The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1900-10-29
WORK OF THE RED CROSS
Worthless Garments Sent to the
Galveston Sufferers.
BGxes of Clothing OF Which No Pos
Pairs of shoes-seeds in TEXAS Not
sntisfied-Money Wanted 10 Alieyi-
ate Misery-Many Con,5Iatnts Made

GALVESTON, Tex, Oct. 29.--An trr ne.
Gus impression seems to be gaining in tbs
| North that GaiYestons greatest need e
| over. and that her wants have been tut
supplied. During the last week ssyerai
small donations have come to the Red
| Cross. accompanied by APPEL giSs from ths
| donors for the lateness Of the gift, aid
expressing a hope that opportunity f9r
| Its use has not entirely gone by. The
truth is that contributions were never SO
/ urgently needed as now. when the stern
| survivors are just beginning TO realize
| their losses. and to take up the business
of life anew. So far. donations have bes1
| mostly in cid clothes; and it is nigh lin
| that halt was called in that mlstake II
| form of charity. From every city, tow n
| and crossroads hamlet in the United
| States clothes have poured in up Is by
| shiploads and trainloads. Most If the gar
| menJs saw their best day long, ions ago.
| many are entirely out-worn, and some
are so dirty that the distributors are faia
| to handle them with gloves, ut arm s
| length Perhaps even these produce IN
| the breasts OF the giverE that :omforta-
| Bile feeling of having lent to the Lord -
| but, remembering that the ladies and
| gentlemen for whom they are designed
idteAS ndO uOIIleS anu belongings rs S1CU
as anybody's, the prefer in their affiic-
tien of clothes which a back door tramp
would disclaim is insulting to say the
least few merchants have CON ributed
new goods-nostiy shopworn and out of
fashion but still usable-and may heaven
bless them. everyone, for the worthy
charity, even he who sent a whole box
of beautiful new shoes, all for the LETT
foot (probably drummers' samples) IS
fhara 20 q fGuy laH fri IL
in Galveston.
The worst box yet opened came from
New Jersey-it would be unkind TO tell the
town. Fortunately the box was not very
large, containing a dozen or so pairs OF
workmen's trousers, plastered with mud,
paint, and grease. filthy and odoriferous
flannel shirts, female undergarments, rag
ged and dirty, and WOODEN dresses fairly
dropping to pieces from the ravages OF
moths. OF course. 1t would never do 10
offer these TO anybody nor even 10 con-
tamlnate better things by putting them In
tuxtapositiun. What is done with such
useless articles Is weIl-kept secret; but
perhaps at this late hour 1t may whisper
in your ear. The natural impulse Is to
pitch such things out of the rear window
and afterward 10 make a bonfire OF tie
whole business. But that would be bad
policy, as false stories would be sure to get
abroad concerning wicked waste OF good
material" So we adopt the same plan
which that wise woman. Miss Barton, orig
mated years ago and has practiced success
fully on various fields that is: All WORTH
less articles are carefully put into new
barrels. which are rolled outside toward
evening and apparently forgotten. And
every morning the barrels are found
empty-the very last dirty rag stolen.
which the poorest plantation negro would
refuse to accept as q gift!
The office which is faeetiousIy termed
Mistress of the Robes"-that Is. chief of
the clothes distributing department-is no
sinecure.
Some weeks ago a change was made,
when local committees, composed of la
dies from the various churches, took hold
of the work. Now the big Red Gross
warehouse is like a wholesale emporium,
whence boxes are sent out unopened to
the several wards, in each OF which is a
distributing station in charge OF the Ia
dies aforesaid.
From every one of these station comes
the same ccmplaint-that there is cor
slant, imperative call for warm garments,
wooden underwear wraps. bed blankets,
and other articles necessary for the win
ter, now only few weeks away. There
Is no means of satisfying the demand for
the good people of the North seem to be
laboTing under the idea that this is q
torrid climate, and all the clothes they
send are thin and summary. The truth Is
that this little island of the Mexican Gulf
does have some severe winter weather,
accompanied by ice and snow, while
northers that chill the very marrow in
ones bones are of frequent occurrence.
In lieu of the million muslin shirtwaists
we have received and the equal number
Of scant calico wrappers with inch-wide
hens at bottom, Il would be much wiser
to send flannel and other material suited
to the season, and Infinitely wiser yet to
send money and allow the Galvestonians
to buy garments to suit themselves of the
local merchants.
The latter have suffered enough, heaven
knows from the storm without being ut
terly ruined aftsrEard through misguided
charity. They RsYe dried their drenched
and deluged goods, cleaned out the mud
and salt left by the sea from their places
or business, and are making heroic efforts
to avert utter failure. The Insurance com
panies are making good no storm losses,
and the merchants, having destroyed thou
sands OF dollars worth Of ruined goods are
Offering those slightly damaged but still
usable at greatly reduced prices. But.
naturally, nobody Will buy al any price
so long as trainloads and shfploads Of goods
continue to arrive for free distribution
and mercantile failures are the order of
the hour In Galveston 1t cannot be too
strongly impressed upon the people that
money is the ole thing most imperatively
needed for Texas relief-money by the
millions of dollars-for clearing IN the
mountains Of debris, rebuilding the houses
furnishing them when built, and purchas
ing tools, sewing machines, ETC.. for those
who have lost everything, but could earn
their own support if provided with the
implements of their trade