The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1918-10-03

was purchased for S25; pair of
shoes, a coat, skirt, a hat, two waists,
and two corset covers.
After the start, things began to be
| better. The husband made an alIot-
ment of his pay and took out war
risk insurance. As soon as the pay
ments from these sources begin to
come In the family will no longer be
in need of financial assistance. In the
meantime the Red Cross worker is
keeping in touch with them.
The legal committees of the home
service have been especially valuable
aids. Not infrequently a soldiers rela-
tives are badly informed on the law
and allow themselves TO be duped.
| Occasionally they are not aware of the
rights which accrue TO them when the
man of the family goes into the army.
Every sort of Snarl and tangle arises,
and it usually seems as though the
services of a lawyer may be too costly.
The legal committees meet this need.
All over the country lawyers have gen.
erously given their services to this
important work.
ChiIdren's Welfare First.
Nothing is more vital than the vel
fare of the children. One of the home
service directors issued this statement
to the workers of the district: 'The
home service is especially interested
in children, and we feel that its most
important service Is in the conserva-
ton of the child and the home for the
future. For this reason we stand ready
to see that any child does not have to
leave school to go to work because its
father has either volunteered or has
been drafted into the army. We also
stand ready to see that no woman
with small children has to go to work
because her husband or son is serving
the country as a soldier or SailCr."
A short time ago it was reported to
the Red Cross home service station in
one of the cities that a little girl Of
fifteen was about to be taken out Of
school because her family needed the
money she could earn. Irene'S father
was dead. Her oldest brother, Alex,
was contributing $40 a week to the
family treasury, but he was saving to
get married, and that was all that he
could spare. The second boy, Joseph,
had enlisted. The oldest girl, Helen,
made SO a week, while Harry, sixteen
years old and just returned from a
runaway jaunt, only earned 81. There
was another little girl, eleven years
old, who was still in school.
The Red Cross worker explained to
Irene's mother why she felt 50 strong
ly that the child ought to have at least
grammar-schoOl education. In June
she would be through with the gram
mar grades, and in the meantime the
Red Cross offered to pay 1rene's fam
lily Sc a week, which was about all
that she could be expected to earn.
The arrangement was made, and Irene
is still in school, while the mother is
gradually paying off her debts. When
June comes Irene will graduate, and
she will probably be able to earn more
than Sc a week.
1t is a splendid thing to help de-
serving families, but it is still better
to put them in position to help them
| selves. That is, of course, the ulti
mate purpose of social work as it is
practiced nowadays. One Of the large
| home-service sections was able to car
~ through a very large job OF this
! sort recently.
The family in question had been
public charges for years. The husband
and father was a heavy drinker and
never displayed the slightest inclina'
ton to support his wife and children.
/ The mother was serene and happy-g0.
lucky and had no other thought than
/ to get the most she could out of the
! different charity organizations. The
! house was dirty beyond description
and everything was at skies and
| sevens.
Pawned His Wooden Leg.
| Douglas, the eldest boy, was in TITO
navy. The second boy, William, was
] consumed with q desire to enlist, too.
He had tried but had been turned
down because of a physical diSqualifi.
cation, and, in rage and diSappoint-
ment, he had gone off to the West
where he wandered for several months.
When he finally came home, he, too,
settled down to be charity patient.
A third boy, Raymond, seventeen
years old, had also taken to tramping,
although he had a VIC den leg, the
| souvenir of an accident in the railroad