Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-04-01
FRIENDS SENDING
PARTY TO RUSSIA
Commission to Study Social
Needs and Do Recon-
struction Work
HAROLD EVANS AT HEAD
Seven Workers Plan to Travel
All Over Country-Men-
nonites to Help

A commission 10 study social needs
in Russia will be sent from this CITY
by the American Friends service COM
mittee early in June.
This commission. hea6ed by Harold
Evans, Philadelphia lawyer, Will lay
the ground work for extensive recon
struc,lou work to be undertaken by the
American and English Quakers III NUS
sia during the next two years.
From the experience gained in France
and in Russia by an earlier expedition
The Friends are prepared TO uhdertaNe
extensive relief work throughout Euro
pean Russia.
Accompanying the commission of seven
members, which will travel all over
Russia, will be group of RELIEF workers
who will start at once the work OF meet
ing the most insistent needs OF tne
I,nssian neasants This group Will be
f,Iio,yed nv others, all volunteers for two
years. service in Russia. and a similar
cxnedition will go at the same time
from England.
Plans Announced TodaS
r,,ars for the relief work OF the
Friends were announced today at 1he
beaduuarters of the American frlenas
Service Committee, 20 S0uth lWeitth
street This organization has already
900 WORE than 900 relief workers to
France and has now n group of workers
in Russia and another in siberia.
The commission which will study Rus
sian needs will learn what can be done
In helm the Russian peasants learn traues
and carry on efficient production, III ad-
dition to aiding them in reorganizing
trajr home life disturbed by war, reVo-
luton and famine.
The first expedition of the Quakers
sent to southern Russia in 1916 worked
in the proyince of Samara. Among the
phiIa adeInhians in the first unit were
Esther white. Henry Babb and Lydia
lewis Rickman Anna G. Haines, OF
Moorestown, n. j., and Emily Bradbury,
of Jarrettown. Pa. Miss Bradbury Is
nov, In Omsk. Siberia. where living con-
d,tions are described as frightful in let
ters received by Friends here.
The Friends are making extensive
preparations 20 go deeply into the Rus
sian situation. A weekly class is study
inp Russian at the service committee
headuuarters in South Twelfth street and
sufficient funds are in sight. 1t is said
to furnish the S50.000 a month needed
tn bring relief and aid to the Russians
through the construction units.
In addition to Harold Evans, the com.
mission will contain DR.. Il. A. Steiner
lecturer and writer on Russia. who is
a fluent Russian linguist and Is widely
acquainted in Russia. Clarence Pickett
of Iowa, business man, Is another
member of the commission. Among the
workers will be A. Carroll Binder, who
has just returned from sixteen months
service with Friends relief work r
France, and Miss Dorothy Walton, who
has also recently returned from France
Mennonites Also to Go
A group of Mennonite workers will SC
with the Friends. The Mennonites are
cooperating financially in supporting
the Russian work, and yesterday check
for $4,000 was received by W. *
Thomas. executive secretary of the serv'
ice committee as a contribution toward
the new expedition. The Mennonites
Mr.. Thomas said, have contributed more
than s225, 900 to relief work directed by
the Friends.
The Friends have learned from theil
experiences in Russia that they can b'
of great service without becoming in any
way entangled in the changing politica
disturbances.
One OF the problems that concern the
Friends Is the orphan situation in Rus
sia. Information that there are probabl
100000 orphans in Russia has beer
received. One of tho probable efforts o
the new unit will be to aid in solving
this orphan problem.