The Star. Delivered every evening by 5 o'clock in Hawera, Manaia, Normanby, Okaiawa, Eltham, Mangatoki, Kaponga, Awatuna, Opunake, Otakeho, Manutahi, Alton, Hurleyville, Patea, Waverley. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1919. THE RED CROSS AND THE FUTURE.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue LXXIV, 14 February 1919, Page 4

The Star. Delivered every evening by 5 o'clock in Hawera, Manaia, Normanby, Okaiawa, Eltham, Mangatoki, Kaponga, Awatuna, Opunake, Otakeho, Manutahi, Alton, Hurleyville, Patea, Waverley. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1919. THE RED CROSS AND THE FUTURE.

The meeting of members, workers, and others 'interested in the work of the British, Red Cross Society and the Order, of St. John, which is to be Leld in!) the Foresters' Hall to-morrow afternoon, reminds one of the magnificent service rendered to the Empire by the combined organisation during the war. We doubt if the majority of people who have been so well protected by our army and navy adequately appreciate the work of the Red Cross 1 and the beautiful sacrifice made by its ' members and workers week by week throughout the British. Empire. The soldiers know how much they owe to the organisation and the tender care bestowed upon them when they w&re in need. People in every part of the Empire responded liberally to the appeals for money, and the amounts contributed' during the war period totalled nearly £12,000,000. Prominent men in the army and medical services have shown how well the money has been spent. The Prince of Wales, in forwarding a gift of £3000 towards last year's "Our Day" Fund, wrote: "I have been much impressed by the courageous and splendid work done by the British Red Cross Society and the Order of St. John in Italy and- in •France, . where I have had abundant opportunity d? observing the Societies' care and thought for th© sick and wounded. In all zones of the war the Red Cro&s is working always in circumstances of difficulty and often of great danger. I feel sure that this fact is recognised at^iome." Probably no more touching tributes to the work of the Society could be found than those from men who have had most personal knowledge of what the Red Cross did; for them, while prisoners in. the hands of the enemy, or interned in neutral countries. "Officers arriving recently from Germany," wrote Brigadier-General Bruce, senior British interned officer in Holland, in October last, "speak highly of the efforts of the Red Cross in dispatching parcels to prisoners of war still there." One might quote many extracts, but the fightmg has ceased, and with, the 'termination of hostilities the Red Cross work abroad has diminished in volume. The '.workers and supporters are now, after four years lof strenuous effort, permitted to eni joy some relaxation. The meeting tomorrow should be a happy one—a. gathering of those in this tiny part'1 qf the great Empire who have done their duty consistently and unselfishly. They can look back over the war period, feeling that the weekly endeavors in the little Red Cross shop ' were not in vain. Some £7000 was raised by the efforts, carrying comfort j and succour to the country's men on1! distant fields. But pleasant as it is to look back over the successful past, ■members and workers will no doubt

feel that there are still opportunities for service in the cause of humanity. Men are returning who have suffered serious injury during their periods of service; some have lost limbs, others are suffering from nervous troubles due to their frightful experiences at the front. There is here opportunity

which will, we have no doubt,

j seized by our Red Cross branch. A I kindly interest taken in the returned men, especially those still in the doctor's- hands, may mean much more to

them than we who are sound in .-ody and nerve may imagine. The Red Cross Society, however, is not necessarily a war institution. It can, and

should, fill an important place in the community. There are always sick people in our hospitals, many, alas, whose friends in health neglect them when ill. Committees- could well he organised by the Red Cross Society to visit the inmates of our hospitals, public and private, carrying words of comfort and hope to those whose days are long and weary. We do not think nearly enough interest is ishown. by j the people of Hawera in the public hospital and its patients, and the sending of flowers and delicacies does not seem to be a general practice as it is in many other parts. The Red I Cross will, we hope, take a lead in the matter and ishow patients that they are not forgotten when illness forces them to give up the "common round, the daily task." It would be a pity if the splendid little branch of the Red Cross in Hawexa were to cease activities, while there are opportunities for really good work in the interests of the community generally, and we hope that at the meeting tomorrow a new programme of useful work • will be arranged.