Imperial Valley press., 1913-05-13
0y Ernest p. oloknell

Distributed hundreds Of sewing ma
chimes and wagons.
Paid for repairs to damaged houses.
Bought scores OF railroad tickets.
Paid hospital bills for hundreds.
Temporarily paid rents for thou
sands.
Completely restocked small dealers
in groceries.
Restocked several barber shops and
merchandise stores.
Gave laundress washing machine.
Reestablished deserving boarding
house keeper.
Furnished aged German cabinc.
worker tools to resume work.
Bought food. clothing and medicine
for thousands.
Relief operations following great
disaster naturally fall into two periods
First. there is the period OF emergency
relief when every possible resource
must be strained to save life and Il
prevent suffering by swift provision
Of shelter and clothing. Sufferers are
dealt with in the mass. The one quea.
ton is, How many persons are to be
rescued, sheltered fed7"
Then follows the period Of recon-
struction or rehabilitation. This calls
for complete change In policy. We
must now consider the needs Of tbs
sufferers, family by family, in order
that so far as relief funds allow, we
may provide for each special servica =
which its own particular needs require.
In the period Of emergency we en-
phasize speed, with ihoroughness in
second place; in the period Of rehabil
tation we emphasize thoroughness with
speed in second place.
The emergency period Of the presen.
flood relief operations. with all its
splendid record Of courage, action and
sacrifice, is closed and the period Of
rehabilitation is now in full swing in
fully 100 cities, towns and villages in
the states Of West Virginia, Ohio, Indi
ana, Illinois, Kentucky and Nebraska.
More than sixty OF these places are in
Ohio.
Surveys have been made by local re-
lief committees and agents Of the Red
Cross and the number Of families which
will require help to "get over the hill'
and go on their own way again. Is rap
idly being determined. Close on the
heels Of the army survey the loca
| committees and the Red Cross agents
are making allotments to individual
families which the survey shows neces-
sary. Back to normal" is the slogan
Of the rehabilitation period. The thing
to do for each family is that which vii
give it a start toward its old familiar
settled methods Of life and employment
When we have done this for the flooC
sufferers in community. we have also
done it in large measure for the
community itself. To accomplish thi;
the Red Cross uses the utmost elasticity
Of method. 1t asks the question, ''Wha!
does this family most need to set il
going?" And when the answer is found
the Red Cross tries to provide exactly
what is required.
Throughout the flooded country to-
day the answer to this question is be-
ing sought in relation to fully 10000
families. 1t has been found and an
swered in perhaps 10000 families, anC
the relief funds which have been given
so generously by the American people
are being poured out through hun
drd channels to provide the new starI
for which all are waiting. And wha
is the answer? sometimes it is al
outfit of tools; it may be sewing
machine, or a wagon, or small stocl
OF merchandise, or a peddler's pack. OIL
repairs to a damaged house. or rail.
road ticket or hospital care or the tenn
porary payment Of rent, or any OF the
hundred other things which fit the in
clvidual needs Of families and set the.I
usual wheels of life grinding again. Be
cause this particular disaster was {
flood, it is Of course necessary in al
most every instance to provide simpl,
furniture in addition to whatever else
is granted.
In one town dealer in butter anC
eggs lost his stock and fixtures anC
with them his ability to make living
By buying him an ice box, pair Of
scales and some shelving, and advanc-
ing him a few dollars for new stock
Of goods. he was made entirely indie
pendent and promptly began SERVING
his regular customers. A barber losl
all his equipment. A new chair. some
razors, towels and fixtures solved his
problem. A hard working laundress
received some furniture and to her
great JOY new washing machine and
7 ecessary adjuncts. An Industrious AMI
deserving boarding house keeper was
reestablished with the furniture, dishes.
ETC.. necessary to enable her to take
| her former boarders "back to the old
place." A careful old German cabinet
maker lived comfortably from his trade.
His heart was almost broken by the