USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Andover > Andover, Massachusetts, in the world war > Part 8
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VI
THE WORK OF THE RED CROSS
"Wherever war, with its red woes, Or flood, or fire, or famine goes, There, too, go I; If earth in any quarter quakes Or pestilence its ravage makes, Thither I fly." (The Red Cross Spirit Speaks - John Finley)
T HE war work of the Andover Branch of the American Red Cross, if treated in the detail which it deserves, would in itself fill a good-sized volume. The Red Cross served, in a sense, as a clearing-house for much of the ear- nest but frequently rather vague desire to help which was everywhere in evidence. Through its officers it told people how to put their energies to good purpose; it discovered and spread abroad the real needs of the fighting men; and, managed with an efficiency which improved with each new experience, it proved to be probably the most effective agent for the expenditure of public contributions.
The story of the Andover Branch, - like that of innumerable similar groups in other towns, -is the account of the growth of a fine and generous impulse. In September, 1914, at a meeting of the Benevolent Society of the Academy Church, a committee was appointed to consider the establishment of relief work for the suf- ferers in stricken countries. At the close of the second preliminary gathering, Mrs. Horace H. Tyer was chosen as Chairman, and, on October 12, at her home, a program of work was prepared, with several separate committees for buying, cut- ting, making, and shipping articles of clothing to Europe. During the winters of 1915 and 1916 many thousand garments were manufactured by this group of ladies and sent to the other side of the Atlantic through the medium of the Red Cross.
In January, 1915, Miss Katharine Loring, of Prides Crossing, gave a talk in Davis Hall, Abbot Academy, on the aims of the American Red Cross, at which time she urged Andover people to form a branch of the Essex County Chapter. For the moment no further steps were taken, the relief projects being already well developed and operating satisfactorily. In October, 1916, however, the possibility of our entrance into the conflict perceptibly altered the situation. With the con- sent of our townspeople the Essex County Chapter appointed an Andover Red Cross committee, consisting of Mrs. Bartlett H. Hayes (Chairman). Miss Eliz- abeth M. Smith (Secretary), and Miss Anna W. Kuhn (Treasurer). It was this
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THE WORK OF THE RED CROSS
committee of ladies which formed the nucleus of the Andover Branch of the American Red Cross.
The first annual meeting of the Andover Branch was held on October 16, 1917, in the Town Hall, in conjunction with the Special Aid Society for American Pre- paredness. The original officers, Mrs. Hayes, Miss Smith, and Miss Kuhn, were re- elected. An Advisory Board of men, consisting of Mr. Alfred L. Ripley, Mr. Edward V. French, and Dr. William D. Walker, was appointed; and Dr. Claude M. Fuess was named as Chairman of a Civilian Relief Committee (later known as the Home Service Committee).
The report of the work accomplished up to this date was indeed striking. For many months the Andover Guild had been open every Friday for sewing, this in addition to what had been done by various benevolent societies in the town. On December 2, 1916, the first case of goods had been sent to Mrs. Marlborough Churchill, in Paris, for her relief operations, and, in the aggregate, 4820 separate articles had been forwarded to her from Andover. Knitted garments of all kinds had been manufactured, including 436 sweaters, 575 mufflers, 317 pairs of socks, 322 pairs of pajamas, 340 surgical shirts, and many other items of clothing. Since June, 1917, moreover, the November Club Building had been occupied every Monday by a group of ladies interested in surgical dressings, 7212 of which had been prepared and sent away. It is interesting to note also that, during the year, nearly $2700 had been received in donations and paid-up subscriptions to the Andover Red Cross, of which amount a large part had been expended for yarn and other raw materials.
Meanwhile other humanitarian groups, which had been formed with the best of motives and which had done important service, came to realize that their aims could be better achieved by their joining with the Red Cross. The Special Aid Society for American Preparedness, which, in the early days of the war had accomplished much in arousing patriotic sentiment, found it advisable to merge with the Red Cross, and, in October, 1917, formally disbanded, turning over its funds to the central headquarters in Boston. The Surgical Dressings Committee found it easier to finance its enterprises by linking itself to the more powerful national organization. This centralization of activities was altogether wise and resulted in a marked increase in efficiency.
In the Red Cross War Fund Campaign of June, 1917, Andover raised far more than its quota, chiefly through the generosity of a small number of large contributors. On December 18, when the first Membership Drive opened, An- dover had only about 250 members of the Red Cross. Under the Reverend Frank R. Shipman, however, the Andover Committee perfected an organization which accomplished wonders. The town quota was 1840 members; the number actually secured was 3150, representing approximately 40% of the total popula- tion. During this "drive" headquarters were established in the Postoffice Build- ing, on Essex Street, the rooms being donated rent-free by the owners, Dr. Dono-
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ANDOVER IN THE WORLD WAR
van of Lawrence, and Mr. Bernard McDonald of Andover, and the furnishings being contributed by Buchan and Francis.
In late 1917 the Essex County Chapter of the American Red Cross was en- tirely reorganized, and Mr. Alfred L. Ripley was chosen as Chairman of the An- dover Branch, with Mrs. James C. Sawyer as Secretary and Miss Anna W. Kuhn as Treasurer. The work now became more comprehensive, and therefore more costly. Various subordinate committees were meeting regularly: the Work Committee (Miss Elizabeth M. Smith, Chairman); the Surgical Dressings Com- mittee (Mrs. Markham W. Stackpole, Chairman); the Junior Red Cross Commit- tee (Mr. Henry C. Sanborn, Chairman); the Membership Committee (Mrs. James C. Sawyer, Chairman); the Comfort Kit Committee (Mrs. Charles S. Bu- chan, Chairman) ; and the Home Service Committee (Dr. Claude M. Fuess, Chair- man). The Andover Branch received the net sum of $1228.42 as its proportion of the town's contribution to the Red Cross War Fund Campaign, and $1279.90 as its share of the First Membership Drive. Besides this, the Chairman, Mr. Ripley, had instituted a pledge card system, by which certain citizens agreed to give a definite sum each month to the support of the Red Cross. From May, 1917, until March, 1918, the expenses of the Andover Branch were nearly $5500.
This bare and formal statement of what was done gives no adequate idea of the patient toil, frequently amounting to drudgery, in which some of the ladies especially interested were always willing to engage. Few people heard very much of what the Red Cross was doing during these months; no publicity was desired or welcomed; and yet regularly these groups would meet at the Guild or the Novem- ber Club House, or in the homes of members, and sit for hours at some task in- volving the comfort or welfare of the soldiers or war sufferers. Their spirit was an inspiring example to the community, and it is safe to say that no appeal was ever made to them in vain. They were ready to investigate any case of need or to listen to any story of trouble; and they inevitably took the quickest method to alleviate it, without red tape or over-much talk. Andover was singularly fortu- nate in having in its midst such a band of earnest and gifted men and women to transform into deeds the humanitarian feeling of the town.
During 1918 the functions of the local chapter naturally broadened in scope, until it was carrying on various projects of a philanthropic kind, some limited, others extensive, but all important in the prosecution of the war. When the Na- tional Trench Comforts Committee called for old kid gloves, and bits of worsted, tinfoil, and rubber, the boxes for their reception at the November Club were filled to overflowing. The local Home Service Committee began, early in January, 1918, to meet regularly in the Town House, for the purpose of assisting the families of soldiers and sailors with their allotments, allowances, and government insurance. When the Commission for Relief in Belgium sent out an appeal, a local Red Cross Committee, headed by Miss Esther Smith, who was assisted by Mrs. Percival
ANDOVER BRANCH, AMERICAN RED CROSS, PARADING ON MAIN STREET
ANDOVER'S ARMY NURSES
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THE WORK OF THE RED CROSS
Dove, Mrs. Katharine M. Pinckney, Miss Eleanor Bartlett, and Miss Phyllis Brooks, received and packed over 900 articles, including coats, skirts, shoes, and underclothing, the whole weighing more than 1100 pounds.
In May, 1918, came the second Red Cross Campaign for $100,000,000, An- dover's share being set at $8,500. Once again the Reverend Frank R. Shipman took charge of the organization, and secured a loyal group of workers. The "drive" opened with a huge parade, on Monday, May 20, more than three thou- sand persons being in the line. The divisions, after finishing the regular line of march, proceeded to Brothers' Field, where an address was given by Lieutenant- Colonel Cecil Williams, of the British Army. The campaign closed with a mass meeting in the Town Hall, on Sunday evening, May 26, at which the speakers were Chairman Alfred L. Ripley and Sergeant Edward B. Creed, of the 101st Infantry. As a consequence of these efforts, Andover raised $21,100 (this being 247% of the assigned quota) and enrolled 4300 members.
In September the local branch managed successfully a second campaign for old clothes to be sent to the Commission for Relief in Belgium. Mrs. F. L. Pur- don, assisted by Mrs. Bartlett H. Hayes and Mrs. Charles D. Thompson, col- lected hundreds of garments, which were packed and sent off to the distributing points. The response of Andover citizens to the solicitations of the committee was little short of remarkable.
The breaking out of the influenza epidemic in September, 1918, was destined to test to the utmost the spirit and the resources of the Red Cross. There was, of course, an immediate shortage of nurses in the community; and the Red Cross, co- operating with the local doctors and with the Board of Health, made arrangements for two Red Cross nurses to give instruction in the care of patients. Dr. Abbott and his associates on the Health Committee worked tirelessly in combating the disease. A volunteer committee, made up of Miss Kuhn, Mrs. Hayes, Mrs. Stackpole, and Miss Elizabeth Smith, spent practically all their waking hours for many days in distributing broth to the sick, and in seeing that urgent cases were attended to. In this emergency women showed themselves capable of enduring the most trying hardships. It was largely as a result of their work that Andover escaped the calamities which afflicted other towns in the Commonwealth.
The terrible scourge had hardly passed before the World War ended. But the work of the Red Cross could not cease. A Red Cross Committee, with Pro- fessor Charles H. Forbes as Chairman, took charge of the sending of Christmas parcels to the boys overseas. In November the activities of the local branch were, because of the stringent coal situation, concentrated in the Andover Guild, where the workers gathered on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons. The National War Council of the Red Cross issued an appeal to the country not to relax in its support of that organization. When the Christmas Membership Drive was announced, Mr. Shipman was once more asked to serve as Chairman in Andover; and, after a
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ANDOVER IN THE WORLD WAR
week's campaign, the town reported 3900 members. Here again, Mr. Shipman's executive ability and the faithful cooperation of his sub-committees made failure impossible.
Of the service performed by the Red Cross in the trying days since the armi- stice there is no space here to speak. It has continued to minister to the public welfare and to provide assistance in times of special emergency. But its glory will always be that it proved itself capable, in a period of war, of enormous expansion with no loss in efficiency; that it won and held the confidence of the people, and thus commanded their support; and that it never failed, even in critical moments, to make idealism of practical value. The story of the Red Cross in Andover, and in countless similar communities, is one of which every member may be proud.
ANDOVER BRANCH ESSEX COUNTY CHAPTER AMERICAN RED CROSS
Mr. ALFRED L. RIPLEY (Chairman) MRS. JAMES C. SAWYER (Secretary) MISS ANNA W. KUHN (Treasurer)
Work Committee
MISS ELIZABETH M. SMITH (Chairman)
Mrs. Henry A. Bodwell
Mrs. David Shaw
Mrs. Fred G. Cheney
Mrs. Frank F. Valentine
Mrs. Frank L. Cole
Miss Eleanor Bartlett
Mrs. Charles E. Davies
Miss Phyllis Brooks
Mrs. James J. Feeney
Miss Ella Cheever
Mrs. Milo H. Gould
Miss Mary Fraser
Mrs. Frank H. Hardy
Miss Margaret Keane
Mrs. William Odlin
Miss Emily Sprague
Mrs. J. H. Playdon
Mrs. Eben Baldwin (yarn)
Miss Esther Smith (packing)
Surgical Dressings Committee
MRS. MARKHAM W. STACKPOLE (Chairman)
Mrs. George F. Cheever
Mrs. Courtney Pinckney
Mrs. George F. French
Mrs. Horace M. Poynter
Mrs. Frank B. Grout
Mrs. John L. Phillips
Mrs. Bartlett H. Hayes
Mrs. George L. Selden
Miss Katherine Hurley
Mrs. A. P. Thompson
Mrs. Arthur W. Leonard
Miss Elizabeth M. Smith
Mrs. W. Dacre Walker
Junior Red Cross Committee MR. HENRY C. SANBORN (Chairman)
Mrs. Edward V. French Mr. Nathan C. Hamblin Mr. William D. Hazeltine
Miss Elizabeth M. Loftus Miss Clara Putnam Miss Mary L. Smith
THE WORK OF THE RED CROSS
111
Membership Committee MRS. JAMES C. SAWYER (Chairman)
Mrs. Charles S. Buchan Mrs. Fred G. Cheney Mrs. Charles J. Francis Mrs. James J. Feeney Miss Mary C. Geagan
Miss E. Louise Hardy
Mrs. Frank H. Hardy Mrs. John McGrath Miss Charlotte M. Hill
Rev. Frank R. Shipman
Home Service Committee
DR. CLAUDE M. FUESS, ) MR. JOHN C. ANGUS, MR. GEORGE DICK,
Chairmen
Mrs. Charles S. Buchan Mrs. George F. French
Mrs. Alfred H. Quimby
Mrs. Philip F. Ripley
Miss Emily A. Sprague Mrs. Markham W. Stackpole Mr. Burton S. Flagg Mr. Frederick H. Jones
Mr. J. Duke Smith
Comfort Kit Committee MRS. CHARLES S. BUCHAN (Chairman)
Mrs. William Frye
Mr. George Dick
VII
THE LEGAL ADVISORY BOARD
BY J. DUKE SMITH
When the war is looked at from the perspective of history, there are few de- partments of the government, which will, in the writer's opinion, compare in efficiency with the conduct of the office of the Provost Marshal General. Consider- ing the question of a draft, from the standpoint of early 1914, or of any subsequent period before the United States entered the war, to think that this country could by a draft call to the colors nearly 3,000,000 men, without riots or undue disturb- ance, and with a smoothness almost uncanny, would hardly have been conceivable. And yet that is exactly what happened, and the work of legal advisory boards and their assistants efficiently kept running one of the cogs in one of the machines, which made that result possible. It was the fairness of the Selective Service Regulations, and the patience and square dealing of local boards and legal ad- visers that appealed to the registrants, both native and foreign born, and made "the most drastic legislation of the last half century," efficient and successful. Before the war ended 24,234,021 men were enrolled and became subject to the Selective Service Law.
In order that the 3,646 local boards might properly classify the registrants, the President, in his foreword to the Selective Service Regulations, issued a call to the members of the legal profession to offer their services. The plan was to have as large a number of lawyers as possible, who, with assistance from other public spirited citizens, could be assigned to the undertaking. For each local board there was constituted a legal advisory board, consisting of three lawyers, whose duties were to see that there should always be a competent force of lawyers or laymen available to registrants at any time during which the local or district boards were open for business. It was the duty of legal advisory boards to mobi- lize assistant advisers, both lawyers and laymen, for their districts. The Gover- nors of the States were asked to divide the States into districts, and to constitute a legal advisory board for each district, and to nominate the members thereof, for appointment by the President. In order that the lawyers might be mobilized with all possible speed, the Provost Marshal General called in the American Bar Asso- ciation, and suggested for each State the assignment of the Vice-President and the State member of the General Council of that Association, the President of the State Bar Association, and the Attorney General of the State as a committee to
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THE LEGAL ADVISORY BOARD
assist the Governor in the organization of legal advisory boards. Within a week these boards were substantially all organized and ready for their work, which was to begin the latter part of December, 1917. The members of legal advisory boards numbered 10,915, and associate members 108,367. It was about this time that the famous questionnaire came out, and it is still a question with lawyers and laymen alike whether the questionnaire or the income tax blank is the more for- midable document. Great publicity was given to the existence of legal advisory boards and their purposes, registrants being informed that they could obtain free professional advice as to their rights under the Selective Service Law and free as- sistance in filling out their questionnaires. Although the duties of legal advisers lasted for the duration of the war, the intensive periods of activity were in the latter part of December, 1917 and in January, 1918, again in May, 1918, when the local boards were busy in reclassifying, due to the lack of registrants in Class 1, and again in September, 1918, when the new registration took place of men from 18 to 45. Legal advisers were also called upon for advice with regard to the War Risk Insurance act and the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Rights act.
Locally, the legal advisory board of Division 21 covered Andover, North Andover, Rowley, Ipswich, Topsfield, Georgetown, Groveland, Middleton and Boxford - Arthur H. Wellman, of Topsfield, was Chairman of the board, and his associates were Lewis K. Morse, of Boxford, and J. Duke Smith, of Andover. The following men served at one time or another as legal advisers in Andover; Frank L. Brigham, Joseph L. Burns, E. Barton Chapin, George A. Christie, Bur- ton S. Flagg, Eldon E. Fleury, Charles H. Forbes, Dr. Claude M. Fuess, James C. Graham, Arthur W. Hall, Everett C. Hilton, Lewis H. Homer, Samuel P. Hulme, Judge J. J. Mahoney, Charles N. Marland, Frederic G. Moore, Charles Alfred Morse, William Odlin, Charles A. Parmelee, Horace Martin Poynter, John S. Robertson, Herbert E. Russell, Joseph Bradlee Scott, J. Duke Smith, Franklin H. Stacey, and Judge Colver J. Stone.
The legal advisers usually met for business in the Committee Room at the Town Hall, principally in the evening, and there, to the best of their ability, helped the registrants in their answers to the somewhat complicated questions in the questionnaires. Uncle Sam evidently has never been a farmer, or he would have asked more intelligible questions of those engaged in that pursuit. Another matter that gave trouble both to legal advisers and to registrants was the question of de- pendency. The question reads "State both (a) the approximate total and (b) the average monthly amount of your support of your wife and children, during the last 12 months". This question was a puzzle to both registrants and legal advisers, on account of the various elements that enter into support, that is, cash, clothing, rent, etc. Sometimes the answer was guessed at roughly, and some- times worked out by higher mathematics and reams of paper. Many amusing things took place during the examination of registrants. One registrant, after stating that he was married in May, 1916, stated in his next answer that he had
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ANDOVER IN THE WORLD WAR
one child, born in July, 1916. Upon being asked by the legal adviser if that was right, the registrant replied "It isn't right, but it's true". A registrant, who had only recently moved to Andover, in chatting with one of the advisers, stated that he had always lived in the West, and had never seen the ocean until a short time ago. On being asked from what part of the West he had come, he replied "North Adams."
Questions continually arose for interpretation, and instructions kept coming by wire from Washington to the Attorney General, who in turn passed them over to local boards and to a Central Legal Advisory Committee, formed in Boston. This committee sent out its rulings and instructions to legal advisers in the form of Bulletins. Local boards also recommended to advisers the importance of having some of the questions in the questionnaire answered very fully, particularly questions as to dependency, citizenship, industry, and agriculture. To be up to date, legal advisers had to be pretty well primed with information. Hard common- sense, in guiding a registrant through his ordeal, was after all the best equipment for the adviser, and, where it was used, substantial justice was worked out, and the problem of the local board in classifying much simplified. On the whole con- sidering the inevitable difficulties in card-cataloguing the manhood of the nation, and the speed with which the work had to be accomplished, it is almost a miracle that it could have been done as quickly and efficiently as it was.
ANDOVER BOYS IN BATTERY F, 102ND FIELD ARTILLERY, 26TH DIVISION
BATTERY F FALLING INTO LINE AT CAMP DEVENS BEFORE A DIVISIONAL REVIEW
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VIII
THE LOWELL-ANDOVER BATTERY BY MARKHAM W. STACKPOLE
During the spring and early summer of 1917, a new National Guard regiment of light artillery was formed by Lt. Colonel Thorndike D. Howe of Lawrence. Two existing batteries from Worcester and Lawrence, formerly units of the 1st Massa- chusetts F. A., were transferred to the new organization. Andover was repre- sented in Battery C of Lawrence by Capt. Roy A. Daniels, Lt. William B. Hig- gins, Corp. James Dick, and Privates James Dugan and Thomas Davies. Paul Cheney enlisted in the Headquarters Company, recruited partly in Lawrence. New batteries were organized in Haverhill, New Bedford, Worcester, and Lowell. The following thirty-two young men of Andover enlisted in Battery F of Lowell: - George A. Abbott, John H. Baker, James H. Buss, Charles W. Bowman, Arthur W. Cole, George M. Collins, J. Everett Collins, John K. Converse, Joseph J. Daley, Edward S. Dodge, Charles De Fazio, Ralph De Fazio, Clarence B. Eastwood, John M. Erving, David S. Gordon, Walter S. Grout, Cornelius J. Hart, Warren E. Hart, James H. Hilton, Eldred W. Larkin, Harold E. Larkin, Edward R. Lawson, Carl N. Lindsay, Alfred H. McKee, Byron S. Morrill, George C. Napier, Frank L. Nicoll, Ralph H. Partridge, George H. Saunders, Charles E. Shattuck, George F. Symonds, and Guy E. Webster. Two others, Kirk Temple and Walter S. Lawson, enlisted but were honorably discharged. (Walter Lawson later served in the Navy.)Andover was thus represented in this new regiment by a remarkably fine group of men. All but one of them served in France. Their in- dividual records will be found elsewhere in this volume .* The first Captain of Battery F was Sumner H. Needham, and one of the First Lieutenants was Win- fred C. MacBrayne. They were both of Lowell.
After a series of preliminary battery drills at the respective armories during May, June, and July, the regiment entered active service on July 25th, and by August 1st all the units were in camp at Boxford together with the 1st Massa- chusetts F. A. On August 5th the regiment was mustered into the Federal army to become the 102nd F. A., a unit of the 51st F. A. Brigade of the 26th (or "Yan- kee") Division. The Brigade and the Division were thus numbered by the War Department as the first among the organizations of their kind formed from Na- tional Guard troops. Maj .- Gen. Clarence R. Edwards was placed in com-
* A history entitled, "Our Miracle Battery," has been published by Private George Mozley of Lowell. The present writer has derived various details from that narrative.
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ANDOVER IN THE WORLD WAR
mand of the Division with headquarters in Boston, Col. Morris E. Locke of the regular army was assigned to the command of the regiment with temporary charge of the Brigade, and Lt. Colonel Thorndike D. Howe continued during the Boxford encampment in active authority as regimental commander. Rev. Mark- ham W. Stackpole, of Phillips Academy, Andover, was Chaplain. A third regi- ment was brought together at Boxford made up of other New England artillery units, thus completing a brigade of some five thousand men. It soon became evi- dent that the average vigor, intelligence, and character of the men of this brigade, as well as of the entire division, were notably high. Later events further demon- strated this. For eight weeks the men were trained largely in camp discipline and foot-drill, while much attention was given to physical condition. There were opportunities also for athletic sports and entertainments. Visitors came in great numbers. The Andover boys were able to get home now and then, and one day, accompanied by the regimental band, they came back in a body to be guests at the Playstead and the Engine House.
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