single day. GOETHE. + + A great library contains the diary of the human race. + + GEORGE DAWSON. + + The diary is greatly relied on by the writers of history, but— + + CHARLES DUDLEY WARNER. + + + Tolstoi keeps a diary in which he notes down what he has been + thinking. Translator for Tolstoi. + + + Diaries tell their little tales with a directness, a candor conscious + or unconscious, a closeness of outlook which gratifies our sense of + security. Reading them is like gazing through a small pane of clear + glass. _Varia_—By AGNES REPPLIER. + + A man’s diary is a record in youth of his sentiments, in middle age of + his actions, in old age of his reflections. + + JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. + + A well kept diary is one of the most interesting productions of human + industry—not the least benefit of a diary is that it produces a taste + for writing. REVEREND WILLIAM SUTTON, S. J. + + We converse with the absent by letters, and with ourselves by + diaries—many of our greatest characters in public life have left such + monuments of their diurnal labors. ISAAC DISRAELI. + + + Her unpublished diaries and letters are my chief original sources of + information that the book should come forth with the force of an + autobiography. _The Life of Clara Barton_, by Epler. + + Only two classes of people can keep diaries of unimportant + things—those who never have time to do anything else and those who + have stopped doing things. I have done neither. CLARA BARTON. + + + Clara Barton’s war diaries, and diaries of her travels, if published, + would be eagerly read by the people and be of great historic interest. + THE AUTHOR. + + Clara Barton could say with Seneca: “I keep an account of my expenses; + I cannot affirm that I lose nothing, but I can tell you what I lose, + and why, and in what manner.” THE AUTHOR. + + + CLARA BARTON KEPT A DIARY + +The diary is an important factor in literary culture, and likewise in +history. Diaries in some form are probably co-existent with the history +of man. Keeping diaries, however, was revived in the seventeenth +century. The best known diaries are those by Samuel Pepys and John +Evelyn, of England. In this country, among the many well known diarists +are John Quincy Adams and Henry David Thoreau. From youth continuous +through her long and eventful life, Clara Barton kept a diary. The +subject matter therein consists of routine daily work, travels, public +functions, personal opinions of people she met, and philosophizing, +which would fill volumes with interesting reading. + +In her diary also she discussed questions of the day, public men, the +problem of life, spiritualism, religion, politics,—everything that +passes through the human mind, besides keeping account of every cent +expended and for what purpose. By reading her diaries, almost any friend +could find Miss Barton’s opinion of himself. Before retiring for the +night her custom, amounting almost to a religious one, was to write in +her diary the day’s events. + + Pleasing, when youth is long expired, to trace + The forms our pencil or our pen designed; + Such was our youthful air, and shape, and face, + Such the soft image of our youthful mind. + +Illustrating this remarkable characteristic in her life are appended two +excerpts of a domestic nature from her diary in 1907, she then being +eighty-seven years of age. + + + “DOING MY WORK,” AT 87 + + Friday, October 18, 1907. + +This is my first day (since my illness) of doing my work and having a +guest, but it has gone superbly. The breakfast table was neatly +elegant—all silver and glass except the plates and cups and saucers. We +had soft boiled eggs, cooked on the table, corn flakes, and a delightful +platter of cream toast, with grapes, apple sauce, Dutch cheese and thick +cream, and two kinds of coffee. Mr. Brown went to town returning at 5 P. +M., when we had supper (or dinner)—a nicely cooked steak and sausage, +fine potatoes, rice pudding, bananas, cake and tea—fruit. + +I arranged the milk and cream, put the house in order, took care of +lamps and room, and drafted a long letter to the Grand Duchess (from the +medium), and Empress. + +Doctor got Uncle Silas to come at evening and I engaged one hundred +bundles of fodder at .04 cents a bundle, to be bought and put in the +stable next week. + +Have talked with Mr. Brown concerning Lucy. + + + “A RATHER HARD DAY” + + Saturday, Oct. 26, 1907, Glen Echo. + +Another fine day. But an experience this morning was anything but that. +As Mrs. Barker did not come I was “doing up” the breakfast dishes at the +sink and had put a kettle of beans on the stove to parboil for baking, +as Doctor had expressed a desire for them. A rather heavy coal fire was +going for this purpose. Suddenly I was startled by a great rush at the +stove. Supposing that my kettle of beans had boiled over, I turned to +see a flame three feet high from a vehicle larger than my kettle, +pouring a liquid out over the hot stove that blazed the moment it +touched. The Doctor had wanted to use some tar about the roof, and +brought in a two-gallon tin bucket partly full and set it on the stove +to warm up, and left it without speaking or in any way calling my +attention to it. It had gotten boiling hot, and my first notice of its +presence was the burst of blaze. The bucket of boiling black tar running +over all on fire, the flame streaming up some two feet high. I called +the Doctor at the cellar steps, at the windows—no response. The blaze +went higher and wider. The carpenters must be on the roof and to the top +I rushed, to find no one there—down again. I saw I was the only person +on the premises. The room was dark with smoke. I could see little but +the blaze. Four feet to the left stood a five-gallon can of kerosene oil +for the lamps. I could not remove it and, if I could, I must carry it +directly past the flame—if a spark reached, we would be blown to atoms, +house and all. The floor was bare, with one or two small _cotton_ mats. +I dared not use even them. There was but one way; I must grapple the +boiling, blazing mass, take it across the room and throw it from the +window. I had no inflammable material on me, being dressed in entire +black silk, waist and skirt. There was no time to lose. I tore away the +curtain, raised the window to its fullest height, seized the bucket +firmly with both hands and landed it on the ground. I knew the smoke +must raise outside help as I did it. The Doctor had been to the post +office. He rushed in to find me in the midst of darkness. I had closed +the doors at first, still the smoke poured out of the chamber windows we +kept closed. My right hand, which had taken the tip of the bucket, was +nearly covered in a coat of tar, put on boiling hot, and to stay. I did +not try to remove it but put it in hot water and went to work with it. I +need not say that the rest of the day was needed, and given to the +house, but we were only too thankful that we _had_ a house to clean up. +The tar coating and hot water saved the hand, so that a few heavy +blisters tell the story of their hardship. It is all over now. I write +this the _next_ day; last night I could not have done it. + +Doctor went to Mrs. Warneke’s; I remained home. Mrs. Hinton came but I +made no mention of the morning adventure. She has commenced her new +home. I gave her butter, fruit, jellies, to help her table. A _rather_ +hard day. + + + + + LI + + + All the world pays homage to the nurse—poets, warriors, statesmen, + kings, and the numberless multitudes of human sufferers.... EUGENE + UNDERHILL, M.D., author of “_Nursing—The Heart of the Art_.” + + + Efficient nurses are the most difficult to obtain of all aid in Red + Cross work. CLARA BARTON. + + I never claimed to be a nurse. There are hundreds of women who could + nurse as well as I, if not better, than I could. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + Time is the great physician. DISRAELI. + + Physicians mend or end us. LORD BYRON. + + Send for a physician;—but the sick man answered, “It is no matter for, + if I die, I’ll die at leisure.” LORD BACON. + + + For the woman has a friend + Who will keep her to the end. IRONQUILL. + + + NURSING A FINE ART—OVER THE WASHTUB + +Was Clara Barton a nurse? Yes, and Florence Nightingale said that +nursing is a fine art; and to succeed requires greater devotion than +that in the art of painting or sculpture, for nursing has to do with +“the living body, the temple of God’s spirit.” It’s probably the finest +of the fine arts. Clara Barton did not assume the rôle of an art-nurse; +she said others could surpass her in this art. + +Miss Barton in her passion for service claimed to be only a +“working-woman.” Work did not undignify her; instead, she seemed to +dignify work—she surely made nursing popular. Work was a part of the +best religion she ever had. With her + + Human hopes and human creeds + Have their seat in human needs. + +The day preceding the delivery of her public address she spent washing +the clothes of the family and the linen of the household. Such exercise, +more useful than golf and serving like purpose, strengthened the +muscles, increased the blood circulation, made the brain active. + +Commenting on the “wash-tub custom” her old physician said as she became +so very tired after a hard day’s washing at first he used to protest, +then facetiously remarked, + + But her spirits always rose + Like the bubbles in the clothes; + +and therefore he concluded that Miss Barton knew better than he did what +was good for her. + + + + + LII + + + Clara Barton—The millions she has blest. + + KATE BROWNLEE SHERWOOD. + + With the gleam of the scarlet she walks with the immortals now. + + Haverhill (Mass.) _Gazette_. + + + One of the few immortal names. FITZ-GREENE HALLECK. + + + Oh! the love of woman, the love of woman! no coldness, no neglect, no + harshness, no cruelty can extinguish thee! Like the fabled lamp in the + sepulchre, thou sheddest thy pure light in the human heart, where + everything around thee is dead forever. + + WILL CARLETON. + + + Will Carleton—author of “The New Church Organ,” “Betsy and I are Out,” + “Over the Hill to the Poor-house,” and many others. THE AUTHOR. + + + Thy voice sounds like a prophet’s word; + And in its hollow tones are heard + The thanks of millions yet to be. + FITZ-GREENE HALLECK. + + + IMMORTAL WORDS—A MILLION THANKS + +The following correspondence occurred between two beloved Americans: + +On the occasion of Memorial Day, May 30, 1895, at Arlington, Will +Carleton delivered the poem. It was so fine that at its close I felt a +great desire to reach him with some word of appreciation and, tearing a +scrap from an envelope which I had, I wrote this upon it: + + Thanks: Immortal thanks for immortal words. + Arlington, 1895. (_Signed_) CLARA BARTON. + +Folding and addressing the scrap to Mr. Will Carleton, Miss Barton +passed it to the next person, who graciously passed it to the next, and +so on, through possibly a hundred hands, until finally it was lodged +with Mr. Carleton. In due course of time, another little scrap with the +following words came back to Miss Barton, through the same hands: + + To Miss Clara Barton, + A million thanks to one, + Who hath a million plaudits won, + For deeds of love to many millions done. + (Signed) WILL CARLETON. + + + + + LIII + + + Wherever flowers cannot be reared, there man cannot live. + + NAPOLEON. + + + A rose to the living is sweet. CLARA BARTON. + + The roses are sweet, and blessed be they who bring them into one’s + life. CLARA BARTON. + + + A heaven-sent gift, and blessing, is the rose, + Its grace inspireth aspirations high. E. G. BROWNE. + + The red rose has been blazoned with a boar’s head on the Barton crest + ever since the War of the Roses. + + DR. WILLIAM E. BARTON. + + + All the world brings its roses to the bier of Clara Barton. + + _Grand Rapids Herald._ + + My life is like the summer rose + That opens to the sky, + But ere the shades of evening close + Is scattered on the ground—to die. + RICHARD HENRY WILDE. + + + There’s the rosemary, that’s for remembrance;—and there is pansies, + that’s for thoughts. SHAKESPEARE. + + + THE PANSY PIN—FOR THOUGHTS + + Once Friendship weaves its silken band + It cannot be by time or distance broken; + And severed friends are bound by Mem’ry’s hand + More closely by some little simple token. + +The “Pansy Pin,” of which so much has been written, and which Miss +Barton continually wore, was given to her by the Grand Duchess of Baden. +The pin is about as large as the case of a lady’s watch and in the shape +of a pansy. The five petals are splendid amethysts and a single large +beautiful pearl rests in the center, like a dew drop. The gift was +accompanied with the words: “This is a simple gift, but it is a pansy +which means ‘for thoughts.’” + +Jeweler—“Miss Barton, do you know the value of that pin?” + +Miss Barton—“No, sir, it was a present to me.” + +Jeweler—“Each of these jewels is almost priceless. They represent a +king’s ransom.” + +Miss Barton—“The pin is priceless to me. I always wear it ‘for thoughts’ +of a very dear friend.” + + + + + LIV + + + AT A DINNER IN LONDON + + Lord Stratford—Will the guests kindly write on a slip of paper the + name of the one, including the famous generals, who served in the + Crimean War they think will be the longest remembered? + + Guests—Florence Nightingale (written on every slip). + + THE AUTHOR. + + + Clara Barton is to America what Florence Nightingale is to us. + + _London Times._ + + + No general that led hosts to victory on the battlefield is nearly so + secure of lasting fame as is the name of Clara Barton. + + Dayton (Ohio) _Journal_. + + + Miss Nightingale found herself misunderstood and lost her Governmental + position—suffering much from Governmental heartlessness and neglect. + England, in later Governmental acts, was more appreciative of her war + heroine.... PERCY H. EPLER. + + English women are solid and sensible, learned and self-possessed, and + all the world respects them. CLARA BARTON. + + Surely woman should bring the best she has, whatever that is, to the + work of God’s world. FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE. + + + A white marble cross, 20 feet high, overlooking Balaclava and seen + from ships crossing the Black Sea, is known as the “Nightingale + Cross,”—erected at the personal expense of Florence Nightingale in + memory of the soldiers and nurses who died in the War. THE AUTHOR. + +[Illustration: + + © _American Red Cross_ + + + FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE + + Clara Barton is to America what Florence Nightingale is to us. + London _Times_. + + I will not speak of reward when permitted to do our Country’s work—it + is what we live for. + FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE. + + Florence Nightingale, covered with the praises and honors of the + world. + CLARA BARTON. + + See pages 183; 197. +] + +[Illustration: + + FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE MEMORIAL ON THE MALL, LONDON + + (Left to right.) The monument erected at Waterloo Place, corner of + Pall Mall, London, England, to the memory of Florence Nightingale. + Funds, by public subscription. Unveiled, February 24, 1915. + + “To the memory of 2162 officers, non-com. officers and privates of + Brigade of Guards who fell during the war with Russia in 1854–1856. + Erected by their comrades.” + + (In front) Statue of Sidney Herbert, associated with the life work of + Florence Nightingale. +] + + + CLARA BARTON PAYS RESPECTS TO FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE + +In the year 1854 occurred the Crimean War. At the Scutari and Barrack +Hospitals, Florence Nightingale rendered service that gave her immortal +fame. “Her services there,” said Clara Barton in 1882, “marked an era +never before reached in the progress of the world. When Miss +Nightingale, with her thirty-eight faithful attendants, sailed from the +shores of England, it meant more for the advancement of the world, more +for its future history, than all the fleets of armies and navies, cannon +and commissary, munitions of war, and regiments of men, than had sailed +before her in that vast campaign. + +“This unarmed pilgrim band of women that day not only struck a blow at +the barbarities of war, but they laid the axe deep at the root of war +itself. When Florence Nightingale, covered with the praises and honors +of the world, bending under the weight of England’s gratitude, again +sought her green island home, it was to seek also a bed of painful +invalidism, from which she has never risen and probably never will.” + + ’Tis good that thy name springs + From two of earth’s fairest things + A stately city and a sweet-voiced bird. + + + + + LV + + + How age is a matter of individual commendation I have never been able + to see. CLARA BARTON. + + + We have no control over the beginning of life and, unless criminally, + none over its ending. CLARA BARTON. + + It is not my fault, if my gray hairs are not honorable. + + JOHN B. GOUGH. + + + One is as old as his strength. CLARA BARTON. + + We can neither hasten, nor arrest, age. CLARA BARTON. + + Let work be thy measure of life. W. E. H. LECKY. + + + We live in deeds, not years—we should count time by heart-throbs. He + most lives who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts the best. + + PHILIP J. BAILEY. + + + Although she had lived more than ninety years Clara Barton never gave + the impression to anyone that she was an old woman. ‘Her age knows no + time.’ She gave to the world nearly a century of work. ALICE HUBBARD. + + + A life spent worthily should be measured by a noble line—by deeds, not + years. PIZARRO. + + Age is opportunity no less than youth itself, but in a different + dress. H. W. LONGFELLOW. + + + THE PASSING OF YEARS—RIGHT HABITS OF LIFE + +At the age of 11 years Clara Barton was a nurse; at 15 years, a teacher; +at 34 years, a clerk in the Patent Office; at 40 years, a nurse in the +Civil War; at 59 years, an organizer of nurses in the Franco-Prussian +war; at 60 years, President of the American Red Cross; at 78 years as +President of the Red Cross in the Spanish-American war; at 83 years, +retired from the Presidency of the Red Cross; at 84 years, organizer and +the President of the National First Aid Association, which Presidency +she held up to the time of her death in 1912, when she was 91 years of +age. + +Commenting on the passing of years, Clara Barton philosophizes: “Age is +no business of ours. We have no control over its beginning and, unless +criminally, none over its ending. I have never, since a child, kept a +‘birthday’ nor thought of it only as a reminder by others. + +“I have been able to see that persistent marking of dates, and adding +one mile-stone every year, encourages the feeling of helplessness, and +release from activities which might still be a pleasure to the +possessor. Somehow it has come to me to consider strength and activity, +aided so far as possible by right habits of life, as forming a more +correct line of limitation than the mere ‘passing of years.’” + + + + + LVI + + + Clara Barton, the good angel of comfort, will live enshrined in the + hearts of America and of the world. + + _Western Christian_ (Ohio) _Advocate_. + + + Great evils die hard. CLARA BARTON. + + + Don’t drink. A. LINCOLN. + + Cold water,—the only beverage I have used, or allowed, in my family. + A. LINCOLN. + + The saloon, the most blighting curse;—liquor traffic, the tragedy of + civilization—I am a practical prohibitionist. A. LINCOLN. + + Intemperance is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, of all the + evils among mankind. A. LINCOLN. + + The one victory we can ever call complete will be that one which + proclaims there is not one slave nor drunkard on the face of God’s + green earth. + + A. LINCOLN—(In a letter to George E. Pickett.) + + Although the temperance cause has been in progress for nearly twenty + years, it is apparent to all that it is just now being crowned with a + degree of success hitherto unparalleled.—Hail, full of fury! Reign of + reason, all hail! A. LINCOLN, February 22, 1842. + + + Humanity is the peculiar characteristic of great minds. + + CHESTERFIELD. + + + Lincoln’s tenderness was as gentle as a woman’s. + + HENRY WARD BEECHER. + + Lincoln was human and thus touched the chord that makes the world + akin. H. W. BOLTON, D.D. + + God has placed the genius of women in their hearts, because the works + of their genius are always the works of love. LAMARTINE. + + + SHE WON HIS HEART + +The son had broken a mother’s heart, and crushed out her life. The +relatives and other mourners were at the open grave, made ready to +receive her. Among them stood the son, then maudlin with drink. In that +pathetic scene was Clara Barton. She stepped to the side of the boy, and +grasped his arm. The ceremony halted. In a low voice she made her +appeal; she won his heart; he promised—The casket was lowered; the group +separated and she led the boy away. A few more words, then humanity’s +friend and the boy parted, she to other deeds of mercy and he to a new +life. + + + + + LVII + + + The philosophy of the old-time African servitor was of the most + consoling character—he preached the gospel of contentment, perhaps as + divine as any other principle of the moral law. + + LASALLE CORBELL PICKETT—“_In de Miz Series_.” + + + America had freed a race. CLARA BARTON. + + A gift must be outright. CLARA BARTON. + + Our gifts fall short of the best. CLARA BARTON. + + Charity and beneficence are degraded by being reduced to a dependence + upon a system of beggary. CLARA BARTON. + + Charity bears an open palm; to give is her mission. + + CLARA BARTON. + + How good it is to make two blades of grass grow where was one. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + I know I am right because I know liberty is right. A. LINCOLN. + + The colored people would probably help, in some trying time, to keep + the jewel of liberty in the family of freedom. A. LINCOLN. + + + My early history is perfectly characterized by a single line of Grey’s + elegy: + + “The short and simple annals of the poor.” + + A. LINCOLN. + + + The history of philanthropy has few brighter pages to record than at + the Sea Island Hurricane, and its pleasant memories will gladden the + hearts long after its weary hours are forgotten. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + YOU BUY IT FOR HIM + +The policy of the Red Cross was to help people to true independence by +enabling them to support themselves by their own work. In Galveston +after the flood had produced widespread ruin, Clara Barton authorized +her field agent to visit the coast towns, ascertain the needs of the +people, and send in requisitions by telegraph. As the agent was leaving +on this mission she said: + +At the Sea Islands one day a negro came to see me. He said that we had +built a little house for him, fenced in his field and garden and given +him seed and plow and tools to work with. Now if he had a horse or a +mule or a little bull to pull the plow he could put in his crops. I gave +instructions that his need should be supplied and, as the horse or mule +could not be found, a two-year-old steer was bought for him. + +Now you are going to the coast country, but wherever you go in all the +world if you find anybody who needs a horse or a mule or a little bull, +you buy it for him. + + Oh, chillun, life’s contra’wise, + But you’ll neber know no diff’unce + ’Twel you’s knockin’ at de skies. + + + + + LVIII + + + Clara Barton—perhaps the most perfect incarnation of mercy the modern + world has known. _Detroit Free Press._ + + + Peace and good will to all the world. CLARA BARTON. + + + Animals are such agreeable friends; they ask no questions, pass no + criticism. GEORGE ELIOT. + + + Humanity is much more shown in our conduct towards animals than + towards our fellow creatures. CHESTERFIELD. + + Some animals are so faithful that I hate to call them brutes. + + LORD ERSKINE. + + There is in every animal’s eye a dim image and gleam of humanity. + + RUSKIN. + + + Clara Barton’s affection for dumb animals showed itself in almost + every letter. REV. PERCY H. EPLER. + + Nature teaches beasts to know their friends. CORIOLANUS. + + Asoka, Ruler of India, about 300 years before Christ, organized + hospitals for the treatment of animals. LAJPAT RAI. + + + Clara Barton had some reward in the fact that every human living thing + that knew her loved her. Roanoke (Va.) _News_. + + + OR GOD WOULDN’T HAVE MADE THEM + +Just back of the old Red Cross house at Glen Echo, the hills slope +somewhat abruptly about 100 feet down to the Chesapeake and Ohio canal. +The canal is still in use, with its locks intact, the boats plying day +and night up and down between its banks. The canal is historic—one of +the oldest in the United States. It is of unusual interest because the +first construction work was under the supervision of George Washington, +he being the President of the canal company. The canal was operated long +before railroads came into use in this country. From the Red Cross house +forest trees and thick underbrush cover the slope of the hills down to +the canal. + +One day Miss Barton had a distinguished guest, who wanted to stroll down +to the edge of the canal and have her tell him about it. Miss Barton +accompanying him, they made their way slowly through the growth of +ferns, tall brakes, thick underbrush and dead timbers. On their way a +“cotton tail” jumped out from the brush. The visitor suddenly pulled out +of his pocket a pistol to kill the rabbit but Miss Barton protested, +saying: “I do not permit wild animals to be killed around my place. +These animals are my friends; I am very fond of them.” The visitor, +disappointed in not enjoying the “sport” of killing, tried to convince +his hostess that the squirrels, rabbits, muskrats and other such animals +would injure her fruit trees, destroy her flowers and ruin her garden. +Miss Barton mildly responded: “I suppose they do, but they also must do +some good in the world too, or God wouldn’t have made them.” + + + + + LIX + + + All creeds in need of help enlisted Clara Barton’s sympathies and + received her cordial assistance. HARRIETTE L. REED, Past National + Secretary, Woman’s Relief Corps. + + + Neither “Mental” nor “Christian” Science, nor Theosophy claims to be + new, but only the distinct enunciation of great world-wide truths. + TOLSTOI. + + I read “Science and Health” very conscientiously at all times. + + CLARA BARTON. + + I accepted Christian Science as something better than I had known, + without seeing its text books, without ever having heard an argument. + CLARA BARTON. + + + Isn’t it blessed that the way is opening for the relief of the ills of + the human race—poor, suffering race, how many of our ills we make + ourselves. CLARA BARTON. + + + CLARA BARTON—MARY BAKER EDDY + +Clara Barton and Mary Baker Eddy[6] were warm personal friends. + +Footnote 6: + + Born July 16, 1821, five months and nine days before Clara Barton. + +For three years Clara Barton attended the Christian Science Church, but +did not become a member. On numerous occasions Miss Barton expressed +high estimation of the work done under the leadership of that most +wonderful woman, Mary Baker Eddy, in the religious life of the people. +Spiritually these two great women were in harmony. + +“Miss Clara Barton,” says Mrs. Eddy, “dipped her pen in my heart, and +traced its emotions, motives and objects. Then lifting the curtain of +mortal mind, she depicted its rooms, guests, standing and seating +capacity, and thereafter gave her discovery to the press. + +“Now, if Miss Barton were not a venerable soldier, patriot, +philanthropist, moralist and stateswoman, I should shrink from much +salient praise, but in consideration of all that Miss Barton really is, +and knowing that she can bear the blame which may follow said +description of her soul visit, I will say ‘Amen,’ so be it.” + +On December 5, 1910, in her diary, Clara Barton writes: “This morning +brings the sad news of the death of Mrs. Mary Baker Eddy.” In the diary +the following day Miss Barton writes: “More particulars concerning the +passing of Mrs. Eddy. All so quiet, correct—no form, no excitement, no +mourning; all peaceful, thoughtful, proper. What a lesson she has taught +the world, and what faithful, apt scholars she has taught and trained! +The greatest woman of all; her life a signal triumph and her death the +greatest of all. + +“No criticisms _now_, no light comments. Her followers bow in meek +submission and her foes stand rebuked. There is no such person left, no +such mind, no such ability. Long ago I said she was our greatest living +woman; I now say she is our greatest dead.” + + + + + LX + + + Clara Barton has given us a constant lesson in thrift. She lived so + simply that at her desk, at work, a piece of bread and cheese and one + apple was her dinner; a frugal supper and a most abstemious breakfast. + ALICE HUBBARD. + + + Count Tolstoi gave up his whole time to mitigating the suffering + caused by the Russian famine. CLARA BARTON. + + The simple needs being the only true needs, their satisfaction alone + is guaranteed. TOLSTOI. + + The satisfaction of all simple, normal wants is guaranteed to men as + it is to the bird and the flower. TOLSTOI. + + The brave soul rates itself too high to value itself by the splendor + of its table and draperies. RALPH WALDO EMERSON. + + + Economy, prudence, and the simple life are the sure masters of need. + CLARA BARTON. + + + LIKE TOLSTOI SHE LIVED THE SIMPLE LIFE + +Clara Barton’s food was of the simplest. Costly food, even at another’s +expense, she could not enjoy; eating costly food, to her, seemed a sin. +For breakfast, her first choice of menu was a dish of graham mush, with +milk and fruit; her second choice, meal grains and vegetables, with +simple accompaniments. + +[Illustration: + + COUNT LYOF NIKOLAYEVITCH TOLSTOI + + I would like to visit the United States, but I would want to spend the + time among the farmers. Give Clara Barton my love; I feel that we + are related.—COUNT LYOF NIKOLAYEVITCH TOLSTOI. +] + + + CO-WORKERS WITH CLARA BARTON + +[Illustration: + + DR. HENRY W. BELLOWS + + Miss Barton, I trust you will press this (Red Cross) matter upon our + present administration with all the might of your well-earned + influence.—DR. HENRY W. BELLOWS (November 21, 1881). Ex-Chairman, U. + S. Sanitary Commission. +] + +[Illustration: + + DR. JULIAN B. HUBBELL + + Clara Barton was scrupulously honest, severely economical in her + personal needs, always sacrificing self for others, and her simple + life in her home was as beautiful as her public life.—DR. JULIAN B. + HUBBELL, Clara Barton’s physician and co-worker in the field for + thirty years. +] + +A favorite meal was bread, cheese and a Rhode Island Greening Apple. Two +meals a day satisfied, and nothing eaten between meals. No tea, no +coffee, no substitutes, and no wine. A bottle of wine presented by a +friend would last from one year to five years. There is now a bottle of +Bordeaux, in her old home at Glen Echo, that has been there for +twenty-five years. Like Tolstoi, she was a vegetarian, and an advocate +of “low fare”; but, like Tolstoi, she did not so much as advise the +household of which she was a member what to eat, or how much to eat. +Like Tolstoi, Clara Barton lived the simple life, but did not impose her +philosophy upon others; like Tolstoi, she lived to a ripe old age, +endured persecution, and served the human race. So much in common were +their habits of living, and their philosophy of human life, that +Tolstoi, in sending his love to Clara Barton, said: “I feel that we are +related.” + + + + + LXI + + + Two Angels—God’s sweet gifts, one of the Old World, one of the New.—E. + MAY GLENN TOON. + + + Just as Florence Nightingale was “The Angel of Crimea,” so Clara + Barton was “The Angel of the World’s Battlefields.” + + _Boston Transcript._ + + + Florence Nightingale, who introduced into the world a system of women + hospital nurses, was ousted from her Governmental position, she then + being an invalid. Later the treatment accorded to her by England was + made a national issue, and on that issue her admirers and friends + overwhelmingly won. THE AUTHOR. + + + At the unveiling of the Florence Nightingale Memorial in the Crypt of + St. Paul’s Cathedral, as she pulled the cord revealing the beautiful + sculpture, Queen Victoria said: “I have great pleasure in unveiling + this memorial.” THE AUTHOR. + + Although unknown to each other save in name, the “Lady of the Lamp” + and the “Angel of the Battlefield” were indeed sisters. + + CONSTANCE WAKEFORD. + + + When Florence Nightingale labored among the sick and wounded at + Scutari, Clara Barton was still writing beautiful “copper-plate style” + in the office at Washington. ENGLISH AUTHOR. + + When Florence Nightingale had safely returned to her lovely home in + England, the great call came to Clara Barton away on the other side of + the Atlantic. ENGLISH AUTHOR. + + For half a century we have thanked God for what Florence Nightingale + has wrought and taught. CONSTANCE WAKEFORD. + + Clara Barton’s personal devotion had already planted the idea of the + Red Cross in the heart of the American people better than any official + bureau could do. _Heroines of Modern Progress._ + + I will not speak of reward when permitted to do our country’s work—it + is what we live for. FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE. + + + What is money without a country! CLARA BARTON. + + + CLARA BARTON—FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE + +Clara Barton was born in 1821 and lived to be ninety-one years of age. + +Florence Nightingale was born in 1820 and lived to be ninety years of +age. + +Clara Barton lived her long life without marrying; Florence Nightingale +likewise lived her long life without marrying. + +Clara Barton is known as the “Angel of the Battlefield”; Florence +Nightingale, as the “Lady of the Lamp.” + +Although they were strangers to each other, they are known as, indeed, +sisters. + +Clara Barton had the distinction of being born on Christmas and passing +away on Easter; Florence Nightingale had the distinction of having for a +name the name of a stately city and a sweet-voiced bird. + +Clara Barton as a nurse had her first experience nursing a brother by +the name of David; Florence Nightingale as a nurse had her first +experience caring for a pet shepherd dog by the name of “Cap.” + +Clara Barton on an army wagon seated with a mule driver left Washington +to go to the battlefields of the Civil War; Florence Nightingale on +board of a vessel with 38 other nurses, sailed from England to go to the +hospitals at Scutari, Turkey, in the Crimean War. + +Clara Barton continually “followed the cannon” from the camps of the +soldiers on to the “firing line”; Florence Nightingale lived at Scutari, +but on one occasion inspected the camps of the soldiers at Balaclava +within hearing of the cannon. + +Clara Barton had for a pet, presented to her, a white Arabian horse and +known as “Baba”; Florence Nightingale had for a pet, presented to her, a +Russian hound, and known as “Miss Nightingale’s Crimean Dog.” + +Clara Barton wore the Iron Cross of Prussia, representing Germany, and +presented to her by Emperor William I; Florence Nightingale wore a +brooch bearing a St. George’s Cross, in red enamel on a white field +representing England, and presented to her by Queen Victoria. + +Clara Barton received from the Sultan of Turkey a “Diploma,” and +“Decorations”; Florence Nightingale received from the Sultan of Turkey a +costly diamond necklace. + +The United States Government refused to appropriate one thousand dollars +for a memorial tablet to Clara Barton in the Red Cross Building; England +conferred on Florence Nightingale the dignity of a “Lady of Grace of the +Order of St. John of Jerusalem,” and later the still higher “Order of +Merit,” founded by King Edward VII himself, in 1902. + +The people of the United States contributed to a fund for Clara +Barton—well, perhaps, this is a secret and should not be told here; the +people of England contributed to a fund for Florence Nightingale, +through the Jenny Lind concerts and in other ways, a fund amounting to +$250,000, the fund since used to establish the “Nightingale Home at St. +Thomas’ Hospital”—a Training School for Nurses. + +By her request, Clara Barton was buried near her home at Oxford, +Massachusetts; by her request, Florence Nightingale was buried near her +home at Lea Hurst, Derbyshire, England. + +Clara Barton built for herself, at her own expense, a very unpretentious +memorial in her family burying ground at Oxford; Her Majesty the Queen +unveiled the memorial to Florence Nightingale in the crypt of St. Paul’s +Cathedral, London, where are the tombs of Nelson, Wellington, Wolsey and +Lord Roberts. + +The plain granite monument to Clara Barton in the country cemetery bears +the inscription: + + CLARA BARTON + ANGEL OF THE BATTLEFIELD + Civil War 1861–1865. + Franco-Prussian War 1870–1871. + Spanish-American War 1898. + Organizer and President of the American + National Red Cross 1881–1904. + December 25, 1821–April 12, 1912. + BARTON + +The memorial to Florence Nightingale is a beautiful sculpture in white +marble, representing Florence Nightingale bending over a wounded +soldier, to whose lips she is holding a cup. A rich alabaster frame +surrounds the marble, inscribed above with a legend, “Blessed are the +merciful” and below: Florence Nightingale, O. M.; born May 12, 1820—died +August 13th, 1910. + +Of two famous women be it written: + + Their bodies are buried in peace; but their names live for evermore. + + + + + LXII + + + American Red Cross Founder, a life of sacrifice. + + _New York Tribune._ + + We realize the economies which Clara Barton lived and practiced, that + she might give life and aid to those who were in dire need. _The Fra._ + + + Economy is not parsimony. BURKE. + + Economy is no disgrace. BERZ. + + It would be well if we had more misers. GOLDSMITH. + + + Economy is the poor man’s mint. TUPPER. + + Economy is half the battle of life. SPURGEON. + + Economy is the parent of integrity, of liberty, and of ease. + + DR. S. JOHNSON. + + + A habit of economy is prolific of a numerous offspring of virtues. + + C. BUTLER. + + Sound economy is a sound understanding, brought into action. + + HANNAH MORE. + + It is not what we earn, but what we save, that makes us rich. + + SIR WALTER SCOTT. + + Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a ship. + + BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. + + + The prospect of penury in age is so gloomy and terrifying that every + man who looks before him must resolve to avoid it. + + DR. S. JOHNSON. + + I was brought up New England, and I have the New England thrift. CLARA + BARTON. + + My expenses have been so heavy and my receipts so “nothing” that I + cannot take on more “help.” CLARA BARTON. + + There must be no more big hotel bills; the money must be saved for the + sufferers. CLARA BARTON. + + Clara Barton has often been known by those near her to rob herself of + all her personal income—to carry on the work of an abiding and + all-absorbing charity. DR. J. GARDNER. + + + At first I used to be shocked over her penuriousness but when I + discovered the motive, that it was to save for others in need, no + words could describe my conscience-stricken feeling and my admiration + of that self-sacrificing woman. + + GENERAL W. H. SEARS, “Secretary.” + + + THE GENERAL HAS MONEY—I AM HIS RECONCENTRADO + +When traveling on the cars, Clara Barton would take her lunches with +her. At night she would sit up in the day coach, and not take a +sleeper—because of the expense. She made a trip from Washington to +Boston. Her secretary was with her. He wanted a sleeper. How could he +enjoy the luxury and Miss Barton not know it? Miss Barton had taken her +shawl—in a bundle tied together with straps—and laid her head on it for +a pillow. “Now is my opportunity,” thought the secretary, but she didn’t +close her eyes. Four or five hours any night was enough sleep for Miss +Barton, and the secretary knew it. The secretary was becoming ill at +ease. He said, “Now, if you will excuse me, Miss Barton, I will go to +the smoking car and have a smoke.” He was not there long;—he quietly +slipped into the Pullman and went to sleep. + +[Illustration: + + © _Jaro Studio_ + + + WOODROW WILSON + The President, also President of the American Red Cross Society, March + 4, 1913–March 4, 1921. + + I have learned, from all I have heard of Clara Barton, to admire her + very much. + WOODROW WILSON (in 1918). +] + +Early the next morning he passed unseen into the smoker of the day +coach, then to where Miss Barton, bright and cheerful, was sitting. As +nothing was said about “a good night’s rest,” he assumed that she +thought he too had practiced self-denial. Nevertheless, he was ashamed +over his “make-believe,” and also that a lady of seventy years the +possessor of wealth had beaten him, her able-bodied young secretary, on +a small salary, at the “game of economy.” + +On arriving at Boston “Sister Harriette,” owner of one of the ancestral +homes of Massachusetts, was at the station to meet her. The secretary +unsuspecting—still “blooded” and a “real sport”—as they entered the +station restaurant said “Now, ladies, you are going to have breakfast +with me this morning.” + +“Sister Harriette,” having served with the Red Cross in the +Spanish-American War and knowing the secretary, fully understood when +Miss Barton slyly remarked “oh, yes, the General has money, you know; +_he_ travels in a Pullman and I am his reconcentrado.” + + + + + LXIII + + + The greatest generals were proud to know her; eminent statesmen felt + honored by her friendship. + + Bridgeport (Conn.) _Post_. + + + Abraham Lincoln—the simplest, serenest, sublimest character of the + age. U. S. SENATOR JOHN M. THURSTON. + + The beauty of Lincoln’s immortal character has thrown in the shade the + splendor of his intellect. BISHOP J. P. NEWMAN. + + + Presidents Arthur, Cleveland, Harrison and McKinley, with their + cabinets, have been actively interested in, and committed to its (Red + Cross) work. WALTER P. PHILLIPS, Chairman, Red Cross Committee (in + 1903). + + + Character is higher than intellect. EMERSON. + + Character is the dearest earthly possession. T. SHARP. + + If our character is lovely we are loved. PRESTON. + + Character lives in a man; reputation lives outside of him. + + J. G. HOLLAND. + + Character, like everything else, is affected by all the forces that + work upon it, and produce it. BISHOP W. F. MCDOWELL. + + Character is made up of small duties faithfully performed. + + _Anon._ + + The true character of a man displays itself in great events. + + NAPOLEON. + + + Brains and character rule the world. The most distinguished Frenchman + of the last century said: “Men succeed less by their talents than by + their character.” WENDELL PHILLIPS. + + Great trials test great characteristics. CLARA BARTON. + + Great trials seem to be a necessary preparation for great duties. + + EDWARD THOMPSON. + + Times of general calamity and confusion have ever been productive of + greatest minds. COLTON-LACON. + + + It is only by the active development of events that character and + ability can be tested. A. LINCOLN. + + + ABRAHAM LINCOLN’S SON + +Robert T. Lincoln was Secretary of War. + +When Clara Barton handed her card to the porter, he asked, “What do you +want to see him about?” + +“Just because he is Abraham Lincoln’s son. I knew his father and merely +want to pay my respects to him.” + +Clara Barton was admitted. The War Secretary rose as she entered the +office, and Miss Barton opened the conversation by saying: “I knew +President Lincoln well. He was good and kind to me in whatever I tried +to do for the soldiers. He seemed to appreciate the little things I had +succeeded in doing; and when there came a great undertaking (referring +to making a record of the missing soldiers), so great as to appal with +its seeming impossibility, he encouraged me. Survivors of the missing +entreated me to undertake the work and, when other officials said it +could not be done, your father, with his big heart, said ‘I will help +you.’ He smoothed the way and made it possible, assisting me until the +work was done. When I came back to Washington, he was not here to +receive my grateful thanks. He had gone beyond all that. It was a sad +little burden to carry around with me unshared, but I have carried it. +At home and beyond the sea, wherever I have been, it has gone with me, +and I have come today to ask you, as his representative, to accept my +burden of thanks for him.” + +The tears were filling Miss Barton’s eyes before she had finished. She +was abashed at her failure to control her emotions but, glancing up at +the Secretary, she saw that he too was weeping. Looking at each other a +moment in silence, the Secretary reached out his hand to Miss Barton and +said “I do accept your tribute of thanks—for my father.” + + + + + LXIV + + + Clara Barton—intelligent and reclaiming, her leading attributes. + + Atlanta (Ga.) _Constitution_. + + + Pity it is to slay the meanest thing. HOOD. + + + Man is an aristocrat among animals. HEINE. + + The merciful man doeth good to his own soul. PROVERBS. + + How deeply seated in the human heart is the injunction not to kill + animals. TOLSTOI. + + Animals in their generation are wiser than the sons of men. + + JOSEPH ADDISON. + + Could we understand the language of animals, how instructive a + dialogue of dogs would be. EUDOXES. + + Animals, in our degenerate age, are every day perishing under the + hands of barbarity, without notice, without mercy. A. DEAN. + + + Surely the sensibility of brutes entitles them to a milder treatment + than they usually meet with from hard and unthinking wretches. A. + DEAN. + + + THE BUTCHER DIDN’T GET IT + +“Miss Barton, the butcher has been here today. He wants to buy the +little Jersey calf; offered me $5.00 for it,” said the manager of the +Red Cross home, “and I told him he could have it.” “But he can’t,—why +didn’t you ask me about it?” “Well, I knew we couldn’t keep it; we need +the milk—” “But the calf needs the milk too, and I tell you that the +calf is not going to be killed.” “But I have sold it.” “That doesn’t +make any difference; I haven’t—and it’s my calf.” + +“You just ask your neighbors, and they’ll tell you that nobody thinks of +raising a calf—in town here.” “But I’m not asking my neighbors.” + +“Now, Miss Barton, don’t you know we have no pasturage and we have to +buy all our feed, and feed is high now, too.” + +“Never mind, we’ll get the feed.” + +“But, Miss Barton, the calf is a nuisance around the house, and it will +cost more——” + +“Now, you’ve said enough; the calf is _not_ a nuisance and _I_ am paying +the expenses. If you don’t want to take care of the calf, I’ll take care +of it myself. Now go along and don’t talk to me any more about that +calf. The butcher will _not_ get it.” + +And the butcher didn’t get it. + + + + + LXV + + + Clara Barton, an example of charity to a younger generation. + + Boston (Mass.) _Pilot_. + + + Woman! there is a place for thee; go forth and fill it, that in thee + mankind may be doubly blessed. CLARA BARTON. + + + Let all things be done in charity. I. CORINTHIANS. + + Go and sin no more. ST. JOHN. + + + The Lord alone can direct me. CLARA BARTON. + + Go straight to God’s work, in simplicity and singleness of heart. + + FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE. + + I never in my life performed a day’s work at the field that was not + grounded in that little sentence “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one + of the least of these, ye have done it unto me.” + + CLARA BARTON. + + + With malice towards none; with charity for all. A. LINCOLN. + + Alas, for the rarity of Christian charity under the sun. HOOD. + + O charity, thou friend to him who knows no other friend besides. + + CANON BOWLES. + + Charity and personal force are the only investment worth anything. + WALT WHITMAN. + + Did universal charity prevail, earth would be a heaven and hell a + fable. COLTON. + + + Clara Barton—the candles of her charity lighted the gloom of death. + _Grand Rapids Herald._ + + Clara Barton—her beautiful deeds of charity. + + _Roswell Record._ + + + How white are the fair robes of charity, as she walketh amid the lowly + habitations of the poor. HOSEA BALLOU. + + + THE KIND OF GIRLS THAT NEEDED HELP + +In Miss Barton’s relief work in the overflow of the Ohio River at one of +the stops, at Shawneetown, among the people who came on board the boat +for relief were two girls. They had evidently told Clara Barton their +needs in a private conversation and were leaving, when somebody living +in the town came to Miss Barton and quietly told her that she had better +not have anything to do with these girls; they were not the kind she +should be helping. + +Without ostentation, or without making any display about it, she called +the girls back, had a long private talk with them and furnished them +with all of the supplies they needed, in quiet defiance of the advice +which had been volunteered about the character of the girls. Of course +her advice would be of a kind that they would never forget through their +whole lifetime and would be their guide in the future. And as they left +she calmly remarked that they were the kind of girls that probably +needed her help more than any others in the place. + + + + + LXVI + + + Clara Barton—loved and honored as perhaps no other woman of her day. + Tacoma (Wash.) _Ledger_. + + + Switzerland is an _armed_ neutrality in which one has faith. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + The Red Cross was chosen out of compliment to the Swiss Republic; the + Swiss colors being a white cross on a red ground. The badge chosen + were those colors reversed. CLARA BARTON. + + + Romance is the poetry of literature. MADAME NECKER. + + Romance is always young. WHITTIER. + + Romance—the parent of golden dreams. BYRON. + + The Red Cross seems to have become the milder romance of war. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + Love took up the glass of time. TENNYSON. + + Love will find out the way. ALFRED NOYES. + + Love took up the harp of life. LOCKSLEY HALL. + + Love conquers all things. VIRGIL. + + + All mankind loves a lover. EMERSON. + + True love is better than glory. THACKERAY. + + Love is the beginning of everything. F. W. BOREHAM. + + + None but the brave and beautiful can love. BAILEY. + + Love rules the camp, the court, the grove. + + _Lay of the Last Minstrel._ + + A love that makes breath poor, and speech unable. + + SHAKESPEARE. + + Hail wedded love, + Perpetual fountain of domestic sweets. MILTON. + + Love’s history, as Life’s, is ended not by marriage. + + BAYARD TAYLOR. + + + Love is greater than war, truer than steel, stronger than fear or + danger of death. CLARA BARTON. + + + A ROMANCE OF TWO CONTINENTS + +The battle had been fought, and on the bloody field lay the wounded. +Among these was a Swiss boy who had left his native country, coming to +America to fight in the cause of the Union. In her ministerings on the +field, Clara Barton had heard of this lad, by name Jules Golay, but had +not seen him. He was undergoing a surgical operation. As the knife was +doing its work, in great pain he cried out, “Mon Dieu!” Clara Barton +heard the cry and went to him. He could not speak in English, but in +French Clara Barton while dressing his wound gave him words of sympathy. +Daily, as tender as a mother, she cared for him until he recovered. + +Only the brave know how to be grateful. The soldier’s gratitude knew no +bounds. He did not forget, and awaited his opportunity. Years later Miss +Barton was taken ill, and went to Switzerland. Jules begged her to come +to his home. There, in her shattered physical condition, she was cared +for in greater than a royal palace—a cottage where love reigns. Clara +Barton returned to America. The elder Golay died; his family then +scattered. The eldest son, Mons A. Golay, came to New York. There his +wife, of a + + The hand that rocks the cradle + Is the hand that rocks the world. + WILLIAM ROSS WALLACE. + +[Illustration: + + THE CLARA BARTON BABY CRADLE + + I remember my first baby experience, when I was two and one-half years + of age. CLARA BARTON. +] + + + SENTIMENT IN HISTORY + +[Illustration: + + THE PET JERSEY CALF + + The butcher will not get it. + CLARA BARTON. + + See page 208. +] + +[Illustration: + + COLONY OF CONSTANTINOPLE DOGS + + “Dogs in Constantinople are held sacred.” + + See page 345. +] + +year, died also. He, ill and penniless, came to Dansville to see Miss +Barton, then convalescing. + +Mons A. Golay, recovering his health, went to Chicago and became +established there in business with his brother Jules. Jules’ old wounds +broke out afresh and in consequence he died, leaving a broken hearted +wife and several children. “One woe doth tread upon another’s heel so +fast they follow.” The widow soon followed him to the Beyond. The orphan +children became the care of Mons. A. Golay, who struggled nobly to +provide for them. In his distress over the problem of life, he +remembered. + + She was a form of life and light + That seen becomes a part of sight + And goes wher’er I turn my eye + The moving star of memory. + +But the romance does not end here; the romance follows: + +A Miss Kupfer while traveling had been stricken with a fever, and was +seriously ill at a hotel in Switzerland. There the ever humane Clara +Barton took care of her, nursing her back to life. When Miss Kupfer, in +her far-away home, heard of Miss Barton’s serious illness she crossed +the ocean to be at the bedside of her benefactor, then living at +Dansville. + +Mons A. Golay revisits Dansville and there, as on former visit, meets +the beautiful Miss Kupfer, herself still exemplifying that “the religion +of humanity is love.” + +“Love is life’s end, an end but never ending.” + +The two of foreign birth thus strangely brought together were each of +gentle manners, of rare culture,—of like tastes and alike spiritually. +As love is the spiritual friendship of two souls, unwittingly through +Miss Barton there became inter-clasped two human loves, the crowning +event of all human bliss. + +It was one of the happiest of occasions in her home at Dansville when +Miss Barton gave away the bride,—Miss Kupfer becoming Mrs. Mons A. +Golay, and the guardian spirit of the little children needing a mother’s +care. The romance of two continents, which reads like a fiction resulted +in a happy family, in an ideal American home. + + + + + LXVII + + + Clara Barton’s monument is the gratitude of humanity. + + Boston (Mass.) _Record_. + + + Deeds, not stones, are the true monuments of the great. + + MOTLEY. + + + The grave, dread thing! Men shiver when thou’rt named; nature, + appalled, shakes off her wonted firmness. ROBERT BLAIR. + + + An immortal hope was in her gaze and in her soul—in her life she did + everything thoroughly. What more natural than that she should want to + know her last resting place would be in order when the Master called? + REV. PERCY H. EPLER. + + The monument means a world of memories, a world of deeds, a world of + tears and a world of glories. JAMES A. GARFIELD. + + By desire and nomination of President Garfield, I was made President + of the American Red Cross. CLARA BARTON. + + Life’s race well run, + Life’s work well done, + Life’s crown well won + Now comes rest. + PRESIDENT GARFIELD’S _Epitaph_. + + + THE LITTLE MONUMENT—FOR ALL ETERNITY + +She suddenly stopped talking; she faltered; she choked; then trembling, +the veteran of many struggles, propped up in bed and suspecting the end +near, on Oct. 3, 1911, there occurred the following conversation: + +“Now Mr. Young, I want to ask something of you. Would you do me a +favor?” + +“Why certainly, Miss Barton, what is it?” + +“I know it is uncanny. You may not want to do it. I must not ask it, and +yet I _must_.” + +“My dear Miss Barton, tell me what it is.” + +“You know, I have no one to leave my little property to,—well, I have +from time to time been spending some money out in the cemetery.” Then +she hesitated for fully two minutes, sobbing but trying to control her +emotions, when she continued—“where I’ll remain for all eternity. Maybe +you would like to see the little monument I have had constructed; to +keep it in memory, and to associate me with the place I am to be always. +I would so much like to have you see it, and it might be some +satisfaction to you. Will you do me this favor? You can get off the +electric car on your way to Worcester; it won’t take you long, and I +would feel better to have you do so.” + +“My dear,” I said, “it is so kind of you to have mentioned this. I +appreciate it more than I can tell you. I won’t get off the car, but if +Doctor Hubbell will go with me, I’ll get an auto to drive out there. I +also want to see where you were born. How far is that?” + +“Only two or three miles. If you will do this you will make me very +happy.” + + I am taught by the Oak to be rugged and strong + In defense of the right, in defiance of wrong. + HELEN O. HOYT. + + + HISTORIC AND SENTIMENTAL + +[Illustration: + + BABA, CLARA BARTON’S PET HORSE + + Baba was presented to Clara Barton at Santiago, Cuba, by a war + correspondent of the New York _World_, 1899. + + We both loved him. I am glad my last act was for his welfare. + + CLARA BARTON. + + See page 219. +] + +[Illustration: + + THE BABA TREE—WILLIAM H. LEWIS + + (Tree registered in Hall of Fame for Trees, Washington, D. C.) + + The Baba Tree (Quercus Alba), grown on Cedar Green Farm, Battlefield + of Chancellorsville, Virginia. Planted April, 1912, on Woodland + Farm, two and one half miles from Bloody Angle, of said battlefield. + White oak trees nearby, eleven feet in circumference, whose age + (estimated) is between two hundred and three hundred years.—WILLIAM + H. LEWIS, Chancellor Virginia. +] + +“Do you know, I can get no help here; I thought when I came here I could +get all the help I wanted, but it seems to be something that neither +love nor money will buy. Haven’t been able to get a nurse to wait on me. +But my tenants on the lower floor are very kind, and bring me my meals. +I feel very much alone. I am the lonesomest lone woman in the world. You +do not know how much I appreciate your coming such a long distance to +see me; it has done me so much good—” + +Moved by a sudden impulse I took her right hand in mine, kissed it and +said “God bless you!” Faster than the mind thinks, she raised up in bed +with a “No, no”—caught my left hand in both of her hands so excitedly +that I could not divine her movements, other than to suspect that I had +performed a breech of decorum. Holding tight my hand in both of hers she +kissed it, and with tears in her eyes said: “I’ll never see you again, +this is the last—” + +“Oh! yes you will,” I said. + +“No, not again. Good-bye!” + +“No, Miss Barton, I’ll not say good-bye to you; you cannot die. You will +live always. I will only say—God bless you!” + +And then, backing out of the room, facing her all the while and watching +her changing expressions as the shadows played over her features,—waved +a kiss, and said “God bless you!” + + + + + LXVIII + + + I think I shall never see a poem as lovely as a tree. JOYCE FILMER. + + + The trees are monuments with a meaning, for they live gloriously just + as did those for whom they are planted. CHARLES LATHROP PACK, + _President of the American Forestry Association_. + + + The soil is right and the husbandman will not fail. CLARA BARTON, + _President The National First Aid_. + + + There never was any heart truly great and generous that was not also + tender and compassionate. SOUTH. + + + Life is war; eternal war with woes. + + YOUNG’S _Night Thoughts_. + + + Before any great national event I have always had the same dream. + + I had it the other night; it is a ship sailing rapidly. + + A. LINCOLN. + + Whichever way it ends, I have the impression that I shall not last + long after it is over. A. LINCOLN. + + + O, I have passed a miserable night, + So full of ugly sights, of ghastly dreams. + KING RICHARD III. + + + Always there have been believers in dreams. From Genesis to Revelation + we read of dreams and visions and their influence for good or evil + upon the acts and lives of numerous characters in Biblical history. In + Genesis, Jacob dreams of a ladder to Heaven; Joseph’s rise to eminence + is based on dreams and his solution of them. The Revelation of St. + John the Divine in its entirety is given to us as a vision seen while + on the Isle of Patmos. + + _Queen of the Romanies._ + + + STORY OF BABA—DREAM OF A WHITE HORSE—LIFE’S WOES + +While in Santiago Clara Barton was presented with a beautiful white +Arabian horse, named Baba. Baba was a pacer and an ideal saddle animal. +Miss Barton was fond of Baba, and Baba just as fond of Miss Barton. +Having been bred and reared on the Island of Jamaica, Baba was very fond +of bananas and, when Miss Barton brought from the store any of this +fruit, her first thought on returning home was to share it with Baba. On +one occasion, when her little nephew was out riding Baba, Baba spied a +banana on the side of the road; he refused to go further, and insisted +on turning around and going back. Not knowing why Baba acted in this +way, the little boy kicked him, struck him with his stick, but Baba won +out, went back and got the banana. After eating it, he went on as if +nothing had happened. When Miss Barton found it out she scolded the +little boy for mistreating the horse. And when it was explained to the +boy he cried piteously because he had been so cruel, for he too was fond +of Baba. + +Baba was a great traveler. He visited New York, Massachusetts, and +Virginia, always living on the best in the land. Baba made friends +wherever he went for he was not only kind and beautiful but he was fond +of children. Baba was never happier than when the children were on his +back, having a good time. Baba passed his last days in a pasture in +Virginia and as the favored guest of a good friend of Miss Barton. + +In the absence of Baba from Glen Echo, Miss Barton would frequently +dream of a white horse. To dream of a white horse, she interpreted, was +a bad omen. When she heard of Baba’s death Miss Barton became very +despondent, and said to the members of her household “this means that I +am not going to stay here a great while.” + +Clara Barton, who was at that time preparing for herself a monument, +wished also a monument for Baba. She philosophizes and thinks it should +be a tree—the longest-lived of all living things. Of a tree’s longevity +there is of record in England an oak 800 years, an elm 2,600 years, one +yew 3,000 years, and another yew, with a diameter of 27 feet, 3,200 +years; in Africa, baobabs 4,000 years; near the Castle of Chapultepec, +Mexico, a cypress 26 feet in diameter, and said to be 6,000 years old. + +Of the first class at Bowdoin was George Thorndike. He planted the +Bowdoin Oak, and is the only one of that class remembered by the +students of that American college. The boy died in 1802, at the age of +twenty-one years, but the tree is still the pride of that great +institution of learning, and sacred to the memory of him who planted it. + +In this instance, Miss Barton thought “Woodman, spare that tree” might +be a sentiment to be respected for hundreds of years. She, therefore, +selected for a monument to Baba a tree, + + Jove’s own tree, + That holds the woods in awful sovereignty. + +Characteristic of the heart that quickened to sympathy for life’s woes +the peoples of the world is the sentimental philosophizing of Clara +Barton on the death of Baba in the following remarkable letter: + + Glen Echo, Maryland, + November 19, 1911. + + My Dear Mr. Lewis: + + Your letter telling me of the last of our dear Baba came yesterday; + and I hasten to reply, for I know you need sympathy as well as myself. + We both loved him, and are alike grieved; and yet there is much to be + thankful for. He went quickly and was not left to suffer, nor to give + pain or trouble to others. + + His future care and keeping are no longer questions. He no more needs + me. He lived without harm and died well. I do not think he ever + knowingly nor intentionally did a wrong thing in his life. Could a + human being blest with intelligence and language do better? He had a + language of his own which we both understood, and I always felt that + he largely understood ours. Kindly as a brother and obedient as a + child,—I am glad my last act was for his welfare. He lived with you, + and loved you, to the last. He has gone from our hands and our care, + leaving with us a loving memory tinctured with respect for the virtues + he possessed, and knew not of. + + Let me thank you, dear Mr. Lewis, for the tender care given his + remains, and for the grave you have given him on your own farm. Some + time when the spring days come, if you see a thrifty oak sapling and + have time, will you kindly transplant it beside the grave? His body + will nourish it, and let it be his monument. The children will love + and protect it as Baba’s tree. His saddle and bridle you ask; you keep + them and his little belongings as no one else could hold them so + tenderly as you. + + I will take back the check for his winter feed as useless now; but + wish to enclose in this ten dollars for the last tender care and + burial, with the assurance that you will always hold a high place in + my esteem and affection for the kind and manly part you have taken in + this little episode of life’s woes. + + Let me repeat from your letter this sentiment, the hope that we may be + friends while life shall last. + + Yours gratefully, + CLARA BARTON. + + + + + LXIX + + + Resolved, in behalf of the State of Texas especially does the + legislature thank Clara Barton, President of the Red Cross Society. + + Approved February 1, 1901. + + A tribute of honor, of which sovereigns might be proud, clothed in + language the eloquence of which our English tongue does not surpass. + CLARA BARTON. + + + Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for + his friends. ST. JOHN. + + + Clara Barton is the embodiment of the saving principle of laying down + one’s life for one’s friends. Her achievements are greater than the + conquest of nations or the inventions of genius, and who is justly + crowned in the even-tide of her life with the love and admiration of + all humanity. + + Central Relief Committee of Galveston, Texas. + + The name of Clara Barton has ever been a cherished one in our + Southland, and the Red Cross the symbol of the most noble charity. + MRS. ROSENE RYAN, Chairman, the Governor’s Relief Committee for + Clothing, March 5, 1901. + + It proves to us more strongly than ever, after the experience we have + had since the arrival of Miss Barton, that “woman rules the world, as + she has always done.” MRS. JENS MOLLER, of the Central Relief + Committee, November 13, 1900. + + No name in Texas is today dearer to its people than that of Clara + Barton. Red Cross Committee, 1903. + + + How much of the heroic there is in our people when it is needed. + + CLARA BARTON. + + The Red Cross has come to be the first thought of any community + suddenly overtaken by disaster. CLARA BARTON. + + The Red Cross creates an organized neutral volunteer force, from the + people, supplied by the people. CLARA BARTON. + + The Red Cross is the outward and practical expression of that + universal sympathy that goes out from millions of homes and firesides; + from the heart of the nation to humanity in distress. + + CLARA BARTON. + + Not one dollar, for twenty years or more, on twenty fields of national + disaster, has there been drawn from the Treasury of the United + States,—the beneficence of the people through their awakened + characters were equal to all needs. CLARA BARTON. + + + High or low, rich or poor, we are the people of this God-given nation; + we are also the arbiters of its fate. + + “For sure as sin and suffering’s born + We walk to fate abreast.” + CLARA BARTON. + + + I am here at Galveston, my fingers are in the wound, and I assure you + that the side was pierced and the nails did go through. + + CLARA BARTON. + + Despite all its woes and terrors, the memory of Galveston comes ever + back to me with a gleam of pleasure for the hope in humanity, which it + has kindled, and the noble characteristics of our country which it + disclosed. CLARA BARTON. + + + In every instance the gratitude of the people has been the glad + heritage of the Red Cross and its willing servers. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + PEOPLE, LIKE JACK RABBITS—NO “SHOW-WOMAN” + +In 1900 a devastating flood visited Galveston. Thousands of human lives +were destroyed. For two miles back from the shore not a house remained +standing. Only here and there on the barren sands were seen the wreckage +of the storm-swept city. Suffering and death held sway in that city of +once happy homes. Clara Barton, with a corps of able assistants, was +there having come from Washington at the urgent solicitation of the +authorities of the City of Galveston. + +From overwork and nervous strain she had been taken ill. She was in bed +at the Tremont Hotel. For three weeks her life hung in the balance. The +writer, with a party of California tourists, happened to be in the city +on his way east. He incidentally “dropped in” the hotel, only to learn +of the serious condition of his friend. Fanny Ward was standing guard at +the door of the sick room. Undaunted, the writer ventured to suggest: +“I’d like to see Miss Barton.” “Well, sir, you can’t see Miss Barton.” +“Why not?” “She is ill, and nobody is permitted to see her.” “But she is +a friend of mine.” “That makes no difference. I have orders from her +physician not to let _anybody_ go to her room. No one but the nurse has +been permitted to enter this room for three weeks.” “Well, if that’s so, +I don’t expect to see her, but kindly take in my card.” “No, I’ll not do +that either.” “Well, it seems strange to me that I cannot at least send +a card of sympathy to my friend.” “Oh, well, if you insist, I’ll take in +your card, but it won’t do you any good.” “All right, I insist.” + +The messenger returned, and reported that Miss Barton wanted to see me +and would be ready in about fifteen minutes, but she could see no one +else in the party. As I entered the room, she was half sitting and half +reclining in her bed, having two large pillows at her back. She had her +hair neatly arranged, a pink bow adjusted tastefully at the neck, a +little white shawl hanging loosely over her shoulders and otherwise +attired as for a state occasion, as similarly was her custom when +receiving any friend. + +Miss Barton: “Mr. —— I am glad to see you. The Doctor said two weeks ago +that I had but one chance to live. I told him that I would take that +chance. I did; and I know I am going to get well.” + +Mr. ——: “Miss Barton, do you know that on the barren sands between here +and the shore they already have two or three ‘shacks’ going up?” + +Miss Barton: “That does not surprise me. People are like jack-rabbits. +Scared out of their nice warm nests, they soon forget and return from +where they started. That whole sand waste will soon be built on again, +and the people will forget that there has been a flood.” + +M. ——: “Miss Barton, there is a very wealthy young lady in our party who +wants to see you.” + +Miss Barton: “But I cannot see her.” + +Mr. ——: “I know, Miss Barton, but she told me to tell you that, if your +assistant would open the door wide enough so that she could just see +your face, she would give a hundred dollars to charity, and you could +use it among the sufferers.” + +Miss Barton: “I have worked very hard here, and am a very sick woman, +but I have not yet become a ‘show-woman,’ and I don’t think I will. I do +not understand such curiosity, nor why your young lady friend would care +to see me,” and she unconcernedly passed on to another subject +apparently more agreeable to her modest nature. + + + + + LXX + + + Clara Barton was loved by the people of the whole world. + + _The Two Martyrs_—By HON. FRANCIS ATWATER. + + + Love is the life of the soul. WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING. + + The law of Heaven is love. HOSEA BALLOU. + + The soul of woman lives in love. MRS. SIGOURNEY. + + Love—’tis woman’s whole existence. BYRON. + + The religion of humanity is love. MAZZINI. + + Love is the Amen of the universe. NOVALIS. + + + Love is indestructible; + The holy flame forever burneth + From heaven it came, to heaven returneth. + SOUTHEY—_Curse of Kehama_. + + + There is in the heart of woman such a deep well of love that no age + can freeze it. BULWER-LYTTON. + + Love is the beginning, the middle, and the end of everything. + + LA CORDAIRE. + + Love lives on, and hath a power to bless when they who loved are + hidden in their grave. LOWELL. + + + Julia—His little speaking shows his love but small. + + Lucetta—Fire that’s closest kept burns most of all. + _The Two Gentlemen of Verona._ + + + CLARA BARTON’S HEART SECRET—$10,000 IN “GOLD DUST” + +Clara Barton was very non-communicative as to her personal affairs, +confiding in no one her heart’s secrets. But a woman’s curiosity got the +best of the closest friend Clara ever had, and on a certain occasion +“Sister Harriette” ventured to draw out of her heart what she had long +wanted to know: + +“Clara, have you never had a sweetheart?” + +“Oh yes!” she replied, “just the same as all other girls.” + +“But tell me about yours,” Harriette ventured further. + +“I will, sometime,” Clara said. + +“Oh, no, tell me now,” Harriette continued. + +“No, not now—some other time I’ll tell you all about it,” persisted +Clara. Then she said: “Oh, well, I’ll tell you I had a dear friend in my +younger days, but he went to California in the rush to the gold fields +with my brother David, and never came back.” + +“Did you really love him?” asked Harriette again, trying to draw her +out. + +“Now, don’t ask me anything more, for I am not going to tell you,” +replied Clara. + +“But you said you would and I am really curious,” continued Harriette. + +Clara hesitated, then said: “I don’t feel like it now, but sometime I’ll +tell you the story.” + + She never told her love, + But let concealment, like a worm i’ the bud, + Feed on her damask cheek; she pined in thought; + And with a green and yellow melancholy, + She sat (like patience on a monument) + Smiling at grief. + +On a certain other occasion it became necessary for her attorneys to +know in detail of her finances, and their origin, so they plied her with +questions:— + +[Illustration: + + THE CLARA BARTON MONUMENT + + Built at her expense in the cemetery at North Oxford, Massachusetts. + In her will Clara Barton left sixteen hundred dollars for the + permanent maintenance of the Barton cemetery lot. WILLIAM E. BARTON. + + No more fitting tribute could be paid by the American people than the + raising of a monument that will perpetuate the life work of Clara + Barton. + LIEUTENANT-GENERAL NELSON A. MILES. + + Monuments and endowments are the physical testimonials, but they do + not express the entire obligation. The life of Clara Barton should + be familiarized to every child. Woonsocket (R. I.) _Call._ + + Congress should pass a Special Act setting aside a plot and defraying + the expenses of a suitable monument over the last resting place of + the noble woman who has served the nation in peace and in war. + Manchester (N. H.) _Mirror_. + + As we passed one particular monument in the cemetery at Buffalo Clara + Barton said: “There is a design which I wish to have copied, and + sometime to have a monument put up in my family yard in Oxford for + my Father and Mother, my brothers and sister and to be ready for me + when I join them.” The design was copied and the monument placed as + Miss Barton desired. FRANCIS ATWATER. +] + +Attorney—Now, Miss Barton, tell us where you got all your wealth. + +Miss Barton—I haven’t much wealth—what do you mean?—Everything? + +Attorney—You inherited some money did you not? Tell us about that. + +Miss Barton—I inherited, no—Oh! yes, I got some money once, but why +should I tell you? + +Attorney—It may be brought up in “the investigation” by the attorney on +the other side and we don’t want any surprise sprung on us. + +Miss Barton—Well, that seems reasonable—I’ll tell you. My brother and +_another_ went to the California gold fields; my brother returned,—the +other _never did_ return. But he left me all his savings, $10,000 in +gold. + +Attorney—What did you do with the $10,000? + +Miss Barton—I always regarded this too sacred to use, so I placed it in +a New York bank. This was in 1851. I kept it there on interest until +President Lincoln commissioned me to look up the names of the missing +soldiers. I did not consider it _too sacred_ for this purpose, and so in +1865 I drew it out of the bank, then with the interest about $15,000, +and used it to pay the expenses.... + +The romance includes the trip in a sailing vessel around the “Horn,” the +“49ers outfit” in San Francisco, and on the way to the “placer diggins,” +the death scene in the pueblo of Los Angeles, the story of the sack of +“gold dust” that reached the sweetheart, and its use later in giving +cheer to thousands of unhappy homes. + +Only on the two occasions were these disclosures of that heart secret, +and yet visions of her sweetheart are said to have appeared to Clara in +her dying hours. The most sacred of the heart secrets of womankind Clara +Barton carried with her to the other world—a secret of her love affair +which her closest friends think may have been the inspiration of her +self-sacrifice for humanity. + + + + + LXXI + + + Clara Barton represented the spirit that knows not race nor color. + + _New York Globe._ + + + Charity and beneficence are degraded by being reduced to a dependence + on a system of beggary. CLARA BARTON. + + + A grateful mind is a great mind. T. SECKER. + + There is not a more pleasing attitude of mind than gratitude. + + JOSEPH ADDISON. + + A grateful mind is not only the greatest of virtues but the greatest + of all virtues. CICERO. + + + Don’t kneel to me—that is not right. You must kneel to God only, and + thank Him for the liberty you will now enjoy. I am but God’s humble + instrument. A. LINCOLN. + + + Grateful to me! It is I who should be grateful, and I am. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + We of South Carolina can never forget her contributions to the + storm-wrecked people on our desolated sea-coast, after the fearful + tempest of 1893. She came as an angel of mercy. With uncovered heads, + and with profound deference, we bow to the blessed name of Clara + Barton. _The Southern Reporter._ + + + FELL ON THEIR KNEES BEFORE “MIS’ RED CROSS” + +A terrific hurricane and tidal wave had struck the coasts of North +Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. It was estimated that at least +thirty thousand people were rendered homeless,—the larger number of +these being of the colored population. Governor Tillman and Senator M. +C. Butler sent an urgent request to Clara Barton to come to their +assistance. + +Clothing was so scarce among the poor colored people that only the men +could appear on the streets. About four o’clock in the morning, a crowd +gathered about the warehouse. Only men were present and these were +attired in such garments as could be found, mostly ragged at the best. +In some cases only rags were tied about them, just enough to enable them +to come for their rations of food, for their starving families. A motley +crowd it was, but there was never any jostling or crowding, nor +confusion of any sort. + +“Many pathetic scenes come to my mind as I remember this work,” says +“Sister Harriette.” “When Miss Barton was engaged and could not be seen, +it was my place to receive the visitors, ascertain their wishes, and +dispose of them as seemed best. They called Miss Barton ‘Mis’ Red +Cross,’ came to see her, sometimes in crowds and, when she was not +otherwise engaged, they were taken to her office. Many of them were old +women, and upon entering the room one and all fell upon their knees and +bowed their heads, as if in the presence of a superior being. She +approached them graciously; some seized her hands and kissed them; +others reached a fold of her skirts and carried it to their lips, never +saying a word, asking for nothing, satisfied with just being permitted +to look at her. They left as quietly as they had come in and went out to +their homes satisfied that they had been permitted to see ‘Mis’ Red +Cross.’” + +[Illustration: + + MARIO G. MENOCAL + + In commendation of the Founder of the American Red Cross—Clara Barton, + it gives me great pleasure to state that her services rendered to + the cause of humanity in general and the poor starving people of + Cuba in particular, during our last struggle for independence, were + inestimable and her memory is linked to the history of Cuba by ties + of gratitude, love and respect. + MARIO G. MENOCAL, + The President of Cuba, 1912–1920. + + See pages 82; 100; 234; 241; 354. +] + + + + + LXXII + + + While the American Navy (in 1899) was sinking the ships of Spain, the + Spanish Cortes, by unanimous vote, granted Clara Barton a “Diploma,” a + “Decoration,” and a “Vote of Thanks”; and following the war, a + “Diploma of Gratitude.” THE AUTHOR. + + + I am with the wounded. CLARA BARTON. + + Cuba was a hard field, full of heart-breaking memories. + + CLARA BARTON. + + Send food, medicine—anything. CLARA BARTON. + + It is to the Rough Riders we go, and the relief may be rough but it + will be ready. CLARA BARTON. + + At the time of the Spanish-American War, in Cuba, Colonel Theodore + Roosevelt personally accepted favors at the hands of Clara Barton, as + President of the Red Cross. PERCY H. EPLER. + + Keep the pot boiling; let us know what you want. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + The first American War (Spanish-American), since the adoption of the + Treaty of Geneva, has brought the Red Cross home to the people; they + have come to understand its meaning and desire to become a part of it. + CLARA BARTON. + + Without the Red Cross, as one of our treaties, we could not in the + Spanish-American War have floated a relief boat without danger of + capture. CLARA BARTON. + + + The Red Cross of Spain has officially recognized in a most graceful + and welcome manner its high appreciation and gratitude for the good + offices we were able to render in line of our duty to its sick and + wounded countrymen, during the late Spanish-American War. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + CLARA BARTON’S TRIBUTE TO CUBA + +After the Spanish-American war nearly 500 of the leading men and women +of Cuba joined in inscribing their names together with the most touching +tribute, and sentiments of appreciation, in a beautiful album to Clara +Barton. In order to get their signatures it required five and one half +years of time for the collection of the same throughout the Republic. + +Miss Barton’s reply to the testimonial in part follows: + +“I have watched the beautiful island since independence came to it as a +proud, careful mother watches her child; have seen the steps, at first +uncertain, grow to the sturdy strides of manhood, and the gem of the sea +become a nation among nations and its destinies held by the same strong +patient hands that so struggled for its life. + +“It had learned endurance from suffering, drawn strength from adversity, +courage from the proud ancestral nations whose blood is its own, and the +memory of its untold woes has enveloped it in a veil of tender +thoughtful justice to others that will form its brightest gem. + +“God bless the new nation the world is glad to welcome. She is still the +‘Gem of the Ocean.’ My soul craves once more to look upon her beautiful +face, and its grateful prayer forever goes up to Him who ruleth and +guideth all—that He watch over her, keep her pure and true, and +safe-guard forever her motto and watchword, ‘Cuba Libre’!” + + NOTE.—If Cuba gets free, she must come to the United States, as she is + too small to stand alone against the greed of great nations which will + try to gobble her up for her riches, in soil and products. (Prophecy + in 1874) Clara Barton. + + + + + LXXIII + + + Upon every line of Clara Barton’s life may be hung a thrilling story + of perilous adventure and pathetic moving incidents. + + “_Clara Barton and Her Work._” + + + Like everything in Corsica, my education was pitiful. + + NAPOLEON. + + Greatness is nothing, if it is not lasting. NAPOLEON. + + Impossible! That word is not in the French dictionary. + + NAPOLEON. + + Drama is the tragedy of women. NAPOLEON. + + I have fought like a lion for the Republic and, by way of recompense, + it grants me permission to die of hunger. NAPOLEON. + + Fortune is a woman. The more she does for us the more we expect. + NAPOLEON. + + + Thus conscience does make cowards of us all. SHAKESPEARE. + + The wicked flee when no man pursueth. PSALMS. + + The thief doth fear each bush an officer. SHAKESPEARE. + + + Little sea-girt Corsica is weird, wild, soft and bewitching, strange, + unique, but she had so much that one wearied of. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + AT THE BIRTHPLACE OF NAPOLEON—THE CORSICAN BANDIT + +At Ajaccio, on the Island of Corsica, there is still carefully preserved +the house where was born Napoleon, in 1769. The island (a French Colony) +is 114 miles long and 52 miles wide, and contains about 300,000 +inhabitants; Ajaccio, the capital, about 19,000 inhabitants. Many of the +street names, and statues of the city likewise, perpetuate the memory of +the great military chieftain, as do other spots of similar historic +interest in connection with his boyhood. + +At Ajaccio, Clara Barton lived for some time. There she not only visited +every place of interest but she also studied the character, and military +strategy, of that masterful leader of men, as later she studied him in +the city made by him “Paris Beautiful.” + +For a time, until she regained her health, she lived _incognito_; later, +she produced a letter from our U. S. Minister Washburn, then at the +Court of Paris. When her identity became known she was overwhelmed with +attentions from the natives, as well as from Americans, and attended +many receptions given in her honor by that most hospitable people. Her +experiences there were so numerous and sensational as worthy to become +the basis for a great novel. + +From the back door of her hotel a path led out into a forest of wildness +and rare beauty. Describing the wood, by way of comparison, Clara Barton +said: “The wood of Cuba is beautiful in quality, but hard to burn; in +Corsica, one may take the green, wet wood and make a blazing fire.” By +the side of the house were terraces on which were orange trees, loaded +with the golden fruit. A little strategy secured what oranges Miss +Barton wanted. She would take her blue bandana, put a franc in it, tie +the ends of the bandana with a stone mason’s cord, then let it down from +her room on the fourth story of the hotel to a little girl living in a +rude hut. The back of the hut was against a precipitous stone cliff, the +living quarters of the girl’s family being partly in the hut and partly +in a chamber blasted out of the rock, as frequently occurs on the +island. The girl would fill the bandana with fruit then, the signal +given, Miss Barton would pull the fruit through the side window to her +sick room. + +All Americans in Europe are supposed to have money. Clara Barton there +alone, unsuspecting and unguarded, was not protected against theft. A +native bandit one evening sneaked into her room and demanded her money, +or her life. With her usual presence of mind, and fearlessness in +imminent danger, Clara Barton at the top of her voice cried out: “Now, +boys, come on; I’ve got him!” Quicker than it takes to tell it, the +bandit jumped through an open window in one corner of the room, and +escaped into the forest. + + + + + LXXIV + + + Clara Barton, beloved by every one who knew her. HON. PETER VOORHEES + DEGRAW, U. S. Fourth Postmaster General. + + + And memory turns to him fondly + Whom we call by the name of Friend!— + CARL F. ROSECRANS. + + The chiefest of human virtues,—loyalty to friends. + + C. S. YOUNG in _The Richmond Terminal_. + + + The better part of one’s life consists of his friendships. + + A. LINCOLN. + + Friendship and love + Take second place to loyalty and honor. CALDERON. + + Friendship is necessary to life. BISHOP WM. F. MCDOWELL. + + + Friendship’s the wine of life. YOUNG’S _Night Thoughts_. + + Friendship is a sheltering tree. S. T. COLERIDGE. + + No man is useless while he has a friend. + + ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON. + + Our wisest friends are life’s best book. CALDERON. + + Poor is he, and beggar, that hath no friends at all. GRACIAN. + + + The face of an old friend is like a ray of sunshine through dark and + gloomy clouds. A. LINCOLN. + + The friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, + Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel. + SHAKESPEARE. + + + And can true friendship be tested, if not in the hour of misfortune? + The Mayor of St. Petersburg to Clara Barton. + + + WHEN CARES GROW HEAVY AND PLEASURES LIGHT + +It became incumbent upon Clara Barton to write tens of thousands of +autographs, and inscriptions in books. As a philosopher, many such +inscriptions are interesting and instructive. Characteristic of her is +the following inscription which she wrote in a book presented to a +personal friend: + + My Dear General and Friend: + + When life’s track has grown long, and the road bed flinty and hard; + when the cares grow heavy and the pleasures light; and the tired soul + reaches out for help, may you find those who will be as loyal and + faithful to you as you have ever been to me. + + Fraternally, + CLARA BARTON. + + You have bound yourself so closely round my heart, + Friend of mine, + That it seems as if our paths could never part, + Friend of mine! + Oft the vine forsakes the wall + Stars have e’en been known to fall, + You are not like star nor vine, + Friend of mine! + + + + + LXXV + + + The Red Cross Organization has been built up largely by the heroic + work of Clara Barton. FREDERICK H. GILLETT, Chairman (1900) House + Committee on Foreign Relations; now Speaker of the House of + Representatives. + + + Honor to whom honor is due. ST. PAUL. + + Never did an organization select so wisely and elect so judiciously as + did the National Red Cross Association when it chose Clara Barton to + preside over its beneficent work. + + Johnstown (Pa.) _Democrat_. + + In Cuba, the Red Cross Society snatched thousands from the grave and + made the sufferings of other thousands much lighter. But for Clara + Barton America would today have been a stranger to the Red Cross and + its beneficent work. DOCTOR HENRY M. LATHROP. Author of “_Under the + Red Cross; or the Spanish-American War_.” + + Miss Barton’s well-known ability, her long devotion to the noble work + of extending relief to suffering in different lands, as well as her + highest character as a woman, commend her to the highest consideration + and good will of all people. + + PRESIDENT WILLIAM MCKINLEY. + + + Officers and men unite in saying that too much praise cannot be given + those noble Christian women, Clara Barton and her assistants, for + their gentle care, their tender solicitude and untiring efforts in + aiding and comforting our sick and wounded soldiers. They came as + ministering angels to the suffering army at Santiago. + + GENERAL JOHN J. PERSHING (in 1919). + +[Illustration: + + WILLIAM McKINLEY + + The President, March 4, 1897–September 14, 1901. + + Whatever Clara Barton says, and does, is always honest and right. + WILLIAM MCKINLEY. + + Miss Barton, I have long wanted to thank you for what you did for my + boys in Cuba. + WILLIAM MCKINLEY. + + Mr. President, I could not have done what I did in Cuba, if you had + not stood by me so nobly. + CLARA BARTON. +] + + + A RED CROSS RED LETTER DAY + +For thirteen years Clara Barton had tried to secure from Congress and +the President a National Charter for the Red Cross. The bill had been +before the 56th Congress, and passed. It was then before the President +for his signature. He sent for Miss Barton. She went, accompanied by a +few personal friends. They were at the White House, at the appointed +hour. After a few moments of waiting, the President came into the room, +receiving Miss Barton in a beautiful manner. He put his left arm around +her, and holding her right hand in his said: + +“Miss Barton, I have long wanted an opportunity to thank you for what +you did for my boys in Cuba.” + +She replied: “Mr. President I deeply appreciate your thanks, but I could +not have done what I did in Cuba if you had not stood by me so nobly.” +Then the President said:— + +“Miss Barton, I am proud of this opportunity to sign this bill.” Miss +Barton then introduced one by one her friends to the President. With his +usual graciousness, he chatted for a few moments with his guests, then +sat down at his desk where Secretary Cortelyou had placed the bill. With +a plain steel pen he signed his name: “William McKinley, June ,” and +then stopped, looked over his desk and asked, “Captain where is my +calendar?” An old soldier looked high and low but couldn’t find the +missing calendar. The calendar was standing on one corner of the broad, +flat-topped desk, in another part of the room. Seizing it, one of the +party tore off “June 5th,” and placed it before the President. He said +“thank you, sir,” then signed “6th, 1900.” Rising from his seat, and +extending his hand, he said: “Miss Barton, I will make you a present of +this pen.” Graciously appreciative Miss Barton replied: “I thank you, +Mr. President. I will preserve it in the archives of the Red Cross as a +treasured memento of this occasion.” + + + + + LXXVI + + + As a nurse in the Civil War Clara Barton performed invaluable service. + Pueblo (Colo.) _Star Journal._ + + Clara Barton in the theme of her address here, “The Ministering + Angel,” urged the organization of Nurses’ Associations and Training + Schools for Nurses. Atlanta (Ga.) _Constitution_. + + The great war-nurse, friend of the world. The loftiest eloquence could + give her none that more clearly expressed the keynote of her life. + Grand Rapids (Mich.) _Press_. + + + Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain that + they may live. EZEKIEL. + + + Nothing is impossible to Organized Womanhood,—united in aims and + effort. CAROLINE M. SEVERANCE—“Mother of Clubs.” + + + American nurses are covering their profession with a glory that will + live forever is the report that comes from France. + + AMERICAN RED CROSS. + + The nurse is proud to be chosen from millions of women anxious to care + for the sick, as the representative of American womanhood. + + AMERICAN RED CROSS. + + Thirty-two thousand graduate nurses have said to the American Red + Cross, “We are ready, use us.” AMERICAN RED CROSS. + + + Profane histories are three-fourths filled with the details of battles + and sieges, and almost silent as to any provision for the sick and + wounded. CLARA BARTON. + + There were probably surgeons and nurses long before there were + military chieftains. CLARA BARTON. + + Agrippina, wife of the General, distributed clothing and dressings to + the wounded. CLARA BARTON. + + Courage of the soldier awakes the courage of woman. EMERSON. + + Scarcely had man made his first move in organizing the Red Cross when + the jeweled hand of royal woman glistened beside him, and right + royally has she done her part. CLARA BARTON. + + Women are, by nature, much better fitted for nurses than men can be. + CLARA BARTON. + + + Had there been need for them, the Red Cross could easily have + recruited an army of twenty-five thousand nurses from the flower of + American womanhood. CLARA BARTON. + + Large organizations of women, the best in the country and I believe + the best in the world, have faithfully labored with me to merge the + Red Cross into their societies, as a part of woman’s work. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + I have wrought day after day and night after night, so sorry for the + _necessity_, so glad for the opportunity,—ministering with my own + hands and strength to the dying wants of the patriot-martyrs, who fell + for their country and mine. CLARA BARTON. + + To the army of nurses, brave, generous and true who, either as + auxiliaries at home or as nurses in the field, made up that + magnificent array of womanhood ready for sacrifice on the altar of + humanity and their country—no words of mine can do justice. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + Three great conflicts were seen by Miss Barton, and her career is an + example to thousands of women who today are trying to heal human + suffering. Buffalo (N. Y.) _Express_. + + + PATRIOTIC WOMEN OF AMERICA SELF-SACRIFICING + +Nursing in war is of comparatively recent origin. While it is recorded +that Fabiola, a patrician Roman lady, founded a hospital in A.D. 380, +and 600 nurses in the early part of the fifth century were in the +hospitals in Alexandria, nursing in war hospitals dates from the Crimean +War; and on the battlefields, from our Civil War. The Crimean War gave +the first real impulse to this humanitarian work, and the Civil War gave +added luster to the glory of this work of humanity, as did the +Franco-Prussian War and the Spanish-American War. But the late war broke +all records; now, war-nursing will continue until “Nation shall not lift +up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn to war any more.” + +The true disciples of humanity in war are the nurses, wearing the sign +of the Red Cross and whose sacred mission it is to bind up the soldier’s +wounds and “To heal all manner of sickness and all manner of diseases.” +In the World War, reports show that there were approximately 11,600 +American Red Cross nurses in service over-seas. + + The total number of nurses employed: + Army Nurse Corps, Regulars and Reserves 22,854 + Navy Nurse Corps, Regulars and Reserves 1,500 + Nurses assigned directly under the Red Cross for + service overseas 604 + Nurses assigned to U. S. Public Health Service in + this country—extra military zones, essential + war industries plants; marine hospitals 284 + ——— + Total 25,242 + + The cost for operation for June 30, 1917–July 1, 1918, was + $197,180.00. + + Total assignments of Red Cross nurses in foreign activities: + To the Army 17,931 + To the Navy 1,058 + To the U. S. Public Health Service 284 + To the Red Cross nurses 604 + ——— + Total 19,877 + +The Red Cross has furnished equipment to approximately 12,000 nurses and +lay women personnel engaged in foreign war service, and to nurses in +cantonments and naval hospitals in this country, at an approximate cost +of $2,000,000. + +Personnel equipped by the Red Cross for overseas duty, from the +beginning of the war to December 31st, 1918, at the following cost: + + Army $2,031,120.00 + Navy 60,120.00 + Red Cross 138,960.00 + ————————————— + 12,546 nurses—Total cost $2,230,200.00 + +As to the work of the American Red Cross Clara Barton says: “History +records the wonderful achievements of the Red Cross, the greatest of +relief organizations, though it cannot record the untold suffering which +has been averted by it.” As to the Red Cross war-nursing, she says: +“There can be no estimate of the misery assuaged and the deaths +prevented by the unselfish zeal and devotion of the nurses of the Red +Cross.” In prophecy she says: + + And what would they do if war came again? + The scarlet cross floats where all was blank then. + They would bind on their “brassards” and march to the fray. + And the man liveth not who could say to them nay; + They would stand with you now, as they stood with you then,— + The nurses, consolers, and saviours of men. + + + + + LXXVII + + + Clara Barton started the Red Cross alone. + + Boston (Mass.) _Transcript_. + + + Miss Clara Barton, the American Red Cross is your society alone, and + none other we will patronize. G. MOYNIER, President, International Red + Cross Committee, Geneva, Switzerland. + + The total expense connected with the acceptance of the Treaty by this + Government, in addition to the personal service of more than five + years, was defrayed individually by Clara Barton. Red Cross Committee + (in 1903). House Document No. 552, Vol. 49, 58th Cong. + + + If we heed the teachings of history we shall not forget that in the + life of every nation circumstances may arise when a resort to arms can + alone save it from dishonor.—We must be prepared to enforce any policy + which we think it wise to adopt. CHESTER A. ARTHUR, The President. (In + advocacy before Congress of Clara Barton’s Red Cross Measure). + + Legislation by Congress is needful to accomplish the humane end that + your society has in view. It gives me, however, great pleasure, Miss + Barton, to state that I shall be happy to give any (Red Cross) measure + which you may propose careful attention and consideration. JAMES G. + BLAINE, Secretary of State (in 1881). + + + The first official advocate of the Red Cross measure, and fearless + friend from its presentation in 1877, was Omar D. Conger, now Senator + from Michigan, then a member of the House. + + CLARA BARTON (Sept. 6, 1882). + +[Illustration: + + JAMES A. GARFIELD + The President, March 4, 1881–September 19, 1881. + + Executive Mansion. + Will the Secretary of State please hear Miss Barton on the subject + herein referred to? J. A. GARFIELD. + + The first tribute to Clara Barton in her Red Cross measure, March 30, + 1881. + + + Clara Barton, friend and counselor of Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. + Grant, of Garfield, of Hayes, Harrison, Cleveland and McKinley. + Organized the American Red Cross and was appointed for life by + Garfield. While the republic lives and womanhood is honored, her + place is sure among the millions she has blest and whose name and + fame they will cherish and revere. + KATE BROWNLEE SHERWOOD, + in a letter to the Toledo (Ohio) _Times_. +] + +[Illustration: + + CHESTER A. ARTHUR + The President, September 19, 1881–March 4, 1885. + + The President in whose administration the American Red Cross was + approved by the U. S. Government, also the first President of the + Board of Consultation, American Red Cross Society. + + Washington, March 3, 1882. + + _Whereas_ (certain facts of Red Cross history here detailed).... + + Now, therefore, the President of the United States of America, by and + with the advice and consent of the Senate, do hereby declare that + the United States accede to the said Convention of October 20, 1868. + + Done at Washington this first day of March in the year of our Lord one + thousand eight hundred and eighty-two, and of the Independence of + the United States the one hundred and sixth. + + By the President, CHESTER A. ARTHUR. + + FREDERICK T. FRELINGHUYSEN, + Secretary of State. +] + + + In 1877 Monsieur Moynier, President of the International Red Cross + Committee, decided to make a further effort to obtain the adherence to + the Treaty by our Government. For this purpose a special letter was + sent to Miss Barton to deliver to President Hayes. MABEL T. + BOARDMAN—In “_Under the Red Cross at Home and Abroad_.” + + + In 1869 Clara Barton went to Geneva, Switzerland. She was visited + there by the President and members of the International Committee for + Relief and of the Wounded in War, who came to learn why the United + States had refused to sign the Treaty of Geneva.—Years of devoted + missionary work by Miss Barton with preoccupied officials and a + heedless, short-sighted public at length bore fruit. MARY R. + PARKMAN—Author of “_Heroines of Service_.” + + + Miss Barton, I trust you will press this matter upon our present + administration with all the weight of your well-earned influence. + Having myself somewhat ignominiously failed to get any encouragement + for this (Red Cross) measure from two administrations, I leave it in + your more fortunate hands, hoping that the time is ripe for a less + jealous policy than American isolation in international movements for + extending and universalizing mercy towards the victims in war. DR. H. + W. BELLOWS (Nov. 21, 1881). + + Later—Miss Barton, I advise you to give it up as hopeless. + + DR. H. W. BELLOWS + (Ex-Chairman U. S. Sanitary Commission). + + Miss Clara Barton, I thank you in the name of all of us (myself and + colleagues of the International Committee).—Thanks to a perseverance + and zeal which has surmounted every obstacle. Wishing to testify to + you its gratitude for the services you have already rendered to the + Red Cross (in securing the adherence of the United States to the + Treaty), the Committee decided to offer to you one of the medals which + a German engraver caused to be struck off in honor of the Red Cross. + Please to regard it only as a simple memorial, and as a proof of the + esteem and gratitude we feel for you. G. MOYNIER, President Red Cross + International Committee. + + NOTE.—The silver medal referred to is beautifully engraved with the + coat of arms of the nations within the Treaty compact,—the medal being + a model both of skillful design and exquisite workmanship. + + Department of State, + Washington, D. C. + February 16, 1883. + + My dear Miss Barton: + + It affords me great pleasure to transmit a parcel containing a book + presented to you by Her Majesty, the Empress of Germany, as a token of + her high appreciation of the success of your efforts for the formation + of an Association of the Red Cross in America.—Congratulating you upon + the compliment which the Empress has paid to you by her action in + sending you this gift I am, my dear Madam, + + Very truly yours, + SEVELLON A. BROWN, + Chief Clerk. + + + On the night that came to Europe the news of the accession of the U. + S. Government to the Treaty of Geneva (news sent by cable) there were + lit bonfires in the streets of Switzerland, France, Germany and Spain. + THE AUTHOR. + + + If I live to return to my country (from Switzerland) I will try to + make my people understand the Red Cross and that Treaty. + + CLARA BARTON. + + Weak and weary from the war-soaked fields of Europe, I brought the + germs of the thrice-rejected Red Cross of Geneva, and with personal + solicitations from the international Committee sought its adoption. + CLARA BARTON. + + I stood with this unknown (Red Cross) immigrant from the little + Republic of Switzerland, outside the doors of the Government, for five + years before I could secure for him citizenship papers and recognition + as a desirable resident of the United States. + + CLARA BARTON. + + Perhaps no act of this age or country has reflected more merit abroad + upon those especially active in it than this simple and beneficent Red + Cross measure. CLARA BARTON. + + + Transitions are neither rapid nor easy. Dark days, if not dark ages, + have shadowed them all. CLARA BARTON. + + The Red Cross is one of the thresholds to the Temple of Peace. + + CLARA BARTON, President, Red Cross. + + Respect for the rights of others is peace. + + BENITO JUAREZ, President, Republic of Mexico. + + + The history of a country is _mainly_ the history of wars. + + CLARA BARTON. + + Men have worshipped at Valkyria’s shrine and followed her siren lead + until war has cost a million times more than the whole world is worth; + poured out the best blood and crushed the finest forms that God has + ever created. CLARA BARTON. + + + There is in the Red Cross no entangling alliances that any but a + barbarian at war can feel any restraint. CLARA BARTON. + + There is not a peace society on the face of the earth today, nor can + there be one, so potent, so effectual against war as the Red Cross of + Geneva. CLARA BARTON. + + + There can be no estimate of the misery assuaged, and the deaths + prevented, by the unselfish zeal and devotion of the Red Cross. + + CLARA BARTON. + + Your children and your children’s children will need the Red Cross, + when your hands are powerless to do that which is within your grasp. + CLARA BARTON. + + + OPPOSITION—THE AMERICAN RED CROSS “COMPLETE VICTORY” + +She had served in Europe with a brassard on her arm; she had served in +the camp, on the march, in the hospital, in the smoke of battle; she had +bound up the wounds, soothed in a foreign tongue the dying; and there +had learned her first Red Cross lessons. She had visited the Solferino +battle ground where Dunant caught the humane inspiration for relieving +distress of victims in war. She had breathed the spirit of great minds +in the Red Cross world movement. She was armed _cap-a-pie_ for a humane +warfare. She made a vow, “If I live——;”—the vow of woman is a decree, +unrecorded. + +Since 1864 the Red Cross measure had been before the American people. +Dr. Henry W. Bellows, of more than national fame as a diplomat and +humanitarian, through a period of ten years had failed of a respectful +consideration. For nearly two decades man had failed—signally failed; +what could woman do? + +The vow of woman! that’s all between failure and success. The woman with +the vow lived to return to America. She “pestered” her friends with her +visionary scheme; she haunted the offices of Senators and +Representatives; she pled her cause before the Secretary of State and +the President. With her logic and eloquence she combated “it’s an +entangling alliance with foreign powers;” “it would encourage war;” +“it’s a war policy in the interest of war-makers;” “it’s un-American;” +“it would demoralize army discipline;” “the military doesn’t want it, +Congress doesn’t want it, the people don’t want it;” “Secretary of State +Seward years ago gave the ultimatum: ‘The Government wishes to act as a +free agent with option in the premises and in its own good time;’” “Dr. +Bellows has given it up;” “it’s no use, Miss Barton, to discuss this +question, it has been before the American people for many years and it’s +a dead issue, forever settled.” + + Alone her task was wrought, + Alone the battle fought. + +She took the rostrum, travelling from place to place throughout the +country; she appealed to the people in the name of God and humanity. She +was denounced as “that war woman;” “that woman who is trying to put +something over on the people;” “something behind it, or she wouldn’t be +spending her own money;” “wonder what she’s going to get out of it, +anyway?” + +Senator John Sherman was then a tower of strength in this country. She +approached him on the subject. He was against it; said that he did not +see any use of going to this trouble; that making such preparation for +war would have a tendency to agitate the public, and bring on war. Oh, +no, Miss Barton, I can’t support such foreign organization as is your +proposed Red Cross. Besides, we will never have another war in this +country. Having given his final answer and subsided, the +ever-ready-with-answer Miss Barton remarked that it seemed to her years +ago, back in 1858, a certain Senator Sherman had made such a statement +in the Senate. Caught in a trap set by himself, yet graciously smiling, +the Senator replied, “Yes, I believe we did have a little brush after +that.” A second “brush” occurred, in 1898. Senator Sherman, then +Secretary of State, had occasion in connection with Red Cross work to +issue to the head of the Navy the following order: “I have the honor to +commend Miss Barton to the kind attention of your department.” + +One of the ablest arguments ever presented on any national issue was +presented in an address in November, 1881, by Clara Barton on the Red +Cross issue “To the President, Congress and the People of the United +States.” In that masterful address among other things she said: “Yes, +war is a great wrong and sin and, because it is, I would provide not +only for but against it. But here comes the speculative theorist! Isn’t +it encouraging a bad principle? Wouldn’t it be better to do away with +all war? Wouldn’t peace societies be better? Oh, yes, my friend, as much +better as the millennium would be better than this, but the millennium +is not here. Hard facts are here; war is here; war is the outgrowth, +indicator and relic of barbarism. Civilization alone will do away with +it, and scarcely a quarter of the earth is yet civilized, and that +quarter not beyond the possibilities of war. It is a long step yet to +permanent peace.... Friends, was it accident, or was it Providence, +which made it one of the last acts of James A. Garfield, while in +health, to pledge himself to urge upon the representatives of his in +Congress assembled this great national step for the relief and care of +wounded men? Living or dying, it was his act and wish, and no member of +that honored, considerate, and humane body but will feel himself in some +manner holden to see it carried out.” + +Among the first who became champions in her cause for the Red Cross were +Senators Conger of Michigan, William Windom of Minnesota, Chairman of +the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and who was the first to investigate, +and take the matter up, as a member of President Garfield’s Cabinet. +Senator E. G. Lapham, of New York, “who spared neither time nor thought, +patience nor labor, in his legal investigations of the whole matter;” +Senators Morgan of Alabama, Edmonds of Vermont, Hawley of Connecticut, +Anthony of Rhode Island, Hoar of Massachusetts, “all accorded to it +their willing interest and aid.” And also she had the support of the +eminent Secretary of State James G. Blaine, Presidents Garfield and +Arthur, as well as many other statesmen of whose services on this +measure there has been left no official record. + +[Illustration: + + THE INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS (in 1898) + + _Resolved_: That this conference declares that in obtaining the + accession + the United States of America to the Convention of Geneva, Miss Clara + Barton has well merited the gratitude of the world.—INTERNATIONAL + CONFERENCE + OF THE RED CROSS, Geneva, Switzerland, 1884. +] + +Early Red Cross history reads like a tale of romance from some long ago +past century, the leading woman character inspirited by a power +superhuman. Was Clara Barton the Founder of the American Red Cross? Of +the millions of Americans who would esteem such honor, no one else so +much as lays claim to it. In appreciation, Monsieur Moynier, President +of the International Red Cross Committee, in an address delivered in +Europe on September 2, 1882, on “The Foundation of the American Society +of the Red Cross” in part said: “Its whole history is associated with a +name already known to you—that of Miss Barton. Without the energy and +perseverance of this remarkable woman we should probably not for a long +time have had the pleasure of seeing the Red Cross revived in the United +States. We will not repeat here what we have said elsewhere of the +claims of Miss Barton to your gratitude;—we know that on the first of +March she gained a complete victory.” + +Commenting on her struggles, and expressing her natural desire for the +Red Cross, Clara Barton says: “A time will come when I shall lay down my +work. Out of the many years I have given to it has grown one great, +natural desire, a desire to leave my little immigrant of twenty-seven +years ago a great National Institution, in the hands of the people, +supported by the people, for their mutual help and strength in the face +of disaster; and I would have those who take it up and follow in our +footsteps freed from the severity of toil, the anguish of perplexity, +uncertainty, misunderstanding, and often privations, which have been +ours in the past.” + + + + + LXXVIII + + + War, although more tragic, is not the only evil that assails humanity. + CLARA BARTON. + + Do you know that more than 1,500,000 persons were killed or injured in + automobile accidents in 1921? _Boston American_, May 16, 1922. + + + Not nearly all the sick and crippled are on the battlefield, nor is + all the danger there. CLARA BARTON. + + Peace has her battlefields, no less than war. CLARA BARTON. + + Day by day men and women are being maimed and killed in our great + industrial struggle, and in the rush and hurry of our strenuous life. + It is in the mitigation of the horrors of this strife, and of this + struggle, that the First Aid Department of the Red Cross is to find + its mission and its work. E. HOWE, Superintendent of the First Aid + Department, American National Red Cross (December 8, 1903). + + + The mission of the First Aid (National First Aid Association of + America) is to preserve the name of Clara Barton all over the country. + The work she accomplished during the Civil War placed her at the head + of the women of the country at that time, and her name should stand + forever before the American people. We all know how England is + reverencing the name of Florence Nightingale, and it is for America to + preserve the name of her Florence Nightingale in Clara Barton whose + efforts have been so world-wide as to place her at the head of woman’s + work for humanity throughout the world. MRS. J. SEWALL REED, first + Acting President, National First Aid Association of America (in + address to 9th annual meeting of the association held May 7, 1914). + + + The work of the National First Aid Association of America, which was + founded by the noble Clara Barton, continues to “Carry On” in the + philanthropic spirit which it has inherited from her. The association + is practically a college for National First Aid work, offering one + course of lectures, one textbook, one examination in kind, for all to + follow. The handsome diploma which is only granted to students + attaining 80 per cent., or over, upon a thorough examination is the + prized possession of thousands of graduates all over the United + States, Alaska, Panama, Canada and England. Thus do we honor our + president, Clara Barton, in death—world honored as she was in life for + her achievements for suffering humanity; for upon each diploma the + association has placed these words—“Clara Barton, Founder and + President.” ROSCOE GREEN WELLS, present Acting President, National + First Aid Association of America. October 15, 1921. + + Clara Barton was a world worker for suffering humanity, and our first + president. As a perpetual tribute to her memory the National First Aid + Association of America has established her name as “President—In + Memoriam.” Clara Barton has passed on, but the noble spirit which + lived within her continues to live in her last great national + endeavor. MARY KENSEL WELLS, Secretary of the National First Aid + Association of America. October 16, 1921. + + + The First Aid will become time-honored in America, for it has come to + stay. Its character is broad and firm, its title clear; and although + young its organization is complete. It has its own characteristics, in + keeping with its motives,—neither ambition, self-seeking, nor + vain-glory, but good-will, helpfulness, kindliness, the spirit of Him + who gave his life for others, whose example we seek to follow, and + whose blessed birth was God’s great Christmas gift to the world. CLARA + BARTON (Christmas, 1905), President, the National First Aid + Association of America. + + + GREETINGS + + To the Friends of these, and other, days: + +“Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Ay! Many New Years, each happier +than the last. + +“The unerring records affirm that on Christmas day of 1821, 84 years +ago, I commenced this earthly life; still, by the blessing of God I am +strong and well, knowing neither illness nor fatigue, disability nor +despondency, and take the privilege of bringing to you an outline of My +Later Work (First Aid). * * * Work has always been a part of the best +religion I had.” + + CLARA BARTON. + (In 1905.) + + + NATIONAL FIRST AID ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA + + (Clara Barton, President In Memoriam; and First Aid Department in the + American National Red Cross) + +On February 9, 1903, there was established in the American National Red +Cross a department known as “First Aid to the Injured.” Mr. Edward Howe, +a member of the St. John Ambulance Association of London, England, was +made the Superintendent of the department. + +On December 8, 1903, Section 7 of the By-Laws to the Constitution was +adopted and provided for its permanent operation—the formation of +classes of instruction in first aid, methods of treatment of the injured +and other necessary provisions. On December 8, 1903, Superintendent Howe +made his first annual report, including the approval of thirty-five +States of the Union, through the Governors respectively; also his report +of its successful inception in Massachusetts. “The American Amendment” +to the Red Cross Treaty of Geneva, and relating to national disasters, +was thus followed by the First Aid Department to the Red Cross. + + There are pioneer souls that blaze their paths + Where highways never ran;— + But let me live by the side of the road + And be a friend to man. + +After Clara Barton’s retirement from the Presidency of the Red Cross in +1904, the First Aid Department was discontinued, but was reëstablished +January 2, 1910. Independent of the American National Red Cross Clara +Barton organized the National First Aid Association of America. She was +the President of the Association while she lived and, since her death, +to perpetuate the Clara Barton spirit and to be a permanent Memorial to +the Founder, Clara Barton is officially recognized as + + “The President In Memoriam.” + +The National First Aid Association of America was the development of a +little New England organization named The New England First Aid +Association, and Clara Barton was the Chairman of its Advisory Board. +When the work grew and calls came for classes from western and southern +states, it was Clara Barton who suggested the value of national +incorporation. Therefore, on April 18, 1905, The National First Aid +Association of America was incorporated, under the laws of the District +of Columbia, and Clara Barton accepted the Presidency. + +“To Clara Barton’s First Aid,” thus addressed, are many letters which +arrive at the headquarters of The National First Aid Association of +America in Arlington, Massachusetts. Although not the corporate name of +the last great work of Clara Barton, it serves the purpose of +demonstrating that First Aid and Clara Barton are inseparable. + +The real tribute of Clara Barton to the organization, which is today +paying tribute to her, lies in the following words of welcome which she +delivered at the second annual meeting of The National First Aid +Association of America in 1907, as its President. Opening her address by +reading a letter from former field workers, she continued:— + +“They are not with us, and I have given this soulful letter in their +place. + +“I have read it because it speaks the silent sentiment of a body of +people, few of whom are here, and few of whom you know. From far off +scattered homes they watch the flickering blaze of this new bonfire, +with an anxious tender interest you little dream of. Below its sparkling +flame they see the embers from which it springs. They live over again +the terrible fields of woe where the sufferers suffered, and the dying +died; where, in the moment of consternation paralyzing the whole land, +they stood, the sudden vanguard of order and relief, till other help +could reach—never asking for help—never shouting for aid nor money, but +trusting to the great hearts of the people to render what they had to +render, when they should understand the need. This, friends, was First +Aid, and the people were the doctors. We held life in the injured till +they could be reached. + +“Did our method fail? Let the old friends answer. Was a more +satisfactory relief record ever made? Let the swollen Ohio and +Mississippi, Johnstown, the Sea Islands, Armenia, and Galveston make +reply. It was the foundation of knowledge through experience gained +there and then that makes this work and this day possible. These are the +smouldering embers watched from afar. + +“But this, friends, is the giving, and the teaching of mere material aid +for human suffering; all to be done over and over again to the end of +time, and no one the wiser, no one knowing any better what to do than +before. This was charity. Blessed be it for ‘the greatest of these is +charity.’ Leave it to do its work in its own way. + +“But out of this has come to us another feature of human beneficence, +having its foundation in knowledge; when one shall know, not only how to +give, but how to do, and possibly prevent; when every man may understand +his wounded brother’s need and how to meet it; when the mother shall +know how to save her child in accident; when even the child shall be +taught how to lessen the pain or to save the life of its playmate—then +comes the real help. + +“Think, friends, what it would be—yes, what it will be, when all the +rough, sturdy men of danger, living every hour in the face of accident +and death, shall know what to do in the moment for his writhing +companion in toil; when the homes—the children in the streets and in the +schools—shall all possess the knowledge which this method of human +beneficence teaches—this is First Aid—this is what it stands for—the +lessons which it inculcates and its faithful apostles teach. + +“So young, so tiny, this beginning seems to you, scarcely meriting the +attention or the aid of busy people. + +“But, watch it, busy men and women, it will bear watching. + +“We are here today to learn something of what it has accomplished in a +year.... I am dumb with amazement. The very thought of the diligence—the +tirelessness—the cheerful alacrity—the bravery with which obstacles have +been attacked—the courage with which they have been overcome—the single +handedness—the small means and the great results astonish, and gratify +me. So much for so little. Let me step aside and give place to the +report which will tell us all.” + +The association is today what its name implies—The National Association +of First Aid in America. It is to the American people what the St. John +Ambulance Association is to England, and the St. Andrews Ambulance +Association is to Scotland. It is a college of National First Aid +instruction—offering one textbook, one course of lectures, one +examination, one diploma in kind for all. + +For the past nine years, since the death of the Founder, it has given +service the Clara Barton way—promptly, efficiently, thoroughly—and its +classes send forth each year hundreds of National First Aid graduates +who are capable men and women, and who wear the little medallion of +National First Aid service (which only a graduate may purchase and +wear), out into a world of suffering humanity. Word of their activities +comes back to national headquarters from many fields—even from far off +India, South America, and the Hawaiian Islands. One graduate sent back +word from the Soudan, Africa, “What would we have done without National +First Aid when there is only one medical doctor to every 500,000 +natives?” + +Clara Barton said of The National First Aid Association of America: +“Another work reaches out its hands to me and I have taken them. The +humane and far sighted are pressing to its standard—the standard of +organized First Aid to the Injured.” + +The true history of Clara Barton should not leave out the work of The +National First Aid Association of America, Clara Barton’s last work. If +so, the history of the great philanthropist becomes an unfinished +record. The association stands today as a working memorial to Clara +Barton. It continues to serve the American people under her name. +Without ostentation it continues its humane service, making friends, +sending forth efficient graduates, and carrying systematic and organized +First Aid instruction to every part of the country. + +By a leading cosmopolitan newspaper: “It is said that every year more +than 11,000,000 persons, about one-tenth of the total population of the +United States, fall downstairs, get run over, drown, lean too far out of +the window or peer into a gun they ‘didn’t think was loaded,’ meeting +death or injury in these and kindred ways. Statisticians say that, when +war claims a victim, accident takes four victims.” + +It is estimated that 100,000 fatal accidents occur annually in the +United States, and 500,000 accidents occur that render the victims +incapable of earning their own living. Hundreds of thousands are being +trained in first aid classes; and likewise many hundreds of thousands of +victims of accidents on the railways, in the factories, and on the +farms, are receiving the benefits of first aid assistance. The First Aid +Division of the American Red Cross is affiliated with the Young Men’s +Christian Association, the Young Women’s Christian Association, the Boy +Scouts of America, the Girl Scouts of America, and also allied with many +other humanitarian and patriotic associations. + +“First Aid,” therefore, is becoming hardly less important in war and +peace than Red Cross Aid in war. Clara Barton’s constructive +humanitarian work in First Aid may yet be recognized by her country as +even of greater humanitarian service than her Red Cross achievement, or +that of the “American Amendment” to the International Red Cross. For +seven years—from the inception of the “First Aid” in 1905 to 1912—Clara +Barton was the unanimous choice of its members for President. To her +co-workers in her latest national humanitarian association are the +prophetic words of the “Mother of First Aid:” + +“I believe the ‘First Aid’ to be the beginning of an organized movement +that shall permeate more homes, carry useful knowledge to more men and +women who would get it in no other way, assuage more suffering that +nothing else could reach, awaken an interest in the welfare of his +brother man in more rough toil-worn hearts unknown to it before, than +lies in our power to estimate or our hopes to conceive.” + + + + + LXXIX + + + Clara Barton worked for humanity, for whom she had a love unparalleled + in history. ALICE HUBBARD—In _The Fra_. + + + My first endeavor has been to wipe from the scroll of my country’s + fame the stain of imputed lack of common humanity—to take her out of + the rôle of barbarism. CLARA BARTON. + + + Alas! what a stony soil the Red Cross has sometimes found, and the + seeds scattered by the wayside many a day. CLARA BARTON. + + With what fidelity, wisdom and unanimity it has fulfilled its + important and peaceful mission, its vast work of almost twenty years + (1901) has conclusively shown. CLARA BARTON. + + + The whole civilized world acclaims the noble character and good work + of Clara Barton. Portland (Oregon) _Union_. + + The Clara Barton movement spanned the globe. + + Springfield (Mo.) _Republican_. + + + Clara Barton is one of the greatest women that ever lived. + + JULIA H. GULLIVER, President Rockford College. + + + I personally inspected the vouchers—In tracing the missing men Clara + Barton expended $2,000 more than the government gave her for the + expenses. U. S. SENATOR GRIMES, in a speech in the Senate. + + Clara Barton expended from her own savings during the Civil War $1,000 + each year ($4,000), receiving no pay nor salary, except her bare + living expenses and these expenses she paid, herself, largely. + + FRANCES B. GAGE. + + Miss Barton has devoted her life and strength to Red Cross work in + America and during which time she has not received, nor desired to + receive, a penny for her services. It will be readily seen that she + has made an investment in principal and interest for the benefit of + her countrymen to the amount of another quarter of a million of + dollars—half a million of dollars in all. + + ELLEN SPENCER MUSSEY, Attorney for the Red Cross. + + + The life of Clara Barton ought to be taught in the public schools for + the enlightenment of all pupils, boys and girls, that they may + understand the work of the Red Cross and realize how great a task for + humanity was undertaken, and accomplished by a weak woman. + + Woonsocket (R. I.) _Call_. + + Largely through Clara Barton’s endeavors, the Red Cross became + international, with the national power represented by the Stars and + Stripes as one of its staunchest supporters. HON. JOHN M. ROSS, + President of District of Columbia Board of Commissioners. + + + We question whether there has been any man or woman in the world’s + history who has been a greater blessing to mankind than the + sweet-faced Clara Barton. _Topeka Daily Capital._ + + + HUMANITARIANISM, UNPARALLELED IN ALL HISTORY + +Greater than the organization of the American Red Cross, and of far more +reaching importance to the human race, was the securing of the so-called +American Amendment to the original International Red Cross treaty. To +secure this amendment, Clara Barton personally addressed the Governments +through the “International Committee of Geneva,” advocating the measure. +This measure was seriously considered by the “Congress of Berne,” and +adopted by the powers. The amendment is in force by every civilized +nation in the world—wherever there is a Red Cross Society. Through their +representatives, hundreds of millions of people are reaping continuing +benefits of this humanitarian Clara Barton measure. + +The amendment permits the Red Cross to do the work of alleviating +distress in all national calamities, such as fire, flood, famine, +cyclone and earthquake. Under this amendment, Clara Barton +administered relief at Johnstown, Charleston, Carolina Islands—in all, +in about twenty disasters—relief of untold benefits to hundreds of +thousands of American people. No other woman in this country, nor in +the history of civilization, has to her credit an achievement of such +world-humanitarian influence. + +Clara Barton, as President of the Red Cross, served for over twenty +years and on every field of national disaster then occurring in the +United States; and also served in Cuba through the Spanish-American War +within that period of time. Through that period of over twenty years, +not one dollar was drawn by her from the national treasury; with +confidence in her, the people contributed what was necessary. And, +further, unprecedented in all history was her self-sacrificing +humanitarian spirit in this, and in all similar work. Clara Barton, in a +personal letter, confides to her friend as follows: “In all my life, in +its various humanitarian activities, _I have never received, nor have I +desired, remuneration for my services_; and with the exception of the +$15,000 (expended out of my private funds and returned to me by the 39th +Congress), I have never received in all my life _anything in return for +my personal expenditures_.” + +“During the first nineteen years, to maintain the Red Cross +Headquarters, to build up the Organization and carry on its work,” +according to an official report made to the House of Representatives by +the Red Cross Committee, “Clara Barton expended from her individual +funds an average of $4,000 a year, or a total of $76,000. This does not +include her expenses for the four years that followed while she was +President of the Red Cross, nor for the five years spent in securing for +this country the American Red Cross. Nor does this include the amount +expended by Miss Barton, after retiring from the Red Cross—from 1905 to +1912—in organizing and carrying on the work of the National First Aid +Association—this amount from her personal funds being about $5,000.” + +As through her fifty years of public services she continuously expended +moneys from her personal funds, accepting no remuneration for her +services, it has been estimated by an ex-secretary of the Red Cross that +Clara Barton put the equivalent of a half million dollars in the Red +Cross Society. + + + + + LXXX + + + The great good Christian woman—one of God’s noblest creatures. + + DOCTOR HENRY A. LATHROP, Author. + + Clara Barton lives in deeds, and will be an inspiration to millions + who shall come after her. + + CHAPLAIN COUDON, Nat’l House of Representatives. + + + Clara Barton bequeathed to the world a glorious heritage. + + Birmingham (Ala.) _Age-Herald_. + + Whatever the Red Cross accomplishes in the future; whatever it has + accomplished in the past, to this one woman (Clara Barton) belongs the + credit. It was her child, with which she blessed the race. 90,000 + years will not blot out the mercies which Clara Barton set in motion. + Springfield (Ill.) _News_. + + Clara Barton,—founder of the most philanthropic movement of the age—an + intrinsic part of world civilization. _Detroit Free Press._ + + World-wide, Clara Barton will be remembered. + + Holyoke (Mass.) _Telegram_. + + + At the mention of the name of Clara Barton the world stands with + uncovered head. _Chicago Inter-Ocean._ + + + Clara Barton, worthy immortality. JANE ADDAMS. + + Clara Barton did a world’s work, and her name will be immortalized. + WILLIAM SULZER, Governor of New York. + + At all of our early fields the Red Cross went, and worked, alone. + + CLARA BARTON. + + For twenty years (1901) the Red Cross work so small at first—a mere + speck—has grown up under our hands until its welcome blaze has + lightened the footsteps of relief for the entire and direful contest + of nations. CLARA BARTON. + + + CLARA BARTON’S PRAYER ANSWERED + +In loud acclaim by the man whose arm had been cut off by order of the +Queen, with the other arm upraised there came forth from the throat of +the guiltless victim, “God Save Elizabeth.” Although her strong arm, +serving humanity for half a century, had been paralyzed by the tyrannous +“Powers that Be,” Clara Barton’s daily prayer, from 1904 to the closing +scene at Glen Echo in 1912, was “God Save the American Red Cross.” + +The Mother’s prayer for the Red Cross has been gloriously answered; the +Red Cross is safe and the spirit of Clara Barton still lives. +Practically for 23 years Clara Barton was the Red Cross and the Red +Cross was Clara Barton. The American people knew none other than Clara +Barton. Through the confidence of the people in her, she received and +distributed to the suffering, $2,557,000.00, in money and supplies. +Through her Red Cross literature, her Red Cross talks from the rostrum +and as the official representative of this nation at the International +Red Cross Conferences in Europe, Clara Barton became widely known, and +the Clara Barton spirit became the spirit of every humanity-loving +household in America. + +Tens of thousands of women who as girls learned to love her were proud +in the World War to wear, as nurses, the Red Cross badge of distinction. +Men of national fame were honored in accepting a position in the Red +Cross Service. Men of wealth were glad of the opportunity to finance +such a worthy organization, and of such deservedly good name, in +humanity’s cause. + +Through the reputation of Clara Barton, the adhesion of the Government +to the “Treaty of Geneva” had been secured; by Congressional action and +the signature of the President, a national charter had been granted; the +American Government had given official recognition to the American Red +Cross. The American people recognize that, when the Mother of the Red +Cross retired from the Presidency, what she then said was true: “When I +retired from the Red Cross, my little nursling (Red Cross) had grown to +manhood. It was taken over with the highest reputation of any +organization in the country—its methods settled, its organization +unexceptional, its prestige assured at home and abroad, and a balance of +funds subject to its call, and sufficient for all its needs.” + +A greater need arose; the call came and, Clara Barton’s home people in +Massachusetts leading all others in the Red Cross spirit, the American +people responded. They responded, up to January 1, 1918, to the number +of 21,000,000 in memberships, with 9,000,000 members additional of the +Junior Red Cross. Besides, there were more than 8,000,000 volunteer Red +Cross workers. The memberships, and volunteer enrollment workers, were +made possible on the lines laid down by Clara Barton; “I would recommend +the enrolling of the whole country under the banner of the Red Cross.” +In the first drive for funds, the Red Cross realized $110,000,000; in +the second drive, $135,819,911.56; a total in the two drives of +$245,818,911.56. + +In less than eleven months the American people contributed more than +$300,000,000 to the Red Cross; through the World War up to February 18, +1919 $400,000,000. This enormous amount of money was used for the +benefit of the millions of soldiers and others, of this country and of +the allies. The foregoing memberships and financial strength have +verified Clara Barton’s conception of the Red Cross possibilities: + +“The Red Cross is capable of becoming the largest organization in the +United States and one of the most useful.” + +Of what she had done in her life-time, Governor W. R. Stubbs of Kansas +said: “Looking over history as far back as Mary of Galilee, I cannot +recall where God has chosen a maid servant—who has done more for +humanity than Clara Barton.” In prophecy of the future results of her +life’s work, Honorable George F. Hoar in the United States Senate said: +“Known not only throughout our land, but throughout the whole civilized +world, countless millions and uncounted generations will profit by the +humanity of which Clara Barton has been largely the embodiment.” + + + + + LXXXI + + + Clara Barton—America’s foremost philanthropist. + + Pasadena (Calif.) _News_. + + Clara Barton—the usefulness of this extraordinary woman. + + San Jose (Calif.) _Herald_. + + Clara Barton—the most useful woman of her day. + + Bangor (Me.) _News_. + + + Clara Barton’s slogan: “People’s Help for National Needs.” + + + The American Red Cross (1896) never appeals for, nor solicits, aid for + any purpose. CLARA BARTON. + + The Red Cross has received nothing from the Government. No fund has + been created for it. CLARA BARTON. + + Not a penny of tax, nor dues, has ever been asked for the expenses of + the National Red Cross. CLARA BARTON. + + Every dollar and every pound that has been received by the Red Cross + has been the free-will offering of the people, given for humanity + without solicitation and disbursed without reward. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + The greatest work performed by the Red Cross has consisted in the + education of the peoples along the lines of humanity. + + CLARA BARTON. + + The Red Cross was “her child,” and Clara Barton naturally and + willingly provided for it. _Heroines of Modern Progress._ + + When the Government accepted the Red Cross, perhaps a bit arrogantly, + I felt that my end was accomplished and I was ready to give it up. + CLARA BARTON. + + The Red Cross “opposes the arms of humanity to the arms of violence.” + CLARA BARTON. + + Antagonistic to nothing the Red Cross can know neither jealousies nor + rivalry. CLARA BARTON. + + The future of the Red Cross will be worthy of the labors and + sacrifices in which it originated. CLARA BARTON. + + + But for the never-ending kindly words that bade me strive on, I fear I + should have been inclined to give up the fight. + + CLARA BARTON. + + For me I had few words of prayerful gratitude and many memories of the + long years of patient watching that had brought the American Red Cross + even up to the point it had attained. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + NOT THE VALUE OF A POSTAGE STAMP + +In 1902 a party of friends visited Clara Barton in her Glen Echo Red +Cross home. In our party were two gentlemen from Mexico. One of the +latter, an Englishman, had lived in the “Land of the Montezumas” for +many years. He described to Miss Barton the people, their peculiar +customs, their love of music and the other arts, their beautiful Moorish +architecture, their lofty mountains and fertile valleys. Then he +portrayed the characteristics of Porfirio Diaz, the then popular ruler +of the Mexican Republic. + +Miss Barton was much interested. She said that for some time she had +been doing what she could to get the Mexican Government to organize, +under the Geneva Convention, a Red Cross Society. With the tact of a +diplomat and the strategy of a general she laid out her plan of +campaign. She asserted that in no other country could so much good be +done by the Red Cross as in Mexico. + +She wanted the influence of President Diaz. How could she get it? +Through whom? And of what assistance could her Mexican guests be to her? +That her guests might become interested in the Red Cross she described +in detail her work, how she got the necessary funds, the supplies, and +how they were distributed. She explained that whenever there was +suffering from flood, fire, famine—suffering anywhere in the world from +any cause—she would issue a call, setting forth the fact and needs. +Immediately thereafter, the good people would respond with money, food, +clothing. In some cases money and material were sent to her personally, +and sometimes to her as President of the Red Cross. + +Also she would send out an appeal for assistants who would serve without +pay on any certain field of disaster. At that time the Government did +nothing whatever for the Red Cross; had not contributed towards it so +much even as the value of a postage stamp. Then the people were being +educated along the lines of humanity, and which Clara Barton said was +the most important work of the Red Cross Society. As the result of such +education and of its then growing importance, she predicted that +sometime it would be the largest organization in the United States. In +fulfillment of this prediction, in the World War, the people on one +occasion, in a few days, responded to a Red Cross call for $100,000,000. + +[Illustration: + + CLARA BARTON + + The President (now In Memoriam) of the National First Aid Association + of America. +] + +[Illustration: + + HARRIETTE L. REED + + With statesmanlike ability Clara Barton directed the affairs of + panic-stricken citizens paralyzed by the fearful calamities which + had overtaken them and rendered them powerless.—HARRIETTE L. REED + (Sister Harriette). Also known as Mrs. J. Sewall Reed, First Acting + President of the National First Aid Association of America, June 6, + 1912–April 2, 1920. +] + + The historic pictures on this page were taken each on the occasion of + the organization of the National First Aid Association of America, in + Boston, in 1905. + + See page 257. + + + + + LXXXII + + + _In re_ a bill before Congress (1902) proposing an annuity of $5,000 + for Clara Barton during life, in an official letter to Congress, she + protested as follows: “Any grant of Government moneys, either in aid + of this body (Red Cross) direct, or of myself as its President, would + be subversive of its principles and methods, and not to be desired.” + THE AUTHOR. + + + If those now (1904) at variance with me on Red Cross matters will meet + me in the same spirit by which I am animated, we cannot fail to adjust + all difficulties to our mutual satisfaction, and to the advantage of + the cause all should have at heart. CLARA BARTON. + + + Unless one is actually going down hill with a load, it is easier to + stop than to go on. CLARA BARTON. + + I have nothing to gain from the Red Cross, and never have had. + + CLARA BARTON. + + In Red Cross work I have no ambitions to serve, and certainly no + purposes. CLARA BARTON. + + + I am glad that after thirty years our country has been awakened to the + thought that it could confer an honor on the Red Cross; and I wish you + could know how entirely indifferent I am to the _personal_ “honors” + conferred. CLARA BARTON. + + + No private individual in the world’s history has ever before been able + to command through a long term of years, and a continuous succession + of almost a score of great public disasters, the unlimited confidence + of the whole people, so that the response to each successive call has + been instant and in generous amount. + + Contributions in money and supplies have been received for the relief + of the sufferers by these national calamities of more than $1,900,000. + + The Officers and Members of the American National Red Cross (in + 1903)—in a Memorial to Congress—From House Document No. 552, Volume + 49, 58th Congress. + + + HONORARY PRESIDENCY FOR LIFE—PROPOSED ANNUITY + +Miss Mabel T. Boardman, after the retirement of Clara Barton, became +Chairman of the Executive Committee of the American Red Cross Society. +In the following excerpts from letters in 1903, she certifies to the +_integrity_, good name and fame, of Clara Barton, this being at the time +the “MOTHER OF THE RED CROSS” was offered the Honorary Presidency for +life, with an annuity of $2,500: + +“The character of Miss Barton nobody has assailed. + +“No such assault was made, nor intended, upon Miss Barton’s character. + +“No loss of confidence in Miss Barton’s personal integrity is meant. + +“A proposition of —— which I should not for a moment have thought of +assenting to, if I had believed Miss Barton wanting in integrity. + +“Believe me, there is no desire for one moment to humiliate Miss Barton +nor to withdraw her from any honor due her for past services in the +interest of humanity. The very fact of our trying to get up a fund for +Miss Barton to place her in an honorable position—is sufficient evidence +that there was no purpose to attack Miss Barton personally. + +“I feel that by accepting the position of Honorary President for life +(with an annuity given as a token of appreciation of her past services) +Miss Barton will be placed in a most dignified and honorable position. + +“Mr. Foster, Mr. Glover, Mr. Chas. Bell, Mr. Walsh and my Father will +act as guarantors of the annuity for the first year. + +“As to the annuity;—five or six responsible gentlemen, such as Messrs. +Bell, Glover, and others, would sign a letter guaranteeing to Miss +Barton, for the first year, an annuity of $2,500, and pledging +themselves to have set on foot a movement to raise a Red Cross fund, +within a year, out of which should be paid to Miss Barton a similar +annuity during life. + +“People are continually urging that a complete investigation be made of +Red Cross expenditures and methods, beginning with the Johnstown +disaster, the Armenia disaster, Russian famine, Sea Islands, etc.; but +we do not want to have to do this, and will not, if Miss Barton in the +true interest of the Red Cross, and in the true interest of her own name +and fame, will consent to take the distinguished position of Honorary +President.” (The foregoing are excerpts from a letter by Miss Mabel T. +Boardman under date of February 20th, 1903, and found in Document 552, +House Documents, Volume 49,—58th Congress.) + +Under date of February 18, 1903, Honorable John W. Foster, of the Red +Cross Society, the ex-Secretary of State, in a letter says: “We have +canvassed the matter of a proper person to succeed Miss Barton as +President (she accepting the place of Honorary President,) and the best +fitted person for the position seems to be Admiral Van Reypen.... It is +presumed he would be acceptable to Miss Barton. As to the annuity: five +or six responsible gentlemen—will sign a letter guaranteeing to Miss +Barton for the first year an annuity of $2,500 and pledging themselves +to have set on foot a movement to raise a Red Cross fund, within a year, +out of which should be paid to Miss Barton a similar annuity during +life.” (From House Document No. 552, Volume 49, 58th Congress.) + +The official records show that the highest representative of a former +Administration, the minority and majority in the so called “controversy” +unanimously commended the name of Clara Barton; and in writing the +minority, through Miss Mabel T. Boardman, unanimously solicited Clara +Barton to become, and to remain for life, Honorary President of the Red +Cross. + + NOTE.—For reasons which seemed good to Clara Barton and her friends + the foregoing named annuity and _honor_ were declined. THE AUTHOR. + + + + + LXXXIII + + + Clara Barton’s services in the Franco-German war, as a member of the + Red Cross, were memorable throughout both continents. Holyoke (Mass.) + _Telegram_. + + There are old soldiers, veterans of the German battlefield, who still + live and tell with tear-dimmed eyes of Clara Barton’s work among the + wounded and the dying. Sioux Falls (S. D.) _Press_. + + + O, reputation! dearer far than life. SIR WALTER RALEIGH. + + A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches. + + PROVERBS. + + Good name, in man or woman, is the immediate jewel of their souls. + OTHELLO. + + + Why persecutest thou me? ACTS. + + Those about her + From her shall read the perfect ways of honor. + KING HENRY VIII. + + + Miss Barton witnessed the work of the Red Cross during 1870. MABEL T. + BOARDMAN—In “_Under the Red Cross Flag at Home and Abroad_.” + + + In 1870–71 Clara Barton attached herself by invitation to the foreign + Red Cross, and in that relation was actually in the Red Cross work + during the entire Franco-Prussian war. + + Red Cross Committee. + + My physical strength had long ceased to exist, but on the borrowed + force of love and memory I strove with might and main—I walked its + hospitals day and night; I served in its camps, and I marched with its + men; and I know whereof I speak. + + CLARA BARTON. + + During the eighteen months of European experience I worked with the + Red Cross on my arm. The horrors and sufferings of Weissenburg, + Woerth, and Hagenau, Strasbourg, Metz, Sedan and Paris—poor twice + shattered Paris—and every besieged and desolated city of France fell + under my observation and shared the labor of my hands through eighteen + hard and dreadful months. + + CLARA BARTON, in public address at Cape May. + + + Truth, like the sun, submits to be obscured; but, like the sun, only + for a time. BOVEE. + + + Our dearly beloved and most honored Clara Barton! She understood fully + the meaning of the Red Cross, and knew well how to put into action the + great and beautiful, though difficult, duties of the Red Cross. How + shall I forget what she was to us here in the year 1870, helping us + during the time of war we had to go through with then! God grant her + peace eternal! There where her beautiful soul will live in the glory + of Christ. + + LUISE, Grand Duchess of Baden (1912). + + + OMISSION OF, OR ACQUIESCENCE IN, THE TRAGEDY OF 1904 + + + “PASSES THE BUCK” + + It may be we shall let most of the period of the differences with the + Red Cross remain in solution till the larger life and letters (by + William E. Barton). + + Reverend Percy H. Epler, + (In 1915) + One of the “Committee to Advise,” and + Author of “The Life of Clara Barton.” + + + “REFUSES TO ANTE” + + If there was any lack of consideration for Clara Barton, it would do + no good now to remember it. + + Reverend William E. Barton, + (In 1922) + One of the “Committee to Advise,” and + Author of “The Life of Clara Barton.” + + + Years were to Clara Barton merely opportunities of service, not + measures of life. This attitude prolonged her life and kept her young + in spirit. + + At ninety (1911) there was no mark of physical infirmity upon her nor + was there any slightest slacking in the interest of the object for + which she long had cared. + + Senility was farther removed from her at ninety (1911) than from most + women at sixty. + + At the age of ninety-one (1912) there was not a physical lesion nor a + diseased organ in the body. + + She lived to enter her tenth decade, and when she died (1912) was + still so normal in the soundness of her bodily organs and in the + clarity of her mind and memory that it seemed she might easily have + lived to see her hundredth birthday. + + WILLIAM E. BARTON + “Her Cousin, the Author.” + (“William E. Barton is one of our third or fourth cousins. + Stephen E. Barton,”) + Clara Barton’s Nephew, and Dedicatee of + Barton’s “Life of Clara Barton.” + + + At no time in her life has Miss Barton been in sounder bodily or + mental health or better able to continue the work to which her years + of experience and natural endowments have preeminently fitted her. + Moreover, the nation’s confidence is Miss Barton’s, and no hand can + better guide its Red Cross work than hers. + + Red Cross Committee, officially, to Congress. + Written report unanimously concurred in. + (In 1903.) + + Year after year your President has framed and offered her resignation + to the preceding Board and Committees. These have been resolutely met + by appointment for life. CLARA BARTON. + + Miss Barton has resigned three times before this time (May 14, 1904) + but every time we have elected her again unanimously; and twice we + have elected her for life and every member, 315 in number, voted for + her. W. H. SEARS, Secretary for Clara Barton. + + I certify that at the meeting of the American National Red Cross, held + in Washington, D. C, December 9, 1902, on motion to elect Clara Barton + President of the organization for life, a standing vote was taken, + resulting as follows: Ayes 28, noes 3, the three negative votes + being.... + + S. W. BRIGGS, Secretary, Red Cross Committee. + + It is the Red Cross, without the glamor of war or disaster, to attract + your interest, that I bring to you to nourish and protect. + + CLARA BARTON. + + When the Government accepted the Red Cross, perhaps a bit arrogantly, + I felt that my end was accomplished and that I was ready to give it + up. CLARA BARTON. + + It is a pride as well as a pleasure to hand to you an organization + perfectly formed, thoroughly officered, with no debts and a sum of + from $12,000 to $14,000 available to our treasury as a working fund. + (Amount realized $15,541.89. The Author.) CLARA BARTON (on May 14, + 1904, in offering her resignation as President). + + + It would be strange, if after so many years of earnest effort for the + relief of human suffering, during which time I have always lived and + moved in the full glare of the public gaze, I could not now safely + trust my character and good name to the care of the American people. + CLARA BARTON. + +[Illustration: + + MRS. JOHN A. LOGAN + + Clara Barton is the greatest woman of this, or any other, age.—MRS. + JOHN A. LOGAN, the Vice-President under Clara Barton; the President + of the American Red Cross Society, May 14, 1904–June 16, 1904. + + It is an unspeakable joy to me that the toil-worn, weary mantle, that + drops from mine, falls upon the shoulders of my vice-president, the + woman so cherished in our own country and honored and trusted in + other countries. + + CLARA BARTON. +] + + + CLARA BARTON’S RESIGNATION + +At a meeting of the American National Red Cross, held December 10, 1901, +President Clara Barton said: “at that meeting (July 10, 1900) I brought +my armor, worn and rusted, and reverently laid it at your feet with the +request that I be released. You declined to permit me to retire. I again +lay my armor before you, recommending the filling of this most eminent +position in your gift by someone better fitted than I ever have been to +assume its duties, and wear its honors.” The Red Cross again refused to +accept the resignation. + +The so called “charges” against Miss Barton were made December 10, 1903. +The case was heard before the Proctor Red Cross Committee on May 3, +1904. Only one witness testified and, as elsewhere stated, he refused to +be cross examined whereupon his statements were discredited, the case +summarily dismissed for want of evidence, and on motion of the committee +itself. Miss Barton previously had been re-elected, almost unanimously, +to succeed herself. + +The “remonstrants” discredited, their “charges” found baseless, Miss +Barton vindicated, on May 14, 1904, she again offered her resignation[7] +of the Presidency, this time in favor of Mrs. General John A. Logan, and +insisted on its acceptance. Her friends protested her resignation; +insisted she should not resign but should hold the position for life. +Miss Barton persisted in sacrificing herself for what she _then_ thought +would be in the interest of harmony, and the cause nearest her heart. +The following is the personal explanation of her then attitude of mind. + +Footnote 7: + + Clara Barton resigned the presidency May 14, 1904. Mrs. John A. Logan + succeeded to the presidency, holding the office until June 16, 1904. + Mrs. Logan nominated W. H. Taft as her successor. Mr. Taft declining + then to serve, Admiral W. K. Van Reypen, according to Red Cross + official records, acted as president pro tern until January 8, 1905, + when Mr. Taft accepted the presidency. + +“In initiating measures for the conciliation of opposing interests and +views, it may seem to some of my friends that I have overlooked just +grounds of personal offence in imputations wantonly made upon my honor +and integrity. I do so knowingly and willingly, and because the cause +that the American Red Cross is meant to promote stands first in my +affections and my desires. It would be strange if it did not—if the +cause for which I have devoted myself for half a century were not deemed +by me worthy of any possible sacrifice of personal pride or personal +interest.” + + ’Tis not the house and not the dress, + That makes the saint or sinner, + To see the spider sit and spin, + Shut with her walls of silver in, + You would never, never, never guess, + The way she gets her dinner. + +Had she entered the spider’s web of the society “remonstrant”; had she +accepted the proposed annuity—and proposed honor of Honorary President, +and thrown her child to the sharks, Clara Barton’s frail bark would have +been towed into port, in peace. Instead, with her never failing courage +she took to the life boat, on a stormy sea, and survived the storm to +hand over her Red Cross child not to an unworthy, but to her Country and +humanity. + + + + + LXXXIV + + + No cynic will find a flaw in what Miss Barton did. + + Boston (Mass.) _Record_. + + The spiteful factionist, to be found in every cause—even the cause of + Christ himself—formed an opposition to Miss Barton. + + Harrisburg (Pa.) _Telegram_. + + + Truth hath a quiet breast. SHAKESPEARE. + + Great souls suffer in silence. SCHILLER. + + Silence is the Mother of Truth. EARL OF BEACONSFIELD. + + + Come, let us have peace. U. S. GRANT. + + Peace to the land forevermore. CLARA BARTON. + + I never spoke a discordant word in my life, meaningly. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + Like her Master, whom she followed, Clara Barton opened not her mouth. + KATE BROWNLEE SHERWOOD. + + + And when He was accused by the chief priests and elders He answered + nothing. ST. MATTHEW. + + + NO RED CROSS CONTROVERSY + +“There has been no Red Cross controversy,” says Clara Barton, “as the +sensational press has termed it, inasmuch as the Red Cross has taken no +controversial part. It has only spoken when it _must_, and as little as +possible, and its President not at all, nor ever will. + +“When it is necessary for me to defend myself before the _American +people_, let me fall. I should not value the defense thus gained, and I +trust I shall never feel it needful.” + +In her later years the following was oft quoted by Clara Barton: + + The stars come nightly to the sky, + The tidal wave unto the sea + I’ll rail no more ’gainst time or tide, + For lo! my own shall come to me. + + + + + LXXXV + + + A Greek Red Cross on a field of white should tell any soldier of any + country within the treaty that the wearer was his friend and could be + trusted; and to any officer of any army that he was legitimately + there, and not subject to capture. CLARA BARTON. + + This is what the Red Cross means, not an order of knighthood, not a + commandery of it, not a secret society, not a society at all by + itself, but the powerful, peaceful sign and the reducing to practical + usefulness of one of the broadest and most needed humanities the world + has ever known. CLARA BARTON. + + + I hope that all the patriotic and humane men, women and children of + the United States who are able to do so, will give it (the Red Cross) + their support by becoming members of our national organization. + EX-PRESIDENT THEODORE ROOSEVELT. + + I hereby commend the plan of the Red Cross to secure a large + membership in this country. I hope the American people will prove as + patriotic in this respect as are the people of other nations, so that + we may be as well prepared as they to render relief in the misfortune + of war or to mitigate the suffering caused by pestilence, famine, + fire, floods, mine explosions and other great disasters. + + EX-PRESIDENT W. H. TAFT. + + A large, well-organized and efficient Red Cross is essential. It is + both a patriotic and humane service that is rendered by every citizen + who becomes a member of the American Red Cross. + + EX-PRESIDENT WOODROW WILSON. + + + I perceive that in creating an institution that shall be National and + of the people the foundations must be as broad and as solid as the + whole nation. CLARA BARTON. + + The Red Cross has become well known and well beloved. Of all the great + humanitarian institutions of this country the Red Cross is surely + among the greatest. CLARA BARTON. + + + Though we may leave our task unaccomplished, the task may be glorious + in design if not in completion, and speak of us sincerely and with + more fitting substance than words could ever compass or suggest. CLARA + BARTON. + + + The Red Cross is the Big Brother of the Fighting Man. + + GENERAL LEONARD WOOD. + + + The Red Cross is the most generally recognized humanitarian movement + in the known world. CLARA BARTON. + + The Red Cross has awakened the senses, and attuned the public ear to + the cry of distress wherever emanating. CLARA BARTON. + + The Treaty of Geneva takes its powers from the common consent of the + United Governments of the civilized world. + + CLARA BARTON. + + Human intelligence has devised the provisions of the Red Cross, and it + is peculiarly adapted to popular favor. CLARA BARTON. + + + It is probable that no sign nor figure in the secular world is sacred + to so many people as is the Red Cross of Geneva. CLARA BARTON. + + The insignia, which has given its name to the Treaty of Geneva, has + become universally known and respected. CLARA BARTON. + + The Red Cross never leads, but follows, in all military matters. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + The Red Cross has given rise to most valuable inventions and, under + its humane impulses, sanitary science has made rapid progress. + + CLARA BARTON. + + Inspired by the love of humanity and the world-wide motto of the Red + Cross: “In time of peace and prosperity, prepare for war and + calamity.” CLARA BARTON. + +[Illustration: + + © _Clinedinst, Washington, D. C._ + + + AMBASSADOR BAKHMETEFF + + The veneration in which Russians of every class hold the name of Clara + Barton.—RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR BORIS BAKHMETEFF (in Boston in 1917). + + The Ambassador requested me to transmit to you the expression of every + loyal Russian appreciation for the splendid work done by the + American Red Cross during the last war, and especially for its + assistance to the needy in Russia.—G. GAGARINE, First Secretary to + the Embassy (in Washington in 1920). +] + + Some forty nations are in the Red Cross treaty, and from every + military hospital in every one of these nations floats the same flag. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + Of all existing organizations, there is possibly not one that has + causes for sentiment of higher devotion and more prayerful gratitude + than the Red Cross, which owes its very life to pity and help for the + woes of the world. CLARA BARTON. + + The Red Cross means not national aid for the needs of the people, but + the people’s aid for the needs of the nation. + + CLARA BARTON. + + History records the wonderful achievements of the Red Cross, greatest + of relief organizations, though it cannot record the untold suffering + which has been averted by it. CLARA BARTON. + + + I desire to enroll all to whom this message may come as subscribing, + or sustaining, members of the Red Cross; and I wish this idea to + spread and grow until it develops into a great National Red Cross + movement. Then my hope will be realized. And when the call shall come + I can lay the burden of my work tenderly and lovingly into the lap of + the whole people, with whom I have labored so many years, and who will + keep and cherish it always because it is the sacred cause of humanity + they hold. CLARA BARTON. + + + In France recently there was found in the mails an unstamped postcard + addressed, “Clara Barton, Heaven,” and on the card was written, “You + certainly founded a wonderful institution,” and signed “A Soldier.” + _Press Dispatch._ + + + No country is more liable than our own to great overmastering + calamities, various, widespread and terrible. CLARA BARTON. + + Seldom a year passes that the nation, from sea to sea, is not by the + shock of some sudden, unforeseen disaster, brought to utter + consternation and stands shivering like a ship in a gale, powerless, + terrified and despairing. CLARA BARTON. + + Through Clara Barton’s influence the International Congress of Berne + adopted the “American Amendment.” + + MARY R. PARKMAN, Author. + + + Although the original purpose and object of the Red Cross was indeed + to heal the wounds and sickness incident to warfare, there will remain + the work under the “American Amendment,” in which the Red Cross goes + forth to heal other great ills of life. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS—AMERICAN RED CROSS—AMERICAN AMENDMENT + +The International Treaty of Geneva—Red Cross—dates from August 23rd, +1864. The Red Cross is a Confederation of Societies in different +countries for the amelioration of the condition of wounded soldiers in +arms, in campaigns on land and sea. The World Society originated with +Henri Dunant of Switzerland, after seeing the condition from neglect of +the wounded at the battle of Solferino, Italy, on June 24, 1859. Gustave +Moynier, also of Switzerland, called a meeting at Geneva, Switzerland, +and the organization followed—August 23, 1864. + +France was the first nation to adopt the treaty, this being September +23, 1864. The United States was the thirtieth in the list of nations +adopting the treaty, this being on March 1, 1882. Up to the present time +49 nations have acceded to the Treaty of Geneva. In this list are the +following possessing a National Red Cross Society: + + 1. Wurtemberg + 2. Belgium + 3. Prussia + 4. Denmark + 5. France + 6. Italy + 7. Spain + 8. Hessie (Grand Duchy) + 9. Portugal + 10. Sweden + 11. Norway + 12. United States + 13. Saxony + 14. Baden + 15. Switzerland + 16. Russia + 17. Austria + 18. Netherlands + 19. Bavaria + 20. Turkey + 21. Great Britain + 22. Montenegro + 23. Serbia + 24. Roumania + 25. Greece + 26. Peru + 27. Argentine + 28. Hungary + 29. Bulgaria + 30. Japan + 31. Congo + 32. Venezuela + 33. Uruguay + +The following are governments that have signed the Geneva convention but +have not Red Cross Chapters recognized by the International Committee: + + 34. Bolivia + 35. Brazil + 36. Chili + 37. Colombia + 38. Cuba + 39. Ecuador + 40. Guatemala + 41. Haiti + 42. Panama + 43. Siam + 44. Luxembourg + 45. Mexico + 46. Persia + 47. Honduras + 48. Nicaragua + 49. China + +Anticipating the adoption of the treaty by the United States, in July +1881 the American Association of the Red Cross was organized, +seventy-five persons present with Clara Barton the President. The United +States Senate having acceded to the Treaty of Geneva, its ratification +was proclaimed by President Arthur July 26, 1882. This association was +incorporated April 17, 1883, under the name American National Red Cross; +reincorporated by Act of Congress, the charter signed by President +McKinley June 6, 1900. That charter was repealed and a new charter +substituted, the same being adopted by an Act of Congress and approved +by President Roosevelt January 5, 1905. Under the new charter the name +continued to be The American National Red Cross. Section 4 of this Act +was amended by an Act of Congress, and approved by President Taft June +23, 1910. This amendment relates to the collection of moneys by +authorized agents, the use of the Red Cross emblem or any other insignia +colored, and similar matters. A second amendment was adopted by Congress +and approved by the President December 12, 1912, and relates to the time +of the annual meeting. + +The American National Association of Red Cross (organized in July 1881) +was independent of the Treaty of Geneva; it was a private association, +but Miss Barton was constantly urging this Government’s adhesion to the +Red Cross Treaty of Nations. In compliment to Clara Barton, she was +invited to address a meeting at Dansville, New York. As a result there +was formed on August 2, 1881, the first local Society of the Red Cross +in the United States of America. + +In September 1881, the Michigan forest fires occurred. This became the +first test of the merits of the Red Cross work in America. Miss Barton +was at this time also invited to make an address on this subject to the +citizens of Syracuse, New York. A proposition to organize an auxiliary +in that city was made at the close of the meeting. The amount there +raised for the relief of the Michigan sufferers was $3,807.28, the new +Red Cross Auxiliary Society numbering 250 members. This, in brief, is +the history of the inception of the Red Cross and the two auxiliaries in +America. + +[Illustration: + + ELUTHEROS K. VENIZELOS + + Although I never met Miss Barton, her achievement in establishing the + American Red Cross is such as to win for her the lasting gratitude + of many millions of people all over the world. + + Greece, in particular, will never forget the noble work accomplished + here by the American Red Cross. Its aid has been invaluable during + the world war and I am therefore glad to be given this opportunity + to pay this small tribute to the founder and first President of this + splendid organization. + ELUTHEROS K. VENIZELOS, + The Ex-Premier of Greece. +] + +Of the Michigan forest fires Clara Barton said: “So sweeping has been +the destruction that there is not food enough left in its wake for a +rabbit to eat, and indeed there is no rabbit, if there were food.” + +In the spring of 1882 for hundreds of miles there overflowed the raging +waters of the Mississippi, destroying homes and causing great suffering. +Again the new association responded to the cries of distress. While the +National Association was in session, devising ways and means for +extending relief, a messenger came from the U. S. Senate announcing that +the United States had acceded to the Treaty of Geneva. “Through all the +past years, during which the Red Cross has sought recognition, +protection and cooperation of the Government,” says Clara Barton, “it +has been but for one purpose—to be ready.” The relief of suffering in +national disasters, hitherto unknown in the history of the world through +Miss Barton had become popular among the American people. + +The ratifying powers at Berne accepted the National American Red Cross +with the proposed Clara Barton amendment, generally known as the +American Amendment. The system for relief work in national disasters, +made popular in the United States through Clara Barton, was later +approved and adopted by the International Red Cross Committee of the +Treaty of Geneva. It has therefore become a part of the Red Cross system +of all Treaty nations. These nations, representing a population of more +than one billion of human beings, or four-fifths of the human race, are +now enjoying the beneficence of the constructive genius of Clara Barton. + + + + + LXXXVI + + + Clara Barton—one of God’s noblest. Augusta (Ga.) _Journal_. + + One of the world’s greatest. + + Sacramento (Cal.) _Record-Union_. + + Honored in three continents. St. Paul (Minn.) _Dispatch_. + + Her movement spanned the globe. + + Springfield (Mo.) _Republican_. + + + The preferring of charges against Clara Barton, and her subsequent + investigation, is one of the rankest instances of injustice in the + history of this country. Unfounded charges, political spite and the + hope of remuneration,—the charges were refuted and the schemers were + discredited, but politics had triumphed and Miss Barton was cast + aside. Los Angeles (Cal.) _Examiner_. + + It was demanded of Clara Barton that she give an accounting of goods + and food distributed to dying and wounded on the battlefield. The + unspeakable Turk never did anything as bad as this.—But that + investigation was only an exigency, an excrescence, a malformation, a + wart on the nose. _The Fra_, East Aurora, N. Y. + + + Squint-eyed slander. BEAUMONT AND FLETCHER. + + Slanderous as Satan. SHAKESPEARE. + + Slander expires at a good woman’s door. EWALD. + + + ’Twas slander filled her mouth with lying words, + Slander, the foulest whelp of sin. + POLLOCK—_Course of Time_. + + Slander, meanest spawn of Hell— + And woman’s slander is the worst. + TENNYSON—_The Letters_. + + ’Tis slander “whose breath + Rides on posting winds and doth belie + All corners of the world.” CYMBELINE. + + + If the end brings me out all right what is said against me won’t + amount to anything. ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + Truth is generally the best vindication against slander. + + ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + Speak not evil of the dead. CHILO. + + They that slander the dead are like envious dogs that bark, and bite, + at bones. ZENO. + + + A poor lone woman. SHAKESPEARE. + + Done to death by slanderous tongues. SHAKESPEARE. + + Speak me fair in death. SHAKESPEARE. + + And thereby hangs a tale. SHAKESPEARE. + + + The greater the truth the greater the libel. LORD MANSFIELD. + + + The greatest friend of truth is Time. COLTON-LACON. + + Truth is the daughter of Time. MAZZINI. + + Truth is Truth. TENNYSON. + + + There is nothing so powerful as truth. DANIEL WEBSTER. + + Truth pierces the clouds; it shines like the sun and, like it, is + imperishable. NAPOLEON. + + The happiest women, like the happiest nations, have no history. + + GEORGE ELIOT. + + All error, false hate, malice, evil company and their kindred, are + sure to find their true value, and though apparently successful are + doomed to die at last. CLARA BARTON. + + The Almighty has his own purposes. ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + We never know the uses the Master will put us to. His designs are + known only to himself. CLARA BARTON. + + When you come to the certain conclusion that only truth and justice + are eternal, you will find it easy to wait and let the Heavens rule. + CLARA BARTON. + + Nothing but truth lives. CLARA BARTON. + + + My Lord will help me. JOAN OF ARC. + + God shows me the way I shall go. JOAN OF ARC. + + + We are all lost! We have burned a saint. + + TRESSART, Secretary to Henry VI. + + Would that my soul were where I believe the soul of that woman is. + + JOHN ALESPIE, + PETER MAURICE. + (Two of the judges that condemned Joan of Arc.) + + + First in the list of American great women is Clara Barton; first in + her ideals; first in her achievements. In America, she ranks with + Jeanne d’Arc, of France, to whom the English are now (1818) placing a + monument in Manchester. + + CORRA BACON-FOSTER, Author, _Clara Barton, Humanitarian_. + + + Joan of Arc was rather tall, well shaped, dark, with a look of + composure, animation and gentleness. GUIZOT. + + + It is not true, I think, that Miss Barton has ever done anything to + disentitle her to a conspicuous recognition in the Red Cross Building. + EX-SECRETARY OF STATE RICHARD OLNEY (in 1917). (The eminent American + selected by the “Remonstrants” in 1903, and unanimously approved by + the Red Cross, to name the members of the Red Cross Proctor + Committee—to investigate the “charges.”) + +[Illustration: + + GROVER CLEVELAND + + The President, March 4, 1885–March 4, 1889; March 4, 1893–March 4, + 1897 + + Miss Barton, I want you to represent the United States at the + International Red Cross Conference at Carlsruhe, Germany. + FREDERICK T. FRELINGHUYSEN (in 1887), + Secretary of State, under Grover Cleveland. + + I thank you, Mr. Secretary, but I cannot do so; I am ill.—CLARA + BARTON. + + Miss Barton, all the country knows what you have done, and are more + than satisfied. Regarding your illness, you have had too much fresh + water, Miss Barton, I recommend salt.—FREDERICK T. FRELINGHUYSEN. +] + + + There is, and can be, no foundation for such a charge.... During all + the twenty-five years that Miss Barton has devoted herself to the Red + Cross work she has been in receipt of an individual income which it + has been her pleasure to use in defraying her own expenses and for + such helpers as the extensive correspondence compelled. + + (Signed Red Cross Committee + By WALTER P. PHILLIPS Chairman, + SAMUEL M. JARVIS, + J. B. HUBBELL.) + +(In a Memorial to Congress, March 3, 1903—from House Document No. 552, + Vol. 49, 58th Cong.) + + Wherein ... was removed from his position, under Miss Barton, he said: + “I can stand a great deal of cuffing, but then my time will come, so + help me God I will not humbly submit to all I am having to bear.” ... + was brought to Washington from a distant State ... principal witness + for the “Remonstrants.” Mr. Stebbins and I were convinced that ...’s + object was blackmail. + + W. H. SEARS, Attorney for Red Cross. + + ... conspired to supplant Miss Barton by destroying her name and fame. + Miss Barton resigned in my favor. Hoping to secure justice for Miss + Barton I accepted the Presidency, but finding that I would be unable + to assume the onerous duties as her successor, with Miss ...’s + insatiable desire to be at the head of the Red Cross, I resigned in + favor of a party Miss ... dared not oppose. Affidavit by MRS. JOHN A. + LOGAN. (From a book of 177 pages by General W. H. Sears, in a report + to the Library Committee of Congress, in 1916.) + + + ... not one of whom (“remonstrants”) ever went to a field nor gave a + dollar, above fees; and half of whom were never known as members until + now they appear in protest against the management. CLARA BARTON + (1903). + + + As to the threat of an investigation, if there be any, Miss Barton + cannot assent that it be suppressed by any act of hers. Red Cross + Committee, 1903. From House Document No. 552, Vol. 49th, 58th + Congress. + + The Red Cross up to this time, 1898, had kept clear of political + rings, and uncontaminated. Miss Barton was the acknowledged chief in + authority. The Society had begun to win the most enviable reputation; + it was growing to be a power; and politicians who had hogged + everything else, from a cross-roads postoffice to a foreign minister, + had begun to lay plans for displacing Miss Barton with a wife, niece, + or daughter of a Washington politician. Miss Barton was probably not + aware of this unholy scheme at this time. Perhaps, even if she had + been, it would not have disturbed the serenity of her countenance for + she was working for God and humanity. _Under the Red Cross; or the + Spanish-American War_ (Page No. 154, book published 1898; Author, + Doctor Henry M. Lathrop; Editor, John R. Musick.) + + + BLACKMAIL ALLEGED—“CONGRESSIONAL INVESTIGATION”—TRUTH OF HISTORY + +Joan of Arc was born in 1410; Clara Barton in 1821—411 years +later. The former became the leader of the armies of France; the +latter, the leader of humanitarianism in America. Each was a +patriot—self-sacrificing—serving not for self-glory, but for a +great cause. The little clique of politicians and military +aristocracy plied Joan of Arc for five months with “catch +questions” on “trumped-up” charges, then condemned her to be +burned at the stake. The little clique of politicians and social +aristocracy plied Clara Barton with “catch questions” on +“trumped-up” charges, then tried to condemn her to eternal +ignominy. General Leonard Wood, humanity’s friend and chivalric, +with whom Clara Barton served in the camp, the hospital, and on +the battlefield, says: “There is a call for women actuated by the +same spirit of service as a Deborah, a Joan of Arc, a Molly +Pitcher—women who will carry forward the work begun by Clara +Barton and Florence Nightingale.” + + Let the ends thou aimest at be thy country’s + Thy God’s and Truth. + +Clara Barton met her fate in the Nation’s Capital. Says _The Fra_: “The +clique went before Congress and secured an amended charter to the Red +Cross, which included none of Miss Barton’s friends. Because the name of +Clara Barton headed the list, the bill was passed; the members of +Congress supposed it was a bill that Miss Barton wanted. This was done +without Miss Barton’s knowledge or consent. However, Miss Barton was +ignored by the new organization. Her name has never been mentioned in +their reports or publications; she has never been invited to attend any +meeting of the Society which she had created, and established in this +country.” + +The Red Cross then was non politics, non society, non salary, non graft. +President Clara Barton was obdurate, non pliable. She could not _be +used_. Her virtues became her undoing. She was retired. From Europe, for +inspiration in America, was brought the English heroine;—suppressed or +belittled, the American Red Cross Mother in semi-official literature, +“At Home and Abroad.” The _coup_ won—the conspiracy completely +triumphed. And how the official records disclose. + +Washington is the rendezvous of “in full dress” +criminals—character-assassins,—“that strange bedlam composed largely of +social climbers and official poseurs.” They carry a stiletto, half +truth, but in desperate cases make use of slander, of forty-five +calibre. Their prospective victims range from rich Uncle Sam down to a +poor lone woman, of charity. They ply their vocations sometimes, through +envy, for self-glorification; sometimes, through ambition, for +self-exaltation. While Washington was having the _honor_ of dishonoring +the great American philanthropist, a western town was offering as a +present to her a fifty thousand dollar home, just to have the honor of +her presence there. Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, Miss Barton’s three +cospirits and co-workers for humanity, met their fate while guarded by +detectives; under certain customs prevailing in the West and South, as +there is no protection from slander against a woman, “Chivalry” would +have come to the rescue of defenseless Clara Barton. + +There is an official Red Cross report to Congress, made in 1903, said +report on file in House Document No. 552, Vol. 49, 58th Congress, +statements of historic interest relating to the status of Red Cross +affairs about that time. _In re_ the proposed annuity of $2,500 and the +Honorary Presidency for Life, should Clara Barton consent to permit the +minority membership _thereafter to control the Red Cross_, and other +matters relating thereto, appear the following in that report: + + Since the filing of their (the remonstrants) Memorial in Congress, at + least two thousand newspapers, in the country and out of it, have + openly published these damaging statements, without the slightest + knowledge of the facts. + + + The memorial includes an ex parte statement.—It is greatly to be + regretted that such action should have been taken—without giving a + hearing to the majority of the organization, or to Miss Barton + herself. + + +[Illustration: + + From a photograph taken at St. Petersburg, Russia, July, 1902, at the + time the Decoration of the Red Cross was conferred on Clara Barton + by the Czar and Empress Dowager. +] + +[Illustration: + + From a photograph taken in 1904, at the time when occurred the + so-called “investigation” of Clara Barton, at Washington, D. C. +] + +[Illustration: + + From a photograph taken in Washington, D. C., in 1878. +] + +[Illustration: + + From a photograph taken in 1897, just before leaving the United States + for her work among the Reconcentrados in Cuba. +] + +[Illustration: + + From a photograph taken in 1882, just after Clara Barton had completed + the organization of the American Red Cross. +] + + While there were seven States represented by members actually present + (at the meeting), the entire list of signers to the Memorial (by the + remonstrants), with one exception, were residents of Washington, D. C. + + + With one exception, not one of the twenty-five members has ever taken + part in Red Cross Field work for a single day;—and she valuing her + services, however, at $50.00 per week for two weeks, making a sum of + $100, which was allowed and paid by the board; nor were there any + records to show that, aside from their membership fees aggregating + about $160, they have ever contributed to the funds of the Red Cross, + while individual signers of this Memorial have drawn from it more than + 500, in aggregate amount. + + + Clara Barton has never been a pensioner on the Red Cross Society, and + certainly could not assent to be placed in that relation. We may, too, + reasonably ask how these sticklers for correct form in all proceedings + can find authority, being only a small minority of the membership, to + offer such terms; and how can they undertake to barter its offices, + privileges, and funds for a compliance with their demands? They admit + they can stop the proceedings in Congress—for a consideration—thereby + indirectly admitting the purpose of their movement from the beginning. + The mere statement of the situation will suggest its difficulties. The + majority in control of the body is at a loss to know where and how, + under the charter or any of its bylaws, past or present, there can be + authority for such proceedings. + +“That it was physically withstood,” says Clara Barton after her +retirement, “was beyond either the expectation or the intention;” “still +stamping on me;” “so long as I am _personally_ unharmed I expect nothing +more.” Fortunately for her country her life was spared, by her +“enemies,” eight years more; for in that eight years she did a work many +times more difficult than to have kept running her perfected and +well-oiled Red Cross machinery. She brought into existence a new +organization, of possible greater benefit to the American people than +the Red Cross, an organization with headquarters in Boston and branch +societies everywhere from Maine to California. + +And why should she not have done so? About the time of her retirement +(in 1903) there was filed with Congress by a committee of the Red Cross +an official report, unanimously concurred in by the committee, in which +report appears the following: “At no time in her life has Miss Barton +been in sounder bodily or mental health, or better able to continue the +work to which her years of experience and natural endowments have +preeminently fitted her. Moreover, the nation’s confidence is Miss +Barton’s, and no hand can better guide its Red Cross work than hers. +While every right minded person will deplore the mental suffering, +anxiety, and personal humiliation inflicted upon one of the noblest +women that ever lived, it cannot be supposed that she will abandon her +life work on such a demand as this, or that she will retire from the +office to which she has been almost unanimously elected, while under +fire; nor would her friends permit it if she were so disposed.—We find +nothing in the opposition except malice, resentment, and the jealousy of +a few people whose ambition has been thwarted.” + + Tis eminence that makes envy rise; + As fairest fruit attract the flies. + +Successful with her new organization, the Red Cross a few years later +(in 1910) formed in its society a department to carry on relief as then +carried on in Miss Barton’s new organization, the department being of +like name—The First Aid Division. In her new field of humane service, +Clara Barton expended from her personal funds about $5,000, besides five +years of hard work, before she achieved success. + +She was herself again; she was on the “firing line”; she had the support +of her former Red Cross field forces,—not one had deserted her. She +didn’t flee her “enemies” to Mexico, but to the “Hub”;—where, and in +which vicinity, she had enjoyed social amenities with the Julia Ward +Howes, the Wendell Phillips’, the George Bancrofts, the John B. Goughs, +the Louisa M. Alcotts, the Lucy Larcoms, the Mary Baker Eddys, the Henry +Wilsons, the Charles Sumners, the George F. Hoars. Either among such +then living or their friends, she had lost none of her prestige because +she had been attacked in the “Den of Character-Assassins.” + + Be thou chaste as ice, as pure as snow, + Thou shalt not escape calumny. + +On her “First Aid” Advisory Board were Lieutenant-General Nelson A. +Miles and ex-Governor John L. Bates, of Massachusetts; Dr. Eugene +Underhill, of Pennsylvania; Dr. Charles R. Dickson, of Canada; Dr. +Joseph Gardner, of Indiana. Associated with her in various other +capacities, also, were persons of national fame and widely-known +humanitarianism. She was unanimously elected and re-elected, while she +lived, the Active President of the organization—the organization known +as the National First Aid Association of America: now she is the +President _In Memoriam_. + +In the House Records of 1903 and 1904 there is found the following: +“They (Remonstrants) suggest that Miss Barton is a party to loose and +improper arrangements for securing the needed accountability for +supervision of disbursements for money furnished in demand of exigency +of the Red Cross by the charitable public.” In 1916, a letter signed by +a leading Red Cross official was mailed to the members of the United +States Senate and the House of Representatives. In that letter, among +many other “charges,” was the following: “I think I have given +sufficient evidence to show why the dishonest appropriation of relief +funds for the personal use of Miss Barton makes the officials of the Red +Cross strongly opposed to having the memorial of such a woman placed in +a building that stands in remembrance of the noblest, finest, and most +self-sacrificing womanhood of America.” + +It is inexcusable, on the part of a member of the present management of +the Red Cross, to make public “accusation” of Clara Barton’s +book-records without certification to that effect by an expert +accountant, in an official capacity, and then only confidentially to the +organization itself for some good purpose; and in no case to the public +in defamation, to support the position taken by an “enemy.” Similar +conduct, on the part of an employé in a well-ordered private corporation +would subject the guilty, probably, to dismissal in disgrace from the +service. If in the interest of public policy such information should be +made public, and become of record, it should be made officially public, +and through the President of the society. + +In what has been done, _pro bono publico_ has had no +consideration. In publicly attacking the Red Cross Founder’s +book-records before the members of the National Legislature, +there should also have been considered that conditions now +are not as were the conditions a score of years ago. Then the +President-Vice-President-Chairman-Vice-Chairman-Comptroller-General +Manager received no salary; _now_ (in 1919) the annual salary of +four Red Cross officers is $41,400; $15,000 and $10,000 +respectively, for Chairman and Vice-Chairman; $8,000 and $8,400 +respectively, for Comptroller and General Manager. _In re_ the +attitude of the “Remonstrants” towards her, Clara Barton said: “I +am still unanimously bidden to work on for life; bear the burden +of an organization; meet its cost myself—and now threatened with +the expenses of the ‘investigation.’” + +In consonance with her sentiment, and statement, “The foundation on +which all good government rests is conformity to its laws,” Clara Barton +in 1904 turned over to the new management all Red Cross books, official +papers, official records, public funds—all Red Cross matters of +whatsoever kind or nature. If there were evidence of defalcation, or +“dishonest appropriation of relief funds for the personal use of Miss +Barton,” then was the time to have made the charges, and in the criminal +court. “Instead, the _post mortem_ charges were made twelve years after +Clara Barton’s resignation of the Red Cross Presidency, and four years +after her death.” + + Kings, queens and states, + Maids, matrons, nay, the secrets of the grave + This vituperous slander enters. + +Under the laws of this country the accuser was estopped from making +“charges” in 1916; or at any other time, except in a court of competent +jurisdiction. Were it not for this wise provision the reputation of no +man nor woman, alive or dead, could have adequate protection from +“enemies,” in ambush. By what code of ethics, legal or moral, is such +_personal_ judgment against the dead rendered? And where is the +record-verdict of the “crime”? In five or six years of the +investigation, I have been unable to find any record that such “crime,” +as is alleged against Miss Barton, was committed. Nor do I find that a +criminal charge of any kind against her is of record in the criminal +court, the only institution under the laws of this country where a +person should be adjudged guilty of crime. I do find from the records, +however, that the Red Cross official making these charges was one of the +“Remonstrants” of 1903–4, and who then certified to Miss Barton’s +“_integrity_”; and also over her own signature proposed that Miss Barton +accept the Honorary Presidency of the Red Cross as a tribute to her +“_integrity_.” + +“Loose and improper arrangements for securing the needed +accountability”; “such a woman”; “dishonest appropriation of relief +funds for the personal use of Clara Barton!” Says _The Fra_, then under +the management of Mr. and Mrs. Elbert Hubbard, “Such accusation is not +only the blunder of boors but it is crime and sacrilege.” If such +unproved, unfounded charges against a woman, with immunity to their +author, can get into the government record, into the hands of the +people’s representatives at Washington, passing without governmental +protest through the mails, perilous the adventure of the women of +America to enter upon a career of public service. + +And has the cause of Clara Barton grown? Yes, gloriously, to the +infinite credit of Clara Barton in laying the foundation in conformity +to her statement, “To be efficient, the Red Cross must have government +recognition, must bear the stamp of national individuality, and be +constructed according to the spirit, habits, and needs of the country it +represents;—in contemplating the possible realization of my hope and all +it would entail and involve, I have been looking carefully and anxiously +to the plans of the foundations of the structure we are hoping to build; +and I perceive in creating an Institution that shall be National and of +the people, the foundations must be as broad and as solid as the whole +nation.” + +To the credit of the Clara Barton management, and of the succeeding +management, of the Red Cross; to the credit of the American people that +for twenty-three years previous to the “accusation,” and thereafter +notwithstanding, the world has held in highest regard the Red Cross +Founder and Red Cross integrity. What of financial support, _for +reasons_ that have been withheld, (probably millions) has not been +reported. What of financial and moral support accorded to the Red Cross +brings a flush of pride to the face of every true American; what of +seeming policy toward the Founder also brings a flush,—but not of pride. +A public policy, not in harmony with public sentiment, has brought on +national disasters—a world disaster. + +Mere growth, of itself, is not a virtue; for the upas tree grows, with +spreading branches. The best prosperity is that prosperity whose +foundation is secure, whose record-history is untarnished. The best +philanthropy is that philanthropy which lives in the best atmosphere, +breathes of the purest, gives of the soul’s best. To her latest breath +Clara Barton breathed love, breathed purest Red Cross philanthropy,—but +prayed justice for herself. She had never spoken a discordant word in +her life, meaningly; her “enemies” monopolized the discordant words. So +far as known, she never made an enemy; her “enemies” were +self-made—their self-made record, on the books, reported “in the red.” + +Wearing a “political helmet,” those who attacked a helpless woman took +possession of her reputation and prospered. At no time in her life has +it been shown that in her chosen field, with years of successful +experience, Clara Barton was not a good business manager; her “enemies” +assumed themselves, _without experience_, to be good in business and +took charge of her affairs:—but under _proper_ political protection. + + Slander—it is a coward in a coat of mail + That wages war against the brave and wise. + +Her “enemies,” shielded behind “charges,” made accusation against +her,—_without self-sacrifice_; she exposed herself to attacks of every +character known to womankind, and made self-sacrifices for the Red Cross +and for country. What is inscribed over the portals of the cell, near +Brussels, of Edith Cavell, must be inscribed on history’s tablets, of +Clara Barton: “She sacrificed herself for the Red Cross; she sacrificed +herself for the country.” + + Slander + I saw it tread upon a lily fair— + A maid of whom the world could say no harm; + And when sunk beneath the mortal wound, + It broke into the sacred sepulchre + And dragged its victim from the hallowed grave + For public eyes to gaze upon. + + + Yea, I have seen this accursed child of envy + Breathe mildew on the sacred fame of her + Who once had been her country’s benefactor. + +Human nature hasn’t changed since he, who became the first American +President, suffered through the “Conway Cabal,” a cabal not dissimilar +in the motives, the charges and the execution, to that through which +suffered the first Red Cross President. But George Washington was a +fighter; Clara Barton, a woman of peace. The Red Cross President was as +patient as was the first martyred American President, under persecution, +and who then said “I am nothing, but truth is everything.” She was as +innocent and unsuspecting as was our last martyred American President, +who said “I have never done any man wrong, and I believe no man will do +me one.” + +Man, political, cowardly-man constructed the apparatus;—the tongue of +woman, the sender; the ear of woman, the receiver. Of all the God-given +good of earth, one woman is the best; TWO WOMEN, the worst. The only +serious charge in history that will stand against Clara Barton is that +she WAS A WOMAN; her most serious “misappropriation,” that of her +confidence in _another woman_. + + Away the fair detractors went + And gave by turns their censures vent. + +Elected for life? Yes. Then resigned? She was not a “war-woman,”—she had +never filled a swiveled-chair;—yes, she resigned in the interest of +peace and _harmony_. And from the facts, distorted, and the motives, +impugned, as to why she resigned were taken the bundle of faggots to add +fuel to the flames of her torture. + + Slander never wants for material; + Virtue itself provides it with weapons. + +As for safety, the ancient criminal fled to the Temple of the Gods, so +America’s modern character-assassin fled to the Temple of the Red Cross, +and implored silence; for then to recite the historic facts of the +martyrdom might cause vibrations that would have shaken to earth the +pillars of that sacred temple. President Clara Barton of the Red Cross +said: “Its President has spoken not at all, and never will.” Silence +reigned. The truth was withheld at the Red Cross receiving station, +while untruth sped wireless—and all the world wondered. + +The Red Cross! No, the recent Red Cross officials don’t know the +facts,—the reputation of the Mother is the child’s richest heritage. The +Mother loved the Red Cross child; the child, the Mother—the slander of +the Mother, dead, is by the individual, not by the Red Cross. The +slander having coiled itself in Red Cross official circles there it +lives, and will live, until scotched by the Red Cross or the American +people. + + For slander lives upon succession; + Forever housed, where it gets possession. + +The so-called “investigation of charges” against Clara Barton in 1904 +was before the Red Cross Proctor Committee. The “Remonstrants” demanded +an investigation, and suggested that Honorable Richard Olney name the +committee. The Red Cross unanimously approved the selection. The great +Ex-Secretary of State named as that committee: U. S. Senator Redfield +Proctor of Vermont; William Alden Smith of Michigan, then a member of +the House and later a member of the Senate; General Fred C. Ainsworth, +of the United States Army, of Washington, D. C. This in fact was a Red +Cross Committee and not, as so-called, a Congressional Committee. +“Congressional Committee to investigate” was a threat to frighten a +timid woman. + +In the so-called “remonstrance” (of record) there is by the +“remonstrants,” of whom the “post-mortem accuser” was one, a disclaimer +of + +(a) “Any dishonesty on the part of Miss Barton in the administration of +the affairs of the Red Cross. + +(b) “Any charge of misappropriation of any property or any money by Miss +Barton; or + +(c) “Any improper act or conduct of any kind which involved in the +slightest degree any element of moral turpitude.” + +Had there been an official charge at that time of “misappropriation of +any property or any money,” or any other charge involving “in the +slightest degree any element of moral turpitude,” on the part of the Red +Cross Founder, charities would have thenceforward ceased to flow into +Red Cross coffers, the Red Cross would have collapsed, and the +“remonstrants” making such accusation haled into court, on a charge of +criminal libel. The “remonstrants” foresaw that the good name of the +Founder was the one hope of the Red Cross. The disclaimer was +prerequisite to the attainment of the “remonstrant’s” ultimate object, +namely: the coming into possession of a popular organization that +carried political and social prestige. + +Mrs. Logan, the Vice-President, threatened court proceedings unless her +name was removed from Red Cross literature, and in consequence it was +removed. Not so, Miss Barton. She at all times wished it removed, at one +time threatened court action, but she dared not risk the possibly fatal +consequences to the Red Cross. She suffered, in heart-aches, because of +such conscienceless fraud on the American people, as she often said, +that the Red Cross might survive. Thus to the very day of her death, +through silent acquiescence in the fraudulent use of her name to secure +legislation and the people’s confidence for the new management, she was +being terrorized, lest by her own word or act her Red Cross child might +come to grief. The _post mortem_ charges are camouflage, a shield to +protect the actors in the “tragedy of 1904;” the game as of the +cuttle-fish in making the waters murky, when being chased by a superior +force;—in this case, that of Truth. + +The charges made were: + +(a) “That proper books of account were not at all times kept; + +(b) “That the property and funds of the Red Cross were not at all times +distributed upon the order of the Treasurer of the Society, as alleged +to be required by the by-laws of the Society; and + +(c) “That a certain tract of land in Lawrence County, Indiana, had been +donated to the Society by one Joseph Gardner; that the Society was +reincorporated after such donation, and that such donation was never +reported to the new corporation.” + +It was shown at the investigation that no Red Cross money had been +invested in the tract of land referred to; that for reasons the proposed +deal was not consummated, and the title lapsed; that proper books of +account had been kept, and receipts taken for material and money, but +not individual receipts from the sick, the wounded and the dying on +fields of disaster—a system of red-tape impossible consistent with good +service; that also the by-laws had been complied with in making +disbursements through the Treasurer except,—when that too was +impossible—during the stress of active relief work in the field. As her +every field worker, then living that had at any time served under +President Barton, approved her methods in Red Cross work; as the +Washington “Society Remonstrants” had no experience in field work, +manifesting pitiful ignorance as to what was required, the “charges” of +_incompetency_ on the part of the accused received no consideration at +the hands of the Committee. + +L. A. Stebbins, of Chicago, Illinois, ex-attorney for the Red Cross, in +July, 1916, in a written report to the Library Committee of the House, +and to which report he makes affidavit, refers to the charges of 1903 +and 1904 in words such as follow: “The _only witness_ ever produced to +give testimony;—testimony was wholly unworthy of credit—false and +untrue;—for blackmailing purposes;—clearly indicating blackmail.” + +On February 20, 1903, as elsewhere stated, the “remonstrants” certified +in writing (certification of record) as to the “integrity, good name and +fame of Clara Barton.” At the investigation held in the Senate Foreign +Relations Committee Room on April 12, 1904, _in re_ the terrifying +twenty-four page “remonstrance” before the Proctor Red Cross Committee, +General John M. Wilson, himself a “remonstrant” and representing the +“remonstrants” on that occasion, among other things said “We do not +charge that anybody has been guilty of malfeasance,” in Red Cross +affairs. + +Referring to this very occasion, Major-General W. R. Shafter, Commander +of the American Army in the Spanish-American War, in 1904 while the case +was pending, said: “If the charges made against Clara Barton were true, +no gentleman could afford to be mixed up in the affair, but not one word +uttered against her _is_ true.” Clara Barton, in 1911, referring to that +now historic event, said: “The harvest is not what the reapers expected, +and I suspect if it were all to be done over again in the light of their +newly-gained experience, it would not be done.” + +To the credit of man’s respect for historic truth in official decisions, +and his innate American chivalry, since the exoneration in 1904 there is +not, at least of record, by any man an adverse criticism of the Red +Cross Founder. _The perversion of the truth of history, however, by +woman is as injurious to the public weal as such perversion by man, and +through no ingenuous excuse of chivalry for a live woman, and against a +dead woman, should untruth have countenance._ The investigation, for +want of evidence, was _summarily dismissed_, on motion of the Committee +itself. It thus became a mere farcical episode in American history. + +The written certification of the Founder’s “integrity,” by the +“remonstrants” in 1903; the oral disclaimer by the “remonstrants” of +_any_ Red Cross malfeasance in office officially proclaimed at the +investigation in 1904, followed by a unanimous decision adverse to the +“remonstrants,” the incident then should have been closed. The +“accusation,” however, of even worse import than that originally in the +_indictment_, by the “remonstrants” of 1903 and of 1904, again comes to +the attention of the public in a semi-official way, from the same “lone +woman accuser,” and is still a living factor in Red Cross policy,—still +coming—still going—never ending— + + All slander + Must still be strangled in its birth; as time + Will soon conspire to make it strong enough + To overcome truth. + +A certain letter by a Red Cross official, assuming to represent the Red +Cross Society, was mailed from the Washington Red Cross headquarters to +the members of the U. S. Senate and House of Representatives. Said +letter was written to be used, and was used, as the basis of an argument +against the record and fame of Clara Barton before the Library Committee +of Congress. On the letter-head was the following: + + The American Red Cross + + Pointe-au-Pie + Province of Quebec, + Canada. July 29, 1916. + + The letter was signed ... (unofficially). + + From that long letter, certain to be in American annals of peculiar + interest as an epistolary curio, are taken the following excerpts: + + “Her father died in 1862, leaving property valued at a little more + than $1,000, of which she received a few hundred.” + + “I may say individually that previous to the war Miss Barton appears, + according to her statement to have taught school at Bordentown, New + Jersey, where a teacher’s salary was $300 per year. A little later the + records show that she and some other woman occasionally did copying in + the Interior Department.” + + “She obtained from Congress in 1866, $15,000 which she said she had + expended of her own money in tracing the missing soldiers. It is + difficult to understand where she obtained this money and also upon + what her income depended in future years, as she stated she never + received any salary or income from the Red Cross and yet she had no + other remunerative occupation that we know of.” + + “In the 126 volumes of the War Department records of the Civil War no + mention is made of Miss Barton’s name or services except in a single + letter from her asking information as to prisoners at Annapolis.” + + “We have a printed diary of.... This diary was published in 1863. + Though the names of a number of efficient women like Miss Dix and + others connected with the Sanitary Commission are mentioned in a + laudatory way, Miss Barton is never referred to.” + + “In many published accounts of the Sanitary and Christian Commissions, + Miss Barton is not mentioned, though hundreds of other devoted women + are given.” + + “Just after the Civil War, several gentlemen who had been connected + with the Sanitary Commission organized the first American Red Cross + Society, but as the Senate had not at that time ratified the treaty of + Geneva, this body could hold no official status and shortly went out + of existence.” + + “In 1881 Miss Barton who, previously when visiting in Vienna, had + learned of the treaty of Geneva and the Red Cross societies, with a + number of others organized the American Red Cross.” + + “The International Committee of Geneva transmitted through her a + letter to the President of the United States requesting the + ratification of the Treaty.” + + “Mr. Blaine interested himself in the matter and in 1882 the Treaty + was ratified by the United States Senate.” + + “From 1881 until 1904 Miss Barton remained the President of this small + American Red Cross, and sometimes acted also as its treasurer.” + + “Financial statements were not made public and it is impossible to say + what funds were received and expended during the 23 years of its + existence.” + + “I don’t care to take your time in stating many evidences of the + misuse of the Red Cross relief funds under Miss Barton, but I desire + to mention two or three incidents.” + + “She advertised in the Worcester papers for contributions for relief + among the soldiers, but no record was made of what she received or + expended during the Civil War.” + + “Certain letters we have seem to show that she occasionally had some + of the contributed funds invested in the West.” + + “It is difficult to obtain data regarding the receipts and expenditure + of funds.” + + “At the time of the Russian famine in 1892 ... no financial report was + made.” + + “Shortly after this time Miss Barton bought real estate in Washington + and Glen Echo....” + + “I think I have given, however, sufficient evidence to show why + dishonest appropriation of relief funds for the personal use of Miss + Barton makes the officials of the American Red Cross strongly opposed + to having the memorial of such a woman placed in a building that + stands in remembrance of the noblest, finest and most self-sacrificing + womanhood of America. Should your committee desire me to go to + Washington and lay before it the evidence I have given and more in our + possession, I would be willing to do so.” + + ... would well become + A woman’s story at a winter’s fire, + _Authorized_ by her grandam. + +The “charges,” including detractions, innuendoes and suspicions (of +which the foregoing are only in part), take a wide range, extending from +the time Clara Barton taught her first school at Bordentown in 1836 (80 +years previous), down to the Sea Islands hurricane in 1893 (22 years +previous). These “charges” were segregated by a friend of Clara Barton +for the Library Committee. In that form they consist of thirty-one +“charges,” including the accuser’s _personal verdict_, “the dishonest +appropriation of relief funds.” In history the “accusation” will be +referred to as “_The Thirty-One Charges Without a Charge In It._” In +legal circles such affirmations are known as “stale charges,” or by a +worse name; but, even if presented immediately, such “charges” would +have no standing in any court of equity in this country. The “charges” +are further negatived by the admissions of the accuser, “It is difficult +to obtain data regarding the receipts and expenditures;” “It is +impossible to say what funds were received and expended.” + +Also, inexcusable ignorance was shown on the part of the accuser of +Clara Barton as to her methods in Red Cross affairs. It is certified to +by the Red Cross (and of official record) that Clara Barton made her +report at the close of every disaster, and in every instance the report +was approved by the Red Cross, and was satisfactory to her government +and the American people. Besides besmirching the history and good name +of the Red Cross and her country, thus to impeach the integrity of the +Founder of the Red Cross and for more than a score of years its +President, is to impeach also her various boards of officers and her +hundreds of other associates, including American Presidents,—all of whom +uniformly approved her methods, her reports and the results achieved, +while “she remained the President of this small American Red Cross and +sometimes acted also as its Treasurer.” + +If what the “lone accuser” asserts be true, that “we (Red Cross) have +letters that seem to show that she occasionally had some of the +contributed funds invested in the West,” they are letters, among other +Red Cross effects, that came officially into the possession of the Red +Cross, in 1904, through the pleasure and free-will offering of the +conscientious-and-honest-to-a-fault-concealing-nothing Clara Barton. And +for which also she received a _clearance card_, a “receipt in full.” As +an American citizen and a member of the Red Cross I protest the legal +right, or the moral right, of the Red Cross “accuser” now to incriminate +her whose lips are sealed, or longer to approve of record, _upon what +seems to show_.... The facts _not only seem to show, but do show_, that +if Clara Barton had not accepted as a present from the twin brothers, +Edwin and Edward Baltzley of Glen Echo, Chautauqua, her Glen Echo real +estate, and for a house thereon as a present, the wreckage lumber from +the people of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in 1889, there would have been no +free-of-rent home for the Red Cross for the last fifteen years of her +Red Cross administration and that of other philanthropies; that, while +the accuser was living in a palace and “rolling in wealth,” the accused +would have been homeless and penniless, living on charity. + +The “lone accuser” has no “letters that seem to show,” save and except +such letters be interpreted by an “enemy,” and for an ulterior purpose. +There is no truth in cynicism, or but half truth, which is more untruth +than no truth. There is no truth in “we (Red Cross) have others in our +possession” which the “lone accuser” pretended to have in her +_post-mortem cruise_, in 1916, while trying to thwart the will of the +people as to the proposed Clara Barton memorial tablet in the American +Red Cross Building; and, still worse, trying to blot out forever the +name of the Red Cross Founder. As the sentiment of all the people, but +said by the people of Johnstown just after the flood, in 1889: “Try to +describe the sunshine. Try to describe the starlight. Picture the +sunlight and the starlight, and then try to say good bye to Clara +Barton.” + + Truth will come to sight. + +_In re_ Memorial to Clara Barton in 1916, the Library Committee of the +House of Representatives, having before them all charges of whatsoever +nature against Clara Barton, but especially those certain _post mortem_ +“charges,” wholly ignored each charge, and all “charges,” made by the +“remonstrants” of 1902–4, in their memorial to Congress at that time. +The report of the Library Committee in 1916 was favorable to Miss +Barton, and as disastrous to the cause of the “remonstrants” as was that +of the Red Cross Proctor Committee, in 1904. + +From the House Records, in the unanimously approved report by the +Library Committee, are the following excerpts: + +“Miss Barton’s life was given up to the work of relieving the distress +in Europe and America, and her place in the affection of her friends and +admirers is secure. None of them is willing to admit that she needs any +special tablet, or stone, or that either is required to keep alive her +memory as a benefactor of all distressed mankind. As one of the women of +the Civil War, and a distinguished one, she also is memorialized in the +Red Cross Building.” + +[Illustration: + + RICHARD OLNEY + + I have always believed in Miss Barton’s merits as a patriot and + disinterested worker in aid of suffering humanity. + RICHARD OLNEY, in 1916. +] + + + ATTORNEYS FOR THE AMERICAN RED CROSS SOCIETY UNDER THE PRESIDENCY OF + CLARA BARTON + +[Illustration: + + LEWIS A. STEBBINS + + Clara Barton is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, of + humanitarians of recent times. + LEWIS A. STEBBINS, in 1922. +] + +[Illustration: + + WILLIAM H. SEARS + + Measured by her achievements, Clara Barton is the greatest woman the + world has yet produced. + WILLIAM H. SEARS. +] + +The memorial tablet[8] was not placed in the Red Cross Building, as +requested by the friends of Clara Barton, backed by one and one-half +millions of petitioners to have it so placed, the most forceful argument +being that one of the largest contributors to the cost of the +building—and a friend of the accuser—made objection. + +Footnote 8: + + As a substitute for the proposed memorial tablet in the Red Cross + building, the statue of Clara Barton, representing American + philanthropy, should be placed in the “Hall of Fame” in the National + Capitol, alongside that of Frances Willard, representing temperance; + and the name of the Red Cross Founder also should be recognized as + President _In Memoriam_ of the American Red Cross, as her name is now + recognized by The National First Aid Association of America. + +The foregoing is the authentic record presented to Congress in 1916, and +a complete statement of facts—all the important recorded facts—relating +to the “charges” of 1903–1904, with no official charges succeeding that +date. Nor have I found in many months of examination in the Library of +Congress, consisting of 2,800,000 volumes, or anywhere else of record, +any detraction of early American Red Cross history or the slightest +intimation that the Red Cross Founder was dishonest or a malfeasant in +office, except from the pen of this “lone accuser.” + +Every officer, under oath sworn to conduct his office to the best of his +ability, that knowingly conceals “dishonest appropriation” of public +funds becomes _particeps criminis_, in the dishonest transaction. If +true, therefore, as the “lone accuser” asserts over her signature in her +letter to the Members of Congress, that “we (i.e., Red Cross) have +letters that seem to show”—“dishonest appropriation of relief funds” +then, inasmuch as no effort was made to recover from her or her estate +these alleged losses, Clara Barton’s successors as Red Cross executives, +in their capacity as trustees of a public trust, Mrs. John A. Logan, W. +H. Taft and Woodrow Wilson become involved. + + + “CHARGES”? YES, REDUCTIO AD ABSURDUM + +If not true, what could have been the object hoped for by the accusing +Red Cross official, in her perversion of Red Cross history? Was it that +she might dictate to one hundred millions of people the sentiment of a +government building, known as The American Red Cross Building? It is +somewhat significant that a few months later the United States put four +millions of soldiers in the field, to make “The World Safe for +Democracy.” + +Since this chapter was written and in type, there came into the +possession of the author a letter, unsolicited, and relating to the +possible motive. The letter was written by the Honorable Francis +Atwater, the well-known Journalist and Ex-State Senator of Connecticut, +and who for 40 years was Clara Barton’s co-worker and financial adviser. +The letter, sworn to, follows: + + October 14, 1921. + + Mrs. Marietta B. Wilkins, + 359 Boylston Street, + Boston, Mass. + + My dear Mrs. Wilkins: + + Miss Andrews informs me that —— has been in communication with you in + regard to Miss Barton. I would like to say a few words about ——. About + 1900 she became interested as a member of the American Red Cross. Miss + Barton, some fifteen years previous, had founded the association after + years of effort. She furnished the funds for the purpose, as she did + for many years afterward for its support. It became a very popular + institution. Miss Barton was honored by the world as no other woman + had ever been. + + —— having great wealth and connected with the social elements of + Washington, coveted Miss Barton’s position and honors. She used her + every endeavor to accomplish this purpose. She visited me in my office + at Meriden, Conn., knowing I had great influence with Miss Barton, and + offered, if I would get her to become honorary president of the Red + Cross, to raise a million dollars for a Red Cross temple to be built + in Washington and Miss Barton could have any sum she chose as an + annuity, expecting, of course, to succeed Miss Barton as president. If + we did not accept her offer she insinuated we would be sorry. Her + proposition was spurned. + + From that day she hounded and persecuted Miss Barton until her wicked + design was completed. Since Miss Barton’s death —— has made the most + damaging, slanderous statements, well knowing there is no law to which + she is amenable. If there was we would avenge Miss Barton’s memory + quickly. + + I will say that Miss Barton when she died was several thousand dollars + poorer than when she established the Red Cross. She had the friendship + and confidence of every president from Lincoln to McKinley, also Gen. + B. F. Butler, Vice-President Wilson, Charles Sumner, Senator Hoar and + Richard Olney of Massachusetts, the most influential men of the + country, and the crowned heads of the world. Many, like myself, gave + years of our time and paid our own expenses, not for the Red Cross, + but for Miss Barton and humanity. With friends of great wealth who + offered and sent her checks for large amounts to her individual order + to be used as she pleased (I opened many such letters) could any one + imagine that Miss Barton would stoop to steal a few paltry dollars? + + If —— persists in vilifying Miss Barton’s character, I wish you would + ask her to make her statements in my presence. + + Our Saviour was crucified, but has been remembered affectionately ever + since. + + —— is down and out in the Red Cross, which since her removal has + printed much in Miss Barton’s favor. + + —— seems obsessed with only one idea, to besmirch the memory of Clara + Barton but, like Abraham Lincoln, who in life was so sadly traduced, + Miss Barton’s name will be blessed more and more as the years pass by, + while —— will pass away practically unknown and unmourned. + + Yours truly, + (Signed) FRANCIS ATWATER. + + _AFFIDAVIT_ + + Personally appeared before me Francis Atwater, and made oath that the + facts set forth in the above statement are true to the best of his + knowledge and belief. + + (Signed) _Edward B. Whitney_. + Notary Public. + + Meriden, Conn., Oct. 21, 1921. + +The probable motive of the “lone accuser” was the subject of much +comment on Capitol Hill. Soon after the defamatory letter reached the +Members of the National Legislature there came a near-explosion in the +House that promised to rival that of the Petersburg mine explosion of +Civil War days; and to which scene, in the blackness of night, midst +thunder and lightning and blinding storm, and on her horse with one +attendant taking her life in her hands, Clara Barton rushed to the scene +of death and mangled bodies, to save the lives of her country’s +patriots. Accompanying the near-explosion, there also was predicted a +tidal-wave as destructive to the Red Cross management as was that at +Galveston in 1900 to her stricken people; and hard-following which, from +what was then thought to be her death-bed, Clara Barton was on that +storm-swept coast, in charge of the life rescue station. + +Especially tense was the consternation on the part of the members from +fifteen or twenty states whose peoples respectively (from 1881 to 1900), +had been the beneficiaries to the extent of thousands of lives saved and +untold sufferings assuaged, at the hands of that “_small American Red +Cross_.” What really quieted the five hundred legislators on Capitol +Hill was the rumor that the sensation came from a luxurious summer +resort in Canada, where there had been summering merely a harmless +phenomenon—an incinerator with a “continuous performance” furnace-flame, +containing no heat units. But just what happened, and why, at the +Nation’s Capital with threats, impendent, of a criminal suit and in the +“jungle of intrigue” following, is a story for the novelist, not a +subject for this pen picture. + +One patriot-Congressman, however, for days kept revolving in his mind +the many awful scenes, in which Clara Barton was her country’s “Angel of +Mercy”; of the Michigan forest fires of 1881; of the two Mississippi +River floods of 1882 and 1883; of the Ohio and Mississippi River flood +of 1884, in which Clara Barton came near losing her life; of the +Charleston earthquake of 1886; of the Mt. Vernon cyclone of 1886; of the +Florida Yellow Fever scourge of 1888; of the Johnstown flood of 1889; of +the Cuban scourge of famine and war of 1898, where “The Angel of Mercy” +again lay at death’s door; nor could he forget the many other national, +and international, disasters in which the woman-patriot served her +country. + +Her fitful days of war were over; in far-away New England, she was +sleeping her sleep of harmless peace; her character was being assailed +in the very Capitol Building where fifty-five years before she had cared +for the unfortunate boys of the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment, who had +fallen in service to country. In all the world was there ever such +tragedy? But the “assassin” lives to a purpose; he serves to perpetuate +to posterity the virtues of his victim; in contrast, his victim seems +the more glorious. In such atmosphere of near-treason, as did many other +Congressmen, “Fighting Joe,” of Kansas, tried to be “reasonable,” but +his “Fighting Irish” got the best of him. He was too chivalric to give +his pent-up feelings vent to a woman; but he was less considerate of one +of the most distinguished of his men compatriots, as is shown in the +following letter (letter of record in “Sears’ Report to the Library +Committee of Congress”—page 139, but text given by Taggart from memory): + + September 6, 1916. + + Major-General Arthur Murray, U.S.A., Retired, + American Red Cross Society, + Washington, D. C. + My Dear General: + + After a careful perusal of the enclosure on the subject of a tablet + for Miss Clara Barton, I find it my duty to say to you that I am + profoundly astonished that an officer of your rank would lend himself + to the publication of such an unseemly screed against one who is + esteemed the greatest of American women. + + As one who served as a soldier in the least of capacities, I am + astonished that a distinguished soldier should have a shame in + belittling and accusing the dead—not simply the ordinary and common + dead, but a glorious woman who has departed. + + To my mind, Miss Clara Barton gave expression to the sympathy and + tenderness of all the hearts of all the women in the world. If she was + overwrought, and did more than she might have done, who will say that + it was a fault? The whole world knew and loved her; and I daresay that + her own dear land, that she served with such unremitting devotion as + an angel of mercy, is the only place under all the stars where harsh + words were ever written or said about her. + + General, I know you are not responsible for the inscrutable jealousy + that gnaws at the hearts of women. You did not write the article. I + have no commission to defend Miss Barton, except what I trust is the + best impulse of an American citizen. Her name should not perish and no + one should listen with patience to an attack upon her record, much + less her character. + + Yours truly, + (Signed) JOSEPH TAGGART, M.C. 2nd Kansas District. + + +THE LIST OF NAMES OF TRIBUTES IN THE WAY OF BADGES, MEDALS, DECORATIONS + AND OTHER EVIDENCES OF ESTEEM PRESENTED TO CLARA BARTON. + +No. 1. _Masonic Emblem._ Given to Clara Barton by her father, and worn +by her through the Civil War, 1861–1865. + +No. 2. _The German Official Red Cross Field Badge._ Presented by the +Grand Duchess of Baden, and worn by Clara Barton through the +Franco-German War, 1870–1871. + +No. 3. _The Iron Cross of Germany._ Conferred by Emperor William I and +Empress Augusta, 1871, in recognition of Clara Barton’s services for +humanity in the Franco-German War. + +No. 4. _The Gold Cross of Remembrance._ Conferred by the Grand Duke and +Duchess of Baden, Germany, 1871. + +No. 5. _Royal Brooch._ Presented by the Grand Duchess of Baden, Germany, +1897. When presenting this brooch to Clara Barton, the Grand Duchess +said: “An unbroken friendship of 26 years deserves to be tied by a knot +of gold.” + +No. 6. _The Official Medal of the International Red Cross._ Presented by +The International Committee of Geneva to Clara Barton when, through her +efforts, the Congress of the United States adopted the Treaty of Geneva +in 1882. + +No. 7. _Servian Decoration._ Conferred by Queen Nathalie of Servia, +1883, in recognition of Clara Barton’s services for humanity. + +No. 8. _Gold Badge._ Presented by the National Woman’s Relief Corps to +Clara Barton, the sole Honorary Member of the Relief Corps, 1883. + +No. 9. _Silver Medal._ Conferred by Augusta, Empress of Germany, 1884. + +No. 10. _The Gold Badge of the “Waffengenosen.”_ German soldiers in +America, who took part in the Franco-German War 1870–1871, presented to +their Honorary Member, Clara Barton, 1885. + +No. 11. _Silver Medal._ Of the Mass. Charitable Mechanics Institution. +Presented 1887. + +No. 12. _Turkish Decoration._ Conferred by the Sultan Abdul-Hamid 1897, +through the State Dept., with the request that if America desired to +send further relief to his domains please send back the missionaries of +humanity they sent before. + +No. 13. _Gold Badge of “Sorosis,” N. Y._ Presented to Clara Barton, +their Honorary Member, 1890. + +No. 14. _Red Cross Insignia._ In Commemoration of the Armenian Relief +Field, 1896. Presented by Clara Barton’s Assistants on the field, in +memory of the same. + +No. 15. _Gold Brooch and Locket._ Presented by the Ladies of Johnstown, +Pa., at the close of the Relief Work of the Johnstown Flood, 1889. + +No. 16. _Amethyst Pendant—Royal jewel._ Given by the Grand Duchess of +Baden and constantly worn by Clara Barton. + +No. 17. _Royal Jewel—Smoky Topaz surrounded by perfectly matched +pearls._ Presented by the Grand Duchess of Baden, 1884. + +No. 18. _Royal Jewel—Topaz brooch with Red Cross._ Presented by Augusta, +Empress of Germany, 1887. + +No. 19. _Belgian Decoration._ Conferred by the Red Cross of Belgium, in +1892. + +No. 20. _Spanish Decoration of Honor._ Conferred by the Spanish +Government in 1898. + +No. 21. _Gold Badge of “The Clara Barton Lodge of the Sisters of the G. +A. R. of Gloucester, Mass.”_ Presented to Clara Barton, their Honorary +Member, 1890. + +No. 22. _Armenian Decoration._ Conferred by the Armenian Prince Guy +Lusignan, 1896, in recognition of services in relief of the Armenian +Massacres. + +No. 23. _Russian Decoration._ Conferred by the Czar Nicholas and the +Dowager Empress Dagmar, 1892. + +No. 24. _Gold Medal of the Vanderbilt Benevolent Association of South +Carolina._ Presented to Clara Barton, their Honorary President, 1894. + +In addition to the above pictured decorations, the original collection +as arranged by Mr. and Mrs. Roscoe G. Wells for exhibition at the first +annual meeting of The National First Aid Association of America +contained + +_Gold Badge of the War Veterans and Sons Association, of Brooklyn, N. +Y._ Presented to their Honorary Member, Clara Barton, April, 1899. + +_Badge of the Loyal Legion of Women of Washington, D. C._ Presented to +their Honorary Member, Clara Barton, 1893. + +_American Red Cross Pin._ Presented by a Friend. + +_Silver Ink Stand._ Presented to Clara Barton on her departure for +Armenia, 1896, by Mr. Spencer Trask. + +_Ivory Sealing Wax Set with Gold Trimmings._ Presented to Clara Barton +on her departure for Armenia in Relief of the Sufferers of the Massacres +in 1896 by Mrs. Charles Raymond, President Red Cross Hospital. + +Top.—Picture of Clara Barton taken in Paris in 1871. + +Clara Barton was also the recipient of many diplomas of honor, +resolutions, votes of thanks and commendations from rulers of nations, +legislative bodies, relief Committees and distinguished or titled +personages. In her home at Glen Echo the visitor could see many of +these, together with great flags of foreign nations which had been +presented to her as tributes to, and testimonials of, Clara Barton’s +great work for humanity. + +[Illustration: + + BADGES, MEDALS, DECORATIONS +] + +The unintentionally offending official, on receiving the foregoing +letter, forthwith resigned his position in the Society; but the author +of the “unseemly screed” continues “full of honors”—a _shining_ Red +Cross light to the youth of this country, while the “screed” remains of +record as a blot on the fair name of the Red Cross Founder. + +Contrasting Patriotic West towards the memory of the Father of his +Country and Political Washington towards the memory of the Mother of the +Red Cross, about this time there appeared the following +pertinent-to-the-occasion Associated Press dispatch: + + JAIL WASHINGTON’S LIBELER + + Tacoma Man Must Serve 4 Months for Attack on First President. + + Olympia, Wash., Dec. 29.—As a libeler of George Washington’s memory, + Paul Haffer, of Tacoma, must serve four months in the county jail, the + Washington supreme court today upholding the conviction of Haffer on a + criminal libel charge. + + Haffer published an article accusing the first President of the United + States of drunkenness and other irregularities. + + _Washington Post_, Dec. 30, 1916. + +It might be of interest, both to the friends and “enemies” of Clara +Barton, by way of contrast to this pathetic picture of her closing years +and of the more recent years, to know that three years before her +passing she deeded her “Glen Echo Red Cross Home,” the gift to her by +friends, to Dr. Julian B. Hubbell, who had served her cause for more +than thirty years without compensation, but with the expressed wish that +eventually it should revert to the American Red Cross. It can, +therefore, be said of Clara Barton and the Red Cross as similarly it was +said of that bond of “love eternal” between Theodosius and Constantia, +“They were lovely in their lives, and in their death they were not +divided.” + +At no time in her life did Clara Barton seek preferment;—she said, “I +wish you could know how entirely indifferent I am to _personal_ honors +conferred.” She did not seek the Red Cross Presidency; she accepted it, +under protest, from President Garfield. Resigning the position several +times, she still continued to hold it because no one else acceptable to +the Society was found to take her place. She appealed to no jurist nor +politician to protect her, for _she had always lived and moved in the +full glare of the public gaze and could safely trust her character and +good name to the care of the American people_. She entrusted her all—her +Red Cross and her good name—to the Government she had “_loyally tried to +serve_:” and so long as the Red Cross banner is held sacred as the +emblem of America’s humanity God have mercy on her country and ours, if +that trust of woman shall have been misplaced. + +The records, in the “reign of _terrorizing_,” show that the so-called +“charges” before the Library Committee were made by _one_ person, +unofficially, not by the Red Cross; by the _same_ person, of record in +1903, who made similar “charges” before the Red Cross Committee, the +accuser by the Committee discredited; by the _same_ person who appeared +before the Red Cross Proctor Committee, and there unceremoniously +“turned down”; by the _same_ person referred to by Clara Barton’s +successor to the Red Cross Presidency, as to the motive of the accuser +in the affidavit herein presented; by the _same_ person whom Clara +Barton refused to support as her successor; by the _same_ person who has +taken the rostrum since Clara Barton’s death to traduce the country’s +benefactor; by the _same_ “enemy” who has relentlessly persecuted Clara +Barton and traduced her memory for nearly twenty years; by the _same_ +person whom Clara Barton received in her Red Cross household, and in her +personal household, as her friend; by the _same_ person who, on February +20, 1903, wrote to their mutual “_friend_,” Mrs. General John A. Logan +(letter of record): “Miss Barton is in town.... I know you will use all +your influence to have her accept the position of Honorary Presidency +for Life, with an annuity.” + +The affidavit by Clara Barton’s immediate successor to the Red Cross +Presidency, Mrs. John A. Logan, as to the conspiracy and the object +hoped for, in the persecution; the statement by the “remonstrants” +themselves in 1903 as to the “_integrity_” of Clara Barton; the +statement of ex-Secretary of State Richard Olney; the summary dismissal +by the Proctor Red Cross Committee, and on motion of the Committee +itself, of the investigation of all “charges” whatsoever made by the +“remonstrants”; the unchallenged sworn statement by Attorney L. A. +Stebbins; the unchallenged signed statement by Attorney W. H. Sears; the +official statement by the American Red Cross that “There was no +foundation for such a “charge”; the exceeding high compliment by the +Library Committee of Congress;—all these facts of public record make +officially conclusive the _vindication_ (no, the spotless record), of +Clara Barton.” As her reputation has been three times in jeopardy, Clara +Barton has been thrice-_vindicated_, thrice officially complimented, +every time unanimously. + + Truth is truth + To the end of the reckoning. + +Previous to the date of the so-called “charges” in 1904, as tributes +unsolicited and graciously tendered, Clara Barton had received +twenty-seven decorations and other official honors; had received +tributes from nine American presidents, nine foreign rulers; also by +eleven foreign nations and several of our American States and Cities, +through official resolutions. Since 1904, the year in which the +conspiracy occurred, Clara Barton has been commended by two American +Presidents, at the laying of the corner stone of The Red Cross Building +at Washington by the U. S. Government through the then Acting Secretary +of War; by the Commander of the largest American army ever mobilized; by +at least three thousand American newspapers, not one newspaper in the +country commenting on the “charges” with approval; by America’s great +statesmen; by America’s great women; by a memorial representing a +million and one-half of American citizens; by the Civil War veterans, +North and South; by the United Spanish War Veterans; by the Sons of +Veterans; by the Legion of Loyal Women; by the National Woman’s Relief +Corps; by the National Army Nurses; by the National Woman Suffrage +Association; by the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union; by the +Protestant, Catholic and other religious organizations; and by all other +public and private institutions whose attention has been called to this +matter of national interest. + +Whether in art, literature or philanthropy the pride of a nation is in +the realized ideal. That which must live longest and best serve the race +is the highest ideal, realized. American philanthropy, the realized +ideal obtained through “a movement the most philanthropic of the age and +an intrinsic part of world-civilization,” is the nation’s chiefest moral +asset. A decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that the +memorial tributes to the Founder and petitions by the people be +heeded,—the schemers discredited officially—that _the record of untruth_ +may not stand against this nation through envy of “one of God’s +noblest.” + +Justice is the end of government, womanhood the crown of American +civilization,—and the spirit of the woman “whose movement spanned the +globe,” a heritage to this nation priceless. That spirit through wars +and national disasters should be the saving spirit in untold suffering +among “the countless millions and uncounted generations throughout the +civilized world.” “Unfounded charges,” inhumanity’s foul blot, _must be +and will be_ removed from the scroll of The American Red Cross, off the +escutcheon of the American nation—that the name of humanity’s luminary +may shine throughout time as the guiding star in American philanthropy. + + + + + LXXXVII + + + Andersonville[9] was not the gateway of hell; it was hell itself. + + CLARA BARTON. + +Footnote 9: + + Without honoring the request of the Secretary of War, Edwin M. + Stanton, to take an expedition to Andersonville to mark the graves + of the missing soldiers, there could have been no cemetery at + Andersonville. The cemetery which the Government now so worthily + owns is a gift from our active corps of women.—Clara Barton. + + + He (President Lincoln) said, “I will help you.” He smoothed the way + and made it possible, assisting me until the work was done. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + Only in the Great Book of Life is it written what Clara Barton did for + the homes of this land, after the Civil War was over. + + SARAH A. SPENCER. + + In a Memorial to U. S. Congress, Clara Barton said that in doing this + work referred to, as per itemized bill, she reported that she had + expended from her private funds as a contribution to the cause + $1,759.33, and further said: “My own time and services have been + cheerfully given.” THE AUTHOR. + + + I remembered our prisons crowded with starving men whom all the powers + and pities of the world could not reach with a bit of bread. I thought + of the widows’ weeds still fresh and dark through all the land, north + and south, from the pine to the palm, the shadows on the hearths and + hearts over all my country—sore, broken hearts; ruined, desolate + homes. CLARA BARTON. + +[Illustration: + + DORENCE ATWATER + + For the record of your dead you are indebted to the forethought, + courage and perseverance of Dorence Atwater, a young man not + twenty-one years of age.—(Signed) CLARA BARTON, in an official + report to the people of the United States of America, in 1865. +] + +[Illustration: + + This memorial will stand as a silent reminder of the untiring and + loyal devotion of one whose memory will live while time endures.—IDA + S. MCBRIDE, Chairman Memorial Committee. + + DEDICATION OF MEMORIAL TO CLARA BARTON AT ANDERSONVILLE, GEORGIA, MAY + 31, 1915 + + Erected by the Woman’s Relief Corps Auxiliary to the Grand Army of the + Republic. + + Left to right: Mrs. Emma E. Grinnell, P. Dept., Pres. Wisc. W. R. C.; + William Grinnell, P. Dept., Com. G. A. R., Wisc; Mrs. Ida S. + McBride, P. Natl. Pres. W. R. C.; Miss Agnes Hitt, P. Natl. Pres., + W. R. C.; Hon. Washington Gardner, P. Com.-in-Chief, G. A. R.; Mrs. + Mary A. North, P. Natl. Jun. Vice-Pres., W. R. C. +] + + The path of this work was opened for her through records kept by + Dorence Atwater, a Connecticut boy-prisoner at Andersonville, who had + been detailed to keep a record for the prison officials of the dead, + and their burial. He kept a secret duplicate record, with location of + graves. He saw a notice asking for information signed “Clara Barton,” + when he at once wrote to her. Together they went to Andersonville and + with his aid she succeeded with the identification of 19,920 graves + and placing headstones above them, while 400 of these were marked + “unknown.” + + Manchester (N. H.) _Mirror_. + + + Yes, give me the land with a grave in each spot, + And the names in the graves that shall not be forgot; + Yes, give me the land of the wreck and the tomb— + There’s grandeur in graves, there’s glory in gloom; + For out of the gloom future brightness is born, + And after the night looms the sunrise of morn; + And the graves of the dead, with the grass overgrown, + May yet form the footstool of liberty’s throne; + And earth’s single wreck in the war path of night + Shall yet be a rock in the temple of right. + FATHER RYAN. + + + OF GRAVES, OF WORMS, OF EPITAPHS + +After the Civil War Clara Barton engaged in a sad mission. Of the +Federal soldiers, there were 80,000 missing. Letters from the sorrowing +were coming to the President and the Secretary of War, for information. +To obtain the names of the missing, how died, where buried, and other +information about loved ones, was a tremendous undertaking,—it was Clara +Barton’s mission. Many of her personal friends said it was impossible, +but President Lincoln gave her encouragement. She also received her +Commission from the President, who had published the following: + + TO THE FRIENDS OF THE MISSING PRISONERS: + + Miss Clara Barton has kindly offered to search for the missing + prisoners of war. Please address her at Annapolis, Maryland, giving + the name, regiment, and company, of any missing prisoner. + + A. LINCOLN. + +For four long years she carried in her heart the sorrows of scores of +thousands, in unhappy homes. She took the lecture platform and, in +public halls, churches and school-houses, she said to the people “let’s +talk of graves and worms and epitaphs.” + + She had known Sorrow,—he had walked with her, + Oft supped, and broke the bitter ashen crust; + And in the dead leaves still she heard the stir + Of his black mantle trailing in the dust. + +Few of the obscure dead had even head-boards at their graves. In the +absence of head-boards, the information was obtained through an +ex-federal prisoner, who had kept the necessary data. Tens of thousands +of letters were exchanged. Through correspondence, private information, +personal contact with friends of the missing, and an inspection in the +cemetery, the remains of 19,920 of the missing were found, the remains +sent home, or the grave marked. The whole expense of this work was about +$17,000, the amount advanced by Miss Barton. Later, the Government +reimbursed her to the extent of $15,000. So stupendous, so +philanthropic, and so successful, was this work that this one mission of +love, of itself, would have given Clara Barton eternal fame. + + Sad wistful eyes and broken hearts that beat + For the loved sound of unreturning feet + + And when the oaks their banners wave, + Dream of the battle and an unmarked grave! + FRANK L. STANTON. + + + If all that has been said by orators and poets since the creation of + the world in praise of women were applied to the women of America, it + would not do them justice, for their conduct during the war. God bless + the women of America. A. LINCOLN. + + I feel how weak and fruitless would be any word of mine which should + attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming; but I + cannot refrain from tendering you the consolation that may be found in + the thanks of the Republic they died to save. + + A. LINCOLN (in his letter to Mrs. Bixby). + + + Mothers—wives—and maidens, would there were some testimonials grand + enough for you—some tablet that could show to the world the sacrifice + of American womanhood and American motherhood in the Civil War! + Sacrifices so nobly and so firmly—but so gently and so + beautifully,—made. CLARA BARTON. + + In the crowded yards of every prison ground, in the dark ravines of + the tangled forests, in the miry, poison swamps, where the slimy + serpent crawls by day and the will-o’-the-wisp dances vigil at night, + in the beds of the mighty rivers, under the waves of the salt sea, in + the drifting sands of the desert islands, on the lonely picket line, + and by the roadside, where the weary soldier laid down with his + knapsack and his gun, and his march of life was ended; there in their + strange beds they sleep till the morning of the great reveille. + + CLARA BARTON. + +To show the sentiment then existing among the people, and the +appreciation of the services rendered,—of the thousands of letters +received by Miss Barton are appended the following: + + + GRATITUDE OF A BROKEN-HEARTED MOTHER + + “Paw Paw, Van Buren Co., Michigan, + July the 5th, 1865. + + “MISS CLARA BARTON, + +“_Dear Madam_:—Seeing a notice in the paper of the effort you are making +to ascertain the fate of missing soldiers from Michigan, I hasten to +address you in regard to my son. His name is Eugene P. Osborne. He was a +private in the 13th Michigan Regiment, Co. H Infantry; was in Sherman’s +Army; left Atlanta last November with the Regiment, became lame soon +after leaving there, and fell out the first day of December, near +Louisville, Georgia. Since that time we have never been able to learn +anything of him, or what has become of him. Those that went with him +from this place, and were in the Company with him, have returned, but +they know not what has become of him, or what his fate may be. We have +endeavored to learn something of him by writing to various persons and +places, but as yet we have heard nothing reliable. + +“Will you, Oh! will you, aid me in the search for my loved but +unfortunate son; if so, the prayers and gratitude of a heartbroken +Mother shall be yours. Please answer without delay and tell me if you +know aught concerning him, for this cruel suspense is dreadful. + + “Respectfully yours, + + “Address + “Mrs. C. A. OSBORNE, + “Paw Paw, Van Buren Co., Michigan.” + + I never for a moment lose sight of the mothers and sisters and + white-haired fathers, and children moving quietly about, and dropping + the unseen, silent tear in those far-away saddened homes. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + THANK YOU FROM MY VERY HEART, HIS POOR HEART-BROKEN MOTHER + + “MISS BARTON: + +“_Dear Angel of Love and Mercy_:—I address these few lines to you hoping +to get some information in regard to my son’s remains. He died in August +in the dreadful prison pen at Andersonville. I think it was about the +ninth day of the month. Did you find when you were there on the list the +name of Edward H. Walton, Co. H, 57th Regt. Massachusetts Volunteers? If +so, you will confer a great kindness on me, his poor heartbroken Mother, +by giving me what information you can. He went from Worcester, Mass. + +“Please let me know if you think I could obtain his remains if I should +send for them, as I am very anxious to get them. I shall ever remember +your great kindness and labor in thus giving me the comfort that you +have seen the remains of the poor murdered ones decently buried. I thank +you from my very heart and may heaven bless you while you live and when +you have done on earth may the richest of heaven’s blessings be yours +through that never ending eternity for which thousands of mothers will +pray. + + “Very respectfully, + “Your humble servant, + (Signed) “MRS. DOLLY WALTON, + “Worcester, Mass. + +“Mother of Edward H. Walton, Co. H, Fifty-seventh Regt. Mass. Vol., died +at Andersonville Prison in August, ’64.” + + Nor has morbid sympathy been all; out amid the smoke and fire of our + guns, with only the murky canopy above and the bloody ground beneath, + I have not lost sight of those saddened homes. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + MAY GOD BLESS YOU + + “LaFayette, Ind., March 30, 1866. + + “DEAR MISS BARTON:— + +“Will you please excuse a bereaved Mother again addressing you. I have +seen by the papers that you have visited Andersonville. Can you give me +any information respecting my dear lost son, my poor boy, as you have +visited the graves of the precious dead; did you find the name of John +Newton Strain? Oh! it would be a satisfaction, although a melancholy +one, to know where his dear remains rest and oh! if I could only have +them brought home, my noble boy, no better son a Mother ever had. If he +had died on the field of battle it would not have been so hard. He +belonged to the New York 2nd Cavalry Co. I. Dear Miss, if you can give +me any information it will be most thankfully received and the best I +can say is, may God bless you and be your great reward. + + “From your afflicted friend, + (Signed) “ELIZA FORESMAN. + “Lafayette, Ind.” + +“Please answer.” + + I have too often wiped the gathering damp from pale anxious brows and + caught from a shy quivering lip the last faint whispers of home, not + to realize the terrible cost of these separations. + + CLARA BARTON. + + The history of Andersonville is the most sad, and at the same time the + most discouraging to our confidence in man’s inhumanity to man, of all + the episodes of the Civil War.—_Harper’s Weekly_, Oct. 7, 1865. + + The name of Clara Barton will be held in grateful remembrance whenever + and wherever human needs are weighed in the scales of human + want.—_Washington Gardner._ + +[Illustration: + + _By permission of “Harper’s Weekly.”_ + + + CEMETERY AT ANDERSONVILLE, GEORGIA + + The Department of Georgia, Grand Army of the Republic, early secured + title to the Andersonville stockade, which it later transferred to + the National organization, Woman’s Relief Corps, Auxiliary to the + Grand Army of the Republic. This body, after having purchased very + considerable additions and improved and beautified the whole through + a period of sixteen years, deeded the entire property to the United + States Government which, together with the cemetery, will be held in + trust perpetually as the most tragic and hallowed plot of ground + under the flag. WASHINGTON GARDNER, Post Commander-in-Chief, G. A. + R., in his memorial address, May 31, 1915. + + The number of graves marked is 19,920. Scattered among the + thickly designated graves stand four hundred tablets, bearing + only the number and the touching inscription “Unknown Union + Soldiers.”—(Signed) CLARA BARTON, in an official report to the + people of the United States of America, in 1865. +] + + The winds will blow, the skies will weep, + Where fair Columbia’s heroes sleep, + And Clara Barton’s name is known + Where waves our flag or stands a throne; + The work she did fills every heart + Wherein affection hath a part; + A woman to her country true, + She marked the graves where sleep the Blue. + —From the dedicatory poem _Clara Barton_, by T. C. Harbaugh. + + + MY PRAYERS FOR YOU + + _“Miss Clara Barton_: + +“Please give me some information, if you can, of Frank Pearson of the U. +S. Str. _Mackinaw_, North Atlantic Squadron. He was from New York State. +I have not heard from him since the last of March. They were then on the +Appomattox River and I suppose he fell when Petersburg was captured. I +wrote to him the first of April, and not getting any word from him I +wrote to his Captain but never heard from him. I had given up all hopes +of ever hearing what has happened my _best friend_. When I saw your +name, that you were trying to find our lost friends, I took courage, but +whether I will have any better luck to hear just a word about _Poor +Frank_. Three years and a half on the _Blockade_. Oh! how fast the time +was passing; only six months from April until he would have been once +more free. I would have willingly died for him, but God has ordered it +otherwise and I am not the only one that is mourning for a _Dear +Friend_. + +“If you can find anything about him please let me know as soon as you +can conveniently. My prayers for you. Oh! how lonely! how sad I feel all +alone in this cold world. ‘Would that I were resting too!’ + +“Pardon me and excuse the writing. My eyes are dim. Please answer soon. +I am + + “Your friend, + (Signed) “MATTIE C. BEATTY, + “Coal Bluff, Washington County, Penna.” + + + + + LXXXVIII + + + Clara Barton is Clara Barton. DR. SAMUEL WOODWARD. + + + Clara Barton went to Russia, in 1892, to carry food to the famine + sufferers there;—the most widely known American of today. + + _Central Christian Advocate._ + + The total value of contributions from America to Russia in 1892 was + estimated at about $800,000. Through all sources, here and in Europe, + upwards of 35,000 people were saved from starvation. + + PERCY H. EPLER, Author. + + Clara Barton gave to the world a greater influence than Catherine of + Russia with her millions of subjects—her name will be remembered when + that of Catherine shall have been forgotten. + + Parsons (Kan.) _Sunday_. + + The sign of the Red Cross, in crimson red, had come nearer its true + significance under Clara Barton’s direction than it ever did before, + whether by Constantine, named, or borne by crusader bands in assaults + upon the Crescent. Worcester (Mass.) _Telegram_. + + When stricken Armenia called for help in 1896, it was Clara Barton who + led the relief corps of salvation and sustenance. + + Grand Rapids (Mich.) _Herald_. + + Resolved, That we regard Miss Barton the highest representative and + purest embodiment of the Christian humanitarian spirit in America. The + Church of Martyrs (Armenian Congregational Church). Worcester, Mass. + + + They knew, in Turkey, we had taken our lives in our hands to come to + them, with no thought of ourselves. CLARA BARTON. + + No American will hereafter in foreign lands feel any less security + since the American National Red Cross has been before them in Russia + and Armenia. CLARA BARTON. + + When the cry came from Turkey, what man was there in all this land + brave enough to lead where Clara Barton went, like an Angel of Mercy? + The boundless love of that woman’s heart! God bless Clara Barton! MRS. + ELLEN SPENCER MUSSEY. + + When the wail of the Armenians and downtrodden of the Oriental World + was heard, Clara Barton was among the first to raise the banner of the + Red Cross, like the crusader of old and push forward to the scenes of + anguish and carnage. + + MRS. GEN. JOHN A. LOGAN. + + The work Clara Barton did in Asia Minor, and which Col. Hinton + designated as the Statesmanship of Philanthropy, was similar to the + work along this line she did at the Sea Islands flood, in the + Carolinas. THE AUTHOR. + + + Clara Barton, in Asia Minor, has done a splendid work, sensibly and + economically managed. HENRY C. DWIGHT, D.D., American Board of Foreign + Missions at Constantinople. + + The difficulties of the work in Asia Minor, the perils and discomforts + would surely have appalled a less courageous heart than Clara + Barton’s. JOS. K. GREENE, Resident Missionary in Armenia. + + To Turkey and Armenia—a mission so difficult and perilous that all the + world wondered, watched, waited, hoped and prayed for her success, and + her safe return to her native land. W. H. SEARS. + + + To us who have seen so much and worked so long and so hard, it would + seem that the Red Cross movement has some “significance”—some + connection with philanthropy. CLARA BARTON. + + The Red Cross flag has no Christian sense that many suppose. It is + broader than Christianity itself, because it has neither prejudice nor + bounds; Christian, Mohammedan and pagan are the same in the eyes of + the Red Cross. CLARA BARTON. + + The principal nations of earth are bound together by the bands of the + highest international law that must make war in the future less + barbarous than it has been in the past. CLARA BARTON. + + Bakashish is the substitute for our “tip” system. To make any headway + in Turkey with a hoard of beggars, two words must be mastered: + “Yok”—No; and “Hide-git”—Be off with you. + + GEORGE H. PULLMAN, Secretary to Clara Barton in Turkey. + + The moral support given in Asia Minor was far beyond any valuation. At + such a money valuation then, the aggregate value of the relief + distribution is nearly $350,000. GEO. H. PULLMAN. + + + Reticent, constant and efficient, Clara Barton has won the confidence + of every government under whose flag she has labored—as in the land of + the Crescent and Scimitar—and has done honor to her native land. B. H. + WARNER. + + + No matter how far from home, how lone and desolate, the soldier knows + the Red Cross for his own; the glazing eye can discern it and next to + God or “Allah” it is his Saviour, the American Annie Laurie of the + wounded soldier. CLARA BARTON. + + + There is, we are happy to believe, a warmth and an appreciation of the + Red Cross that brings added honor to the country. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + TURKEY—STATESMANSHIP OF PHILANTHROPY—ARMENIA + +“Alone, bereft, forsaken, sick and heartbroken, without food, raiment or +shelter, on the snow-piled mountain sides and along the smiling valleys +they wander and linger and perish. By scores, by hundreds, they die; no +help, no medicine, no skill, little food and, as if common woes were not +enough, the Angel of Disease flaps his black wings like a pall.” Such +the condition, says Clara Barton, in Asia Minor in 1896; and “Help or we +perish,” the cry of the people. + +[Illustration: + + DR. G. PASDERMADJIAN + + + THE DEMOCRACY OF ARMENIA + + Armenian Legation, + January 17, 1922. + + After the great massacre of 1895, thanks to the personal testimony of + Clara Barton, we came to learn of another Christian Power, a nation + dedicated to the lofty principles of our common religion, a champion + of liberty and justice, and a helpful friend to all oppressed and + suffering peoples. We are indebted to Clara Barton in the sense that + she was the first among other Americans to inspire us with this + faith. + + DR. G. PASDERMADJIAN, + Minister from Armenia to United States. +] + +[Illustration: + + I. H. R. PRINCE GUY DE LUSIGNAN + Last of the Royal Line + + + THE ROYALTY OF ARMENIA + + + The Armenian Decoration + + I have received a decoration, officially described as follows: + + Brevet of Chevalier of the Royal Order of Melusine, founded in 1186, + by Sibylle, Queen and spouse of King Guy of Jerusalem, and + reinstituted several years since by Marie, Princess of Lusignan. The + Order is conferred for humanitarian, scientific and other services + of distinction, but especially when such services are rendered to + the House of Lusignan, and particularly to the Armenian nation. The + Order is worn by a number of reigning sovereigns, and is highly + prized by the recipients because of its rare bestowal and its + beauty. This decoration is bestowed by His Royal Highness, Guy of + Lusignan, Prince of Jerusalem, Cyprus and Armenia.—CLARA BARTON. + + See pages between 326–7; decoration No. 22. +] + +To enter Turkey at this time was an undertaking _too great_ for man; +this must be the work of woman. There was one woman equal to the +emergency, and she seventy-five years of age. All eyes were turned +toward that woman. She was chosen unanimously. Her assistants were to be +men but she stood sponsor for man’s conduct, a responsibility the +greatest in life woman ever assumes. The deference paid to this +woman—_Mirabile dictu_—was some years before a woman was regarded even +capable of sitting as member of the American House of Representatives or +as Member in the English House of Commons. Did she accept? Nothing too +hazardous for her to undertake; she ever was seeking for something to do +that no one else would do, no one else could do. + +Florence Nightingale sailed for Crimea “under the strong support of +England’s military head and England’s gracious Queen;” Clara Barton set +sail for Turkey, “prohibited, unsustained either by governmental or +other authority,”—destined to a port five thousand miles away, from +approach to which even the powers of the world shrank in fear. As Clara +Barton, with her four assistants, left New York City, on the S. S. _New +York_, “crowded were the piers, wild the hurrahs, white the scene with +the parting salutes, hearts beating with exultation and expectation;” +longing the anxious eyes that followed far out to sea that band of five +fearless American crusaders, on humanity’s mission. + +Would she reach Constantinople? The Turkish Minister, resident at +Washington, forbade her and her Red Cross band to enter the land of the +Moslem. Her Christian presence there was not desired; would not be +permitted. Unperturbed, she proceeded on her way. She arrived at +Constantinople. She stopped at Pera Palace hotel. She asked for an +audience with Tewfik Pasha, Minister of State. She explained; she begged +the privilege of self-sacrifice. The High Official listened attentively, +then said: We know you, Miss Barton; have long known you and your work. +And you shall have it. We know your position, and your wishes shall be +respected. Such aid and protection as we are able to render, we will +cheerfully render you. I speak for my government. I extend to you my +cordial good wishes in your work among our distressed people. + +At the interview Clara Barton thus assured Tewfik Pasha: “We have no +newspaper correspondent, and I promise you I will not write a book on +Turkey. What we see and hear will be confidential—not repeated.” But she +didn’t keep faith with the Government—she reported on the dogs. Dogs in +Constantinople are held sacred, but not because decorated with a +brassard they serve in Red Cross work or otherwise are useful. The +streets and plazas day and night are filled with dogs, colonies of dogs. +Fond of dogs, she enjoyed telling this story. About to be overpowered by +other dogs the Turkish dog flops over on his back, his feet in air to +serve as the dog’s Red Cross flag, over a hospital. In the “hospital” he +remains until there is an opportunity of escape when, without so much as +“by your leave,” he invalids himself home. + +The British Legation had a blooded rat terrier, also _sacred_. By chance +the terrier slipped out of the yard. Unsuspecting he was “ambushed” and, +not knowing Turkish dog strategy, was foully slain. The secretary, in +righteous wrath, forthwith imported from England “Bull Brindle,” of a +famous fighting breed. The British “warrior” also strolled out on the +plaza, _but not by chance_. A colony of several hundred dogs, with +confused noises as terrifying as of a “pack of coyotes” hunting prey, +massed an attack on the lone “Britisher.” Victory this time was not with +the largest battalions. Bull terrier was killing mongrels without mercy +or shame, and with as much ease as the terrier had killed rats, and so +continuing until four score or more lay dead on the field. + + As ranged + Achilles in his fury through the field + From side to side, and everywhere o’ertook + His victims, and earth was dark with blood. + +_By chance_, through an opening in the walled fence of the embassy, +the secretary was an eye-witness. The natives in numbers, aroused, +watched the uneven contest but no one dared to lay hands on the +“achilles.” Alarmed over the possible consequences to himself, the +secretary rushed to the scene, grabbed Brindle by the collar, led him +to the embassy, chained him. A diplomat, the secretary returned to the +plaza—explained—expressed regrets—almost _heartbroken_, apologized, +but to Miss Barton he confidentially said: “That’s one time I got even +with the unspeakable Turk.” + +Aghast and horrified had stood the world over the news of the then +recent terrible massacres; of the contagious diseases that windswept +Asia Minor, leaving thousands and tens of thousands dead and dying in +its wake. But proud was America. Her heroine was at the Moslem Capital, +the foreign representative of the one country there on guard for +humanity. This, her picture of the trip to Killis, the scene of one of +the many terrible massacres: “Our security, the official order, ‘Go and +we protect,’—camels heavy-laden not with ivory and jewels, gold in the +ingots and silk in the bales, but food and raiment for the starving, the +sick, the dying. Onward toward dread Killis—the wild tribes’ knives +before, the Moslem troops behind—till at length the spires of Aintab +rise in view. Weary the camels and weary the men.” In fear that the +means might not be at hand to do all she would, in anguish of soul Clara +Barton writes to her friend Frances Willard: “My heart would grow faint +and words fail to tell the people of the woes here and the needs. In the +name of your God and my God, tell them not to be discouraged in the good +work they have undertaken.” + +She was then on the site of Ancient Byzantium whose history reaches back +six hundred years before the Christian Era, a city with its successor +Constantinople, the rival of Athens and Rome and Jerusalem, in service +to civilization. She might have said, as did the proud Roman General, “I +have come, I have seen, I have conquered.” But no word then,—neither +before nor since—escaped her lips. She was there, having taken her life +in her hands, not thinking of self, knowing no race, no creed, no +religion, no nationality; there to distribute to the needy in such a way +as an American President said she only knew how. + +[Illustration: + + _Permission D. Appleton & Co._ + + + ABDUL-HAMID + 1876–1899 + + Some months after returning home I received through our State + Department at Washington, the Sultan’s decoration of Shefacat and + its accompanying diploma in Turkish. The translation is here given: + “As Miss Barton, American citizen, possesses many great and + distinguished qualities and as recompense is due to her, I am + pleased, therefore, to accord to her the second class of my + decorations of Shefacat.” CLARA BARTON (in 1897). + + See pages between 326–7; decoration No. 12. +] + +Strange and startling must have been the sensation to the Moslem as, on +an eventful reunion of the Crusaders, through the open windows of +[10]Red Cross headquarters there came from his foreign benefactors, in +chorus, strains of sweetest music: “Home, Sweet Home,” of which the +native was merely dreaming; “Sweet Land of Liberty,” of which he had +only read; “Nearer My God to Thee,” which was wholly foreign to his +religious teachings. It was on the patriotic Fourth at Constantinople, +at the time of her carrying a message to the Turkish people, that in a +poem entitled “Marmora,” of her own country Clara Barton sung: + +Footnote 10: + + Red Cross work in Turkey is under the name of Red Crescent. + + + MARMORA + + It was twenty and a hundred years, oh blue and rolling sea, + A thousand in the onward march of human liberty, + Since on its sunlit bosom, wind tossed and sails unfurled, + Atlantic’s mighty billows bore a message to the world. + + And weary eyes grew brighter then, and fainting hearts grew strong, + And hope was mingled in the cry, “How long, oh Lord, how long?” + The seething millions turn and stir and struggle towards the light; + The free flag streams, and morning gleams where erst was hopeless night. + +Four expeditions through Turkey, Armenia and other parts of Asia Minor +were planned and successfully carried out. Coasting boats were used to +reach the interior, as were caravans of camels over the deserts and +other almost waste places—the expeditions supplying the destitute with +food, medicine, clothing, seed and farming implements. For this, the +greatest undertaking of its kind in history, she was decorated by the +Sultan of Turkey, by the Prince of Armenia, and from each of these +rulers also she received a Diploma of Merit. + +She was then in the hey-day of her popularity. Abdul-Hamid was on the +throne of Turkey. Twelve years later the Sultan was dethroned and by his +people put into prison. Oh! the irony of fate! About that time she draws +this picture: “The Sultan was locked in and I locked out, but my whole +country seemed my prison and I struggled to free myself of it.” Unfair +the comparison! The “Young Turks” (a political party), representing the +people, had dethroned, then imprisoned, Abdul-Hamid. Not so Clara +Barton, by her people. + +She was dethroned by methods that would shame a Turkish brigand; her +prison-keeper was not the people, but + + Man, proud man! + Drest in a little brief authority. + +On her return from Turkey Clara Barton was accorded a most wonderful +reception at the nation’s Capital, and was acclaimed a world-heroine by +the whole American people. + + + + + LXXXIX + + + Clara Barton, friend and counselor of Abraham Lincoln. KATE BROWNLEE + SHERWOOD. + + + Already the pale messenger waits at the gate, and his weird shadow + falleth near. CLARA BARTON. + + + Treason must be made odious. ANDREW JOHNSON. + + Treason is ever odious. J. HALL. + + Treason doth never prosper. SIR JOHN HARRINGTON. + + Treason is one of the greatest crimes possible. T. DWIGHT. + + Treason seldom dwells with courage. W. SCOTT. + + Treason always operates, if possible, by surprise. W. H. SEWARD. + + Treason and murder ever kept together as two yoke-devils, sworn to + either’s purposes. HENRY IV. + + + Washington brought the United States of America into being; Lincoln + made that being immortal. GEORGE H. SMYTHE, JR. + + The life of Lincoln should never be passed by in silence by young or + old. DAVID SWING. + + His biography is written in blood and tears. + + HENRY WARD BEECHER. + + Lincoln—not thine the sorrow, but ours, sainted soul! + + HENRY WARD BEECHER. + + Lincoln now belongs to the ages. EDWIN M. STANTON. + + + TREASON—LINCOLN ASSASSINATED—GRANT PROTECTS CLARA BARTON + +On the evening of the 14th of April, 1865, Clara Barton was at 488½ +Seventh Street, Washington, D. C. She saw two men on the opposite side +of the street, talking, and then excited men and women running up and +down the street. Not long afterwards she heard the footsteps of a man +pacing up and down the hall outside of her door, on the third floor. She +cautiously opened the door to see who it was. In the hall she saw a +sentinel, with his gun, passing—she wanted to know what it was all +about. He said that he had been sent there to guard her, but could only +tell her that a general massacre was feared. The sentinel stood guard +there all night. + +The news came sometime in the night that Lincoln had been assassinated, +and that there was a plot to assassinate W. H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase, +U. S. Grant, and Andrew Johnson; that they were protecting her because +they felt sure that she was also to be attacked, as she was close to +Lincoln. She did not close her eyes in sleep, but paced the floor until +morning. In the morning she opened the door and saw another sentinel +outside the door. This other sentinel said it would not be safe for her +to leave her room; that if she would give him her order for breakfast he +would see that it was served; that if she had any letters to mail to +pass them out, but she must remain a prisoner for the present. + +The first person that came to see her in the morning was a messenger +from General Grant—to see if she were all right. Soon after this she +heard that Lincoln had died,—another messenger brought her the news. +Describing the terrible events of the saddest of all nights at the +Capital, Miss Barton said: “I heard a great commotion in the street and +looking out the window I saw strong men standing everywhere, crying.” +The people still feared there was going to be a general massacre. At the +end of three days Miss Barton was told she might leave her room. The +body of Lincoln was taken to Philadelphia to lie in state at the old +State House, Sixth and Chestnut streets. Miss Barton received a letter +from General Grant, asking her to go to Philadelphia. The General sent a +companion to accompany her on the trip. Clara Barton attended the +memorial in the “City of Brotherly Love,” and there paid her last +tribute of respect to her friend, the immortal Lincoln. + + + + + XC + + + It is a wise benevolence that makes preparation in the hour of peace + for assuaging the ills that are sure to accompany war. + + CLARA BARTON. + + The thoughtful mind will readily perceive that these responsibilities + incurred by relief societies involve constant vigilance and effort, + during periods of peace. CLARA BARTON. + + The Red Cross has stood, unrecognized in the shades of obscurity, all + the eighteen years of its existence among us, waiting for sure, alas, + too sure the touch of war to light up its dark figure, and set in + motion the springs of action. CLARA BARTON. + + + The fundamental principle of good citizenship is willing acquiescence. + CLARA BARTON. + + + It will be history by and by to whom Cuba belongs and, while one has + to study to learn past history, it is not worth while to let slip that + which is all the time making history in our day and generation. CLARA + BARTON, in 1874. + + + With funds, or without, the Red Cross has been first on every field of + disaster. CLARA BARTON. + + The cause the American Red Cross is meant to promote stands first in + my affections and desires. CLARA BARTON. + + The Cuban field gave the first opportunity to test the co-operation + between the Government and its supplemental hand-maiden, the Red + Cross. CLARA BARTON. + + + Thirty years of peace had made it strange to all save the veterans, + with their gray beards, and silver-haired matrons of the days of the + old war long since passed into history. Could it be possible that men + were to learn anew (in Cuba)? Were men again to fall and women to + weep? CLARA BARTON. + + The able and experienced leadership of the President of the Society, + Miss Clara Barton, on the fields of battle and at the hospital at the + front in Cuba. PRESIDENT WILLIAM MCKINLEY. + + + PRESIDENT MCKINLEY SENDS CLARA BARTON TO CUBA + +President McKinley personally had subscribed $1,000 to a fund to relieve +the starving Cubans. He issued an appeal to the American people; the +people responded with barely $50,000. Discouraged, he sent for Clara +Barton. Not knowing the President’s desire to see her, Private Secretary +Pruden told her that the President was very busy, and probably would not +be able to see her until the next day. As she was about to leave Major +Pruden said: “Wait a minute, Miss Barton, I’ll take your card in.” +Returning, Major Pruden said: “Miss Barton, the President wants very +much to see you.” Entering, Miss Barton found the President in +conference with Secretary of State Day on the very matter of sending her +to Cuba, to take charge of furnishing relief to the starving +reconcentrados. The conference, which was to have been held next day, +was held at once. At this conference Miss Barton outlined a complete +plan of action. The plan was approved by the President, but provided +only that Miss Barton herself should go to Cuba to take charge of the +relief work. The President, in highest appreciation of her, said: “My +dear Miss Barton, this is your work; go to the starving Cubans, if you +can with your relief ship, and distribute as only you know how.” + +In Red Cross relief work through Clara Barton, under her slogan +“People’s Help for National Needs,” the uniform policy was _not to +sell_, but _to distribute_. In Cuba when “Teddy the Rough Rider,” with +money in his pocket and a gunny sack over his shoulders, in behalf of +his soldiers ill and in distress, appeared at the door of her tent _to +buy_, Clara Barton said: “Colonel, we have nothing to sell. What do your +boys need? We have food and clothing to give away.” Recently commenting +on that policy, an editorial writer says: “That its members should know +neither friend nor foe, but serve all alike in fields of war and in +camps of sickness, was the essence and spirit of the Red Cross which +Clara Barton founded.” + +[Illustration: + + © _Harris & Ewing_ + + + WILLIAM R. DAY + + In the troublesome times preceding and following the outbreak of the + Spanish-American War, I learned to know how valuable the services of + Clara Barton have been to her country.—WILLIAM R. DAY, Associate + Justice, U. S. Supreme Court; the Secretary of State under President + McKinley. +] + + + + + XCI + + + Everything Clara Barton did was performed in a masterly and + businesslike way. _New York Examiner._ + + + Clara Barton possessed rare executive ability. + + Boston (Mass.) _Journal_. + + Clara Barton—her strong and capable hands—her clear and logical + brain—her systematic methods. Boston (Mass.) _Globe_. + + Is it not the finest kind of glory that when the American Red Cross is + seen the name of Clara Barton comes to the mind like a benediction. + New York (N. Y.) _Sun_. + + + The world lost in Clara Barton a great lawyer when it gained a + whole-souled philanthropist. ELLEN SPENCER MUSSEY, Attorney for + American Red Cross. + + Had Clara Barton belonged to the other sex, she would have been a + merchant prince, a great general, or a trusted political leader. + + DR. HENRY W. BELLOWS. + + + Clara Barton’s herculean work was done with means that most men would + scorn as too trivial to begin a work with. + + ALICE HUBBARD—In _The Fra_. + + + Our methods are based upon strict business principles. + + CLARA BARTON, President Red Cross. + + No donor to, nor recipient of, Red Cross relief ever criticised Clara + Barton’s bookkeeping. CORRA BACON-FOSTER, Author. + + After each event a financial statement has been prepared showing in + full detail both receipts and expenditures. Every donation of money + sent to the field and every one of the supplies, so far as could be + identified, has had individual acknowledgment. + + Red Cross Committee, + By WALTER P. PHILLIPS, _Chairman_. + SAMUEL L. JARVIS, + J. B. HUBBELL, + House Document, No. 552, Vol. 49, 58th Congress. + + _In re_ Clara Barton’s business methods,—although the exigencies of + the situation rendered the distribution one of great difficulty, it + has been done so wisely, prudently and effectively, as not only to + accomplish its purpose but to excite the admiration of all who are + personally conversant with it. Red Cross Committee, in Official + Communication to Congress, House Document, No. 552, Vol. 49, 58th + Congress. + + + The Red Cross has set in motion the wheels of relief at a moment’s + warning over the whole land. CLARA BARTON. + + It has been my custom, as the head of the organization which has grown + up around me, to reach a field of great disaster in the shortest + possible time, regarding neither weather, night, nor Sunday. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + IN DETAILS—CLARA BARTON, A BUSINESS MANAGER—WORLD’S RECORD + +On Christmas Eve, 1899, there arrived for Clara Barton at her Glen Echo +home, besides letters, more than a bushel basket full of presents. These +presents were from various parts of the world. One of them from Cuba was +a large cocoanut with her name and address burned with a hot iron, the +cocoanut plastered with postage stamps. The other presents were in +packages. From these her secretary commenced to cut the strings. “Don’t +do that, General; untie the strings. I save all the strings; we may need +them.” Following her custom the General then untied the strings, looped +the ends together in every case and so continuing until each bunch was +about six inches long; then he tied the bunches respectively with a +loose bow-knot. All the bunches so arranged were then taken upstairs +into one of the small rooms of the house and there hung on nails for +future use. Red, white, and blue strings to the number of perhaps +thousands were thus hung on the row of nails on the wall, the whole +length of the room. Whenever a string of a certain length was wanted she +would take from the nail a bunch of the length needed at that particular +time. + +Equally methodical was she with wrapping paper. She ironed out the paper +and folded it, placing the papers respectively on shelves; the papers +likewise were classified as to size, and this including corrugated +paper. She would remind her assistants that it is not the value of the +strings and the paper but the certain need of them; and being saved and +thus classified, time would be saved when the need came. Spools of +thread, needles, thimbles, hosiery, garments, shoes, or whatever else +used by her in her work, were in like manner classified and through a +system as nearly perfect as in the best arranged store in the world. + +In 1893 occurred the Sea Islands Hurricane and Tidal Wave Disaster. +Thirty thousand people were homeless in consequence. Clara Barton, with +her four Red Cross assistants, was in charge. Admiral Beardslee, of the +U. S. Navy, volunteered as a “helper.” He made notes, and later a +report, on the Red Cross work there. He reported that for a desk Clara +Barton had a dry goods box; for a bed, a cot; that she had systematic +and businesslike methods; that books were kept and every penny, or +penny’s worth, were accounted for;—that what had been contributed by the +people was honestly and intelligently placed where it would do most +good. + +General Leonard F. Ross, of Civil War record and of large affairs, was +in Cuba at the sinking of the “Maine.” Clara Barton accepted his +proffered services as superintendent of the warehouse. The General said +Miss Barton had a perfect business system—such a system as he had not +seen equalled. General W. R. Shafter, in charge of the American forces +in the Spanish-American War, commending Clara Barton, said that in +relieving distress and saving life no Governmental red tape system could +possibly be as effective as Clara Barton’s sensible, business methods, +in Cuba. United States Senator Redfield Proctor was not only a statesman +but also a business man, handling successfully millions of dollars in +business annually. He was chairman of the Senate Committee, to make +investigations in Cuba. In his official report, in his speech to the +Senate, he eulogized Clara Barton in highest terms. The Senator told the +Senate that Clara Barton could give him points in business; that she +needed no commendation from him; that he found in her conduct of the +business affairs of the Red Cross there was nothing to criticise, but +everything to commend her to the American people. + +The storm and tidal wave had struck Galveston. Clara Barton received the +news in the evening. A moment’s warning was all that was necessary. At +once she took counsel with her secretary. “General, what are we going +to?” + +[Illustration: + + BENJAMIN F. BUTLER + + There has been inaugurated by Clara Barton a system of economy that + will save ten thousand dollars, within a year of her + administration.—BENJAMIN F. BUTLER, Governor of Massachusetts, + 1881–1882; Major-General Civil War; U. S. Congress, 1867–1875; + 1877–1879. See pages 359; 364. +] + + + HER BUSINESS RECORD + +[Illustration: + + FRANCIS ATWATER + + Clara Barton had rare business qualifications. No person existed more + scrupulously honest, as I know from having been her financial + adviser for nearly forty years. There was no time in her life when + she was not doing good. A wonderful woman!—FRANCIS ATWATER, State + Senator in 1906, Connecticut; Journalist. See pages 323; 359. +] + +[Illustration: + + LEONARD F. ROSS + + In Cuba, Clara Barton had a perfect business system, such as I have + never seen equalled.—LEONARD F. ROSS, Brigadier-General, Civil War; + Superintendent of Red Cross Warehouse in Cuba, 1898, under Clara + Barton. + + General Ross is one of the most gracious, courteous gentlemen I have + ever known.—CLARA BARTON. See page 359. +] + +[Illustration: + + REDFIELD PROCTOR + + I especially looked into Clara Barton’s business methods, as to + system, waste and extravagance. I found nothing to criticise, but + everything to commend. She could teach me on these points.—REDFIELD + PROCTOR, Colonel in the Civil War; Governor of Vermont; member of + the U. S. Senate, 1891–1908; Chairman Red Cross Proctor Committee to + “investigate” Clara Barton. + + See page 359. +] + +Secretary: “Well, Miss Barton, we are going to an awful scene of death +and destruction.” + +Miss Barton: “Yes, but what are we going to; we are going to nothing, +aren’t we?” + +Secretary: “I suppose we are, Miss Barton.” + +Miss Barton: “Why, at Johnstown I hunted a half day and couldn’t find a +thimble with which to do some sewing. Here, General, take these keys and +go through the house and whenever you find anything that can be used +_where there is nothing_, you pack it up.” + +The secretary took the keys, went through the house of thirty-eight +rooms and seventy-six closets. He found carefully stored away supplies +of every description. He found packing-chests, trunks, valises and +telescopes all ready for use—everything imaginable at hand. Miss Barton +and her secretary worked all night. The next morning two great +dray-loads of goods were _en route_ to the railway station, and +Galveston. Arriving at Galveston she asked: “Mr. Mayor, have ward +committees been organized?” + +Mayor Jones: “No, Miss Barton.” + +Miss Barton: “How many wards are there in the city?” + +Mayor Jones: “Twelve.” + +Miss Barton: “Do go at once and organize strong committees in every +ward; provide ward headquarters, and a store-room where every ward +committee can take charge of supplies furnished. Have your ward +committees canvass every ward thoroughly and get the name of every +person and what he needs—the food necessary and in case of clothing the +exact size of the clothing. Then have your committees make requisition +for what is needed on the Red Cross at its headquarters. My corps of +helpers will see that these requisitions are promptly filled, and the +goods sent to ward headquarters for distribution.” + +Miss Barton then said to her helpers: “_Now we must work!_ Mr. Lewis, +you go at once and secure a good saddle-horse, and direct the +organization of Mayor Jones’ ward committees. General Sears, you go into +the city and secure a headquarters building for the Red Cross. Mr. +Talmage, you go to Houston and stay there until every delayed Red Cross +car is forwarded to Galveston. Major McDowell, you go to the +headquarters to take charge of the unpacking, the classifying, and the +issuing of the supplies. Mr. Ward, you will go with Major McDowell to +open up an office at the headquarters. Keep a careful book account of +the receipts of all supplies and moneys. Mr. Marsh, you will go with Mr. +Ward, to be his assistant. Mrs. Ward, you will stay by me to take such +directions as I may have to give you from time to time. Miss Coombs, you +are to be my stenographer and typewriter—you’ll find plenty to do to +keep busy. Miss Spradling (a trained nurse), you arrange proper space +for the opening up of an orphanage at headquarters building, then gather +up all the homeless, uncared-for orphans in the city and take care of +them. Every person in charge of work is expected to report to me daily, +and hourly if necessary.” In less time than it takes the military +commander to get his columns into action the woman, who had “the command +of a general,” had humanity’s forces on the “firing line.” + +Clara Barton possessed in the highest degree the elements necessary to +succeed in business. She had the mental grasp of a great enterprise; she +had executive ability; she inspired confidence in those serving with +her; she was methodical in attention to details—without a superior in +the business world; she was economical in her personal expenditures, +exacting like economy on the part of her assistants;—ever anticipating +the future by making wise provision. When much was at stake, and means +necessary to accomplish her purposes, she was without limit as to +expenditures. These elements, combined in her, gave to her the power she +swayed as the business head of a great corporation. + +The measure of success is the measure of the capacity for achievement. +It was on her nursing record in the Civil War that she made her national +reputation; on her business record, her world reputation. She was not a +Hetty Green in a bank account, for she invested in the field of +humanity, not of finance; but her genius shone in handling, unerringly, +a great business enterprise, her record far surpassing that of the +woman-wizard of Wall Street. By American Presidents, by commanders of +armies, by statesmen, by financiers, by her co-workers, without an +exception who were with her on fields of war and disaster, she was +commended for her business acumen, business methods, and in the results +obtained. From previous knowledge, from personal observation at the +Galveston flood, from having, within the past five years, spent many +months in her Glen Echo Red Cross home, with the accountants who were +going through her business records and assisting myself in the work, I +speak what I do know. + +She did not come into the business world panoplied as from the head of a +Jupiter, her record was not temporary camouflage; it is a record of +years; nor was it solely through the heart, for other women have hearts. +Clara Barton had genius, “the power of meeting and overcoming the +unexpected;” had genius for work, and through work comes genius. Her +business record is as firmly established as is that of her heart record; +as is that of the great “captains of industry” and, as theirs, is based +on _methods and success_, the only known data for such determination. In +the use of her approved methods in continuous service for twenty-three +years, she was without one record-failure, achieving success under +varied and most trying conditions. + +It is said of her by one writer, “a woman of great force of character;” +by another, from the results accomplished and without prejudice toward +womankind in the business world, “one of the world’s greatest +personages, for greatness knows no sex;” by another, as shown in her +capacity to do things, “she must be classed as a genius, for genius is +the intuitive capacity for overcoming insurmountable difficulties.” + +Clara Barton’s twenty-three years as the Executive Head of the Red +Cross; her collection and distribution of two and one-half millions of +money and material; her unanimous election three times to the Red Cross +presidency for life, on her business record, is without precedent. She +might have been a _Merchant Prince_; she could teach one of America’s +most successful business men on _business points_; she excited _the +admiration of all who were acquainted with her business methods_. Some +day some man or woman may appear as her rival on the horizon of the +business world but, up to the present time as an unpaid executive with +unpaid helpers, Clara Barton holds the world’s record as Business +Manager, in public service. + +[Illustration: + + THE AMERICAN RED CROSS BUILDING, WASHINGTON, D. C. + Dedicated to the Heroic Women of the Civil War. + + Cost $800,000.00—$400,000 by Congress; $400,000 by Friends of the Red + Cross (Mrs. Russell Sage, $150,000, Rockefeller Foundation, + $100,000, James A. Scrymser, $100,000, Mrs. E. H. Harriman, + $50,000). + + One and one-half million of names were represented on the petition + memorializing the 65th Congress to place a Clara Barton tablet in + the new Red Cross Building at Washington, D. C.—CORRA BACON-FOSTER, + author of _Clara Barton, Humanitarian_. + + + Clara Barton, “Her character eternally crystallized at the base of an + enduring foundation and an immortal American destiny—the greatest an + American woman has yet produced.”—HON. HENRY BRECKENRIDGE, Acting + Secretary of War, at the laying of the corner stone of the American + Red Cross Building at Washington, D. C., March 15, 1915. +] + + + + + XCII + + + Honor any requisition Clara Barton makes; she outranks me. + + GENERAL B. F. BUTLER. + + + The Jury passing on the prisoner’s life may in the sworn twelve have a + thief or two guiltier than him they try. SHAKESPEARE. + + + A felon’s cell— + The fittest earthly type of hell. WHITTIER. + + + Prison—the living grave of Crime. JOAQUIN MILLER. + + Prison—Young Crime’s finishing school. MRS. BULFOUR. + + Every penitentiary should be a real reformatory—the discipline of the + average prison hardens and degrades—the criminal should be treated + with kindness. R. G. INGERSOLL. + + + Even the most obstinate yields to the rule of kindness, firmly and + steadily administered. CLARA BARTON. + + + SUPERINTENDENT OF WOMAN’S PRISON + +There is a woman’s prison, supported by the state at Sherborn, +Massachusetts. Its condition had been unsatisfactory. Governor Ben F. +Butler[11] sent for Miss Barton, and begged her to accept its +superintendency. He said: “I ask it as a personal favor.” “But, if I +accept, Governor, what would be required of me?” “Well, it will be +necessary first for you to put up a ten thousand dollar bond.” “Would +you accept a cash bond, Governor?” “Of course,” he replied. And she put +up the bond. + +Footnote 11: + + At a public reception in honor of Miss Barton a few years after the + Civil War, the wife of a Massachusetts Congressman, addressing General + Benjamin F. Butler, said: “How wonderfully well Miss Barton looks in + her evening dress! What beautiful arms and shoulders she has!” General + Butler replied: “Yes, I have seen those arms red with human blood to + the shoulders.” + +The ten thousand dollars was not in the “coin of the realm”; it was in +railroad bonds, then above par. The governor had enemies who at no time +closed their eyes to his faults, real or imaginary; but he also had +adherents, who were his “friends to a fault.” It was reported that the +governor had accepted her personal bond. His enemies adversely +criticized the waiving of the requirements of the law in her case. His +friends justified the official conduct of the executive, protesting that +Miss Barton’s personal bond was good anywhere. While the agitation of +the public mind over the bond was at its height, the governor paid an +official visit at the prison. On the issue pending the governor to Miss +Barton made this comment: “If the good Lord would only protect me from +my ‘fool friends,’ I could take care of my enemies myself.” + +Her executive ability and methodical work soon showed results. +Discipline and economy had transformed the prison. Instead of +insubordination, there was obedience; instead of wastage, there was +frugality. The Governor and his Council paid the institution an official +visit. In a public address delivered shortly after this at Springfield, +the Governor said: “I’ll tell you that the _Prison Is In a Thorough +Condition_, and there has been inaugurated there a system of economy +that will save $10,000 within a year of her administration.” + + + + + XCIII + + + America’s foremost woman. Houghton (Mich.) _Gazette_. + + Clara Barton’s, a career which has no parallel in American history. + Cleveland (Ohio) _Plain Dealer_. + + Clara Barton—in citizenship, the memory of her career must remain a + rich heritage to the people of this country. + + Portland (Ore.) _Telegram_. + + + Clara Barton’s Red Cross achievements are monumental, and because of + the corner-stone she laid the present superstructure will endure. Her + name is the synonym for the American Red Cross as it was, and as it + is. B. F. TILLINGHAST, Delegate to the International Red Cross + Conference at St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1902. + + + Destiny is the decree of God. A. CUNNINGHAM. + + Destiny cannot be avoided. G. COWPAY. + + Destiny bears us to our lot. DISRAELI. + + + Who can turn the stream of destiny? SPENCER. + + In your own bosom are your destiny’s stars. COLERIDGE. + + + How circumscribed is woman’s destiny. GOETHE. + + Let a woman steer straight onward to the fulfillment of her own + destiny. MRS. EMMA R. COLE. + + + Clara Barton—one of the immortals. _Brooklyn Citizen._ + + + Quaff immortality. JOHN MILTON. + + Born of immortality. WORDSWORTH. + + This longing after immortality. ADDISON. + + I have an immortal longing in me. SHAKESPEARE. + + Immortality! We bow before the very term, Immortality! + + GEORGE DOUGLAS. + + ’Tis immortality to die aspiring. CHAPMAN. + + No one could meet death for his country without the hope of + immortality. CICERO. + + + Clara Barton—she earned immortality. + + Boston (Mass.) _Herald_. + + She passes through the portals of immortality. + + Joplin (Mo.) _Globe_. + + Rest thee among the immortal names that were not born to die. + + Rutland (Vermont) _Herald_. + + + He is truly great that is great in charity. + + THOMAS À KEMPIS. + + The most useful is the greatest. THEODORE PARKER. + + Great names stand not alone for great deeds. HENRY GILES. + + He who does the most good is the greatest. BISHOP JARTIN. + + He only is great at heart who floods the world with a great affection. + ROSWELL D. HITCHCOCK. + + + As the stars are the glory of the sky, so great men are the glory of + their country; yea, of the whole earth. HEINE. + + Greatness is nothing unless it is lasting. NAPOLEON. + + + On eagle’s wings immortal scandals fly. STEPHEN HARVEY. + + To reproach is a concomitant to greatness, as satire and invectives + were an essential part of a Roman triumph. + + JOSEPH ADDISON. + + Such is the destiny of great men that their superior genius always + exposes them to the butt of the envenomed darts of calumny and envy. + VOLTAIRE. + + America has her Washingtons, Jeffersons, Lees, and others whose names + are written down in the hearts of all Americans, but Clara Barton + accomplished a work compared with which the career of generals fade in + the distance as a shadow. + + Pensacola (Fla.) _Journal_. + + + GREATNESS—AN IMMORTAL AMERICAN DESTINY—IMMORTALITY + + From a speech by Honorable Henry Breckenridge, Acting Secretary of + War, representing the United States Government, at the laying of the + corner-stone of the American Red Cross Building, at Washington, D. C, + March 27, 1915. + +To every soldier who fought in the Union Army, and survived the war, the +name of Clara Barton was known. And as long as the American Red Cross +endures or its name is remembered the memory of Clara Barton will be +cherished. Her sympathies were universal, her zeal unflagging. She +nursed the wounded of two wars on the continents, in our Civil War and +in the Franco-Prussian War. She directed the work of her association to +the calamities of peace, as well as the stricken fields of war. She was +in Cuba before the Spanish War—was on the “Maine” the day before it was +blown up, and tended the wounded survivors in the hospital ashore. +Wherever humanity called for help—in the Balkans or in Strasburg—in Cuba +or in Galveston—in Paris or on the American battlefields of the +sixties—there came the ministering hand of Clara Barton. + +To take an historical perspective, disfavor with a temporary and passing +administration means nothing in the end to a name as great and a career +as long as Clara Barton’s, as this estimate shows. For a while it may +mean on both sides much misconstruction and suffering, but in the end +this is forgotten and the fame remains undimmed. + +Florence Nightingale, at the Crimea, England’s great introducer into the +world of the system of women hospital nurses, was actually so ignored by +a subsequent English ministry that, though a poor invalid, she was +ousted from her minor position in a Governmental office. It caused her +intense pain, and although a chronic sufferer from her many labors, she +saw herself ignominiously thrown out by new political leaders who, great +as they were, could not understand her. But when she became an +octogenarian, all this became a buried incident, and all England a few +years ago bent to do her homage, when the Lord Mayor of London granted +her the freedom of the city, and the Golden Casket, England’s highest of +honors. Now, since her death, a monument is being erected and nothing is +considered too good to let Great Britain make her memory green in the +British Isles. + +Thus will perish the temporary unhappy misunderstanding and +misconstruction of 1902–1904, through which Clara Barton suffered. In +the atoning stream that swallows time’s ticking seconds of little +troubles, its unessentials will be dissolved. Indeed, as demonstrated in +nearly 3000 American newspapers in 1912, they have already been +dissolved, leaving her character and career eternally crystallized at +the base of an enduring national foundation and an immortal American +destiny—the greatest an American woman has yet produced. + +[Illustration: + + © _Harris & Ewing_ + + + HENRY BRECKENRIDGE + + So long as the American Red Cross endures, and its name is remembered, + the memory of Clara Barton will be cherished.—HENRY BRECKENRIDGE, of + Kentucky. Orator of the Day, Assistant Secretary of War, + representing the U. S. Government at the laying of the corner stone + of the Red Cross Building at Washington, D. C., March 17, 1915; + Lieutenant-Colonel World War. + + See page 368. +] + + + + + XCIV + + + Clara Barton has built an imperishable monument for herself in the + hearts of the people of all creeds. Dallas (Texas) _Herald_. + + Clara Barton—her deeds lend honor to her country’s fame. + + _The Outlook._ + + Clara Barton—the embodiment of one vital principle of all creeds, the + love of humanity. _Detroit Free Press._ + + Before her gentle assault the steel walls of religious prejudice and + race hatred melted like a mist. Leadville (Colo.) _Herald_. + + + Put your Creed in your Deed. RALPH WALDO EMERSON. + + Souls in Heaven are placed by their deeds. ROBERT GREENE. + + Things of today? Deeds which are honest, for eternity. + + EBENEZER ELLIOTT. + + + Truly does the Hindoo say, with averted face: “God only is great.” + CLARA BARTON. + + Without guile, and with pure purpose, let us renew our trust in God. + A. LINCOLN. + + + Each of the great religions of the world seems to have some good in + it. BISHOP W. F. MCDOWELL. + + + God bless all the Churches. A. LINCOLN. + + I am profitably engaged in reading the Bible. A. LINCOLN. + + There are few people who have memories of harder Church work and + better Church love than I. CLARA BARTON. + + In regard to the Great Book, I have only to say that it is the best + gift that God has given to man. A. LINCOLN. + + + What sensations can possess the mind but wonder and adoration for the + power of Almighty God, and a humble gratitude that no words can speak. + CLARA BARTON. + + You believe that God is a Divine Immanence; you believe that God is + now communicating himself to humanity and that his loving Presence is + here now as ever. Why, then, can’t you call up a direct relationship, + rather than going around to the uncertain allusions of Theodore + Parker? CLARA BARTON. + + + In the Universalist Church at Oxford, where Clara Barton attended + Church, there is carefully preserved the pulpit in which the famous + Reverend Hosea Ballou was ordained in 1794. + + THE AUTHOR. + + Reverend Father Tyler, a memorable Universalist minister, who + officiated at the funerals of Father and Mother Barton, on the + occasion of her funeral pronounced also at the grave a memorial + tribute to Clara. Among her religious friends also were Hosea Ballou, + Phillips Brooks, Mary Baker Eddy, Archbishops Gibbons and Ireland. THE + AUTHOR. + + + I firmly believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ, the Jesus of + Nazareth, in His life and death, His suffering to save the world from + sin, so far as in His power to do so. But it would be difficult for me + to stop there, and believe that this spirit of divinity was accorded + to none others of God’s creation who, like the Master, took on the + living form and, like Him, lived the human life. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + Miss Barton does not wait and “wish to be an angel.” She goes right + about it. A visible, substantial, present angel she is—a “ministering + spirit.” W. H. ARMSTRONG. + + + Over all, spreading its Aegis like a benediction is the great mantle + of Christianity, wrapping all in its beneficent folds. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + WHAT WAS HER RELIGION? + +Was Clara Barton a Church woman? Of herself she says: “There are few +people who have memories of harder Church work and better Church love +than I; I have never lost my love for the old Church of my Fathers, my +family and my childhood.” + +Was she a Mormon? A friend of the Mormons, and one of the biggest +receptions ever tendered to her was in the tabernacle at Salt Lake City, +by the Mormons of Utah. Was she a Mohammedan? She was most cordially +received by the Mohammedans, and decorated by the Sultan of Turkey. Was +she a Spiritualist? She attended spiritualistic meetings, studied the +cult, consulted mediums, and mingled with spiritualists. Commenting on +the fact, claimed, that spiritual communications occur between those of +this world and those of the other world, she said: “I am more and more +filled with wonder how these things can be” but—“I hope so.” + +Was she a Catholic? She frequently attended the Catholic Church, and +counted among her friends Sisters of Mercy, Priests, Bishops, and +Archbishops. Was she a Congregationalist? She attended that Church at +times. Several Congregational ministers officiated at the funeral, and a +beautiful Clara Barton window is preserved in the Congregational Church +at Oxford. Was she a Methodist? She attended the Methodist Church, and +the Methodists now use Clara Barton leaflets, and other Clara Barton +literature, in their Sunday Schools throughout the country. + +Was she a Christian Scientist? She said: “I do not know enough to be +one, nor to understand it,” but she also said: “I cannot see why +Universalists should not become Christian Scientists.” She attended the +Christian Science Church for three years, but a leading scientist editor +said: “We do not claim her, nor do I think any other Church can claim +her.” Was she a Universalist? She was reared a Universalist, and in her +youth attended the Universalist Church where the famous divine, Hosea +Ballou, was pastor and she also requested a Universalist pastor to +assist in officiating at her funeral. + +She attended other Churches, and ministers of several denominations +officiated at her funeral. Clara Barton says: “I am not what the world +denominates a Church woman; I was born to liberal views, and have lived +a liberal creed.” + +But really what was her religion? “Perplexed in faith but pure in +deeds,” Clara Barton, to the annoying question so often asked by the +curious, answered: “I am a well disposed pagan.” + + + + + XCV + + + I never had a mission and I don’t know what I should do with one, if I + had it. CLARA BARTON. + + We all tumble over opportunities for being brave and good, at every + step we take. Life is just made up of such opportunities. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + Wanting to work is so rare a merit that it should be encouraged. + + A. LINCOLN. + + There are other altars than that of Venus on which to light your + fires—work, incessant, hard, earnest work. SIR WILLIAM OSLER. + + How much of the sweets of life one loses in the rush of it. + + CLARA BARTON. + + I lost two months entire, but the time went on and spun its web each + day. CLARA BARTON. + + The gray haired military chieftain, whom all would recognize were I to + name him, was correct when he once said to me: “Strange as it may + seem, the days of ‘rest’ at the field are the hardest days.” + + CLARA BARTON. + + + I always had a passion for service. CLARA BARTON. + + Honest labor bears a lovely face. THOMAS DECKER. + + Labor: All labor is noble and holy. FRANCES SARGENT OSGOOD. + + Work ye, and God will work. JOAN OF ARC. + + Life is a great bundle of little things. O. W. HOLMES. + + Life is made up, not of great sacrifices or duties, but of little + things. SIR HUMPHREY DAVY. + + Nothing is of greater value than a single day. GOETHE. + + Life is but a day at most. BURNS. + + Life is a short day, but it is a working day. HANNAH MOORE. + + Living is doing. CLARA BARTON. + + “Even while we say there is nothing we can do, we stumble over + opportunities for service that we are passing by in our tear-blinded, + self-pity.” CLARA BARTON. + + I have had more work than I could do lying _around my feet_, and try + to get it out of my way so I can go on to the next. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + There is but one method, and that is hard labor. + + SIDNEY SMITH. + + If God works, Madam, you can afford to work also. + + JULIA WARD HOWE. + + Clara Barton was a worker from infancy. She gave to the world nearly a + century of work, taking neither vacation nor recreation. + + ALICE HUBBARD. + + Women, always—as a rule—have worked harder than men. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + I do hope I may live long enough to get the story of my life and my + life’s work in shape for publication. I am doing this ill in bed (at + 90 years of age), sometimes working until two or three o’clock in the + morning. CLARA BARTON. + + + ONE DAY WITH CLARA BARTON + +How so much was accomplished in the lifetime of one woman may be +understood by reading “One Day with Clara Barton,” as described by +herself in a personal letter to a friend: + +“How shall I manage to be a woman of business, and act like a lady of +leisure? How strangely odd it seemed to me when I read your pretty +description of how your time was passed, that you could dress for +breakfast, help do some little things about the house, get ready for tea +and walk after it. When _did_ I see such days, or even _one_ such day. +If it would not take too long I could tell you something of how I pass a +day. Let me try; and as one day is a fair sample of another, suppose I +take yesterday as I remember it better than any other. Well, let me +brush up my hair and try to think. First, I rose when I could see to +dress, I suppose a little past four, went into my bath room, and bathed +thoroughly in preparation for a scorching day and partly made my toilet; +then read my chapter in the scriptures by _myself_, and offered my own +prayer and thanksgiving (no family service to unite in like you, and I +have too much of the dust of old Plymouth Rock sticking to me to omit +it); then finished a hurried toilet, and sat down to a French lesson at +half past six; went to my breakfast at seven, commenced my French +recitation, lasted until eight; after this put my chamber and myself in +order and started for the office; called on my dress-maker on my way and +tried on a dress; called at the post office and found one business +letter; and reached the office at nine; distance little over a mile, and +then commenced the tug of war. I wrote until three o’clock P. M., took +an omnibus home, took my writing, or a portion of it, along with me +(don’t tell; it’s against the rule), reached home at three-thirty, took +a hurried bath, went to dinner and at four-thirty was seated at my table +writing for my life. Did not leave my room again, or scarce arose from +my table until twelve o’clock, when I retired and slept as fast and hard +as I could until daylight in preparation for a repetition of the same. +Perhaps you wish, or are curious, to know how much I accomplished in all +that time. Ten thousand words of bold round record which must live and +be legible when the mound which once covered me shall have become a +hollow and the moss-covered headstone, with ‘born’ and ‘died’ no longer +to be traced upon its time-worn front shall have buried itself beneath +the kindred turf.” + +Working twenty hours out of the twenty-four would give almost any woman +the reputation of being a _genius_. Thinking the woman who had done +things held the secret of woman’s success, a touring party of ambitious +young ladies called on Clara Barton, in her later years, at Glen Echo. +The following conversation took place: + +Vassar Girl—Miss Barton, these other ladies and myself called to pay our +respects. We have heard much of you since we were little girls. A few +weeks ago, in the class of ——, we graduated from Vassar College. We, as +you have done, wish to do some good in the world. We cannot decide what +we should do; we want your advice. + +Clara Barton—My dear young lady, do the first thing that comes to your +hand. Do it well. Then do the next thing. Do that well. Then do the next +thing, just so keep on doing——. + +Clara Barton then pinned a Red Cross badge on each of these young +ladies, the happiest visitors when leaving, says Miss Barton’s +secretary, that he had ever seen in that “house of rough hemlock +boards.” + + + + + XCVI + + + Finally Clara Barton was forced out of her position in May, 1904. + + _New York Examiner._ + + Clara Barton—antagonism she encountered. But in all of them she bore + herself with a poise that lost for her no friends. + + Utica (N. Y.) _Observer_. + + + I know there is a God, and he hates injustice. A. LINCOLN. + + + There were no heroes, there were no martyrs. + + BULWER-LYTTON. + + Great women belong to history and self-sacrifice. + + LEIGH HUNT. + + + I am in the Garden of Gethsemane now, and my cup of bitterness is full + to the overflowing. A. LINCOLN. + + Let us have faith that right makes might. A. LINCOLN. + + Why should there not be a patient confidence in the ultimate justice + of the people? Is there any better, or equal, hope in the world? A. + LINCOLN. + + + Beneficence breeds gratitude, gratitude admiration, admiration fame, + and the world remembers its benefactors. + + PRESIDENT WOODROW WILSON. + + + To be great is to be misunderstood. RALPH WALDO EMERSON. + + The people will never understand the motive, and of course cannot + comprehend that it was necessary for the “aspirants” to resort to + “charges” in order to accomplish their purpose,—to gain possession of + the Red Cross. CLARA BARTON. + + What you are speaks so loud I cannot hear what you say. + + RALPH WALDO EMERSON. + + + Crowns of roses fade; crowns of thorns endure. Calvaries and + Crucifixions take deepest hold of humanity; the triumphs of might are + transient, they pass and are forgotten; the sufferings of the right + are graven deepest on the chronicles of nations. + + FATHER RYAN. + + + Alas! I have not words to tell my grief: + To vent my sorrows would be some relief. DRYDEN. + + + For the heart must speak when + The lips are dumb. KATE PUTNAM OSGOOD. + + + Clara Barton speaketh from the heart in eloquence pathetic and + convincing; through her own words, written to Professor Charles Sumner + Young at this time (1904), are “The most vital, and interesting of a + wonderful life and a wonderful work, and few men hear of it without + envy and emulation.” _New York Sun._ + + + THE PERSONAL CORRESPONDENCE—CLARA BARTON’S PROPOSED SELF-EXPATRIATION + +Occurring in October, 1911, in the sick room at Oxford, was the +following interview: + +Mr. Young: Miss Barton, you once requested me to do a certain thing for +you. I did not do it then and I won’t do it now, so please don’t ask it. + +Miss Barton: What’s that? I don’t understand. + +Mr. Young: You requested me to destroy a certain letter. I did not do +it. + +Miss Barton: Was that the letter in which I asked you to take me to +Mexico? And why did you not destroy it as I requested? + +Mr. Young: That’s the letter. It is now in a safe deposit box in Los +Angeles. I did not destroy it because, in my opinion, that letter would +do more in your defense than any argument that could be put up by the +greatest lawyers in America. What you wrote at the time of your +persecution, in confidence to a friend with a request that the letter be +destroyed, the American people would believe. No slander would stand for +a moment against your heart’s secrets, thus told to a friend. In case I +should die before you do, I have arrangements with a mutual personal +friend that in any event the letter will be published after you shall +have passed. + +Miss Barton: (Hesitatingly, then very frankly): Mr. Young, you are a +very wise man; possibly you are right. Anyway, do what you please with +that letter when I am gone. Now, Mr. Young, I meant it. For several +months I was getting together my belongings and adjusting my affairs so +that I could go. There were but two countries where the _Red Cross_ did +not exist; one was China, and the other Mexico. I did not want to go to +China, but I did want to go to Mexico. Oh! Well, it’s probably best that +I did not go; if I had gone I might not be alive now. + + Freedom lives hence, and banishment is here. SHAKESPEARE. + + Have stooped my neck under your injuries, eating the bitter bread of + banishment. SHAKESPEARE. + +The letter referred to and similar correspondence follow: + + + THE WAIL OF AN ACHING HEART + + Glen Echo, Maryland, + January 13, 1904. + + My dear Mr. Young: + + It is a blessing to your friends that you have a good memory. + Otherwise, how should you have carried the recollection of poor me, + all these weary months running into years and, through friends all + unknown to me, sent such tribute of respect. + + I waited, after receiving the notices from you, to be sure of the + arrival. I have directed the acknowledgement to be made to Mr. and + Mrs. Canfield, but words tell so little; you will, I am sure, thank + them for me. + + You will never know how many times I have thought of you, in this + last, hard and dreadful year to me. I cannot tell you, I must _not_, + and yet I _must_. So much of the time, under all the persecution it + has seemed to me I _could_ not remain in the _country_, and have + sought the range of the world for _some_ place among strangers and out + of the way of people and mails—and longed for some one to _point_ out + a quiet place in some _other_ land; my thoughts have fled to you, who + would at least tell me a _road_ to take, outside of America, and who + would ask of the authorities of Mexico if a woman who could not live + in her own country might find a home, or a resting place, in theirs. + +[Illustration: + + © _Hartsook._ + + + CHAMP CLARK + + Clara Barton rendered her country and her kind great and noble + service.—CHAMP CLARK, of Missouri. Congress, 1893–1895; 1897–1921; + Speaker of the House, 1911–1921. +] + + + REPRESENTATIVE OF UNITED STATES CONGRESS + +[Illustration: + + CHARLES F. CURRY +] + +[Illustration: + + DENVER S. CHURCH +] + + Clara Barton, one of the great characters of history; unselfish and + altruistic in her service for humanity; an American, intensely + patriotic, but with an international mind and sympathy that embraced + all humanity.—CHARLES F. CURRY, of California. Congress 1913— + + I regard Clara Barton one of the greatest women that ever + lived.—DENVER S. CHURCH, of California. Congress, 1913–1919. + + This will all sound very strange to you—you will wonder if I am “out + of my mind”—let me answer—no; and if you had only a glimpse of what is + put upon me to endure, you would not wonder, and in the goodness of + your heart, would hold the gate open to show me a mule-track to some + little mountain nook, where I might escape and wait in peace. Don’t + think this is _common_ talk with me, I have never said it to others; + and yet I think they, who know me best, may _mistrust_ that I cannot + endure _everything_ and will try in some way to relieve myself. + + To think of sitting here through an “_investigation_” by the country I + have tried to serve,—“in the interest of _harmony_,” they say, when I + have never spoken a discordant word in my life, meaningly, but have + worked on in _silence_ under the fire of the entire press of the U. S. + for twelve months,—forgiven all, offered friendship,—and am still to + be “investigated,” for “inharmony,” “unbusinesslike methods,” and too + many years—all of these I cannot help. I am still unanimously bidden + to work on for “life,” bear the burden of an organization—meet its + costs myself—and am now threatened with the expenses of an + “investigation.” + + Can you wonder that I ask a bridle track? And that some other country + might look inviting to me? + + Mr. Young, this unhappy letter is a poor return to make for your + friendly courtesy, but _so long_ my dark thoughts have turned to you + that I cannot find myself with the privilege of communicating with you + without expressing them. I cannot think where I have found the courage + to do it, but I _have_. + + I know how unwise a thing it seems but if the pressure is too great + the bands may break, that may be my case, and fearing that my better + judgment might bid me put these sheets in the fire—I send them without + once glancing over. You will glance them over and put them in the + fire. Forgive me. You need not forget, but kindly _remember_, rather, + that they are the wail of an aching heart and that is all. Nature has + provided a sure and final rest for all the heart aches that mortals + are called to endure. + + If you are in the East again, and I am here, I pray you come to me. + + Receive again my thanks and permit me to remain, + + Your friend, + (Signed) CLARA BARTON. + + Earth naught nobler knows + Than is the victim brave beneath his cross. + ’Tis in the shadow that the dawn-light grows. + ARCHAG TCHOBANIAN. + + + SCHEMERS—DEFAMERS—PIRATES + + Bakersfield Club, + Bakersfield, Cal., February 2, 1904. + + My Dear Miss Barton: + + Your favor of January 13 received, and read with exceeding interest. + Mr. and Mrs. Canfield appreciate your letter to them personally, as + well as your kind words sent through me, in recognition of their + slight token of high regard for you. While here a day or two ago, Mrs. + Canfield requested me to convey these sentiments to you. + + Now, Miss Barton, why you have confided in obscure me is a mystery I + cannot solve; such a compliment is more than I can hope to deserve. + (Having written the above General W. R. Shafter came into the Library + and sat beside me at the table. I stopped writing and we entered into + a discussion of you and your affairs. He is exceedingly complimentary + to you and of your work. He especially requested me to extend to you + his greetings and sincerest good wishes.) + + I have known for several years more of the secret plottings than you + think. From our mutual friends I have known also of your heart aches + and the causes, and a thousand times have wished that I might say + something, or do something, so that you might know that in my inmost + heart I was in sympathy with you and your struggle against the coterie + of schemers. I have also wished that I might have power long enough to + show you in what esteem you are held by the households in America; + what a charm attaches to your name wherever spoken,—such as neither + royalty possesses nor money buys. + + Your defamers no more represent the American people than pirates upon + the high seas the country from which they spring. + + The unanimous vote of confidence, last week by the Woman’s Club of + Bakersfield enthusiastically expressed by all present rising to their + feet, was but one manifestation among tens of thousands of similar + ones which would occur if the facts were known. I hope you will soon + hear of similar evidence of love for you and fidelity of your friends + from organizations elsewhere in California, including the State + Federation of Women soon to convene in Sacramento. + + My Uncle, General Ross, never told me of any event in his military + career with so much pride as that of offering you his services, and + acting as your lieutenant in the ware-house of the Red Cross at + Havana. Likewise would I be proud of the distinction to serve you in + the most humble capacity, either for the cause you represent or for + yourself personally. + + While I do not, and can not, take seriously even the remotest + suggestion that you might seek retirement and seclusion, I would + gladly volunteer to be your Kit Carson over any mountain trail leading + to happiness. I don’t think the American people will ever permit your + forced retirement, but in the event you should voluntarily withdraw + from public service, I would indeed be glad to suggest to some of my + friends, who I am sure would esteem it an honor and privilege, to + offer you a home in Los Angeles and a competence the rest of your + life. + + I expect to be in the East again soon and hope to have the honor of + seeing you. I have in mind several things I would like to talk over + with you, and thank you kindly for the invitation to call at your home + in Glen Echo. + + If in my humble way I can be of any service to you, you will please + remember that you have but to command me. + + Believe me, + + Sincerely your friend, + (Signed) C. S. YOUNG. + + To + Miss Clara Barton, + Glen Echo, Maryland. + + Whispering tongues can poison truth. + + SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE. + + The paths of charity are over roadways of ashes; and he who would + travel them must be prepared to meet opposition, misconstruction, + jealousy, and calumny. CLARA BARTON. + + And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments, casting + lots upon them what every man should take. ST. MARK. + + + SHE READ THE ACTORS LIKE A BOOK + + EXECUTIVE OFFICE + 6 Beacon Street, + Boston, Mass. + + July 11th, 1907. + + Mr. C. S. Young, + Los Angeles, California. + + My dear Mr. Young: + + I wonder if I have ever said a word in reply to your comforting letter + of May. If I have or have not said anything on paper I have in my + heart answered it many times and bless both you and Mrs. Logan for + your kindliness and trust. I have never in my life had a moment’s + doubt of the loyalty of Mrs. Logan. She stood the brunt of the battle + while she could, and longer than I wished her to. She foresaw what was + coming with her keen knowledge of human nature and thorough political + training. She read the actors like a book. I well remember one night + when she made this remark, and it was comparatively early in the game. + Looking earnestly at me she said, calling me by name, “At first I + called this prosecution, then I called it persecution, but now I name + it crucifixion, and that is what they mean.” I knew it too but there + was no redress, no course but to wait the resurrection if it came. + + The trust even of one’s best friends, under the circumstances, and + knowing nothing of the facts could not be expected to withstand it. + That it was physically withstood was beyond either the expectation or + the intention. But, my good friend, that is all passed. The press no + longer turns its arrows upon me. The harvest was not what the reapers + expected, and I suspect if it were all to be done over again in the + light of their newly gained experience it would not be done. + + I would like to tell you some day of the newer work that occupies, and + will take pleasure in sending you a report issued at our second annual + meeting when it leaves the press. I am writing from Boston, where I am + spending a few days at our headquarters, but return soon to Glen Echo, + where I hope to see you whenever circumstances call you to the East. + + Again thanking you most warmly for your letter, which brought me much + satisfaction, and wishing the best of all good things for you I am, + dear Mr. Young, + + Most cordially yours, + (Signed) CLARA BARTON. + + + A TRIBUTE + + And Marie of Logan; she went with them too, + A bride, scarcely more than a sweetheart, ’tis true, + Her young cheek grows pale when bold troopers ride + Where the “Black Eagle” soars she is close at his side. + CLARA BARTON. + + + The name of Clara Barton will forever shine among women who won + deathless fame in the days of war that called for loyal effort. + + PHEBE A. HANAFORD, Author. + + + For patriotism, for national honor, I would stand by that at all cost. + CLARA BARTON. + + If my life could have purchased the life of the patriot martyrs who + fell for their country and mine, how cheerfully and quickly would the + exchange have been made. CLARA BARTON. + + What king so strong, + Can tie the gall up in the slanderous tongue? + SHAKESPEARE. + +The following are excerpts from letters written to the author: + + + LOVED AND LOYALLY TRIED TO SERVE + +In April, 1909, she writes as follows: + +“Does ‘Mexico’ recall to your mind a request I once made of you that you +should see me across the border line of that strange country? However +much I needed it and whether well or ill I never knew. I only know I did +not go. But my own country seemed to me so hard that I thought I could +not live it through. + +“The Government which I thought I loved and loyally tried to serve has +shut every door in my face and stared at me insultingly through its +windows. What wonder I want to leave? + +“The locks have never turned, the doors are rusted in their hinges. The +old warders go out and the new ones come in, sworn faithfully to their +charge, with no knowledge of why they are charged to do it; ignorant of +every fact, simply enemies by transmission; and yet I stay represented +as of ‘doubtful integrity,’ ‘weak,’ ‘decrepit,’ ‘imbecile,’ but yet, +very ‘dangerous.’” + + +She then draws a picture of a Sultan of Turkey who was made a prisoner. + +“He was locked in and I locked out, but my whole country seemed my +prison and I struggled to free myself of it. Pardon me, I never thought +to recall the disagreeable subject again, but like the boy’s whistle it +‘blew itself.’” + + A time to keep silence, and a time to speak. ECCLESIASTES. + + I am reminded of what Theodore Parker used to say so piteously of + himself—‘I can never talk but I talk too much.’ + + CLARA BARTON. + +The following is an excerpt from a letter under date of Nov. 9, 1909: + + + THE STRICTEST SILENCE + + + “There has never been an occasion, nor a time, when I have so missed + my old time privilege of speaking in behalf of a friend. I never + before have so fully realized what a pleasure that privilege had been + to me through half a century. It is a change to me, to come to feel + that my only help must lie in the _strictest_ silence; an expressed + wish for any one would be fatal; not perhaps with President Taft + _personally_, for I am of small importance to him, if he even knows + me, but from the advice he would be sure to receive from those he does + know. So I wait and hope....” + +Excerpts from letter written under date of Dec. 14, 1909: + + + OVER THE MEXICAN LINE + + May 31st, the date runs, and I know I never answered that letter, for + I never in my life could have answered a letter like that, but still + more, I never even tried to. Discouraged at the onset and gave up the + encounter. A glimpse at the topics it handled were so far beyond any + reply from the “likes o’ me.” “Great services unnoticed”—“Future + remembrances when others are forgotten”—“To be told in story and sung + in other lands”—poor little me who has never seen the present Ruler of + her own country! + + + “Then let us hope, and although you may never escort me over the + Mexican line, I have never lost sight of the darkness of the day when + I proposed that you should.” + + If it were not my firm belief in an overruling Providence. + + A. LINCOLN. + +Excerpts from a letter under date of November 21, 1910: + + + A GREATER POWER AND A WISER MIND + + + “How well I remember when I once asked you to escort me over! and I + never can understand _why_ I failed to go; a Greater Power and a Wiser + Mind were guiding me, no doubt——” + + To God my life was an open page, + He knew what I would be; + He knew how the tyrant passions rage, + How wind swept was all my anchorage, + And why I would drift to sea. + + He who hath a thousand friends hath none to spare. + + ALI BEN ABOU TALEB. + + I am never weary when meeting my friends. CLARA BARTON. + + Clara Barton’s intellect was never keener, clearer nor more alert than + it is now (1911). STEPHEN E. BARTON. + + + The report which went out that I was ill set the country, nay the + world, by the ears and the letters came pouring in by the score, yes, + and more. CLARA BARTON. + + Such beautiful letters! I have read them through tears. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + WRITE NONE—SEE ONLY THOSE I MUST[12] + + Oxford, Sept. 21, 1911. + + Prof. Young, + + My Dear friend: + + I am trying to speak to your letter of yesterday, myself, but it is + from a very sick bed. + + I write none—see only those I must. + + I _must see you_. Come and see me though only a week. I had hoped to + see you under better conditions. + + I replied to your dispatch. Come when you will; all times are alike to + me. + + Yours sincerely and always, + (Signed) CLARA BARTON. + +Footnote 12: + + Her friends who were with her through her last illness say the letter + of which the above is a copy is the last letter written by Clara + Barton. + + I did not err: there does a sable cloud + Turn forth her silver lining on the night. + + + Virtue may be assailed, but never hurt, + Surprised by unjust force, but not enthralled; + Yea, even that which Mischief meant most harm + Shall in the happy trial prove most glory + + + DATA AS TO THE TWENTY-FIRST MASSACHUSETTS REGIMENT + + Number + + Enlisted men leaving Worcester, August 23, 1861 1,001 + Total enlisted men throughout the war 1,277 + + Number Ages + 1 Emery G. Wilson, Co. K. 15 years + 5 17 years + 101 18 years + 111 19 years + 140 20 years + ——— + 358 Total number under 21 years + + 170 at the age of 21 years + 574 between 22 years and 30 years + 120 between 30 years and 40 years + 50 between 40 years and 48 years + 2 at the age of 46 years + 1 at the age of 47 years + 2 at the age of 53 years + ———— + 1277 + +Of this number 560 were killed or wounded in battle. The regiment was a +member of the ninth-army Corps under General Burnside, a corps that did +not lose a color nor a gun. + +Membership of the Twenty-first Massachusetts Regiment Association August +23, 1921–61. + + Carrie E. Cutter, Daughter, 1861–1862. + Clara Barton, Daughter, 1862–1912. + Flora S. Chapin, Secretary and Daughter, 1912——. + +Miss Carrie E. Cutter, delicate and accomplished, was known as the +Florence Nightingale of the Twenty-first. She was the daughter of Calvin +E. Cutter, surgeon of the regiment; died in the service as nurse, March +24, 1862. Aged, nineteen years and eight months. Mrs. Flora S. Chapin is +the daughter of Reverend Charles E. Simmons Hospital Steward in the +Civil War, under Surgeons Calvin E. Cutter and James Oliver, of the +Twenty-first Massachusetts Regiment. Clara Barton was the daughter of +non-commissioned officer Stephen Barton. He enlisted in 1793, serving +three years in the Indian wars (1793–97), and later was known by his +friends as “Captain Barton.” + +Clara Barton, then a war nurse and nearly forty-one years of age, was +made Daughter of the Regiment on the battlefield of Antietam, in +October, 1862. This was a few days after President Lincoln had reviewed +the Army of the Potomac, the review occurring October third. The army at +that time numbered about 145,000 men. It was towards nightfall, and the +regiment was on dress parade. “She made a little speech,” says Comrade +James Madison Stone, “and there was cemented a friendship begun under +fire which was destined to last to the end of the lives of all the +participants.” + +Says Captain Charles F. Walcott of the Twenty-first Regiment (afterward +Brigadier-General), and the author of the history of the regiment: “Our +true friend, Miss Barton, a Twenty-first woman to the backbone, was now +permanently associated with the regiment and, with two four-mule covered +wagons which by her untiring efforts she kept well supplied with +delicacies in the way of food and articles of clothing, was a +ministering angel to our sick. General Sturgis kindly ordered a detail +from the regiment of drivers and assistants about her wagon. And this +true, noble woman, never sparing herself nor failing in her devotion to +our suffering men, always maintained her womanly dignity, and won the +lasting respect and love of our officers and men.” + +Clara Barton’s last message to the regiment was delivered forty-five +years after the Civil War, through an address and original poem, she +then being eighty-nine years of age. The occasion was the annual reunion +of the regiment, the date August 23, 1910; the reunion held at +Worcester, Massachusetts. + +[Illustration: + + REUNION OF 21ST MASSACHUSETTS REGIMENT +] + + Picture taken on the occasion of the annual reunion of the + Twenty-first Massachusetts Regiment Association—on August 23, + 1921—Sixtieth anniversary of the day the Regiment left Worcester for + the field. + + On Fame’s eternal camping-ground + Their silent tents are spread; + And Glory guards, with solemn round, + The bivouac of the dead. + THEODORE O’HARA. + + I hear the loved survivors tell + How naught from death could save, + ’Til every sound appears a knell + And every spot a grave. + ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + “I never made a secret of the fact that of all the glorious regiments + that marched to the music of the Union and cooled their heated brows + in the shadows of the Stars and Stripes, the Twenty-first + Massachusetts was peculiarly my own—nearest in my thoughts, and + deepest in my love, and there are many who know that more than once my + heart went down in agony under the blood-stained soil with the + lifeless forms of its bravest and its best. I would divide the last + half of the last loaf with any soldier in that regiment, though I had + never met him.”—CLARA BARTON. + + Top, left hand corner—Clara Barton. + Top, right hand corner—Carrie E. Cutter. + Lower row, center—Flora S. Chapin. + + But evil on itself shall back recoil, + And mix no more with goodness when, at last, + Gathered like scum, and settled to itself, + It shall be an eternal restless change, + Self-fed and self-consumed. If this fail + The pillared firmament is rottenness, + And earth’s base built on stubble. + + + + + XCVII + + + CLOSING INCIDENTS—THE BIOGRAPHY—OTHER CORRESPONDENCE + + I am so glad to see you; I was afraid you wouldn’t get here in _time_. + CLARA BARTON. From “Notes” at Oxford, Massachusetts, Oct. 2, 1911. + + + AUTHORIZED TO SPEAK FOR CLARA BARTON + +Accompanying the letter under date of December 14, 1909, came data from +Clara Barton to be used in her proposed biography, and which data the +author had previously promised to make use of as soon as his private +business would permit him to give the time necessary to do this literary +work. Commenting on the author’s final acceptance of her commission, in +her letter she said: “Your talent to writing a biography of me—of me! +Your talent and time for such as this! ‘Why was this waste made’?” The +object hoped for in her letter of September 21, 1911, wherein Clara +Barton says “_I must see you_” and therein the “dispatch” referred to, +was that she might consult the author on her biography and to make a +final request that after her passing he would protect her good name +which, continuously being assailed, she then thought to be in jeopardy. + +Arriving at Oxford, Massachusetts, at the end of a special trip from +California for the final consultation as to the facts and motives +involved in her persecution, on October 3, 1911, in the sick room and at +the time when she thought that she had but a few hours to live, the +author made the promise. The further object of the visit at Oxford, on +the part of the author, was to try to stimulate her health, through a +possible sea voyage. That there had been in anticipation for several +months previous such sea voyage was well known in her household, and is +personally indicated by her in her Easter Greetings for 1911. In this +letter she writes: “And we may expect you in the East!! That is more +than I _dared_ hope. It would surely be a luxury to visit the old _old_ +countries of the world. I should indeed be glad to see them with you.” + + I may come to California this winter; will do so, if I am able. + + CLARA BARTON. + From “Notes” of a visit in the sick room at + Glen Echo, Maryland, Oct. 20, 1911. + + + PROPOSED HOME IN CALIFORNIA + +A few days after the consultation at Oxford she rallied, and on a +Pullman was taken to her Glen Echo home. Seriously ill and thinking this +would be her last ride, she expressed the wish to have for the party of +three, consisting of her physician, her nephew and herself, the Pullman +exclusively. The cost for the use of the car would be three hundred +dollars. This having been made known to her she protested the seeming +extravagance whereupon a friend, after having been refused such tender +by the Pullman office in New York, himself made the tender of the car, +without cost to her. Characteristic of her, she declined to accept the +courtesy, but said she would have accepted such courtesy from the +Pullman Company. She accepted, instead, a drawing room—to save the +proposed expense, even by another. Early on the way to Glen Echo, she is +reported to have said to those accompanying her: If he were here now I +would not leave the car until I shall have reached California, where I +would make my home with my friend as long as I live, thereby accepting +his invitation to become his guest permanently—in his home nearby and +overlooking the Pacific ocean. + +She stood the journey so well, says her physician, that again she said +to us just before reaching Washington that she would be glad to remain +on the train and continue on to California, emphasizing “That’s what I’d +like to do.” The physician further comments: “Her faith in her friend’s +loyalty would have been sufficient tonic to make the journey easy and a +delight, and I feel sure now that had she taken the journey then, as she +expressed the wish, the end of the journey would have found her in an +_improved condition_, with constant-increasing physical strength.” + +In the author’s diary for October 20, 1911, is found the following: + + At ten A.M. visited Calumet Place. Mrs. John A. Logan and I then went + to Glen Echo on the street car. Visited Miss Clara Barton, who was in + a chair awaiting our presence. Spent an hour or so with her. She was + in good spirits, happy and much improved in health. Mrs. Logan and she + talked over personal matters. She received me most cordially, and said + she was most happy to see me; also said she would like to go to + California with me. Mrs. Logan, Dr. Hubbell, Stephen E. Barton and I + had a talk in the room downstairs on matters of personal interest to + Miss Barton, formulating a plan for her vindication. + + + FORECASTING THE BIOGRAPHY + +In April, 1912, her physician, Dr. Julian B. Hubbell, wrote from Glen +Echo that a few hours before her passing Clara Barton expressed the wish +that, if not exclusively so, in any event the author _must be_ +associated with her biographer. The protection of her “good name” by her +biographer was more to her than a recital of her deeds of valor. She had +in mind in selecting her biographer not what fame thereby might come to +him, not kinship nor the family name, not what profit there might be in +her biography. She had in mind her own “good name,” and the cause such +“good name” represents. These were to her vital; these to her were +dearer than life itself. Respect for the wish of the dying, and the +dead, is regarded sacred; such wish has been regarded sacred, and +binding, throughout the centuries, alike by Christian and Pagan. To do +violence to the sentiment and well known wish of Clara Barton, on the +part of the author, similarly would do violence to the sentiment of the +country which would protect her “good name,” a name historic and beloved +by the people—violence to the sentiment pervading all humanity. + +As the financial executor had possession of, and control of, the +historic data prerequisite, for all practical purposes he could name the +biographer of the nation’s heroine;—could dictate what data and +sentiment must be, and must not be, included in the biography of his +Aunt. As soon after her passing as it could be written and reach +California there came from her nephew, Mr. Stephen E. Barton, of her +nearest of kin and by her made the Executor of her Estate, the following +letter: + + + ONE OF MY AUNT’S LAST REQUESTS + + Boston, Mass., + April 20, 1912. + + Col. Charles Sumner Young, + Los Angeles, Cal. + + My dear Col. Young:— + + When the death of our beloved occurred at Glen Echo on the morning of + the 12th inst. Doctor Hubbell thought you were at the Palace Hotel in + San Francisco and I immediately wired you there, but I was notified + that you had left the city. I was exceedingly glad to receive your + beautiful message of the 13th from Los Angeles. + + I followed your wishes by placing some beautiful flowers in your name + upon her bier at Oxford and I knew that the sympathy and tenderness of + your great heart were with us that day. I am sending you Worcester + newspapers, which will give an account of the last ceremonies, all of + which were carried out just as she desired them, both at Glen Echo and + Oxford.... + + + I am sending you enclosed a copy of the tribute written by Mrs. Logan + and read at the Glen Echo services by her daughter. + + Has it not the ring of eloquence, of justice and of fearless + friendship? I gave it to the Associated Press, but I believe it was + used only in a garbled form. You are at liberty to use it in any form + which you choose. + + At this moment I have not time to say more, but I hope to hear from + you and to see you again. There is much to do and to say in the + future. I shall need the good advice and guidance of such friends as + your good self and one of my Aunt’s last requests was that I invite + you with a few other such friends to compose a committee to advise + with me in the future. + + Very truly yours, + (Signed) STEPHEN E. BARTON. + + + EXCERPTS FROM OTHER LETTERS + + Concerning the biography of my Aunt, she desired that I call to my + assistance several of her good friends, including your dear self. + + STEPHEN E. BARTON. + + From a letter to the author, and dated November 18, 1912. + + I judge from your letter that you may not be aware that a preliminary + biography of my Aunt has been written by Reverend Percy H. Epler, of + Worcester, and published by the Macmillans. + + I have organized a literary committee composed of Reverend William E. + Barton of Oak Park, Illinois, Reverend Percy H. Epler of Worcester, + Massachusetts, Honorable Francis Atwater of New Haven, Connecticut, + Dr. Julian B. Hubbell of Glen Echo, Maryland, and myself. + + STEPHEN E. BARTON. + + From a letter to the author, and dated February 29, 1916. + + + AUTHORIZED + + Charles Sumner Young was authorized by Clara Barton to write the + history of her life and so far as I know the only person so + authorized. + + JULIAN B. HUBBELL. + + Clara Barton’s General Field Agent for the twenty-three years she was + President of the American Red Cross. + + Glen Echo, Maryland, + July 8, 1922. + + + + + XCVIII + + + Last words of Clara Barton: Father, forgive them, for they know not + what they do. Let me go! Let me go! + + PERCY H. EPLER, Author. + + + A diagnosis of Clara Barton’s illness was made a few months before she + passed. The report of the Doctors was that every organ in her body was + perfect—heart, lungs, stomach—every organ functioning as in her youth. + THE AUTHOR. + + + This morning’s papers (Tuesday, April 23, 1912) are filled with + startling stories to the effect that Miss Barton died of a broken + heart, caused by a clique of Washington politicians and ambitious + society people. That she died of a broken heart, so caused, is a fact. + W. H. SEARS, Secretary to Clara Barton. + + Considerable comment was caused at the funeral of Clara Barton by the + absence of any representative of ——, or of the American National Red + Cross, the organization which Miss Barton founded; neither were there + any flowers from either the organization nor the White House in + evidence. Rockford (Ills.) _Register Gazette_. + + + Governments are but the voice of the people. CLARA BARTON. + + The Government of my country _is_ my country, and the people of my + country are the government of my country as nearly as a representative + system will allow. CLARA BARTON. + + The Government which I thought I loved, and loyally tried to serve, + has shut every door in my face, and stared at me insultingly through + its windows. CLARA BARTON. + + The humanity of peoples is beyond that of Governments. + + CLARA BARTON. + + Ingratitude! Thou marble-hearted fiend, more hideous when thou showest + thee in a child than the sea monster. + + SHAKESPEARE. + + Of all the anguish our Heavenly Father calls us to endure—none pierces + more keenly, nor wounds more deeply, than the sting of ingratitude. + CLARA BARTON. + + + Dear Clara Barton! I hope that somewhere she is reaping a glorious + reward of her life-long heroism and self-sacrifice. MRS. LA SALLE + CORBELL PICKETT. + + Clara Barton will still live as a potential force for good, and coming + centuries will see her labors carried on even as they were carried on + while she directed them in person. + + Springfield (Illinois) _News_. + + Sublime, O Life, when in Easter balms did cease, + When shadows of thy sunset hour bore thee “peace.” + E. May Glenn Toon. + + + A RECORD HISTORY AT THE FUNERAL + +The funeral exercises for Clara Barton, who had served for 23 years as +President of the Red Cross, were held in her Red Cross home in Glen +Echo, Maryland. Flowers in profusion were there; her personal and _real_ +friends, with moistened eyes and aching hearts, were there; hundreds of +telegrams of sympathy from all over the country were there; millions of +humanity-loving American men and women, in spirit, were there; her +devoted friend and immediate successor as President of the Red Cross, +Mrs. General John A. Logan, was there. + +History will record that certain then acting officials of the Red Cross, +either personally or in sympathy, were _not_ there; that not a flower, +not a word of sympathy, from any Red Cross official was there; that not +national honors, not even Red Cross honors, were then bestowed lovingly +or at all upon the great and good Red Cross Mother, that made possible +officially the very existence of the then Red Cross officers. + +And history will record that no good reason could be given why these +certain Red Cross officials were _not_ there; and history will further +record that the reason must be understood as that in the case of Another +when, on a similar occasion, no Pontius Pilate and no politicians were +there, but “many women were there beholding from afar.” And finally +history will again record that, centuries after the doer of “petty +politics” shall have been forgotten, the doer of humane deeds will shine +as a fixed star in humanity’s firmament, diffusing her beneficent rays +upon the millions, in generations as they successive come and go. + + + + + XCIX + + + Clara Barton saved too many lives to count. + + Worcester (Mass.) _Telegram_. + + + The lives he had saved were enough to gain Heaven’s chiefest diadem. + CLARA BARTON. + + + God’s plans are known only to Himself. He alone knows what plan He is + working out. CLARA BARTON. + + + The grave is but a covered bridge, leading from light to light through + a brief darkness. LONGFELLOW. + + The paths of glory lead but to the grave. GREY. + + + FROM LINCOLN’S FAVORITE POEM + + Oh, why should the spirit of mortal be proud? + Like a swift-fleeing meteor, a fast flying cloud, + A flash of the lightning, a break of the wave, + He passeth from life to his rest in the grave. + + + WILLIAM COLLINS. + + + CLARA BARTON’S LAST RIDE + +On her last ride from Glen Echo, Maryland, to Oxford, Massachusetts, +Clara Barton went by the Federal Express. She was accompanied by her +three friends, Stephen E. Barton, Doctor Julian B. Hubbell and Doctor +Eugene Underhill. Every consideration was shown her by her personal +friends and the railway company. Because of the fog on New York Bay and +certain formalities to be imposed by the New York City authorities, an +embarrassing delay was menacing the party. To circumvent the delay the +party ignored the advice of the railway authorities to take another +route from Jersey City, and continued on to New York. + +At New York, to make connections with the outgoing train, the party +transferred themselves to a covered express wagon. It was nearly +midnight. The streets were wet and slippery from the fog. The busy +throng of human beings were in their slumbers. The streets were bereft +of all things living, save now and then a belated traveler; and silent, +except the tread of his footsteps on the sidewalk. + +The party’s destination, Oxford, must be reached at a certain hour. +There must be no delay. The driver was urged to hurry. He became +impatient and, turning to one member of the party, asked: “Whom have you +got in this box anyway?” Then came the reply: “It’s the body of Miss +Clara Barton.” “You don’t mean the Civil War Nurse, the Red Cross +woman!” “Yes, that’s the one.” + +Then there followed a scene pathetic, and most dramatic. Dropping his +lines and throwing up his hands the driver exclaimed: “My God! is it +possible? My father was a Confederate soldier and, at the battle of +Antietam, was wounded in the neck. Miss Barton found him on the +battlefield and bound up his wounds in time to save his life. And just +to think ‘the likes o’ me,’ a poor driver, is hauling her body across +the city tonight.” + + + + + C + + + Clara Barton has to her credit 72 achievements, every one of which + entitles her to a page in history. + + W. H. SEARS, Secretary to Miss Barton. + + + Clara Barton,—this woman’s immortal work. + + _Boston Transcript._ + + + Not all the noblest songs are worth one noble deed. + + ALFRED AUSTIN. + + + Clara Barton,—her work and her achievements,—wonders wrought by that + noble woman of New England. + + Oakland (Cal.) _Tribune_. + + Clara Barton,—no other whose achievements even approximate hers; her + allegiance ran the whole race of mankind. + + Sacramento (Cal.) _Union_. + + Clara Barton,—measured by any scale you may choose, was the most + useful woman of her day and generation. + + Bangor (Me.) _News_. + + + By our deeds, and by our deeds alone— + God judges us—if righteous God there be, + Creeds are as thistle-down, wind-tossed and blown, + But deeds abide throughout eternity. GEORGE BARLOW. + + + All who work beneath its glorious folds (Red Cross) are coworkers not + only with the noblest spirits of all ages and all countries but, even + reverently be it spoken, co-workers with the Divine beneficence whose + blessed task we know will one day wipe every tear from every eye. + CLARA BARTON. + + + ACHIEVEMENT—WORLD RECOGNITION + + Clara Barton was the recipient of twenty-seven decorations, medals of + honor, diplomas of honor, badges, jewels, flags, resolutions, votes of + thanks, and commendations from rulers of nations, legislative bodies, + Red Cross decorations, relief committees, and distinguished, or + titled, personages,—as testimonials of her great work for humanity. + THE AUTHOR. + + Some day the full and complete history of Clara Barton and her + unparalleled achievements will be given to the world, and no library + on the face of the earth will be complete without a set of the volumes + of that history. + + W. H. SEARS, + J. B. HUBBELL, + Ex-Secretaries to Clara Barton. + + +CHRONOLOGY OF THE LEADING ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE LIFE OF MISS CLARA BARTON + +(Especially prepared for this volume by her ex-secretary, W. H. Sears) + + + ACHIEVEMENTS + +1. Organized, conducted and popularized Free School System, Bordentown, +N. J., at her own expense. Commenced her school with six pupils, all +boys, and in one year had six hundred; secured five teachers to assist +and had promises of a new building, if she would continue. It was built +for her and is still in use. “Pauper Schools,” that is, Public Schools +at public expense, were ridiculed by the people. The six boys were +renegades from private schools. Third week, room filled and assistant +required. Such was the success that the private schools were +discontinued and a four thousand dollar school house, three stories of +brick, was built and Miss Barton inaugurated the _Free Public School of +Bordentown, N. J._ With six hundred pupils and eight teachers, impetus +was given to the cause of free education over the State, 1852–4. + +2. First Woman Clerk in Government Office, Washington, D. C. A place of +trust at $1,400 per year, in charge of caveats, Patent Office, which +position she gave up at the opening of the Civil War to work in the +field. 1854–’61, under Mr. Charles Mason, Commissioner of Patents. +Discharged when Buchanan came in; but recalled under Lincoln; resigned +when war came on. + + + THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR + +3. Met and furnished relief at “Old Infirmary,” where Judiciary Square +Hospital now stands; first day and next day at Capitol, in Senate +Chamber (Senate not in session) to wounded soldiers of the 6th Mass. +Volunteers in Washington, on arrival from the Baltimore attack by mob, +April 19, 1861. _First Civil War Field._ + +4. Met and furnished relief to sick and wounded soldiers, brought from +the front on trains and boats to Washington, D. C., May 1, 1861 to July, +1862. + +Afterwards she was on the following fields of battle and relief: + +5. James Island, battlefield, July 7, 1862. + +6. Cedar Mountain, battlefield, August 9, 1862, 3,700 killed and +wounded. + +7. Second Bull Run, battlefield, August 30 to September 1, 1862. Found +seven of her old pupils, Massachusetts schools, in this field and each +had lost an arm or leg. + +8. Chantilly, battlefield, August 31 to September 1, 1862. + +9. Point of Rocks, Md., battlefield, September 4, 1862. + +10. Point of Rocks, Md., battlefield, September, 1862. + +11. Antietam, battlefield, September 16 and 17, 1862. + +12. Falmouth battlefield, December 11 and 12, 1862. + +13. Fredericksburg, battlefield, December 12 and 13, 1862. 18,000 killed +and wounded. + +14. Folly Island, battlefield, April 10, 1863. + +15. Morris Island, battlefield, July 10 to September 7, 1863. + +16. Fort Wagner, battlefield, September 7, 1863. + +17. Charleston, S. C., battlefield, September 8, 1863. + +18. The Wilderness, battlefield, May 6–7, 1864. + +19. Spotsylvania, battlefield, May 8 to 21, 1864. + +20. Petersburg, battlefield, June 15 to 18, 1864. + +21. Petersburg Mine, battlefield, July 30 to August 5, 1864. + +22. Deep Bottom, battlefield, August and September, 1864. + +23. Richmond Campaign, battlefield, January 1 to April 3, 1865. + +24. Annapolis Hospital, 1865, met starving, sick and wounded returning +Federal prisoners and furnished relief. + +[Illustration: + + Lieutenant-General Nelson A. Miles, the chairman of the ceremonies, + with + the first shovel of dirt. + + (The Chairman of the National Advisory Board, National First Aid + Association + of America) +] + + + THE MEMORIAL TREE PLANTING TO THE MEMORY OF CLARA BARTON + +by the American Forestry Association at Glen Echo, Md., 3 P. M., Easter +Sunday, April 16, 1922. The occasion—to commemorate the tenth +anniversary of the passing of Clara Barton. + +[Illustration: + + Mrs. John A. Logan, with second shovel of dirt. Author of the + Congressional + measure creating May 30th a national holiday, known as Decoration + Day; and sponsored in Congress by U. S. Senator John A. Logan. +] + +He who plants an oak looks forward to future ages, and plants for +posterity. + + WASHINGTON IRVING. + +[Illustration: + + THE CLARA BARTON OAK + Registered in the Hall of Fame for Trees, Washington, D. C. +] + + The American Flag + The Glen Echo Service Flag + The Red Cross Flag + The Clara Barton Red Cross Home + + Pin Oak (Quercus Palustris), 8½ feet high, 5½ inches in circumference + at the base; 3½ inches in circumference, 4½ feet from the ground. + + + CLARA BARTON AND THE OAK + + _The Memorial Address_ + +The tree is the longest lived of all the lives of earth. Trees are in +existence whose birth antedates that of our Christian civilization. The +Cedar of Lebanon of the Old World is a part of the religious sentiment +of the human race. The General Sherman Sequoia of the New World had +battled against the warring elements of Nature for thousands of years +before existed the warring forces of the Anglo-Saxons, on this +continent. If there “be tongues in trees” every historic tree might say: +“What I have seen and known is identified with the human race.” + +Every country has its trees, historic, sacred through association with +an individual or with some great national event. Of the tree, historic, +the historian writes, the poet sings, and in delineating its beauties +the painter exhausts his art. He who plants an historic tree transmits +history and poetry and art to posterity. The tree becomes a part of a +country’s history. + +England has her Parliament Oak, under whose branches King John held his +parliament; her Pilgrim Oak, associated with Lord Byron, her Falstaff +Tree, her Shakespeare Tree. The United States has her Penn Treaty Elm, +under whose possible inspiration, for once at least, faith was kept with +the North American Indian; her Charter Oak that became the guardian of +the parchment that held the liberties of the Puritans; her Cambridge Elm +within whose cooling shades George Washington took command of the +Colonial forces in the struggle for human liberty; her Liberty Tree, +whose very soil wherein it grew, said Lafayette, should be cherished +forever by the American people. + +At the nation’s capital there are trees historic. On Capitol Hill there +is the great elm, said to have been planted by George Washington in +1794. On the grounds of the Woman’s National Foundation, near Dupont +Circle, is the tree known as the Treaty Oak. Its history is of pathos, +possibly in part of fiction, but whether of fact or of fiction, like the +wanderings of Ulysses the tree is of never-ceasing interest. In the +Botanic Gardens is the Peace Oak, said to have been planted by a +Southerner who tried desperately to prevent the Civil War, and died +broken-hearted over his failure. And near by this historic tree is the +picturesque oak that came from an acorn picked up by the grave of +Confucius, in far away Shantung. + +Of all the trees of ancient and modern times the oak is the most +historic. The Ancient Greeks and Romans thought that the oak was +Jupiter’s own tree; the Ancient Britons, that it belonged to the God of +Thunder—groves of oaks were their temples. Among the Celts the oak was +an object of worship; the Yule log was invariably of oak. + +We plant an oak to commemorate a career, sacred, sacred to one who loved +the world—to one whom all the world loves. As in Japan a certain tree is +sacred, in America every tree is sacred that is love-planted. Our act, +and sentiment, is in consonance with hers whose almost last wish was +that an oak sapling be planted at the shrine of her beloved horse; that +it might be his monument, and with the hope that the children would love +and protect it as Baba’s Tree. + + “Sing low, green oak, thy summer rune, + Sing valor, love, and truth.” + +In no other atmosphere of her native land as here is a place so +appropriate to plant this historic tree. Through this atmosphere, into +yonder edifice, came the cry “Come and Help Us”;—from Cuba that cruelty, +pestilence and starvation were the portions of thousands; from Galveston +that still other thousands of men, women and children had become victims +of disaster, on her storm-swept coast. In every instance to the cry for +help was there response, and on wings of love the Angel of Mercy sped +forth to minister with her own hands to suffering humanity. + +It was here that she basked in the sunset rays, as they dipped gently +towards the west. Yonder are the trees which she planted with her own +hands; yonder the soil wherein grew her beautiful flowers; yonder +humanity’s centre from which flowed her charities to almost every part +of the known world; yonder the chamber from whose bed of sorrow she +cried: “Let me go; let me go”; yonder the window through whose casement +on Easter Morn, in 1912, her spirit flew to the Great Unknown. + +Nature that springs from the soil decays and dies; deeds that spring +from the soul never die. Nature’s foliage that ornaments is destroyed by +the frosts of winter; the spiritual foliage that ornaments is perennial. +The American Red Cross whose bud, in 1881, opened to the sunlight in the +forests of Michigan is now the sheltering tree for the world’s millions; +the woman that planted the seed and nourished it with her tears, as +later she planted that other tree known as THE NATIONAL FIRST AID, is +now the spirit that stands sponsor for certain charities, charities the +most widely known of all the charities of earth. + +Neither marble nor canvas is so venerated as the tree, from out of GOD’S +FIRST TEMPLES—a tree to commemorate the individual is the most venerated +memorial in the world. The world will little care, or note not at all, +what we say and do here and yet the spirit of these environments may +become the inspiration of future ages. The mound that soon must shut out +from view our mortality will be leveled and covered with earth’s +foliage, only to be forgotten or marked “UNKNOWN.” But let us pray that +the tree, whose sentiment is world-humanity, may take highest rank among +the world’s other historic trees; that through the centuries the +children of successive generations will love and protect THE CLARA +BARTON OAK, NATURE’S EASTER-TRIBUTE TO IMMORTALITY. + +[Illustration: + + Planting the “Clara Barton Rose”—Miss Carrie Harrison, Chairman Clara + Barton Centennial Committee of the National Woman’s Party. +] + + + MEMORIAL TREE PLANTING TO THE MEMORY OF CLARA BARTON + +[Illustration: + + Charles Sumner Young, while delivering the memorial address. +] + +25. Summer of 1865 at Andersonville identifying the dead, and laying out +the first National Cemetery, by request of the Government. Raised the +first United States flag over Andersonville. + +26. 1865–67 Searching for the 80,000 missing men of the army. Found +19,920 of them at an expense to herself without pay of $17,000. The +Government reimbursed $15,000 of this sum. + +27. The Lecture Field. Delivered 300 at $100 per lecture on the +battlefields of the Civil War, 1867–8. + + + THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR + +Was on the following battlefield and relief fields during this war:— + +28. Hagenau, battlefield. + +29. Metz, battlefield. + +30. Strasburg, battlefield (8 months) siege, and relief after siege. + +31. Belfort, relief. + +32. Woerth, relief. + +33. Baden Hospitals. + +34. Sedan, battlefields. + +35. Montbelard, relief. + +36. Paris, Fall of the Commune; relief. + +37. Organizing and managing relief for sick and wounded soldiers and +sick and destitute people in France at close of war, 1871. + + + RED CROSS WORK + +38. With the International Red Cross Committee in Europe, Switzerland, +Germany and France. 1869–71. 1872–73, ill in London. + +39. Seven years’ effort to make Red Cross known to the United States and +asking for the treaty; 1875–1882. Secured adhesion of the United States +to the Treaty of Geneva, March 1, 1882, having organized the American +National Red Cross Association the year before, and was nominated to +first presidency by President Garfield, 1882; was the President for +twenty-three years; 1881–1904. + +40. Author of American Amendment authorizing Red Cross to administer +relief in time of great National disasters, which was adopted by all +treaty nations. + +41. Organized First Aid Department within the Red Cross; but when she +resigned in 1904 as President, it was discontinued by her successors, +1903. + +42. Organized The National First Aid Association of America, independent +of the Red Cross, similar in its scope and object to the St. John +Ambulance Association of England. Five hundred and twenty-two classes +have been organized with ten thousand students and five thousand four +hundred graduates—January 1, 1922. + +43. Conceived idea of a Rest Cure and School where people should be +taught to keep well. + +(The cost of distributing the funds and other contributions entrusted to +Clara Barton, as President of the American Red Cross during her +twenty-three years of administration, did not exceed two per cent. of +the amounts contributed for the twenty fields of relief in this country +and the four fields in foreign countries. Signed: Julian B. Hubbell, +General Field Agent of the Red Cross during the twenty-three years of +Clara Barton’s Presidency.) + + + RED CROSS FIELDS + + 44. Michigan Forest Fire, 1881, expended $80,000.00 + + 45. Mississippi River Floods, 1882, expended 8,000.00 + + 46. Mississippi Cyclone, 1883, expended 1,000.00 + + 47. Mississippi River Floods, 1883, expended 18,000.00 + + 48. Balkan War; relief, 1883, expended 500.00 + + 49. Ohio and Miss. River Floods, 1884, expended 175,000.00 + + 50. Texas Famine, 1885, expended 100,000.00 + + 51. Charleston Earthquake, 1886, expended 85,500.00 + + 52. Mt. Vernon Illinois Cyclone, 1886, expended 85,000.00 + + 53. Florida Yellow Fever, 1888, expended 15,000.00 + + 54. Johnstown Flood, 1889, expended 250,000.00 + + 55. Russian Famine, 1892, expended 125,000.00 + + 56. Pomeroy, Iowa, Cyclone, 1893, expended 2,700.00 + + 57. S. C. Islands Hurricane and Tidal Waves, 1893, 65,000.00 + expended + + 58. Armenian Massacres, Turkey, Asia Minor, 1896, 116,325.00 + expended + + ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── + 59. Cuban Reconcentrado relief, Spring of 1898, expended 1,300,000.00 + 60. Spanish-American War at San Juan, battlefield, 1898 + 61. Cuban Orphan Asylums, Summer and Fall of 1898 + ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── + 62. Galveston Storm, 1900, expended 130,000.00 + 63. Typhoid Fever Epidemic, Butler, Pa., 1904 + ————————————— + Total $2,557,025.00 + +64. Superintendent of the Massachusetts Reformatory for Criminal Women. +One year; appointed by General Butler, then governor of Massachusetts, +1884. _Represented United States Government at International Red Cross +Conferences, as follows_:— + +65. At Geneva, Switzerland, in 1884. + +66. At Carlsruhe, Germany, in 1887. + +67. At Rome, Italy, in 1890. + +68. At Vienna, Austria, in 1897. + +69. At St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1902. + +70. Author of books. + +71. Author of lectures. + +72. Author of poems. + + + + + CI + + + The press is the representative of the people. + + GEN. JOSEPH R. HAWLEY. + + The newspaper is the immediate recorder and interpreter of life. + + HENRY IRVING. + + + Three Thousand newspapers voiced the public opinion of the nation; + thousands no doubt escaped us. + + EDITOR—_Clara Barton In Memoriam_ (1912). + + + The press shapes the fortunes of the world and makes and unmakes with + a breath. CLARA BARTON. + + The American press has been to me, to my assistants, and our work, a + band of faithful brotherhood. CLARA BARTON. + + Human progress had evolved a “Press” whose lever moved the world. + CLARA BARTON. + + Among the dark hours that came to us in the hopeless waste of work and + war on every side, the strong sustaining power has been the _Press_ of + the United States. CLARA BARTON. + + I thank the press of my country for its unwavering and genuine + kindness for all the years it has dealt with my name. + + CLARA BARTON. + + Through all of good report or ill; contradictory, perplexing, + incomprehensible, the one thing that has not only sustained but + astonished me has been the loyalty of the American press. + + CLARA BARTON. + + + THE PRESS AND THE INDIVIDUAL + + + THE PRESS + +Clara Barton is to America what Florence Nightingale is to us. The +American Civil War created her, and determined the whole course of her +life. There is that which war, and nothing less, can do with a woman. It +can make her, right away, what we may without irreverence call +superwoman; and, having done that, it can set her to hard administrative +work, to reform and organize great matters of national welfare; and it +can keep her at that high level to the end of her days. Only, it must +have her all to itself; she must give up everything that she was doing. + +It was a wonderful life. She was inspired to save lives. Providence, +very wisely, chose her for its purposes, not because she was an +intellectual woman but because she was a pure flame of sympathy. Not +peace, but war, made her what she was. + + London (Eng.) Times, + January 27, 1916. + + + THE INDIVIDUAL + +Among the countless thousands, in her lifetime, that Miss Barton +numbered as her friends, the following have been culled; and Miss Barton +had not only letters thanking her for her work from the following but +also enjoyed their personal friendship: + + _Presidents of the United States_ + + Abraham Lincoln + Andrew Johnson + Ulysses S. Grant + Rutherford B. Hayes + James A. Garfield + Chester A. Arthur + Grover Cleveland + Benjamin Harrison + William McKinley + + _Vice-Presidents of the United States_ + + John C. Breckinridge + Hannibal Hamlin + Schuyler Colfax + Henry Wilson + William A. Wheeler + Garret A. Hobart + + _Secretaries of the Interior_ + + Zachariah Chandler + Henry M. Teller + John W. Noble + + _Secretaries of the Navy_ + + Benjamin F. Tracey + Hillary A. Herbert + John D. Long + + _Secretaries of the Treasury_ + + Salmon P. Chase + George B. Boutwell + William Windom + Charles J. Folger + + _Secretaries of State_ + + William H. Seward + Elihu B. Washburn + Hamilton Fish + William M. Evarts + James G. Blaine + T. F. Frelinghuysen + Thomas F. Bayard + John W. Foster + Walter Q. Gresham + Richard Olney + John Sherman + William B. Day + John Hay + + _Secretaries of War_ + + Edwin M. Stanton + John M. Schofield + William T. Sherman + Robert T. Lincoln + William C. Endicott + Redfield Proctor + Daniel S. Lamont + Russell A. Alger + + _Secretaries of Agriculture_ + + Norman J. Coleman + Jeremiah M. Rusk + J. Sterling Morton + James Wilson + + _Postmasters General_ + + James N. Tyner + John Wanamaker + Wilson S. Bissell + William L. Wilson + + _Chief Justices U. S. Supreme Court_ + + Salmon P. Chase + Morrison R. Waite + Stanley Matthews + + _The Army_ + + Maj. Gen. Nelson A. Miles + Maj. Gen. Wesley Merritt + Maj. Gen. John R. Brooke + Gen. Daniel E. Sickels + Brig. Gen. James F. Wade + Brig. Gen. M. I. Luddington + Brig. Gen. Adolphus W. Greely + Brig. Gen. John M. Wilson + Brig. Gen. Jos. C. Breckinridge + Brig. Gen. W. A. Hammond + Brig. Gen. H. D. Rucker + Lieut. Gen. John M. Schofield + + _General Officers U. S. Volunteers_ + + Maj. Gen. William R. Shafter + Maj. Gen. Leonard Wood + Brig. Gen. James H. Wilson + Brig. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee + Brig. Gen. William Ludlow + Brig. Gen. Fred D. Grant + + _The Navy_ + + Rear Admiral Winfield S. Schley + Rear Admiral William F. Sampson + + _Sovereigns of Europe_ + + Francis Joseph, Emperor of Austria + Frederick, Grand Duke of Baden + Abdul-Hamid, Sultan of Turkey + William I., Emperor of Germany + Empress of Germany + Nathalie, Queen of Servia + Czar of Russia + Grand Duchess of Baden + + _Miscellaneous_ + + Surg. Gen. Joseph K. Barnes, U.S.A. + Gen. Phil H. Sheridan + Gen. R. D. Mussey + Hon. George B. Loring + Hon. E. G. Lapham + Surg. Gen. George H. Crum, U.S.A. + Gen. Benjamin F. Butler + Sumner I. Kimball, General Superintendent U. S. Life Saving Corps + Walter Weymann, Surgeon General, Marine Hospital Service + + + + + CII + + + Time rolls rapidly—and the events we meet to revive are already + history. CLARA BARTON. + + + Clara Barton—before the growing strength and power of her sweet + spirit, the armies of the world shall some day halt and ground arms. + Madison (Wis.) _Journal_. + + Worcester has even a tenderer affection than all humanity for Clara + Barton, the “Angel of the Battlefield.” She was in her Oxford birth a + Worcester County Contributor to the world’s upward move. Worcester + (Mass.) _Post_. + + Her career as a nurse in the battlefields of the Civil War ranks high + among the achievements of women in human history. In the roll of the + centuries no other name will stand higher nor shine brighter than that + of the modest, the loving, the loyal, the world-wide patriot. Worcester + (Mass.) _Gazette_. + + MILLIONS WILL REGARD THE SIMPLICITY OF THE END. Worcester (Mass.) + _Telegram_. + + + She lives whom we call dead. HENRY W. LONGFELLOW. + + To die is to begin to live. RALPH WALDO EMERSON. + + Death borders on our birth and our cradle stands in the grave. + + BISHOP HALL—_Epistles_. + + Death but entombs the body; life, the soul;—death is the crown of + life. YOUNG’S _Night Thoughts_. + + How sleep the brave who sink to rest + By all their Country’s wishes blest! + WILLIAM COLLINS. + + Nor shall your story be forgot, + While Fame her record keeps, + Or Honor points the hallowed spot + Where Valor proudly sleeps. + THEODORE O’HARA. + + + Resolutions have been adopted by the army nurses to provide for + perpetual decoration of Miss Barton’s resting place with the flag she + loved, and served under from 1861 to 1865, that its folds may wave, + summer and winter, in loving remembrance of the glorious work for + humanity accomplished during her long life. Boston (Mass.) + _Transcript_. April 17th, 1912. + + + THE CLARA BARTON CENTENARY + + THE SIMPLICITY OF THE END + + Memorial address delivered at the Annual Reunion of the Twenty-first + Massachusetts Regiment,—held at Worcester, Mass., August 23, 1921 + + By COMRADE CHARLES SUMNER YOUNG + (Honorary Member of the Regiment) + + Comrades of the Twenty-first Massachusetts: + +This year is the centenary of the birth of a Daughter of the Regiment. +Three score years today that regiment left Worcester for fields of +frightful carnage. Regiment and daughter shared in scenes tragic that +the Union might live. + +At the close of the war the war-service of the regiment ended, but not +the public service of the daughter. Continuous thereafter she served the +human race. She served in disaster;—in fire and flood and famine and + +[Illustration: + + WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT + + The President, March 4, 1909–March 4, 1913. + + President American Red Cross Society, January 8, 1905–March 4, 1913 + + Chief Justice of the U. S. Supreme Court, 1921——. +] + +cyclone and earthquake and yellow-fever and massacre. She served in two +succeeding wars. She served in the camp, in the hospital, and on the +firing-line. She was on the firing-line in the Civil War, in the +Franco-Prussian War, in the Spanish-American War;—she was on the +“firing-line” for half a century in the War of Human Woes. + +It was fifty years after his passing that the American people fully +appreciated the heart and public services of Abraham Lincoln. Long +before half a century shall have lapsed into history world-recognized +will be the world-services of the Daughter of the Regiment. An oft +recital of her deeds is the best tribute that mortal man can pay to her. +But there are now of record tributes to her by powerful influences; +tributes by eleven American presidents, including ex-President Wilson +and President Harding; tributes to her by nine foreign rulers, by eleven +foreign nations, by several American States, and Cities, and by more +than fifteen hundred thousand American citizens. At the laying of the +corner stone of the Red Cross Building, in March, 1915, at Washington, +D. C., Acting Secretary of War Henry Breckinridge of her said: “Hers is +an immortal American destiny, the greatest an American woman has yet +produced.” General John J. Pershing, Commander-in-Chief of the American +Expeditionary Forces, in November, 1919, said, “The accomplishments of +the Red Cross during the past four years constitute an historical +monument to the memory of this noble woman.” + +Autocracy cannot take precedence over heart; wealth cannot compensate +the loss of the spirit of love; wrong cannot win permanent victory over +right; official mandate cannot dim the glory of record achievements. The +highest achievement is the highest ideal, realized. In a nation the +highest ideal, realized, is not wealth, not the palace of wealth; it is +the individual. Eliminate the individual and there would be no history. +The history of the individual is the history of a nation. In Greece the +highest realized ideal is Homer; in Italy, Dante; in England, +Shakespeare; in American philanthropy it is the Founder of the American +Red Cross, of the National First Aid, and author of the American +Amendment. + +As in the early sixties the Daughter of the Regiment lit the fires of +hope on the field and in the hospital of the Southland, in later years +through her “American Amendment” her service-system in alleviating human +suffering has become the system of forty civilized nations, comprising +four-fifths of the human race. Certain of fulfillment the prophecy of +our illustrious statesman, the late George F. Hoar of this city, who +said that countless millions and uncounted generations will profit +through the Founder of our American systems of philanthropy. + +The achievements of the Daughter of the Regiment are the heritage of the +nation. But the fame of the daughter is indissolubly linked with that of +the regiment; the fame of the regiment, with that of the daughter. + +Regiment and daughter were comrades in adversity, comrades when bullets +whizzed and death stalked. That comradeship was the most beautiful of +the humanities in the Civil War. Said a gallant son of the Twenty-first +Massachusetts: “We dearly loved her, and I do not think there was a man +in the regiment who would not have been willing to die for her.” Said +the Daughter of the Regiment: “If my life could have purchased the lives +of the patriot martyrs who fell for their country and mine, how +cheerfully and quickly would the exchange have been made.” That +sentiment reciprocal—willing to serve at the risk of life—is a sentiment +chivalric, unsurpassed by the belted and spurred knights of the sword in +Feudal Days. + +The guns cease firing,—the battleground, a ghastly scene. Human ghouls +are lurking, preying upon the helpless. The “lone woman” is in their +midst, going in and coming out of houses where lay the dead and dying, +walking through the streets and alley ways, on her mission. A +knight-errant in his saddle, with hat in hand graciously bowing, gallops +up to her, admonishing that she is in great danger and offering her the +City’s protection. Pointing to the thousands of boys wearing the blue, +she answered: “No, Marshal, I think not; I am the best protected woman +in the United States.” + +In the autumn of her life when war scenes were a misty memory, on a +public occasion, she again comments: “In all the world none is so dear +to me as the Old Guard who toiled by my side years ago.” As she is not +here to speak for herself, kindly permit me to echo her sentiments in +the very words the late daughter expressed to you at a former annual +reunion: + + Ye have met to remember, may ye ever thus meet, + So long as two comrades can rise to their feet; + May their withered hands join, and clear to the last + May they live o’er again the great deeds of the past + Till summoned in victory, honor and love, + To stand in the ranks that are waiting above, + And on their cleared vision God’s glory shall burst, + Re-united in Heaven, the old Twenty-first. + +The meek brown-eyed little maiden who, in 1836, left the scenes of her +childhood at the age of fifteen had returned crowned with laurel, in +1912, then seventy-six years a veteran in the service of humanity. +Impressive in its simplicity is that home coming which occurred at +Oxford. In Memorial Hall had assembled gray-haired men and women who had +known her from her youth. In that hall were the children, grandchildren +and great-grandchildren of the playmates of her childhood. The hall had +been decorated by loving hands; flowers of rare beauty gently had been +placed near the temporary altar. By her request her beloved pastor was +there to invoke Him who was highest in service to humanity; to speak +words of cheer and to bespeak immortality. Songs were sung, prayers were +said, eulogies of her real character pronounced, and the long line of +personal friends accompanied her to the Silent Home of her ancestors. +Still clad as from youth in her fair robes of charity, there she lives +and sleeps and sleeps and lives. + + The Cradle and the Tomb + Alas! so nigh. + +No bugle sound reached the ear, no crack of the soldier’s rifle rent the +air, no war hero’s honors were hers; hers were the honors of a gentle +maiden that came to save life, not to destroy it. Into the open earth +that received her, and on the grassy slope of the hill, lovingly were +dropped flowers of sentiment; among these the red rose, the flower she +loved best; the lily, symbol of immortality. There Valor proudly +sleeps,—there almost in sight of the birthplace; where her eyes greeted, +first, the Christmas Morn; where she was rocked in her rude wooden +cradle; where her baby fingers had pressed against the window pane and +her eyes looked out upon innocent nature; where she had romped with +other children in the wildwood, gathered wild flowers in the field, +ridden untamed horses, skated upon the smooth surface of frozen waters, +learned life’s early lessons at home and in the school-room; where she +had said “goodbye” to childhood, to enter public service. There, after +more than four score years and ten, death was still almost amidst her +baby playthings. Only a few steps from her cradle to the grave and yet, +on that short journey, she had taken millions of steps for humanity. At +the end of her journey is her memorial tribute to those she loved; +waving appreciative is the flag she served; looming significant is the +Memorial Red Cross, a memorial that gives expression to “a world of +memories, a world of deeds, a world of tears and a world of glories;” +and, as was said of another great American at his passing, Clara Barton +now belongs to the ages. + + + THE FINALE + + After the ceremonies at the cemetery, concluding with the hymn + “Nearer, My God, to Thee,” the following conversation took place, at a + christening: + + The Mother: My little girl was born in Clara Barton’s birthplace; in + the very room. + + Reverend Barton: Bring her to me and I will christen her at once, + “Clara Barton.” + + + + + CIII + + + Honorable Charles Sumner Young’s address was an eulogy surpassing + anything ever heard in Oxford on the woman whom the town delights to + honor—Clara Barton. Worcester (Mass.) _Telegram_, May 31, 1917. + + + There is properly no history—only biography. + + RALPH WALDO EMERSON. + + + CLARA BARTON + +(Delivered by Charles Sumner Young, at Oxford, Massachusetts, Memorial +Day, 1917) + +The inspiration of this historic day originated in the mind of woman. To +the credit of womanhood there is a woman at the beginning of every great +undertaking, sentimental and humanitarian. Today we pay the floral +tribute to the late soldier-patriot. Equally befitting is it, amidst +flowers of memory and at her birthplace, to pay tribute to the soldier’s +comrade, the greatest woman-patriot of the Civil War. + +In ancient days woman was the cultivator of the soil, the guardian of +the fire, the creator of the home, the oracle of the Temple, and not +infrequently the leader of men. Countless women in closing their career +could similarly say as, according to Greek legend, said Semiramis: +“Nature gave me the form of a woman, my actions have raised me to the +level of the most valiant of men.” Artemisia was a heroine, wise in the +councils of war, and had Xerxes not scoffed her advice he would not have +gone down to eternal disgrace at Salamis. Cornelia, the mother of the +Gracchi, who of her two sons said “These are my jewels,” lives honored +as the highest type of Roman motherhood. + +[Illustration: + + THE OXFORD, MASSACHUSETTS, MEMORIAL BUILDING + + “A memorial to the defenders of the Union from Oxford, Mass.” + + The building in which were held the funeral ceremonies for Clara + Barton April 15, 1912, and the Clara Barton Memorial Exercises, + Memorial Day, 1917. +] + +[Illustration: + + THE INSIDE OF MEMORIAL BUILDING, OXFORD, MASSACHUSETTS + + Scene on the stage, on the occasion of the Clara Barton Memorial + Exercises, Memorial Day, 1917; also where were held the funeral + exercises for Clara Barton, April 15, 1912. +] + +To a woman Rome was indebted for her republic; to a woman, the legal +right of plebeians to become office-holders in the Roman Commonwealth; +to a woman, the inspiration of Dante in transmitting to the world the +Divine Comedy; to a woman, who pawned her jewels that she might finance +Columbus, must be accorded the discovery of America; to a woman, the +saving of the colonists of Jamestown and the colony’s future existence; +to a woman America owes the Treaty of Guadaloupe Hidalgo; to a woman, +the Sisters of Charity in the United States with its thousands of angels +of mercy; to a woman, the foundation of Christian Science to which is +anchored the hope of millions; to a woman, known as the “Grandmother of +the Revolution,” the revolt against tyranny by autocracy in Russia; to a +woman, the American Red Cross with its millions of humanists. + +So vital to the human race is labor that in the centuries of the classic +past gods and goddesses supervised the various fields of human effort. +Such was the dignity of labor that even a toiling ox was regarded +sacred, and whoever killed this companion of toiling man was punishable +with death. + + There is dignity in labor + Truer than e’er pomp arrayed. + +In the presence of more than a hundred suitors, Penelope was daily +engaged in weaving while waiting the return of her Ulysses. The +celebrated Lucretia was not too proud to spin in the presence of her +attendants. In the days of Homer princesses did themselves the honor to +dip the water from the springs, and with their own hands to wash the +linen of the household. Augustus, the world sovereign, wore with pride +the clothes made by his wife and sister. The sisters of Alexander the +Great made the clothes worn by their distinguished brother. To the +request of her son to make Mt. Vernon her home during her declining +years Mary, the mother of Washington, replied: “My wants are few in this +world, and I feel perfectly competent to take care of myself.” Queen +Victoria became world-beloved because she rendered personal service to +her children, and to the children in families less fortunate than her +own. + +Hypatia, the philosopher and teacher at Alexandria, refused the advances +of all would-be lovers that she might give instruction to her pupils. +Elizabeth accepted maidenhood rather than motherhood that she might +exclusively serve her subjects; Maria Theresa reproached herself for the +time she spent in sleep, as so much robbed of her people; Clara Barton, +with but a few hours of sleep daily, served not her people but +strangers. Wherever locating, Clara Barton was the directing spirit of a +swarm of workers where were permitted no drones, and among whom she was +the queen. She adopted as her rule of conduct, “hard work and low fare,” +sacrificed health without complaint, risked life without hope of reward. + +Nations are the rising and falling tides of humanity; women, the fixed +beacon lights along the wave-borne highway of human progress. Fabiola, +the Roman Matron of the fourth century, who established the first +hospital and herself cared for human wrecks, set a precedent existent +through all succeeding centuries. All honor to Queen Isabella, the first +to appoint military surgeons and to originate what was known as the +“Queen’s Hospital” for the sick and wounded. As a nurse in her home, in +the plagues of her country and the wars of the fourteenth century, +Catherine Benincasa rose to the exalted position of Saint Catherine, +patron saint of Italy. As a nurse among the poor, sewing, cooking, +keeping the house clean indoors, and working with her brothers in the +harvest field—before she saw the vision of St. Michael—prepared Joan of +Arc to become the deliverer of France from Britain in the fifteenth +century, and in consequence the Maid of Orleans became a patron saint of +that period. + +Maria Theresa provided hospitals for the wounded soldiery in the country +over which she ruled, until then a soldiery wholly neglected in their +sufferings on the battlefield. Ever green in memory should be kept the +name of Grace Darling, and that graphic picture of her as she hastens +down from the lighthouse on Farne Island, and through the mists of that +terrible night in 1838 goes to the rescue of the shipwrecked sailors. +Born in Florence, Italy, reared in England, a little girl caring for the +injured birds and animals in her improvised hospital at Lea Hurst, the +student nurse in Germany, the superintendent of nurses in the Crimean +War, Florence Nightingale became adored throughout Christendom, +diffusing rays of glory on the closing years of the nineteenth century. + +Of England’s heroine, Longfellow sings: + + A Lady with a Lamp shall stand + In the great history of the land; + A noble type of good, + Heroic Womanhood. + +CLARA BARTON! The Babe of Oxford, a Christmas gift to humanity. In a +little corner room of a little farmhouse, her tiny eyes greeted, first, +the eyes of highly esteemed but not far-famed parents. From this +Huguenot Colony, with no prestige of birth and no power of wealth, the +meek, brown-eyed maiden went forth unheralded to carry her message of +love and service. No Star of Destiny had cast its rays aslant the +cradle, and no omen betokened her future as + + Out of the quiet ways + Into the world’s broad track + +she ventured. + +Timid as a fawn, “the sweet voiced retiring little woman” emerged from +Youth’s environs. She had dreams romantic, but her romance was wrecked. +She had visions of a mission, but for her no mission materialized. +Things came to her “as if by a world controlling power.” In whatever her +field of service, she stumbled over opportunities to be brave and +good;—there seems to have been for her a decree of the Fates against +“how circumscribed is woman’s destiny.” + +Having a wide vision, she laid the foundation for the superstructure. +She was a student of the best English writers; of the classics that gave +prestige to Aspasia, the mentor of Socrates and Pericles. She studied +sanitary methods at Jackson Sanitorium, and treatment of diseases with +Doctor Carpenter at London and with her co-worker, Doctor Hubbell. In +statesmanship she learned at the feet of Webster, Calhoun, Sumner and +Lincoln. In military tactics and military strategy, she studied Napoleon +at Ajaccio, his birth-place, and at Paris made by him “Paris Beautiful,” +whence the leader of men promulgated the Napoleon Code of Laws;—“Paris +Beautiful” and the Code, two services which of themselves entitle +Napoleon to lasting fame. + +Of great versatility, she had varied accomplishments. She conversed in +French, and was a close student of Holy Writ. In crayon and painting, +she produced work highly commended by artists. In letter writing, as +evinced by letters which “excelled all others in literary merit that +come to the White House,” and by tens of thousands of other letters, she +must ever rank in a class with Cornelia, the Roman matron; and Abigail +Adams, the illustrious American. In poetry, as tokened in “Marmora,” “A +Christmas Carol,” “The Women Who Went to the Field,” and in many other +published and unpublished poems, she at times received real inspiration +from some gentle muse. In pedagogy, as through Pestalozzi in Switzerland +so through Clara Barton in New Jersey, “pauper schools” were transmuted +into public schools. + +In oratory, through her six war lectures and many other public +addresses, she established her reputation as a public speaker. Speaking +from the same platform, receiving a like fee and being as great a +“drawing card” as John B. Gough, Charles Sumner, Wendell Phillips and +Henry Ward Beecher, she must rank for all time as one of the greatest +orators of a half century ago. Mr. W. J. Kehoe, having reported +thousands of speeches and for twenty-five years official reporter of +Congress, says: “Clara Barton evinced qualities of diction and oratory +hardly excelled by any other American.” + +Separate and distinct from that of man is the inner machinery of woman’s +mind; distinctive also are the outward manifestations. Whether as the +ruler of a nation or the ruler of a cottage, a woman’s mind rules in its +own inimitable way. In the realm of heart, woman is the queen and in +that realm there can rule no king. Of our many great American heroes and +statesmen, only one has been honored in having had accorded to him the +heart of woman—all Americans worship at his shrine. Of a woman’s mind, +the inner workings and outward manifestations, no man has made +portrayal, none save perchance the Bard of Avon through his fifty +heroines. Having “the brain of a statesman, the command of a general and +the heart and hand of a woman” no man, as indicated by Lincoln, could +have become world-adored through services such as were rendered by Clara +Barton. + +Equipped a leader among women, she became no Zenobia with thirst for +fame; no Cleopatra, with Cæsars and Anthonys at her beck and call; no +Catherine the Great, with political and military support; no Joan of +Arc, with a frenzied and despairing soldiery at her heels; no Elizabeth +nor Victoria, with an Empire to acclaim her reign; Clara Barton became +the self-termed “lonesomest-lone-woman-in-the-world”;—a woman “majestic +in simplicity,” who went about merely doing good and, in enduring +influence for good, surpassed them all. + +She came not from a line of ancestors reliant mainly on social prestige. +Her inheritance from environments was a spirit intensely practical—the +puritan spirit. + +[Illustration: + + HENRY WILSON + + To President Lincoln: Clara Barton is worthy of entire + confidence.—HENRY WILSON. U. S. Senate, 1855–1873; Chairman + Committee on Military Affairs, Civil War; Vice-President, 1873–1875. + + Senator Henry Wilson was my always good friend.—CLARA BARTON. + + See page 48. +] + + + REPRESENTATIVE MASSACHUSETTS STATESMEN + +[Illustration: + + CHARLES SUMNER + + Clara Barton has the brain of a statesman, the command of a general, + and the heart and hand of a woman.—CHARLES SUMNER, U. S. Senate, + 1851–1857; 1863–1869. +] + +[Illustration: + + GEORGE F. HOAR + + Clara Barton is the greatest “man” in America. Where will you find a + man to equal her?—GEORGE F. HOAR, U. S. Senate, 1877–1901. +] + +She achieved through nature’s endowments—a head to think, a heart to +feel and hands to work. From her hard-working Barton forbears she +inherited the sentiment in the Roman adage—“There is no easy way to the +stars from the earth”;—all things are conquered by labor. For her to +labor was to worship; to her the dignity of labor was greater than +queenly dignity; labor, “wide as earth,” became her passport from the +farm, the field of war, fire, flood, drouth, famine and pestilence, into +every country of earth; her “labor of love,”—the open sesame to the +White House, to the palaces of kings and emperors. + +The illustrious author of “The True Grandeur of Nations,” a personal +friend of Clara Barton, says: “No true and permanent fame can be +founded, except in labors which promote the happiness of mankind.” Clara +Barton learned lessons in manual training before manual training became +a science; she learned to use her hands in the kitchen, in the garden, +in the factory, in the sick room. She not only knew how to sew and spin +and weave and cook and care for the sick, but she organized women for +such work throughout two continents. Labor organized by her among the +poor, the sick and wounded in Germany, France, Russia, Sea Islands, +Turkey, Armenia, Cuba and other countries, attesting her appreciation +Luise, the Grand Duchess of Baden, writes: “Clara Barton possesses the +ever powerful mind and ready love for suffering mankind;—faithful +gratitude follows her for ever.” + +In person she was not a Queen of Sheba arrayed for kings to admire; not +a Cleopatra bejeweled in richest splendour to beguile military heroes; +not an Elizabeth with a new dress for every day in the year to impress +millions of subjects—she was a “working-woman.” Her raiment was homespun +or commonplace, by her ‘made over,’ raiment which would put to shame for +economy the average rural housewife, and yet she could but be envied for +her artistic taste by the heiress to millions. Simple in dress she lived +close to Nature, a Nature-child of perennial growth;—“a passion for +service,” she developed through the years an identity all her own. Her +identity thus developed, she became a landmark in her own country for +humanity, as in Switzerland became Dunant who first caught the spirit of +the Red Cross work on the bloody fields of Solferino. + +Most unusual were Clara Barton’s physical and mental powers. If her +powers were portrayed by the imaginative mind of a Homer, Clara Barton +would be a composite being possessed of attributes as to the head, of a +Jupiter; as to the heart, of a Venus; as to the shoulders, of an Atlas; +as to the hands, of a Vulcan. But she was human, intensely human, a +“frail woman,”—in her own words, a “Poor little me.” Her weakness was +her strength; her courage, a woman’s heart. + +She dwelt not on a Mount Olympus, not in a palace;—when on the +“firing-line,” “rolled in her blankets” she camped under the wagon, or +on the ground within a canvas tent. In the days of _rest_ through her +closing years, she “camped” in a warehouse of thirty-eight rooms, with +seventy-six closets; in her “house of rough hemlock boards,” a house +stored with food and clothing and she ready “to set in motion the wheels +of relief at a moment’s warning over the whole land.” She lived on the +banks of the quiet Potomac, in the midst of Nature’s foliage, in the +presence of the oak, the elm, the cedar, the poplar,—within “God’s first +temples,” + +[Illustration: + + © _Harris & Ewing_ + + + CHARLES E. TOWNSEND + + Michigan people have special reason to venerate the memory of Clara + Barton.—CHARLES E. TOWNSEND, of Michigan. Senate, 1911——. +] + + + UNITED STATES SENATORS WHO SAW THE WORK OF CLARA BARTON + +[Illustration: + + © _Harris & Ewing_ + + + JACOB H. GALLINGER + + In my investigations (in Cuba) I visited the orphanage under the care + of that sainted woman, Clara Barton. I wish I could command language + eloquent enough to pay just tribute to her,—a very angel of mercy, + and of human love and sympathy. God bless Clara Barton.—JACOB H. + GALLINGER, of New Hampshire. Senate 1891–1915. +] + +[Illustration: + + © _Harris & Ewing_ + + + H. D. MONEY + + Everybody knows Clara Barton’s work, and when I mention the name of + that lady, it is not only with respect but reverence, for I have + seen her work in foreign lands, in hospitals, and amid scenes of + suffering and distress.—H. D. MONEY, of Mississippi. Senate + 1897–1911. +] + +where birds sang to her beautiful songs, and where flourished sweetest +scented flowers. + +Within that house on the Potomac, Clara Barton received from President +McKinley the command: “Go to the starving Cubans with your relief ship, +and distribute as only you know how.” In haste to carry out that +command, when nearing the point of service, she begged that she might +have the right of way. “Not so,” said the Admiral of the Navy; “I am +here to keep the supplies out of Cuba; I go first.” Clara Barton +replied: “I know my place is not to precede you. When you make an +opening, I will go in. You will go and do the horrible deed; I will +follow you, and out of the human wreckage restore what I can.” Having +herself achieved a place in unusual fields of public service, in this +war timely the advice of Clara Barton: “Woman, there is a place for +thee, my hitherto timid, shrinking child; go forth and fill it, that in +thee mankind may be doubly blessed.” + +Following the precedent of him who was “first in war, first in peace,” +in war and in peace at her own expense and without salary, Clara Barton +served her country. Hers was the patriotism of a Washington, “What is +money without a country.” In the early days of the Civil War, as to the +probable capture of the City of Washington by the Confederates, she +exclaimed: “If it must be, let it come, and when there is no longer a +soldier’s arm to raise the Stars and Stripes above the Capitol, may God +give strength to mine.” In defiance of sentiment as to the propriety for +a “lone-woman” to go with the soldiers on the battlefield, she conformed +to her father’s patriot-sentiment, “Go, if it is your duty to go.” + +Through the thousands of years of Pagan and Christian history there had +existed the sentiment “Humanity in war must stand aside.” Among men, +war-trained and war-sacrificed, rare the word of pity that reached the +Most High for the wounded soldier. On the battlefield there had been +seen no angel of mercy until was seen the angel nurse, with the candles +of her charity lighting up the gloom of suffering and death. + +At the second Bull Run, in August, 1862, with a tallow candle in her +hand through the darkness, in tears the ministering angel moved gently +among the suffering thousands, putting socks and slippers on the +wounded, feeding the hungry, giving water to the thirsty. Her own life +then in peril, while on that field of carnage there came from her lips +the heroic words: “I should never leave a wounded man, if I were taken +prisoner forty times.” Was hers patriotism to country? Greater than +patriotism. Was hers woman’s love—woman’s love for her friend? It was +love divine, a woman’s love for all mankind. + + On, on to Chantilly, mid darkness and gloom, + Fire, thunder and lightning, guns boom upon boom. + +At Chantilly the rain came down in torrents, the darkness impenetrable +save when lit up by the lightning or the fitful flash of the guns. There +up the hill to her tent she goes, falling again and again from +exhaustion,—only to find a few moments’ rest on her bed of earth soaked +with water. From her tent at midnight, the dead grass and leaves +clinging to her, her hair and clothes dripping wet, she comes back to +heartrending scenes. Forgetful of self, she carries army crackers mixed +with wine, brandy and water for her compatriots, such work continuing +for more than one hundred consecutive hours, save two hours of dreamful +sleep. + +[Illustration: + + © _Harris & Ewing_ + + + NELSON A. MILES + + Clara Barton is the greatest humanitarian the world has ever + known.—NELSON A. MILES, Major-General Civil War, Commander American + Army, 1895–1903; made Lieutenant General, 1900. +] + +It was on Sunday morning, September 14th, 1862, in plumed hats, costly +jewels, silken dresses and French-made shoes, that the ladies with their +equally well-attired escorts were on their way to church. Adown +Pennsylvania Avenue at the same time at our national capital, on an army +wagon, the wagon loaded with well filled boxes, bags and parcels for the +suffering—and seated with the driver—again there goes to the scene of +war-carnage a woman, the woman self-styled as to theoretical religion a +“well-disposed pagan.” For more than half a century past she has been, +and for centuries to come the woman who went to the front on that Sunday +morning—as to practical religion—will be known as the purest Christian +womanhood. + +“Chaste and immaculate in very thought,” chosen from above “by +inspiration of celestial grace, to work exceeding miracles on earth!” +“Inspiration of celestial grace!” That inspiration carried Clara Barton +on an army wagon, through the night, past the sleeping artillery to the +front of the battlefield of Antietam. There with her own hands she +bandaged the wounds of the boys that were falling, falling and bleeding +to death, herself escaping with a bullet through her clothes; carried +her to another point on that battlefield, and there while supporting on +her arm and knee a soldier his head by a cannon ball was severed from +the body. That inspiration carried her with the soldiers under fire over +the pontoon bridge at Fredericksburg, amidst the hissing of bullets and +exploding of shells; across the Rappahannock where a cannon ball tore +away a part of the skirt of her dress and where a few moments later the +officer, who had assisted her off the bridge, was brought to her shot to +death. + +It was that inspiration which gave her the strength with an axe to chop +the ice from around the wounded “boys in gray”; to carry them to a negro +cabin; to feed them gruel and to bind up their wounds; that nerved her +with a pocket knife on the field of battle to cut the bullet from the +face of a wounded soldier. It was that inspiration which gave her the +courage to assist in a hospital where amputated human limbs were stacked +in piles like cordwood. It was this scene to which General Butler +referred, and of her in her presence at a public reception in Boston, to +say, “I have seen those beautiful arms red with human blood to her +shoulders.” Inspiration! “Inspired to save lives,” says of her the +_London Times_. + +“A great mind is an appreciative mind”; Clara Barton was appreciative. +Of a simple New Year’s greeting she says: “’Twere worth the passing of +the year to be so remembered.” At various periods in her life, from +those she served and whose minds could appreciate, upon her honors fell +thick and fast as fall the autumn leaves in your maple groves. As the +daughter of the twenty-first Massachusetts Regiment stood on the banks +at Aquia Creek by no divine command did the waters part that she might +cross on dry land; but by command of a chivalric officer, in an instant +and proud of the honor, on the left knees of that line of boys in blue +with the soldiers’ helping hand Clara Barton crosses over. With tears +streaming down her cheeks, she relates this incident and says “This is +the most beautiful tribute of love and devotion ever offered me in my +life.” On the three cheers given her as she entered Lincoln Hospital by +the seventy soldier boys, boys she had served on the battlefield of +Fredericksburg, she says “I would not exchange their memory for the +wildest applause that ever greeted conqueror or king.” + +[Illustration: + + © Harris & Ewing + + + JOHN J. PERSHING + + It gives me sincere pleasure to add an expression of appreciation for + the inestimable services which Miss Clara Barton rendered to her + country and to mankind in founding and fostering the American Red + Cross, of which she was the President for twenty-three years, as + well as for her unselfish interest and splendid achievements during + a life devoted to public welfare work. The accomplishments of the + Red Cross during the past few years constitute an historical + monument to the memory of this noble woman.—JOHN J. PERSHING, (1919) + Commander-in-Chief of the American Expeditionary Forces in Europe; + made General of the Armies of the United States, September 4, 1919. +] + +From the days of Benjamin Franklin honors in Europe have been showered +upon the dignity of the American office, on two ex-Presidents in private +life, but high and above office-holders and ex-Presidents in the list of +royal honors received stands Clara Barton. Her royal receptions, her +royal decorations in all history have not been equaled. Czar and +Czarina, Emperor and Empress, King and Queen, Prince and Princess, Duke +and Duchess, all royalty so poor as to do honor to the richest in +world-service. Paris, Madrid, Berlin, Geneva, Carlsruhe, Vienna, +Baden-Baden, St. Petersburg, Constantinople, Santiago,—no city too +great, no city too unchristian, to open her gates to welcome Clara +Barton. + +At the great international sittings of the Red Cross in Geneva, in +Carlsruhe, in Vienna, in St. Petersburg,—Clara Barton, the only woman +officially representing any government among the representatives of +forty nations. As the unpretentious woman of five feet three comes +into the hall, the great men of the earth rise to their feet,—eyes +eager, handkerchiefs in air, then huzzas that echo the heart throbs of +a world humanity greet the ear and touch the heart of the +“lonesomest-lone-woman” as she walks down the aisle of the auditorium +to take her seat among the great world-humanitarians. Small in stature +but great in deeds, a galaxy of deeds! + +Peasants,—Russians, German, Austrian, Turk, Greek, Swiss, Cuban, +Spaniard, Armenian, American soldier,—all so rich in gratitude as to +“God bless her,” the angel of the world’s battlefields. Was it mere +pastime that moved the famous generals of Europe to kneel in front of +her and kiss her hand, accompanied by greetings of the highest praise? +Did the Czar of all the Russians honor himself most or her when he +declined to permit her to kiss his hand, as is the custom in the +presence of royalty? Of Puritan origin, in _peasant_ attire, she was +recognized as royalty itself, American royalty, the highest type of +royalty. + +As “fame comes only when deserved,” would you know Clara Barton? Follow +her into countless permanent and improvised hospitals, over nineteen +battlefields of the Civil War,—from Cedar Mountain in ’62 through the +Richmond Campaign in ’65; and I beg of you not to forget that +twenty-mile ride on one night in June, ’64, as on to Petersburg astride +her black horse in the darkness, in a rain storm amidst thunder and +lightning that “lonesomest-lone-woman” goes on her mission to the relief +of the thousands of victims of an explosion. Follow her into the +malarial climate through the “Campaign before Charleston,” water deadly +in character, on the barren sands under a tropic sun, sand granules +transforming brown eyes to eyes swollen and bloodshot, feet calloused +and blistered, where again she is seen under the fire of death-dealing +guns, serving the whites and blacks alike. Follow her through nineteen +national disasters,—from the Michigan forest fires in ’81 to the typhoid +fever epidemic in Butler, Pa., in 1904. Follow her as she accepts the +commission at the hands of President Lincoln and through the long, +mournful months, searches the records, and walks the cemetery in the +southland to identify the graves of the missing soldiers. Follow her +over four of the great battlefields of the Franco-Prussian War; and then +on the public highway as she walks into the city of stricken Paris. + +Follow her again through numerous hospitals and on American relief +fields. Follow her as on the relief ship State of Texas, to the strains +of “My Country ’Tis of Thee” she leads the American navy into the +torpedo-mined Bay of Santiago, and from Santiago into the war-stricken +fields and the yellow fever camps of Cuba. Follow her as President of +the American Red Cross through a score of national calamities and as +President of the First Aid Association in untiring service. Follow her +into an American audience where she receives the official greetings of +Japan for her services in securing adhesion of the Japanese government +to the Red Cross International Treaty. Follow her, as the official +representative of our American nation, on four trips across the +Atlantic, thence into the halls of world conference where not hate but +love rules. Follow through half a century the woman whose deeds of love +are as lighted candles for vestal virgins to keep burning on the altar +in the Temple of Fame. + +Of America’s heroine, Will Carleton sings: + + A million thanks to one + Who hath a million plaudits won + For deeds of love to many millions done. + +In having the fullest confidence of our Presidents, Clara Barton +expressed herself in 1909 as follows: “I never before have so fully +realized what a pleasure that privilege has been to me through half a +century.” That confidence, by the record, existed between her and +Lincoln, and Johnson, and Grant, and Hayes, and Garfield, and Arthur, +and Cleveland, and Harrison, and McKinley, a record with presidents +unequaled by any other American in public life. McKinley expressed the +sentiments of nine presidents when he said: “What Clara Barton says and +does is always honest and right.” + + Nor might nor greatness in mortality + Can censure ’scape; back wounding calumny + The whitest virtue strikes. + +All streams reach the ocean and calumny in the limpid streams of truth +is lost in the grand ocean of human thought. Whenever “back wounding +calumny” the nation’s heroine strikes, paraphrasing the words of +President Garfield to Secretary of State Blaine and relating to Clara +Barton, “Will the American people please hear the truth from the truly +great and good of America on the subject herein referred to?” General +Nelson A. Miles says: “Clara Barton is the greatest humanitarian the +world has ever known.” “Clara Barton rendered her country and her kind +great and noble service,” says Speaker Champ Clark. “The greatest of +American women, the whole world knew and loved her,” says Congressman +Joseph Taggart. Says Carrie Chapman Catt: “Clara Barton has won the +hearts of the women of the world.” Speaking of her, no less a scholar +and statesman than Senator George F. Hoar said: “Clara Barton is the +most illustrious citizen of Massachusetts, the greatest _man_ in +America.” + +General W. R. Shafter says: “She was absolutely fearless. Miss Barton is +a wonder; the greatest, grandest woman I have ever known.” Mrs. General +John A. Logan, says of her: “One of the noblest, if not the noblest, +woman of her time—the greatest woman of the nineteenth century.” Says +Senator Charles E. Townsend: “The modest, unselfish and yet undaunted +Clara Barton did as much for the highest good of the world as any single +individual since the birth of civilization.” Says General Joe Wheeler: +“The good work done by Clara Barton will live forever and her memory +will be cherished wherever the Red Cross is known.” Mrs. General George +E. Pickett says of her: “A veteran of the ’60’s, with all the years +since filled with noble deeds, she is a marvel to the world; with all of +our executive women, social figures and ambitious Zenobias, we shall +never produce her like.” + +Living at the same time, and serving in the same great struggle for +humanity, the two names alike adored and which for all time will be +associated in American history are ABRAHAM LINCOLN and CLARA BARTON. +Lincoln was born in obscurity, reared on the farm; so was Clara Barton. +Lincoln was inured to poverty, self-educated in mature years; similarly, +Clara Barton. Lincoln stands alone,—no type, no famed ancestors, no +successors; true of Clara Barton. Lincoln, in the opinion of Robert G. +Ingersoll, had the brain of a philosopher and the heart of a mother; +likewise Clara Barton. Lincoln was gracious to social aristocracy, but +did not court it; far from it, Clara Barton. + +As was true of Lincoln, Vice-President Henry Wilson said of Clara +Barton: “She has the brain of a statesman, the heart of a woman.” +Lincoln was a many-sided man; Clara Barton a many-sided woman. Lincoln +had intellect without arrogance, genius without pride and religion +without cant; so had Clara Barton. Lincoln stood the test of power, the +supremest test of mortal; so did Clara Barton. Lincoln worked seventeen +years, paying in instalments a debt incurred in a mercantile adventure; +Clara Barton, while serving humanity, disbursed hundreds of thousands of +dollars without the appropriation of a penny to her personal use. + +Oblivious of titles, epaulettes, clothes, rank and race, Lincoln saw +only the weak mortal; not less so Clara Barton. Lincoln was an +orator,—clear, sincere, natural, convincing. In her hundreds of lecture +engagements, made through the same literary bureau, speaking from the +same platform, Clara Barton was classed with Charles Sumner, Wendell +Phillips, John B. Gough, and Henry Ward Beecher, the greatest orators of +half a century ago. + +Lincoln broke the shackles of the blacks in bondage; Clara Barton broke +the shackles of education in America, as Pestalozzi in Europe, and +transformed “pauper schools” into public schools. She broke the shackles +of her sex, and her name was placed on the payroll as the first woman in +the government’s service at the nation’s capital. She broke the shackles +of war-ethics, and was the first woman “angel” on the battlefield. + +She broke the shackles as to national lines, and was the first woman to +traverse the ocean to minister to the war stricken of another continent. +She broke the shackles as to national disasters, and was the first human +being to organize a system to relieve human distress in times of peace, +this now the system of every Red Cross organization in the world. She +broke the shackles of women in educational life, in military life, in +social life, in humanitarian life. Through the centuries Clara Barton, +as Abraham Lincoln, will stand as the sentinel on the parapet between +the warring forces of humanity and inhumanity. + +Lincoln advocated the admitting of “all whites to the right of suffrage +who pay taxes or bear arms, by no means excluding females.” Clara Barton +advocated “the admission of women of whatever race to all the rights and +privileges—social, religious and political—which as an intelligent being +belongs to her.” Lincoln directed the greatest political organization of +his time; Clara Barton, the greatest humanitarian organization. Lincoln +bore malice toward none,—charity for all; equally so Clara Barton. +Lincoln is the strongest tie that binds together all classes of +Americans; Clara Barton is the strongest, tenderest tie that binds +together humanitarians. Lincoln was the grandest man in the Civil War, +is now receiving the highest homage; Clara Barton, the grandest woman, +and now the most beloved. + +Lincoln was denounced a failure, inefficient as an executive and +disloyal to the Union. Clara Barton was accused of “inharmony, +unbusinesslike methods and too many years.” Lincoln passed without +warning and could make no defense; in her own words Clara Barton says: +“When it becomes necessary for _me_ to defend _myself_ before the +_American people_, let me fall.” + +Fleeing the scene of his crime, and referring to Lincoln, there emitted +from the lying tongue of the assassin: “_Sic semper tyrannis_”; in +answer from the regions of the dead to the woman with the serpent’s +tongue, Clara Barton replies: “Truth is eternal; evil conspiring and +their kindred are doomed to die at last—my own shall come to me.” If +Lincoln dead may yet do more for America and Americans than Lincoln +living, so Clara Barton dead may yet do more for America and world +humanity than Clara Barton living. Abraham Lincoln and Clara Barton, +humanity’s martyrs, the two immortals. + +A score of “the Immortals” lost to memory in any nation and that nation +might well exclaim: “I have lost my reputation, I have lost the immortal +part of myself.” Efface from memory the twenty, or fewer, immortals of +Carthage, of Greece, of Rome, of Italy, of France, of Germany, of +England, of America, then in the centuries hence over the tomb of every +such nation only could be written “Nation Unknown.” In all the world +destroy a score of “the Immortals” respectively in religion, in +literature, in science, in art, in the heroic,—a hundred names and their +influence,—and wealth greater to the human race shall have been +destroyed than if were destroyed every public structure possessed by one +billion six hundred millions of people now living. + +Whether real or imaginary, the heroes of Homer and Virgil are worth more +to the literature of that ancient period than all the physical wealth of +Greece and Rome. What legacy to a nation could be greater than to have +inherited the name and influence of a Homer, a Socrates, a Michael +Angelo, a Queen Victoria, a Washington, a Franklin, a Lincoln, a +Florence Nightingale, a Clara Barton? In the long centuries ago, of fame +it was decreed: “Fame (’tis all the dead can have) shall live.” Through +the centuries, Church and State have fought for their respective heroes +and heroines not unlike Peter the Hermit and his followers, in the cause +of Him on whom depended their future happiness. Now, as in all the past, +the chiefest of a nation’s enduring wealth are the immortal names that +were not born to die. + +[Illustration: + + ABRAHAM LINCOLN + (Picture taken in June, 1860) + The President, March 4, 1861–April 15, 1865 + + Miss Barton, I will help you. A. LINCOLN (in 1865). + + President Lincoln was good and kind to me in whatever I tried to do + for the soldiers. CLARA BARTON. +] + +As an inspiration to the millions yet to be, the name of America’s Angel +of Mercy will live—live heroic in the deathless songs of peace and of +war. There is Second Bull Run, and Chantilly, and Antietam, and +Fredericksburg, and Petersburg, and Strasburg, and Sedan, and Paris, and +Johnstown, and Santiago, and Galveston,—there on tablets of memory her +heroism is inscribed, there to remain forever. Neither will the millions +forget, nor cease to cherish, The American Red Cross and The American +Amendment and The National First Aid,—forever theirs and their +children’s, through the constructive genius of the American +philanthropist. If “gratitude is the fairest of flowers that springs +from the soul,” perennial must spring millions of fairest flowers over +her whose services to the millions are unending, and world-wide. + +At Glen Echo on the Potomac when the world-humanist received her final +orders, sustained by an unfaltering trust, she exclaimed: “Let me go, +let me go!” Thence, as if by imperial summons called, the spirit of +Clara Barton arose triumphant and on Easter Morn winged its flight to +that undiscovered bourne amid the Islands of the Blest. + + In yonder Silent City, + Pointing heavenward, + Stands a granite shaft; + Above that shaft of gray, + The granite Cross of Red, + +and there a shrine for the human race till the end of time. + +[Sidenote: CLARA BARTON] + + _Clara Barton_ + + Born at Oxford, Massachusetts + + Christmas Day, 1821 + + Died at Glen Echo, Maryland + + Easter Morn, 1912 + + President of the American Red Cross Society + + from + + 1881 to 1904 + + President of the National First Aid + + Association of America + + from + + 1905 to 1912; now, The President + + In Memoriam. + +[Sidenote: ABRAHAM LINCOLN] + + Born at Hodgensville, Kentucky + + February 12, 1809 + + Died at Washington, D. C. + + April 15, 1865 + + President of the United States + + from + + 1861 to 1865 + +[Illustration: + + THE RED CROSS MONUMENT + + Built by Stephen E. Barton, Executor of the Estate of Clara Barton in + the Cemetery at North Oxford, Massachusetts. + + How peaceful and powerful is the grave. LORD BYRON. + + Her memory deserves a monument. Nashville (Tenn.) _Banner_. + + Her monument is the sign of the Red Cross. Sioux Falls (S. D.) + _Press_. + + Clara Barton needs no monument, her fame is written on the world’s + battlefields. Albany _Press Knickerbocker_. + + Congress should provide for the erection of a handsome monument to the + woman who has served the nation in war and in peace. Baltimore + _Sun_. + The Red Cross will serve as her monument and that is her work which, + we trust, will keep alive her merciful spirit through the oncoming + centuries. + Boston _Journal_. + + Clara Barton needs no monument; her name will live in the hearts of + the people. Jackson (Mich.) _Patriot_. + + The whole civilized world owes Clara Barton more than it can ever pay + in the form of tributes or material monuments. + Worcester (Mass.) _Telegram_. + + Long after the funeral service, as we passed on the way home, pathways + were full of people coming from a distance; and next day hundreds + trod the worn by-path in the cemetery to the still-standing Red + Cross—a path that the feet of the world will tread to the end of + time. + _Clara Barton In Memoriam._ +] + + + + + “Clara Barton joined the choir invisible + Of those immortal dead who live again + In minds made better by their presence; live + In pulses stirred to generosity, + In deeds of daring rectitude, in scorn + For miserable aims that end with self, + In thoughts sublime that pierce the night like stars, + And with their mild persistence urge man’s search + To vaster issues. + So has she joined the choir invisible + Whose music is the gladness of the world.” + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + + + + + TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES + + + 1. P. 40, changed “she would could and recount” to “she would count and + recount”. + 2. P. 274, changed “responded to a Red Cross call for $ 00,000,000.” to + “responded to a Red Cross call for $100,000,000.”. + 3. Silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling. + 4. Archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings retained as printed. + 5. Footnotes were re-indexed using numbers and moved to the bottom of + the paragraph. + 6. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_. + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CLARA BARTON A CENTENARY TRIBUTE +*** + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will +be renamed. + +Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright +law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, so +the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United +States without permission and without paying copyright royalties. +Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this +license, apply to copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and +trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be +used if you charge for an eBook, except by following the terms of the +trademark license, including paying royalties for use of the Project +Gutenberg trademark. 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