Page:A short history of nursing - Lavinia L Dock (1920).djvu/153

137 Florence Nightingale i37 The International Committee of the Red Cross was founded by Henri Dunant, a Swiss humani- tarian who had seen the horrors of war. The Red He first presented his views to the So- cross ciety of Public Utility in Geneva ( 1 863). society TT- • • • founded His plan for societies for relief in war, organized nationally and afiiliated internationally, with permanent headquarters in Geneva, was adopted in 1864, when the formal treaty was signed by the representatives of several nations there present. M. Dunant ascribed to Miss Nightingale the credit for the proposal, saying that what she had done in the Crimea inspired his ideas and fortified his belief in their feasibility. Red Cross societies were thereafter built up with zeal and thorough- ness in many countries, and older groups descended from the military nursing orders, such as the St. John's Ambulance and Aid Societies, and women's associations which had attempted relief work in earlier war affiliated with the Red Cross. The principles on which the Red Cross was based were neutrality in war, impartiality as between friend and foe, centralization, and preparedness at all times for war relief. The Red Cross was to be respected in war time, and neutral countries might help belligerents in aiding the wounded, without infraction of neutrality. The promoters of the