Cedar Falls gazette. [volume] (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 1860-1895, 1864-08-26
q From the New York Sanitary cotnmIs sion Bulletin.
SANITARY FAIR AT DUBUorE.

ent, nearly one seventh Of her entire popula.
ton to the field Some districts have nearly
au their men in the army and in most Of
them very large proportion OF the farm la
Dor has deyolved on the women; and on
women, too, it must not be forgotten, whose
ordinary duties are as heavy as ever, and who
are entirely unused to the extraordinary ones
with which they now find themselves bur
dened And when II Is remembered that all
this is done and endured not for safety, or
lor independence, or gain, but for the pcrpet.
uation OF the blessings Of free government,
or IN other words, for remote good-tbat il
Will be the future generation, rather than
this one, which will reap the full benefit Of
these great ciforts--it is doubtful, if there il
on record any other so splendid example OF
the heroism, tarsightedness, and self abnega.
ton with which freedom long enjoyed, can
gift whole community.
After having given so many men TO .he
ranks, 1t need not have excited any great
surprise II comparatively poor State like
Iowa, which is still struggling with the usual
difficulties OF frontier life, had left to others
the task OF ministcrng to the soldiers com.
fort. But so FAR from this, her cxertons for
the rellet OF the sick and wounded have been
just as remarkable as her exertiors in re.
crulting. Some Of the incidents connected
with the present Fair belong to the romance
Of charity t# II
There is an amount Of devotion behind
such contributions as twenty dollars from \
man whose three sons, Gall he has) are in tn.
army, whose wife has to drive his reaper"
and whose daughters assist in binding his
grain and of more than dollar from ey.
cry human beng residing within the l,nits
oil county away two hundred miles In In,
INTERIOR, or which tho accounts Of phlan-
thropy do not furnish many instances of
which people living in commercial commu-
h,ty, where money and labor are generally
plenty, can form but little idea : -sr fr,a'r
Whatever the results of this war NAV bc.
this much is certain, that no community ever
made such efforts and sacrifices as are re.
corded IN the history both of our volunteer.
ing and of our Sanitary Fairs without being
ennob'ed and purified by them. And tbo
fact that they have been so widely and freely
made at the North, certainly goes far to ~.
flute the generally received notions Of the de.
basins effect on the chayac,er of long alb
sorpton IN money getting
Mr.. Norris says
The Northern Iowa Fair Association was
organized on the lst Of March last. Gen. II.
A. Wiltse, u. >. Sur Gen. of this District.
was selected President, who, with an efficient
Board OF Managers, has had tho direction
and control OF its affairs, and who have de.
voted their active energies to it's interests
AT the time OF its organization, a resolu.
ton was adopted, piedging its proceeds TO
| the Northwestern Branch Of the L. S. SAM.
tary Commission.
| My time during the month preceding tho
Fair, was devoted largely to exciting the pub
lc mind upon the subject and preparing it
Tor such a movement. My hopes and designs
! ~ regard TO the results Of the Fair. were NOT
measured by the amount of money that
would &c raised by il, but believed il could
be made instrumental in reviving our work
throughout the whole north half of the State,
and, also, oi attaching cur people in their
Sanitary operations to The T.. S. Sanitary
! Commission. In all my operations for tho
Far, this object was kept steadily Ia view.
y few Facts will show the extent 10 which
my anticpations have been realized
The shipment OF hospital supplies TO the
| Chicago Commission, which had become very
light from this State, was Immediately SO
| stimulated, that IN the month Of March we
scht TO that Commission 2O2 packages. In
the month of April! their receipts lon us
amounted to 3G4 packages, 1856 more thau
! from the whole State Of Illinois For MAY.
they received from us near 700 packages. IN
more than from Illinois. have not the ly.
ureS Tor June, they are, am however. awarv,
equally large; and some 900 packages more
were shipped from Dahuquo after the Eaiy,
which reached Chicago too late TO be emlrar-
cd in the June report. II ought to be re
marked that nearly the whole of these sup.
plies were designed TO bo sent TO the credit
Of the Fair Many Of the receipts credited
! by the Northwestern Commission reports to
local Aid societies were designed by the soci,
eties to have been credited 10 the Fair, bu,
they neglected to give notice to that effect at
Chicago, hence they were credited to them
instead Of the FAN, as intended.
-Four months incessant and active toll for,
and the gift Of thousands of dollars to the
! U. ). Commission, through the Fair. ha,u
identified our aid societies and people fsIiy
with that institution. At the last meeting !
the State Commission at Des Mones. ths
| delegates to which were from nearly all the
aid societies that were at work for our FAIR.
a resolution was almost unanimously adopt.
ed, advising all sanitary societies in the State
to send their supplies to the Northwestern
Branch of the U. S. Commission.
Fears have been entertained that there
would be relapse Of effort on the part of
our sanitary societies after the Fair was over.
Every Precauton has, however, been taken
10 prevent such contingency, and our noble
women OF Iowa feel, think, that the pres
ent is no time for relaxation OF effort
Large receipts ought not to be anticipated
from us at Chicago for month or two to
come, not because labor will be suspended,
but because all supplies on hand have been
| a. pybaug tod for ftn Ea;c N
have to begin entirely anew. The business
Of the Fair is not entirely closed up to enable
me to give positive results. The expenses
have been smaller In proportion to receipts,
than any one OF the great fairs The receipts,
il is thought will reach from 81, 900 to $50.
600, and the net proceeds will not be far
from $4,000. This result seems small when
compared with the results of the New York
or Philadelphia Fairs, but II must be rceof.
lectcd that our population is light, our conn
try new, and our people poor. If real ability
Is taken into account, | am satisfied that our
gift npon this holy altar will be Justly re-
garded as greater than that Of any other fair
that has been held for the Sanitary cause
AS was well remarked by President Wiltse,
IN bis opening address. No donations havo
been sanctiiied bv greater sacrifices than
those made to our Fair | have been sur
trlsed by great many facts connected With
its history. Ncighborhoods whose entire
male population almost had gone to the war,
ana whose crops have to be raised and har-
vested by tho females, have contributed
largely to its funds. Ono farmer who caye
$50, told me that his three boys, Gall hc had)
were in the army, and that bis wife would be
compelled to drive his reaper in the harvest
field, and his daughters assist in binding his
grain, and in securing his harvest. Kossuth
county, away two hundYed miles in the inte-
rior, gave more than dollar for every hu-
man being residing within its limits.
The Fair over, | shall extend my labors
more into the southern portion Of TIE State,
though the principal towns in the northern
part viii yeqnres considerable attention. The
history Of our FAIR viii be published IN "a
few daNH MnnN itnms Of intcreat nruittna