Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1918-08-07
Reduces the Waste of Time and
Money to a Minimum and
C0nServes Resources.
MAKES CITIZENS PATRIOTIC
How the Idea 10 Worked Out Through
General and Executive Commit
tees With the Help Of Pub
Notwithstanding tho
Amount.
BY c. z. DIrrMER.

people Of each locality a thorough.
patriotic set Of citizens. It must no
be said Of America that it sacrifices
its soldiers and holds to its purse
strings.
Briefly, the basis for the War Ches,
idea can be set down in this form:
One campaign for all war need:
reaching everyone in the community
will: (1) Reduce waste Of time anC
effort to minimum (2) induce all t.
give to maximum; (3) conserve the
financial resources Of the community
"a eliminate the relatively unimpor-
tant and increase the support Of the
important causes; 90 raise the patriot
ism of the community to higher level
(6) effect new community spirit.
The first task confronting the COM
munity that desires to raise one fund
for wartime demands is that of mObli
zation of money. The very excellent
application of the modern budget sys-
TEN to the hitherto haphaZard plan OF
raising special funds for special war
needs, should provide the solution.
At the outset the people Of any To-
cality may argue that the government
should have provided for the relief and
support of the fighting forces and their
trative action, and for the cost thereof
by taxation, rather than by the activi-
ties of voluntary organizations backed
up by voluntary contributions Of mon
ey. Experience has already demon
strated, however, to the satisfaction Of
citizens generally, that the policy the
government saw fit to adopt in this de-
tail was profoundly wise.
Taught by the Campaigns.
While, it would appear, no one can
deny the justice Of distributing the bur-
den Of money support Of these activi-
ties on as exact basis as possible, the
American nation would have made but
sorry progress in the necessary home
support of the fighting forces had these
details not been left to the voluntary
efforts of the people, for the great
money-raising campaigns of our Amer
lean communities have educated the
people to the seriousness Of "Our" war
as nothing else could possibly have
done.
These campaigns have served with
minimum of delay to overcome the in
difference and selfishness of the people
! black home" They have stirred the
American heart to a personal interest
and gtmpdthy, to Spirit Of Sacrifices
and to general willingness to do any
thing necessary to win the war, which
today is the greatest war asset Amer
Its army and navy.
The problem of organizing commune
ties so as to secure a maximum sup
port Of the war is the greatest present
need. In many communities there Is
the conviction that the War Chest plan
is the solution of this problem.
To meet the situation there has
been organized in many communities
q great volunteer organization includ-
ing among it's supporters and subscrib-
ers almost every adult in the confines
Of it's territory. The plan may be
adopted only for city, or it may be
extended to a county.
Where successfully. prosecuted, q
Community War Chest has had the
patriotic support Of committee Of
local business men and women, rep
resenting every activity of the locality.
These committees may be named, in
some instances by the mayor, the
local chamber Of commerce, or may
result from the natural development
of the demand for some such relief.
How the Work Is Done.
From this general committee
naturally bulky and unwieldy-there
has been selected general executive
committee, of few members, thor
oughly representative, competent and
patriotic, in whom the community will
have complete conhdence." This COM
mittee Is authorized not only to raise
sufficient funds to meet all war needs,
but to investigate all future wartime
demands, and to appropriate such
amounts out of the War Chest fund as
1t may deem necessary. In other words,
to this executive committee Is dele
gated the task of filling" the War
Chest and Of directly supervising the
disbursements therefrom.
Having secured the support Of all in
terests in each community, with the
plan thoroughly prepared, perfection
of details should commence. At the
same time the publicity program
should be launched.
After selection of the executive COM
signed these duties:
First, to ascertain the probable de-
mands that will be made upon the
community IN the form of subscrip
tons to general or special funds for
war needs during the next - months.
Second. having decided upon the ap-
proximate sum that will cover these
demands, to build up an organization
that will raise the entire amount in
one, and only one, general campaign,
and to plan that campaign in such
manner as to afford every man, wom-
m and child in the community an OPP
portunity to subscribe according to his
Or her ability. ~,
Third, the funds having been raised,
to conserve and expend them judi
ciously and carefully, but meeting in
full the patriotic duty Of the COM
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