The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1919-04-14

For the first time in a hundred
years all branches of Friends have
Joined in common administration of
good to the world, and 1t is my
earnest hope that we can continue
with Permanent Service Committee
doing home and foreign work." said
Wilbur X. Thomas, general secretary
of the American Friends Service Com
mittee, at the East Main Street
Friends church Sunday afternoon. in
a plea for continuation Of the work
now being done by the Friends,
which work he said has awakened the
Friends to the real meaning of their
testimony-that Christianity Is prac-
ticable.
He described what has been done
during the last year and half OF the
existence of an American Friends
Service Committee. This organization
took up its work Complementary as
one unit a year ago last July, and
has since served continuously the
people of devastated France; has
gone into Russia. and is at the pres
ent time entering field in southern
Europe and the near east.
Mr.. Thomass idea Of a permanent
committee is that following his educa-
tional preparation in the usual way,
each young man and woman OF the
Friends church where at all possible
should undertake for year some
form of service work.
whether we will or not" he said,
"the heritage of a testimony or the
Quaker faith is associated with US no"
and because of what we have done
we no longer need be ashamed tnat
we are a small body, not different
from other people. Other people are
going to respect us more In the III
than we respect ourselves.
$4,000 a Month Needed.
The Five Years Meeting OF America
has given during the past year ana
half $751; 900 to the Service Committee
work; the Hicksites have given $zoo'
600; Indiana Yearly Meeting mas CIV
en- 500, 900 compared with $2l,ooo from
New England Yearly Meeting, where
Mr.. Thomas mentioned there IS
much smaller organization OF frlenus,
Baltimore Yearly Meeting mas gwen
$4,000; Western Yearly Meeung, NO.
600: and Nebraska, the youngest ieai'
ly Meeting giving $4,90o. -
Fifty thousand dollars montn Is
needed from now on 10 compie,e 'ne
work we nave SldilSu' ~
not be DONE" Thomas ADVISED his
auditors.
American men and women who nave
undertaken reconstruction work IN
France. and interesting details con-
corning the work were given by Ruius
nj Jones of the American Friends ser
vice committee at the meeting yester
day aftrnoon. Mr.. Jones said ina.
while he went over with some IDEA Oh
carrying inspiration to the Service
neople who were laboring TOT the
alienation of suffering, he soon founu
instead of being the messenger OF II
he was the recipient of their magnln
cent and purposeful spirit.
Five hundred and eighty reconstruc-
tionists are now on the field IN france
working as the American FRIENDS ser
vice Committee. Three hundred ana
dftv of these are from America, oo
are women, 230 are men and women
from England, Ireland and Australia,
he said.
Work In Two Districts.
"The two great districts where the
Friends Service Committee WORK Is
being carried on is in the region north
of Chateau Thierry, which IS known
as the Chateau Thierry section, and
the Verdun zone, east Of the destroyed
city of that name.
A great Quaker hospital at Chal-
one-Sur-Marne, old headquarters or the
American army, is to be endowed ana
turned over to the French by the
Friends, it was stated.
"A great many French people feel,
said Jones, that the time has come
when they want all foreigners to leave
their country; that they want to get
back to their former prices, for there
Is no doubt that rich foreigners IN
the country has raised the prices OF
everything. But l can truthfuliy say
that there is one class Of people the