The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1918-12-03
home FOLKS OF
KEOKUk SOLDIERS
49,. Laura Alton's Department Of
bed Cross Does Great Work
in Keokuk White. Men
are In Army.
MOST Is CONFIDENTIAL
u.- Formal Report to Rod Cross Chap.
Ter Tells Little Of Great Good
She Did With Much
Hard Labor.

The home folks Of the Keokuk sol
aer are after all the most important
thinq in the world to kim. and the
soldier in the army is the most valued
nossession of the home folks.
little slip of young woman, full
If energy, of low voice and big and
active brain, brilliant star student OF
great college for four years. and
very anxious to do her full share to
win the war, has been the link con-
netting the hearts of the soldier boys
and their mothers and sisters in Keo-
kuk for the last eighteen months.
Her work is so confidential, that
Miss Laura Alton can not have her
Uork told in a newspaper, and she
will not talk about it's really import
ant items. She has been working as
hard as any man or woman in Keo-
Ink at it, has done immeasurable
good. but her annual report tells as
little as the report of a Sunday
school superintendent. 1t has just
been filed with the Keokuk chapter
Of the Red Cross.
Bio Work on Little Money.
Its first paragraph gives her home
service department its place in the
Red Cross organization, and spears
OF its duty to see to IL that the faIni-
lies OF the soldiers have the same
care as would be theirs it the soldier
we're at home, sympathetically in
every advisory way, and financially.
Its last section shows that the
whole big work here was carried on
fol
sS675l, of which $292.23 was spent
for various forms of relief. and only
STEPS, was spent for cost OF admins
tering it by the little woman who has
done so much for the home folks of
the soldiers, and most of this was
spent for kilograms to relieve the sus-
pense of anxious mothers and getting
soldiers out of trouble. or the $3S2.25
she received to run her department on
for year, $3.50 came from Mrs. Jen-
ME Hubinger and 800 from the Red
Cross chapter, SIS more coming from
an anonymous giver, and the balance
from certain rebates on loss. Miss
Alton is starting new fiscal year
cheerfully with $14.74 cash on hand,
and her indomitable energy and
warmth Of heart.
Was Busiest in October.
Three hundred families were dealt
with during the year, and the contact
with them included everything mag
Unable that a family friend can do,
when that friend has great organiza-
ton behind her.
October was the busiest month for
Miss Alton, sixty-four different fami-
lies being given cheer of some kind
probably because of the hard fighting
that month in Europe and the many
casualties, real and rumored which
tore at the heart strings of the folks
back home, to assuage which is one
Of the important parts of the work OF
Miss Laura Alton.
The rest of the annual report OF
Miss Alton speaks more of other peo-
pie than of herself, and it is the
longest section. 1t is as follows:
All Kinds Of Detail Work.
THE Keokuk chapter undertook
this branch of the work in February
1918. Through the generosity OF Dr
Fuller, we had well situated office
he having donated his office for our
work. Since that time to the present
We have worked unremittingly.
1T is difficult to give report OF the
work accomplished, first, because just
some trifle we may have done had far
reaching results; second, because the
nature of the work is absolutely
confidential. no one caring to have his
or her troubles aired to the public, be
hey such as to require material ale
Or information.
Some came once, we wrote. letter
ior them or gave them some informa
aon and that was all they needed
some cases necessitated looking vi
seemingly endless matters, makins
andavits, daily visits for many weeks