The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1918-07-10
OUTLINES RED CROSS WORK

Cross has been received by Nv. f. P.
Burgess. 1t is self explanatory.
The women Of the country working.
through the Red Cross are producing
enormous quantities of Surgical
Dressings, Hospital and Refugee Gar
ments, and other useful articles. The
production has been increasing dur
ing the past year by leaps and
bounds; there is no apparent limit to
the generosity and devotion Of these
Red Cross workers.
Th Red Cross today is one of the
greatest manufacturing enterprises i'm
the world, and the wise direction of all
this energy and enthusiasm presents
many serious problems. We want
every Red Cross worker to under
stand the situation as it gradually de-
Helops so that we may have that CO.
operation on the part Of every one
Jnat goes with Il true understanding
! OF Red Cross aims and purposes We
have, therefore, set down below at
length Il summarized account of the
work up to the present time and of
The problems now before us.
Our Entry into the War
When this country made its entry
into the war, the Red Cross saw Ii e
necessity of providing great quaint
| s'S'' VI 81 eiSiSS WHICH COuN Do maze
oy the Chapter workers, such as Surg
jcal Dressings, Hospital Garments,
knitted Comforts, and the like. Infor-
nation as to types Of these articles
vas circulated throughout the Chan
1ers ana tentative estimates of the
quantities which were to be produced
were relied upon in arranging for the
purchase of the necessary raw mater.
1alS, such as gauZc, cotton, yarn, etc.
Pians for instructing workers in the
production of the various articles were
rapidly made effective. In Il surpris-
lngly short time, the chapters were
farming out enormous quantities of all
reese articles. Ir the meantime, the
hed Cross organization for inspecting,
transporting and distributing these
products to the point of need was be-
ing developed
, 1t Was not humanity possible at the
| outset to make any dependable esti-
mates of the quantities and relative
rroprtions in which the various kinds
F., uf articles should be produced. The
! Red Cross Commissions, when they
Took up their work abroad, and our
department. of Military Relief, deal
!nE with the camps and cantonmonts
ID tins country, understood from the
llrst the necessity, from every point
OF view, of making these estimates.
The difficulties of making estimates at
al reliable must be obvious to all. It
required time and opportunity to
study the situation from every angle
so as to be sure, in the end, that they
mad given due weight to all of the
p"rplcXing. phases Of the problem.
/ Mhllc these studies were beinp.
;?adc, the Red Cross was convinced
that it would be wise to spare no
pans to be ready for any demand
that might be made upon it, and while
we nave increased our knowledge of
lhe problem month by month, the tre
a1endous production of all these use
tdl articles has been going On in
every part of the country so that we
|; ~, thus far, been able not only to
iaeet in one way or another all of the
demands upon the Red Cross from
every quarter but hive, at the same
time, been able to do one further thing
which we consider essential. That is,
the creation of great stocks of ncccs.
aary articles SO that emergencies
and emergencies arc the rule of war
n1ght always find us ready.
everything SO far produced is OF
positive, value. This is Il war Of such
Tremendous proportions that it seems
almost impossible ever to figure on
having too much of anything con-
hected with its conduct, particularly
OF those things whit., the Red Cross
chapters produce.
II there was no limit to the amount
Of raw material available in the coun-
try and the shipping space which
mlght be used to transport the com
plcted articles to the point of need, the
pohcy of almost unlimited production
might be Justified. But there is a
limit, and a very definite limit to re-
sources both of material and trans.
portatlon, and SO it is not only wise
hut necessary that we put the entire
production as rapidly as possible on
The basis of our best estimates of the
most urgent needs, so that while we
care for Red Cross requirements ade-
quatcly we may at the same time be
conserving the country's resources of
material and its transportation facil-
itieS now so sorely tried.
=, The situation Today
Surgical Dressings:
Inc rate at which surgical dress
rugs nave Dccn produced has been con-
"LHhtly increasing and is now at a
point higher than our estimates ind;,
ic2te as necessary for some months to
come. This rapidly increasing pro
ductlon has strained the capacity of
the manufacturers of raw materials
TO such an extent that there has been
serious difficulty in securing suffi-
clent gauzc and other materials used
in making dressings.
Our department of Supplies is work
ing IN close cooperation with the gov
efnment to see that regular quanti-
Gies OF theSe materials are secured for
heu Cross work: All necessary or
facturers with every help that can bo