January, 1917, had
received 291 shipments and had distributed eight million francs. By
the time America put on armour, the American Red Cross, as the army's
expert in the strategy of compassion, found that it had to take over
more than eighty-six separate organisations which had been operating
in France for the best part of two years.

One cannot show pity with indignant hands and keep the mind neutral.
The Galilean test holds true, "He who is not for me is against me."
You cannot leave houses, lands, children, wife--everything that
counts--for the Kingdom of Heaven's sake without developing a
rudimentary aversion for the devil. All of which goes to prove that
America's heart was fighting for the Allies long before her ambassador
requested his passports from the Kaiser.

The American Red Cross Commission landed in France on the 12th of
June, 1917, seven days ahead of the Expeditionary Force. It had
taken less than five days to organise. Its first act was to convey a
monetary gift to the French hospitals. The first actual American Red
Cross contribution was made in April to the Number Five British Base
Hospital. The first American soldiers in France were doctors and
nurses. The first American fighting done in France was done with the
weapons of pity. The chief function of the American Red Cross up
to the present has been to "carry on" and to bridge the gap of
unavoidable delays while the army is preparing.

To prove that this "war of compassion" is no idle phrase, let me
illustrate with one dramatic instance. When the Italian line broke
under the pressure of Hun artillery and propaganda, the American Red
Cross sent representatives forward to inaugurate relief work for
the 700,000 refugees, who were pouring southward from the Friuti and
Veneto, homeless, hungry, possessing nothing but misfortune, spreading
despair and panic every step of the journey. Their bodies must be
cared for--that was evident; it would be easy for them to carry
disease throughout Italy. But the disease of their minds was an even
greater danger; if their demoralisation were not checked, it would
inevitably prove contagious.

The first two representatives of the American Red Cross arrived in
Rome on November 5th, with a quarter of a million dollars at their
disposal. That night they had a soup-kitchen going and fed 400 people.
Their first day's work is the record of an amazing spurt of energy. In
that first day they sent money for relief to every