The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1918-09-12
RED CROSS TO TELL
OF EXPENDITURES

The var council Of the American
Red Cross has planned to issue 10 tie
American people series Of reports
concerning the use Of the first Red
Cross War fund Of 500. 600 900 and the
plans 50 far perfected for future work.
The first section Of these reports issued
covers the work Of caring for the fam
lies at home of America : men in the
military service. Report on this sub
ject follows
More than three hundred thousand
families Of American men in the SER
vice have been relieved Of money
troubles, legal difficulties, household
worries and depressing loneliness by
Home Service. This branch # Red
Cross activities has now 80. 600 men
and women serving on its 10, GOO local
committees and lie spreading the doe
trlne of intelligent substantial neigh
borliness on behalf Of fighters families
and backing ii with an expenditure of
$40O, 600 per month made out of money
raised by the communities themSelv Ives
and reserved from the amount contrib
uted by the National Red Cross War
Fund. This distribution mas been di-
rected by the local committees them
selves ana more than one million peo-
pie have been helped.
Money, the least valuable cOntrlbu.
tion Of the American Red Cross Home
Service to community welfare amount.
ed to 81 800, 900 during the first six
months of 1918 and will exceed S4. 600,
600 for the second half Of the year.
BY January l, 1919, the American Red
Cross will have spent in this work a
total of about 81, 600, 600, and will
probably be carrying the burden of
one million per month.
More important than money are
the other kinds of help given. Prob
lens in soldiers and sailors families
arise from sickness, worry, backward
unruly children, perplexltles in the
household, management of business,
legal tangles, mental depression, and
sometimes the mere longing for the
man gone away, Home Service has
been successfully helping to meet
Them All difficulties arising out Of
the misunderstanding of the War Risk
Insurance law there being each week
about go, 600 inquiries as to why sol.
dlers dependents are not receiving
their money from the War Risk Bu-
reau, are brought to the attention of
Home Service workers who undertake
to getsthe information needed and in
many cases have had allotments or al
lowances pushed through.
Wherever men are under military
orders they are in touch practically all
of the time with Home Service repre-
sentatives. If worried about families
at home, Home Service messages are
sent to straighten matters out. Twen-
ty or more inquiries after the welfare
Of soldiers families are cabled from
France to near or remote American
communities every day and at least
100 more come in each days mail to
National headquarters. An executive
staff of 80 Is supervising the work of
the 10, 900 communities. In addition
two thousand men and women, many
Of them volunteers, are acting as full
time secretaries. Seven thousand peO.
pie have attended special training lee
ture courses to fit themselves to help
in this work and one thousand have
been given certificates after a longer
period of study indicating that they
are prepared for positions as secretar-
les.
There is no possible contribution
to the welfare of fighters families
that Home Service workers are not un-
dertaking to make The work has en-
listed the help of all creeds and races
and is extending aid to every person
who will accept it regardless of rank,
religion or color 1t is not charity,
but only that neighborliness which is
due every fighter from the people of
the whole United States. -