The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1918-02-14

Service Workers" and organizing and
Training $4,000 Home Service Commit
teemen."l
BY JAMES L. FIESER.
Director, Civilian Relief, Lake olvL
sion, American Red Cross.
Five million American women today
are engaged in production Of Red
Cross hospital supplies, knitted articles
and surgical dressings. And these
women toll without slightest inkling
OF the Identities of the men who will
be comforted by their patriotic en-
deavorI.
So it remains for the army of 10000
Red Cross civilian relief, or Home
Service, workers to bring the person
al contact into the Red Cross work by
holding out, in quiet and unpatron-
izing manner, helping hand to rela-
tives Of men In the service and, later,
to the men themselves on their re-
turn from the battlefronts.
1t remains for this army of 10000
(Which is backed by more than 1900
chapters with membership above 22,-
O00,000) to marshal reserve of medi-
cal, legal, educational, social and fl
nancial forces to assist in this help
highland business" in a manner hon
orRble to the American Red Cross
and worthy of those helped.
First Of all, Red Cross Home Serv-
ice centers about home solidarity:
getting lonely women back to live
with their own people, watching over
the interests of an expeCtant mother,
reunlting scattered families and writ
ing to men in the service about the
situation In their homes.
Recently a young Italian in one of
the cantonments within the Lake di-
vision was worried to a point where
he was Of little use to his government
because he got no letters from his
wife. He appealed to the Red Cross.
A Home Service committee member
Investigated (they never embarrass
the family by sending the whole COM
mittee) and found that he got no let
ters because his wife could not write.
Arrangements were made for letter
to be written for the wife once a
week. Simple service, but with Won
derful results upon the soldiers state
of mind. And, perhaps best of all, the
young wife now is learning to read
and write.
The Child Angle.
Then there is the children's side of
it-there are men in the service who
are fathers despite the fact that the
public generally does not think that
there are many fathers in the ranks.
Home Service workers are explain
ing lessons to children who fall behind
in their classes. They see that chill
dren in need of medical care get that
care. They are seeking to give kindly
advice to the child just beginning to
be wayward or disobedient.
Coming to the economic side of the
service, Red Cross service workers
are:
Fitting people to the right job and
helping them stay fitted by trying to
find out where the job pinches; seeing
that insurance policies do not lapse;
encouraging people, who have more
ready money than usual (some do
have), to spend it with good sense;
protecting the recipient of pay allow
ance checks from the wiles Of un-
scrupulous installment men and sales
agents; getting the best legal and
business advice in the perplexing prob
lens sure to rise in war times.
And finally helping the crippled SOL
dier or sailor This work is still in
the future. and, while not the most
pleasant thing in the world to antici-
pate, provisions for it must be and is
being made. This the Red Cross Home
Service workers are planning to do
by:
Encouraging employers to give suit
able work to cripples that they may
And permanent opportunity for entire
or partial self support and chance for
advancement; maintaining an informa-
tion service regarding opportunities
for such employment, or working with
state and municipal employment in
struments provided for this purpose;
giving personal attention to the
troubles and hopes Of those who do
not find satisfactory work and to
others whose courage must not be al
lowed to fail; securing vocational
training for those unified for the kind
of work there is available; creating a
public opinion which will encourage
self support from all crippled soldiers
and sailors to the degree that it is
possible for them to work.
All this is, in brief, American Red
Cross Home Service as it now operates
and is planned. The program has been
built up from the experiences of our
allies. Without doubt. like all Red
Cross work, the program will grow as
the war grows older. One thing, how.
ever, is certain
NOTHING LESS THAN THE PRO.
GRAM AS OUTLINED ABOVE WILL
MEASURE UP TO THE IDEALS OF
AMERICA AND OF THE AMERICAN
RED CROSS