The Benson signal., 1917-10-27
INFORM pUBL|COF
RED CROSS WORK
Heads of American Relief Body
Undertake Extensive Tour
of the West. $780,
TELL HOW MONEY IS SPENT
Henry p. Dawson, Chairma Of War
Council, and Harry D. Gibson,
General Manager, Make
Long Trip.

GOI0 i1IPs
Washington.-At the request of the
Red Cross war council, Henry P. Da-
visOn, chairman Of the council, and
Harry d. Gibson, general manager of
the American Red Cross, have under
taken tour through the West, in the
course Of which they will visit points
at which division managers Of the Red
Cross have been stationed. The pur-
pose of the trip is to meet with repre-
sentatives of Red Cross chapters, also
with those who have contributed to
Red Cross funds and with the public
generally. 1t is also the purpose of
the war council to render an account
of it's stewardship, to interest the
people in the work Of the Red Cross
and to let the public know just how
the $1O0,OOOO0O war fund Is being uti-
lized.
Beginning at ST. Louis October %,
the schedule for the trip called for
large meetings to be held successfully
at Denver, San Francisco, Seattle,
Minneapolis, Chicago and Cleveland.
Purpose Of the Trip.
In announcing the purpose Of the
trip, Mr.. Dawson authorized the fol-
lowing statement:
with the division of the United
States into thirteen districts, each
headed by a successful business man
serving this country through the Red
Cross during the war, the Red Cross
organization in this country is now
complete. Also special Red Cross mis-
sions, made up of competent and SYM
pathetic American citizens have now
arrived and are at work on behalf of
the American Red Cross in France,
Great Britain, Russia, Italy, Rouma-
MIA and Serbia.
"Collections to the war fund of the
Red Cross up to October l amounted
to $64, ,424, ,232.9O, Of which Sc, ,269 ,566.57
has been refunded to chapters to pro-
vide for their own Red Cross activities.
Up to that time the war council had
appropriated from the war fund $685.
09O,870.41. The Red Cross membership
has just become more than four mill
lion. Included in that membership are
hundreds of thousands of American
women who are knitting, making sur
gical dressings and comfort kits. The
Red Cross war council is seeking to
render an account of it's stewardship
to the American people in the most
effective manner possible. 1t is giving
frequent announcements of it's activi-
ties and every fact concerning the
work Of the Red Cross is available to
everybody. We now wish to go a step
farther and give a detailed account of
our stewardship, as we'll as to advise
with Red Cross workers and support
ers throughout the country as to Red
Cross policy and methods. We have
felt that this could best be done by ap-
pearing face to face before audiences
of representative citizens, telling the
Red Cross story, answering questions,
and ourselves gaining a more complete
knowledge of public sentiment.
Would Inform Public.
"We are extremely anxious that the
people at large should be fully in
formed as to the methods and policies
adopted in handling the great fund
with which the Red Cross war council
has been intrusted and also that all
policies and activities of the Red Cross
should be in accord with a fully in
formed public sentiment. The purpose
of this trip is not to solicit subscrip-
tions or to take collections, although
we expect to. give to the American
people the latest advice we have re-
ceived as to conditions in France,
Russia, Roumania, Italy and Serbia.
"Our reports indicate that the Amer
ican Red Cross has an opportunity to
lend a helping hand and to carry
practical message Of cheer to suffering
humanity such as no philanthropic un-
dertaking in the history of the world
has ever had before"
Accompanying Mr.. Dawson and Mr..
Gibson on this trip is Rev. Robert Da-
Wis of Englewood, N. j., who has just
returned from France, having gone to
Paris with the American Red Cross
commission in May.