The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1919-03-21
CLOTHING IS NECESSARY
COLLECTIONOF GARMENTSF0R
THOUSANDS OF REFUGEES
Those Who Can Should Con-
tribute Much Appsreltto the
Needy Abroad

The week of March 31st to April
! S has beer set for a nation wide COL
lection by the American Red Gross
for used clothing, shoes and blankets
for the refugees of allied countries
freed from the grip of autocracy
Every Red Cross chapter will be
asked to assist in the mammoth un-
dertaking. Minimum allotments, based
on a national total of 10000 tons OF
garments, have been assigned each
division, and it is expected that the
success that attended the campaign
| for the Belgians will be duplicated.
Reports from Red Cross representa-
tives abroad; from Herbert Hoover,
head of the European relief admins.
tration, and from other sources, agree
, that one of the most serious prob
lens faced by millions of men, wo-
men and children in northern France,
italy, CZecho- Slovakia, Belgium, Ser
bia, Roumania, Greece and other al
, lied countries in the near east is that
! of clothing. In many places the
Teutons absolutely ruined the textile
industries, making it impossible for
the people to help themselves, even
| though they had raw materials. Ac-
cordingly, they must look to the
outside world, and principally Ameri-
ca, for assistance.
Refugees" cabled Colonel Harvey
D. Gibson recently, "have been for
several years in rags or with practi-
cally no clothes at all. In many
countries now, even if clothing could
be manufactured and paid for, ma
terial is totally lacking. The need
| is great to degree that few at home
can possibly realize. Every garment
furnished will cover a body which
otherwise would lack proper clothing,
and each garment furnished viii &C
tually prevent suffering"
Still another picture of the vital
necessity of clothing the refugees is
found in the report of fifty American
Red Cross investigators in France,
which asserted that the need of cloth
ing among hundreds of thousands of
refugees in France alone is more i'm
perative even than food.
Most of the refugee families man
age to nourish themselves on the
government allowance and their small
wages" said the report, ''but they are
by no means able to clothe them
selves"
Conditions in other countries are
even more pitiful.
The distribution of the clothing
will be entirely under American SUI
pervision. The American Red Cross
commissions will supervise 1t in those
countries where they are at work, and
in those places where we have no or
ganization Mr.. Hoover's food repre-
sentatives will take charge. Thus the
responsibility for the campaign will
be on the Red Cross from beginning
| to end.
Every kind of garment, for all ages
and both sexes, except those obvious
ly untitled for the use of refugees,
will be acceptable. In addition,
piece goods, light, warm canton fan
| mel, and other kinds of cloth from
which to make garments for new
born babies, ticking, sheeting and
blankets, wooden goods of any kind,
and shoes of every size are asked for.
Scrap leather for repairing will also
be acceptable.
Since the clothes will be subjected
to the hardest kind of wear, only gar
ments of strong and durable mate
rails will be collected. Garments need
not be in perfect condition, however,
as many thousands of destitute wo-
men in the liberated territory will be
eager to make small livelihood by
Intending them.
The collection has been timed to
the period when nearly all of the
| United States is taking off winter
raiment to don lighter clothing.