Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1917-06-23
APPLAUD THE FLAG BUT
TURN DOWN RSD CROSS
One More Day in Which Sal
eInites Can Pull City Out
Of Stacker Class

Salem has one more day to complete
the raising Of her share of the Red
Cross fund; one more day to add the
two remaining necessary red stripes to
the flag in front of the Derby build
ing. Thousands of citizens have been
approached by the Red Cross solicitors,
and most of them have manfully kicked
IN to the full extent of their ability.
Hundreds have handed over their cash.
and hundreds more who had no ready
money IN theier jeans, have signed Tie
pledge cards and given their word that
somehow they would raise and pay their
subscribed installments as they became
due. A detestable dozen OF SO, some OF
whom have heretofore been reekoned
as leading citizens y have steadfastlv
refused to give up a single niclsle to
the cause Of liberty and humanity.
Today the Red Cross workers are Fir
ing their last guns in the campaign.
Today the newspapers are sounding the
final call to the financial colors. Listen.
you well-meaning patriots who have not
yet done your biti This is the S. o. s.
Of the Red Cross drive. 1T calls to Won
to 'fsave our ship.n You haven't time
TO wait till the solicitors call on Won.
You must come through voluntarily and
Immediately il you want to save the
city from the disgrace of leaving TO
posterlty smeared-up, unfinished rag,
instead Of beautiful, completed ban
ner ~ record of the Red Cross drive.
The solicitors can't reach you all to-
day and Monday, but the committee at
the Derby building viii take your sub
scription in person, by mail, Or by tele-
phone, and they will take it any time
Sunday, too.
''It is up to those who have not vet
contributed, said campaign manager
today, whether Salem goes down in
history as a Stacker town or as an hon-
esttogod American commnnity.y We
can't call personally on every inhabi-
tant, even with our big force Of vol
unteer workers, but that makes no diff
ference. Every man in this town has
a chance to show just whore he stands
on the Red Cross proposition, and be-
lieve me, when this campaign is over
everybody is going to know just where
he stands, too. He viii be known either
as Stacker or a patriot.''
AT this point Captain George G. j..
Snyder, the welI-known comedian,
butted in with the remark that the most
prominent slackers ON his particular list
had already been pretty well advertised.
George had just been turned down flat
by a local bloated bond-holder whom
he had expected to come through with
at least thousand, and he was taking
no pains to conceal the identity of tho
offender. ''We have separated tie
sheep from the goats, = said George,
ssand we don't intend TO keep quiet
about who Is who in Salem.
Patriotic talk, continued the CAM
paign manager, after G. Curtis Lee he'd
stopped raving, sfdoesn t help any
body; neither does it fool anybody. AT
| Il moving picture show last night the
! flag appeared on the screen, and was
greeted by the usual applause. About
three seats away from me sat man
who was trying to outdo the whole
house in the matter of noisy hand
clapping. He even whistled to let his
neighbors see how patriotic he was
looked in the direction of this human
siren and discovered that he was the
same man had tackled that afternoon
| for a Red Cross contribution, and who
had refused absolutely to donate a PEN
my His excuse was that if The govern
ment needs Red Cross funds it ought to
find some other way to raise them, in
steady of sending bunch of highway
men out TO hold up honest citizens for
donations.
"The joke Of it is, [" broke in the IN
eorrigible George, "these ginks think
they are getting away with that sort Of
bunk And they did, too, before this
campaign started. But from now on
they stand just about as much show as
the proverbial snowfall in--well, sonre
iplace roses do not bloom