Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-07-18
Paris MoroR 1fsucKs; PILED HIes1 Writ
RT11EF SUPPLIES, ARRIVING ArIHESS roI2E Rocr8s

the holds of its vessels to American
charity. Thus, by the time the year
1915 was inscribed on the calendar, free
shipment of relief goods straight from
the quayside in New York to the very
hands of the war sufferers for whom
they were destined had become an &C
compliShed fact. The confusion at the
French ports having been done away
with simultaneously. the clearing house
began the new year with its work re-
duced. for the time. at least. to nor
NAL state of routine.
With every possible arrangement for
the receipt, clearance and forwarding
of supplies completed, it now turned
its attention to the business of dis
tribution in particular.
In instances where goods came with
their destination distinctly indicated
the clearing house simply arranged to
have them forwarded. in accordance
with the accompanying instructions.
Here there was no difficulty to be sur
mounted. But in the hundreds of cases
In which the clearing house was in
trusted with the mission of distributing
at it's own discretion there arose the
goods donated.
No attempt was made to send these
donations out in answer to Individual
appeals for personal relief. In a war
stricken land. where dire necessity
marks it's victims not by the thou
sands but by the millions, no single
organization could undertake such a
policy except upon a very restricted
scale.
France is full Of little societies which
are doing just that, answering calls for
help of specific nature or operating
on small scale for general relief
within the limits of a certain stated To-
cality. But the means at the command
of the clearing house were too great
to be similarly utilized; SO, since it was
obviously out of the question to enter
tain and investigate thousands of J.
peals daily with only small staff of
workers available. the clearing house
scores of smaller relief societies and.
through them, to reach the individual
sufferers.
The French societies were, according
ly. notified, and. as one by one they
began applying for munitions of one
sort or another. their appeals were
thoroughly Investigated and given
prompt attention. This method proved
adequate and effective and Is being
continued with the maximum of sue
cess today.
For time the clearing house. or
ganized with the twofold function of
receiving and distributing merely con-
tinued it's original course untroubled
by any other consideration. But one
day there appeared fly in the mus
tard. The organization was confronted
with a question which led it shortly
to adopt a third function.
Conditions in Europe today change,
perforce. with great rapidity. The de-
mand. therefore. for any single relief
commodity Is often subject to unex-
pected notifications. What may con-
stitute an imperative need one month
frequently becomes no need at all in
the month following. Because of this
uncertainty of conditions charitable So
cieties in America who have no special
agents abroad to keep them supplied
with up-to-date, cabled information
often time their gifts badly. Useless
donations are constantly being sent
through ignorance of current needs.
Further. the workers at the clearing
house found that there was a mistaken
tendency on the part of Americans to
confine their gifts to a single hospital
or a particular relief society. In num-
Der of cases these specially directed
donations were intended for hospitals
Of societies which were at the time
amply supplied with the very COM
modities contained in the consignments.