Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1918-09-08
RED CROSS CARING
FOR MANY AT HOME
More Than 100000 Families OF
American 1en in Service
Are Given Relief.
LOCAL COMMITTEES HELPING
Have Aided More Than 100000
People Since Beginning
of the War.
LOCAL COMMITTEES HELPING

vice. The report on this subject is a,
follows:
More than 100000 families OF Amcri-
can men in service have been relieved
Of money troubles. legal difficulties.
family worries or of depressing loucii-
ness by tho home service Of the Red
Cross. This branch Of Rcd Cross ac-
tivity has $1,000 men and women SER
wing on its 10000 home service COM
mittccs. II has reached into remote
communities where there had move,
been organized social effort before. I,
has established the closest co-operation
IN the larger ccntcrs OF population with
the organized agencies Of public well
fare. II is spreading doctrine of in
teilisent substan,tai neishhoriness on
backing X with An expenditure or over
100000 a month.
These expenditures nave been made
out OF money raised in tho communi-
ties themselves and reserved from the
amount contributed to the national
Red Cross war fund. The direction OF
work is left to local committees. Ma
tional headquarters is seeking only to
guide and aid in organizing the neigh
borliness OF each town for its own men
in khaki.
More than 900 o0o people have been
helped ny these local committees since
the war began. Money has been. Ger
;ainly. the least valuable contribution
OF homo service TO tho Welfare OF COM
munities since men began to go into
,raining camps; but it amounted Z.
the present year and will probably en-
coed 100000 for the second half OF
iho year ny January !. 1919. Hcd
work a total OF $4,000. 600 and will thea
he carrying burden. probably, or
nearly si.00o.ooo a month.
OTHER MINDS or HELP
FREELY GIVEN TO PEOPLE
More important than money arc the
other kinds Of help that arc being free
n. !
soilors families have arisen from sick
ness, worry. backward or unruly chill
ment. business and legal tanSlcs, men
tai depression and sometimes mere
longing for the man gone away. These
things keep soldiers families from
happiness sometimes when there is no
actual pressing need for funds and
home. service committees.F by enlisting
men successful housekecpers and
teachers. have successfully aided thou
sands OF families to overcome such
Difficulties arise on; or the failure
OF some dependents TO receive their
allowances or ailotmcnts under the
10000 inquiries concerning such pay
mcnts were received by the Red tIeoss
through home service committees dur
ing the month of July. and more than
third of those were taken clear
through 10 headquarters by the in
formation service in the effort 10 get
II
Men in camps in this country or on
the nrinS line in Europe are in touch
practically all the time with Red Cross
id workers who can, in response 10
an appeal, get word TO the home SER
vice committee in the lighters home
town. The Importance OF this in keep
ing up the morale Of men abroad has
been spoken o. again and again by Of
hcerS in France. y worried soldier is
not "a good soldier. ana the Red Cross
is saving soldiers from happiness by
If ia
seeing 20 i. that the soldiers are in
formed that things are right.
welfare OF soldiers families are sent
over from tho army in France every
uay by cab BILE and zoo more come in
the daily mali To national hea dquartcrs.
IL conditions arc such that satiSiac-
tory answer cannot be sent. the Red
Cross home service committee makes
them as nea' right as possible. ana
help ana Watchfulness.
CANNOT REALIZE VALUE
OF HOME SERVICE;
The work OF The home service sec
ton as orsanized IN hrsnee Is unGer
vice president Of the Eank OF Com
merce o; New York City. y letter
from Mr.. Hutchins. written in France.
and just received. contains the fol-
lowing:
You cannot realize the value of ser
vice that comes through my HAMS III
writes that her young man came over
n year ago from Canada. ieaving with
her An ensagement RING, and she has
not heard from him. She does NOT
know the name or number of his reSi-
mcnt. y man sends me all the CORE
spondcnce regarding mortgage that
is 10 be forcclosed OH his home in Louis
Vile. y boy writes thaS ne has had a
letter from his sister saying his father
in Oklahoma cannot live three wecKs.
because OF a cancer, and wants cable
tn \ l,,.'
or mother writes him that they are
needy. because no money from his al
luiment and allowance has come To
them since last October. An oincer in
d hospital asks TO have his trunk. which
is lost. found. y boy is found in Il hos
pital who Will soon be able 10 return
York newspaper reported two weeks
ago that he was dead.
AS II further contribution to the
morale OF the American armies. home
service workers are carrying on
nationwide campaign TO encourage the
writing OF cheerful letters. in order
that soldiers shall not be alarmed aDout
their loved ones left behind.
To supervise all work an executive
staff OF go has been created covering
all division Headquarters in the United
States In addition 1000 young meu
and women are serving as fuii-time
secretaricS-often as voluntcerS-for
local committees.
Several thousand persons have at
tended training courses and lecture
courses in order TO fit themselves to
do intelligent home service work, and
] 900 have been graduated from moro
complete courses emitting them to GER
tificates as qualified. to be secretaries
of home service committees.
Plans for the future contemplate the
development of this program intensive
ly. |, is already possible TO say that
there is practically not soldier In the
der out of reach or n helpful and SYM
pathetic home service WORKER. ara as
the army grows TO 100000 men tho
plans, now fully organized, can bn
strengthened TO beear the greater
burden. SO
The purpose Of home service, sane
toned by tho army and navy and by
Prosident wilson. are to conserve