 auxiliary medical and hospital service during the war. Upon the
declaration of war, a special committee was appointed, composed of Dr.
J.B. Hubbell, Mr. John Hitz and Mr. Stephen E. Barton, to wait upon the
President of the United States, the Secretaries of State, War and Navy,
and the Surgeon General, to give oral notice of the intention of the Red
Cross to be ready to furnish any supplemental aid that might be required
by the armies in the field.

Following the usual custom, the American National Red Cross was about to
issue a statement to the American people for funds and materials to
support its ministrations to the sick and wounded, when a resolution was
passed by the board of directors of the New York Red Cross Hospital, of
which institution Mr. William T. Wardwell is president, proposing the
formation of a Relief Committee. The purpose of this committee was to
raise funds and supplies, in the name of the Red Cross, and to act as a
national auxiliary in the capacity of trustees and temporary custodians
of the contributions of the people in support of the work to be done by
the American National Red Cross.

The tender of the proposed Relief Committee, thus voluntarily formed,
was provisionally accepted by Mr. Stephen E. Barton, subject to the
official acceptance by the American National Red Cross. Upon this
provisional acceptance the Relief Committee proceeded to organize, and
its membership was enlarged by the addition of men well known in social
and financial circles of the City and State of New York.

The name adopted by the committee: "The American National Red Cross
Relief Committee," was perhaps unfortunate, in some respects, inasmuch
as it created a certain confusion in the minds of the people, who were
often unable to distinguish between the parent organization, the
American National Red Cross, and the Relief Committee of New York. The
committee having completed its organization, the tender of its services
during the war was made and accepted in the following terms:

                                