St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1889-07-04
CLARA BARToN,s APPEAL FOX AID.

Miss Clara Barton, president OF
the National Red Cross society,
writes from Johnstown as follows:
have for the last several days re-
GREETED the tone of information
which must have gone out to the
people to the effect that nothing
more was needed here, that there
were more supplies than these people
could use The statements have no
doubt been honestly made, but they
could not have been well considered
when one reflects that 10000 people
a day are being fed here, and that
the majority of these people have no
homes, but are living, crowded into
the homes of other persons, often 20
in a room, 80 or 40 in one little house,
and that these people have lost every
thing they had. They came out of
the waters literally naked, and they
have none of the conveniences of life
about them; they are perfectly unoc-
cupied; of the articles which are given
them nothing can be washed; that
they are in the midst of dirt, such as
is never known in ordinary life; every
thing that is now given them must
be worn until it can be thrown away;
not two-thirds enough beds have yet
been sent here to take them all up
from the floor; women come to us
every day who say they have not
been in a bed since the flood, but
slept ON floors not yet dried; prob
ably not one-half of the beds that are
already occupied in this town have
more than one sheet, if they have
that; the feeding of these people is of
the charities of the country, and if
by any means the flow of supplies
which is now coming here should be
people are to do. All this, and, as
you must know, a great deal more is
in full view of us who are among it,
and it seems responsibility which
one would not willingly assume to
check the tide of charitable aid that
is now flowing in.
Scores of letters each day for the
last four days have been coming to
me full of anxiety, regret and doubt,
and asking of me some words of sub
sanitation either one way or the
other, in regard to the statements
which they say emanate from the
New York papers and are being
copied over the entire country, that
Jamestown has enough and that it is
waste to send more there. These |
people have not yet come to a real1- |
cation of their wants. Their every |
thought is turned upon those heaps |
of debris which possibly contain
some member or members of their |
family They do not know if they
are hungry or naked; they watch |
and wait the blasts of dynamite |
that throw up the ground and then
rush to the spot to see what it re- |
veals. Only day before yesterday
twenty-eight bodies came out in that
now two young girls only |
recognized by their jewels.
Ten thousand homes are wanted
here and furnishing for them and
changes of clothing for these people
until they are in some clearly homes
of their own and some kind of occu-
patton is arranged for them.
For ourselves, the Red Cross finds
its field charging every day, and
there is need of it. The health of the
city remains very good. Nervous
prOStration from the shock is the
greater trouble now.
The people of the whole town seem
grateful to us, and to
the cooperation of the military and
civil authorities with the Red Cross
| could not do justice if were to at
tempt it Their cordially must be
seen and felt to be realized.