They Helped Make Christmas Christinas a Healthier and Happier Time for fog Their Americans Bellow I By ELMO SCOTT WATSON F CHRISTMAS CHRIST this year is isI isa isa IF I a healthier and therefore a happier time for many thousands thousands thousands thou thou- sands of Americans Americans lust just how many there is no way of knowing know know- ing ing-a ing a part of the credit for that I I fact is due to two women One of them was born on Christmas Day years ago and the other was mainly responsible for giving giving giving ing her fellow-Americans fellow a gay- gay ly colored little scrap of paper paper paper pa pa- per which has become as much mucha a symbol of Christmas time as holly wreaths pine trees red candles carols or even Santa even Santa Claus himself No doubt you are familiar with the names of both Clara Barton and Emily P. P Bissell but you never happened to think of them in connection with the idea of a healthy happy Christmas The purpose of this article is to show that connection 4 On Christmas day 1821 a baby babygirl babygirl babygirl girl was born in the farm home of Capt Stephen Barton near North Oxford Mass Her parents parents parents par par- gave her the name of Clarissa Clarissa Clarissa Clar Clar- issa Harlowe after the heroine of Samuel Richardsons Richardson's Eighteenth Eighteenth Eighteenth century romance but when she grew up being a minded young woman she dropped that romantic name and became known simply as Clara Barton If she had been a boy perhaps she might have followed in the footsteps of her father who had served in the Revolution under Mad Anthony Wayne Vayne and joined the army As it turned out she was destined to go to towar towar towar war even though she was a woman woman woman wom wom- an but she went to alleviate pain and suffering not to cause it Clara Barton was was a sickly child but by engaging in vigorous outdoor outdoor outdoor out out- door exercise she changed herself herself herself her her- self into a robust young woman a fact which was important to her later career Even while engaged engaged engaged en en- in teaching school in 1854 she established at Bordentown one of the first free public schools in New Jersey she kept up her outdoor exercise When she went to her New England home for summer vacations she worked in inthe inthe inthe the garden and in the hay fi field ld In winter she was a devotee of skating and other winter sports Service in the Civil War After a very successful career as a teacher Miss Barton went to Washington and served as a clerk in m the patent office where she was working when the Civil war broke out Then she determined determined determined de de- de- de to devote herself to the care of wounded soldiers on the battlefield and she was instrumental instrumental instrumental mental in organizing the sanitary sanitary sanitary sani sani- tary commission which took charge of nursing sick and wounded soldiers in the field and andin andin andin in hospitals She served with the Army of the Potomac and in 1864 she was appointed lady in charge of the hospitals at the front of the Army of the J James ames In 1865 she went to Andersonville Ga to identify and mark the graves of Union prisoners buried there and in the same year President Lincoln placed her in charge of I Ithe the search for missing men of the Union armies As a n result her bureau of records traced out the fate of more than unknown unknown un known soldiers During the years 67 1866 she lectured on her war experiences i k fIr fI r s EMILY P. P BISSELL and afterward went to Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland Switzer Switzer- land for her health which had been seriously affected by her strenuous labors during g the war She was at Geneva when the Prussian Franco-Prussian war broke out and she assisted the grand duchess duchess duchess duch duch- ess of Baden in the preparation of military hospitals Also she became acquainted with the work of the Red Cross the society of mercy which had been organized by Jean Henri Dunant a Swiss iLU v y b w J Y t 1 i z k y y Y Vi y 7 r Y t tN 7 x 1 N T i E r r t X- X SCENE IN AN ARMY IY HOSPITAL DURING THE CIVIL WAR when she saw the horrors of war warin warin warin in northern Italy in 1859 and she gave unstinted aid to that society during the conflict of 1870 At the joint request of the German German German Ger Ger- man authorities and the Strasburg Strasburg Strasburg burg Comite de Secours she superintended the supplying of work to the poor of that city in 1871 and in 1872 had charge of the public distribution of supplies to the destitute people of Paris who had undergone the horrors of siege and the reign of the Com Com- mune At the close of the war she was decorated with the golden gold gold- en cross of Baden and the theiron iron cross of Germany Founding of the Red Cross Upon her return to this country in 1873 Miss Barton inaugurated a movement to secure recognition recognition recognition tion of the Red Cross society by bythe bythe bythe the American government and finally during the administration of President Arthur saw her labors labors labors la la- la- la bors rewarded Naturally she became the first president of the American Red Cross when it was organized organised in 1881 Miss Bartons Barton's humanitarian la- la a similar stamp in order to raise money for the pavilion which her state division of the Red Cross wished to build For Miss Bissell to think was to act so on December December December De De- cember 9 1907 two pretty girls in Red Cross uniforms took their place at a table in the post office in Wilmington and began selling for a quarter each little pay envelopes envelopes envelopes en en- labeled thus 25 CHRISTMAS CHRISTi STAMPS One Penny Apiece Issued by the Delaware Red RedCross RedCross RedCross Cross to stamp out the White Plague Put this stamp with message bright brightOn On every Christmas letter Help the tuberculosis fight And make malte the New Year bet bet- ter These stamps do not carry any kind of mail but any kind of oC mail will carry them The first days day's sales were encouraging encouraging encouraging en en- but Miss Bissell soon I saw saw- that they would not be able to sell enough of the seals to raise Jy f W YS r. r i- i u Presentation of the Original Red Cross Flag Made by Clara Barton to Chairman John Barton Payne at National Headquarters in Washington bors did not end with the wars During the eighties she was busy superintending the work of succoring succoring succoring suc suc- coring the afflicted in the great fires fires which swept Michigan inthe in inthe inthe the floods on the Ohio and Mississippi Mississippi Mississippi sippi rivers and at the great Johnstown flood in fn Pennsylvania She served as president of the American Red Cross for 22 years and to the end of her days which came in 1912 she was the living exponent of the spirit which has made the Red Cross the greatest greatest greatest great great- est mother in the world As for the other woman who in years past and tI this s year has contributed to m making a k kin i n g a healthy h happy a 1 P P y Christmas Miss Miss Emily Bissell she Bissell she was a disciple of Clara Barton in the humanitarian work of the Red Cross Back in 1907 she was secretary secretary sec sec- of the Red Cross in the state of Delaware and was trying trying trying try try- ing to raise money for an open air pavilion to help in curing children in her state who were afflicted with tuberculosis Four years earlier a man named Einar a postal clerk in the post office at Copenhagen Copenhagen Copenhagen Copen Copen- hagen Denmark had conceived of Christmas Christmas Christmas Christ Christ- the idea selling special mas stamps and using the proceeds proceeds pro pro- reeds to build a hospital for tu tu- tu- tu children in his country His idea had been highly successful successful successful suc suc- and one of his fellow- fellow countrymen who had become an American Jacob Riis wrote an article about it for the Outlook magazine in the summer of 1907 The Tho Origin of the Idea One of those who read R Riis's ss s's article was the secretary of the Delaware Red Cross who wondered wondered won won- wondered dered if 11 Delaware couldn't issue the required amount of money So she made a trip to Philadelphia Philadelphia Philadelphia Philadel Philadel- phia to enlist the aid of a newspaper newspaper newspaper news news- paper there It was the North American and its president and editor was E. E A A. Van Valkenburg Valkenburg burg who had been the first to displease doctors by proposing publicity as the weapon to use against the white plague Van Valkenburg immediately saw what a great opportunity was offered by Miss Bissells Bissell's pro pro- He placed at her command command command com com- mand every facility of his newspaper newspaper newspaper news news- paper to publicize the Christmas seal idea As a result the presses which were printing the seals in Wilmington couldn't turn them out fast enough to keep up with the demand and in Philadelphia and the surrounding area so 60 a Philadelphia printer was en en- listed Through its Washington correspondent correspondent correspondent corre corre- the newspaper got the postmaster postmaster- generals general's permission to put up a booth in the Philadelphia Philadelphia Philadelphia Phila Phila- delphia post office lobby Five Fh-e days before Christmas the governor governor governor gov gov- of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania branch of the national national national na na- Red Cross indorsed the stamp Four days before Christmas Christmas Christmas Christ Christ- mas an editorial urged that A uA Million Mercy Messengers be bought by the people Two days before Christmas Happy New Year was added to the stamp design the demand having grown so The day after alter Christmas more than half a million were distributed to city state and na na- na- na tion Then came a flood of signed indorsements in in- from Washington President Roosevelt Secretary of State Root Secretary of War Var Taft from Baltimore Cardinal Gibbons from other places leaders leaders leaders lead lead- ers in public life lile philanthropy and education all featured on page one A Great Success On January 8 a check for was sent to Miss Bissell the proceeds of the North Americans American's Americans American's Americans American's Ameri Ameri- cans can's part in this preface to stamping out the plague plague several several times the sum Delawareans had wanted to raise and feared they could not get And as much more from other sources in Pennsylva Pennsylva- nia All told Delaware and Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Penn Penn- sylvania raised from this first sale of stamps As a result of this success Miss Bissell was was able to induce the authorities of the American Red Cross to undertake a a. a nation nation- nationwide nationwide nationwide wide sale of tuberculosis Christmas Christmas Christmas Christ Christ- mas stamps in 1908 1903 Influenced by her leadership women's clubs religious groups various publications as well as local Red RedCross RedCross RedCross Cross chapters gave their support support support sup sup- port to the sale By such united and effort more than was raised i in 1 the first national sale From From 1907 1907 to 1910 the National Tuberculosis association h had a d been organizing a nationwide warfare against tuberculosis Soon after the launching of this campaign came the establish establishment ment of open air schools for the care of delicate children many of whom were known to have been exposed to tuberculosis Other children who appeared anemic run anemic run down and in what was in those days believed to be bea a tuberculosis pre-tuberculosis condition were also sent to these schools The use of weight height-weight tables to determine determine determine de de- de- de termine the health status of oJ children was very popular and youngsters 10 per cent or more underweight according to the tables tables ta tables ta- ta bles were automatically dubbed tuberculosis pre-tuberculosis and listed as candidates for the open air schools It was in 1908 that the first school of this type was opened in Providence R. R I. I and it was not long before others were scattered all over the country These pioneers had the support of the foremost scientists but bu very few funds for their work To strengthen the organizations organization's effort the American Red Cross and the National Tuberculosis association association association as as- joined forces to conduct the Christmas seal sale together The partnership between the American Red Cross and the National National National Na Na- Tuberculosis association lasted 10 years During that time the scarlet emblem of the American Ameri Ameri- can Red Cross appeared on the annual issues of Christmas seals In 1919 however the double- double barred cross international emblem emblem emblem em em- blem of the anti tuberculosis rte i fir t ty r y 11 CLARA BARTON campaign and trade mark of the National Tuberculosis association association association tion was also embodied in the design of the seal Since 1920 the seals have been Tuberculosis sis Christmas seals The use of these seals has become become become be be- come an accepted part of the holiday holiday holiday hol hol- hol- hol iday celebration in this country country- a veritable Christmas tradition Since they came into existence through a chain of circumstances in which two women serving humanity humanity humanity hu hu- manity by their work in the Red RedCross RedCross Cross played important parts that is the reason for remembering remember remember- ing Clara Barton and Emily Bissell Bissell Bissell Bis Bis- sell at Christmas ns as two women who helped make it a healthier and therefore a a happier time for their fellow 0 Western Newspaper per Union