The daily progressive-miner., 1918-03-15
CLOTHING DRIVE
 FOR BELGIUM ON
Seven-Day Campaign for War Sufferers in Need Staged by
 Red Cross.

Beginning March IS, and ending March 25, seven-day nationwide campaign will te carried on by the Red Cross and the commission for relief in Belgium to secure minimum quan- tity of 5000 tons of clothes for the des- t.tute people of Belgium and occupied portions of Northern France. At the request of Herbrt Hoover, chairman of the commission for relief in Bel gium. H. P. Davison, chairman of the Red Cross war council, has granted the use of the national Red Cross organi- zation for collecting the needed cloth ing. The donations will be shipped at once to the Atlantic seaboard and sent overseas for distribution.
 Mr. Hoover's letter to Mir. Davison outlining the Belgian situation and asking for Red Cross assistance, fol- lows:
 February 2s.
 My Dear Mir. Davison: The prac- tically entire exhaustion of clothing, shoes and leather in occupied Belgium and Northern France and the shortage of those necessities in the worlds mar kets are making it increasingly diff cult for the commission for relief in Belgium to keep clothed and shod the un fortunate people of these occupied territories. In addition to new mat erial, we need gifts of used and sur plus clothing and shoes, blankets, fan nel cloth, etc., in large quantities from the people, of these United States. As the commission has allowed most of .ts local committees scattered over the United States to disband because of the financial arrangement made last June with our governmnt, it occurs to me that the Red Cross with it's ex- isting elaborate system of local organ izations would be in excellent situation to conduct this clothing campaign for us. Will you lend the machinery of this organization to collect for the com mission from the people of the coun- try the articles needed by it in it's relief work? Where our local commit tees are still intact we should prefer to give them in their own localities or working in cooperation with the Red Cross. of turning 1t over entirely to the Red Cross. From your repeat. ed cordial offers of cooperation of the American Red Cross in any of the charitable work of our commission. have no doubt of the answer you will make to our present request.
 Faithfully yours.
 HERBERT c. HOOVER"
 Mir. Davison's letter of reply to MT. Hoover, dated March 4 at American Red Cross national headquarters, Washington, follows:
 My Dear MT. Hoover: In response to your request on behalf of the com mission for relief in Belgium, the Red OlOSS WILL US 6idu IV OuuCI tdhS thV collection of used and surplus clothing and other articles for the use of the commission in its relief work in oc- cupied territories in France and Bel gium. We have set aside the week of March IS to March 25 for a special campaign for this purpose. We feel certain that the people of the United States will respond generously and that we will be able to collect for the commission such quantities of cloth ing and other articles as it requires to satisfactorily carry on it's work of re- lief. We will send out your appeal to all chapters through our divisional organization. Where your local com. mittees still exist, we trust that this work may be done by such committees in cooperation with our local chapter in order that the chapters may feel that they. too. have part in the great work
 !. Cordially yours.
 I'll. D. DAWSON,
 Chairman Red cross War Council." 1"