The Military Judge of Havana issued a proclamation commanding Miss Cisneros to return to prison, but it was evident that this was merely a legal formality.  There were men in Cuba, occupying high official positions, who could not afford to have the story of the persecutions of which she was a victim, while in voluntary exile with her father in the Isle of Pines, made known, for it would have gained for them the scorn and contempt of the civilized world.  Her case had attracted the attention of men and women of prominence, not only in our own country, but in England, France and Germany as well, and it was likely to become an international affair, and Weyler probably decided to escape these complications by allowing her to be “rescued” from her prison cell.

While all the details of the affair go to prove that this supposition is correct, all concerned have guarded the secret well, and it is but just to state that there is no direct proof to support the theory, and both the man who planned and the one who executed deserved all the honors they received.

CHAPTER XXXIII.

Work op miss Clara Barton and the red cross,

The Geneva Conference—­Miss Barton’s Work in the War of the Rebellion—­Organization of the American Red Cross—­The Work in Cuba—­Appeal to the Public—­A Floating Hospital—­Correspondence with Admiral Sampson—­The Spanish Prisoners in Key West, and What the Red Cross Did for Them.

Many attempts have been made to bring about an international agreement for mitigating the horrors and mortality of battle.  The first successful movement of this kind was started at the same time that the civil war was raging in the United States.  A conference of jurists and others interested in humanitarian work was held in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1863.  They drew up an international compact, which was approved by the Swiss government, and the support and sanction of the French empire were won.  It was several years, however, before the articles of agreement were signed by all the civilized nations of the world, and, strange to relate, the United States was the last of the great powers to officially recognize the rights to special protection secured to the bearers of the Red Cross symbol.

In the autumn of 1881 a final effort was made to gain the agreement of the United States to the stipulations of the convention of Geneva, and assurances were given by President Arthur of his willingness to accede.  The President and the Senate subsequently formally recognized the association, and the treaty was signed March 16, 1882.  Pending this action by the government, a national society was formed and incorporated under the laws of the District of Columbia, bearing the name of the American Association of the Red Cross.