The vow of woman! that’s all between failure and success. The woman with the vow lived to return to America. She “pestered” her friends with her visionary scheme; she haunted the offices of Senators and Representatives; she pled her cause before the Secretary of State and the President. With her logic and eloquence she combated “it’s an entangling alliance with foreign powers;” “it would encourage war;” “it’s a war policy in the interest of war-makers;” “it’s un-American;” “it would demoralize army discipline;” “the military doesn’t want it, Congress doesn’t want it, the people don’t want it;” “Secretary of State Seward years ago gave the ultimatum: ‘The Government wishes to act as a free agent with option in the premises and in its own good time;’” “Dr. Bellows has given it up;” “it’s no use, Miss Barton, to discuss this question, it has been before the American people for many years and it’s a dead issue, forever settled.”
Alone her task was wrought, Alone the battle fought.
She took the rostrum, travelling from place to place throughout the country; she appealed to the people in the name of God and humanity. She was denounced as “that war woman;” “that woman who is trying to put something over on the people;” “something behind it, or she wouldn’t be spending her own money;” “wonder what she’s going to get out of it, anyway?”
Senator John Sherman was then a tower of strength in this country. She approached him on the subject. He was against it; said that he did not see any use of going to this trouble; that making such preparation for war would have a tendency to agitate the public, and bring on war. Oh, no, Miss Barton, I can’t support such foreign organization as is your proposed Red Cross. Besides, we will never have another war in this country. Having given his final answer and subsided, the ever-ready-with-answer Miss Barton remarked that it seemed to her years ago, back in 1858, a certain Senator Sherman had made such a statement in the Senate. Caught in a trap set by himself, yet graciously smiling, the Senator replied, “Yes, I believe we did have a little brush after that.” A second “brush” occurred, in 1898. Senator Sherman, then Secretary of State, had occasion in connection with Red Cross work to issue to the head of the Navy the following order: “I have the honor to commend Miss Barton to the kind attention of your department.”