The Australian Army Medical Corps in Egypt

2. All goods consigned to the Red Cross Depot shall be placed in store at once and rendered secure under lock and key at other than business hours.

Receipt Book.

3. All goods received will be entered in the Goods Receipt Book.

Requisitions – how dealt with

4. On receipt of requisitions signed by the Officer Commanding any unit, and countersigned by the Officer Commanding First Australian General Hospital, goods will be issued, and if necessary transport provided. Two clear lists shall be prepared on forms provided for the purpose, one to be receipted and returned to Red Cross Depot by the consignee and duplicate to be filed in Office.

Stock-taking.

5. A Stock Book is to be kept showing the nature and quantity of material received, and the quantity distributed, so that at any time the stock remaining can be ascertained. This book to be checked once a month by stock-taking of the contents of the store and certified to by the M.O. in charge.

2. Result of Vote at No. 1 Auxiliary Convalescent Depot

The following items represent the wishes of 840 patients at Luna Park on July 29, 1915, ascertained by the O.C., Major Brown.

Four hundred and forty papers were received, a great number of patients failing to vote.

The patients were asked to make a list of twenty to thirty articles that would add to their comfort during their stay in hospital, and which could be supplied by a small fund at his disposal.

The average items on collected lists were 8.

3. Fence or Ambulance?

Some critics have objected to the Red Cross assisting Soldiers' Clubs. The following lines are commended to their notice. But for the Australian Branch British Red Cross there would have been no such Soldiers' Clubs as those provided at Esbekieh and Alexandria.

'Twas a dangerous cliff, as they freely confessed,
Though to walk near its crest was so pleasant;
But over its terrible edge there had slipped
A duke, and full many a peasant.
So the people said something would have to be done,
But their projects did not at all tally:
Some said, "Put a fence round the edge of the cliff";
Some, "an ambulance down in the valley."

But the cry for the ambulance carried the day,
For it spread through the neighbouring city,
A fence may be useful or not, it is true,
But each heart became brimful of pity

For those who had slipped over that dangerous cliff;
And the dwellers in highway and alley
Gave pounds or gave pence, not to put up a fence,
But an ambulance down in the valley.

"For the cliff is all right if you're careful," they said,
"And if folks even slip and are dropping,
It isn't the slipping that hurts them so much
As the shock down below when they're stopping."
So day after day, as those mishaps occurred,
Quick forth would these rescuers sally
To pick up the victims who fell off the cliff,
With the ambulance down in the valley.

Then an old sage remarked, "It's a marvel to me
That people give far more attention
To repairing results than to stopping the cause
When they'd much better aim at prevention.
Let us stop at its source all this mischief," cried he,
"Come, neighbours and friends, let us rally!
If the cliff we will fence we might almost dispense
With the ambulance down in the valley."

"Oh, he's a fanatic," the others rejoined.
"Dispense with the ambulance? Never!
He'd dispense with all charities, too, if he could!
No, no! We'll support them for ever!
Aren't we picking folks up just as fast as they fall?
And shall this man dictate to us? Shall he?
Why should people of sense stop to put up a fence
While their ambulance works in the valley?"
But a sensible few, who are practical too,

Will not bear with such nonsense much longer;
They believe that prevention is better than cure,
And their party will soon be the stronger.
Encourage them, then, with your purse, voice, and pen,
And (while other philanthropists dally)
They will scorn all pretence, and put a stout fence
On the cliff that hangs over the valley.

Better guide well the young than reclaim them when old,
For the voice of true wisdom is calling:
"To rescue the fallen is good, but 'tis best
To prevent other people from falling.
Better close up the course of temptation and crime
Than deliver from dungeon or galley;
Better put a strong fence round the top of the cliff,
Than an ambulance down in the valley."

    Joseph Malines.

The Red Cross Policy: Wanted, a Definition

Before leaving consideration of the details of the Red Cross question, attention should be directed to the numerous changes in the policy adopted by the British Red Cross Society, Australian Branch. No less than three different types of administration were rapidly adopted. It was first placed in the hands of Surgeon-General Williams and the High Commissioner for Australia, in London; then it was placed under a committee in Egypt formed by the High Commissioner for Egypt, Sir Henry MacMahon, and six weeks later two Commissioners were appointed to take the work over. Nothing more clearly illustrates the state of mental instability in which a first experience of war had thrown the population of Australia. The policy which was adopted by Surgeon-General Williams in connection with the Red Cross administration is that which we believe to be sound.

When acting as A.D.M.S. to the Australian Force in Egypt it became my duty (Lieut. – Col. Barrett) to sanction or modify the requisitions of medical stores for the various hospitals and units, and the instructions conveyed to me were that I could sanction any requisition provided that it was reasonable. If, however, it represented a new departure it must be authorised by the D.M.S. Egypt. This meant practically that everything could be obtained from Ordnance, and many of the Red Cross supplies became superfluous. That is to say, any necessary goods in the Red Cross store were utilised, but if they had not been there the Government would have purchased them. In fact, it reduced the field in which the Red Cross could operate to comparatively small proportions. There is no doubt that, had it become necessary, I should have authorised the erection of shelter sheds and recreation huts in the various hospitals as a medical necessity. There was one advantage, and one advantage alone, in effecting these changes with the aid of the Red Cross. The action if sanctioned by superior officers could not be challenged by any one else at the time, and could be effected with extraordinary speed.