The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1919-06-02
VAR AWAKENED
GREAT GENEROSITY
Indications Are Shown By the Prelim
mary Reports of Various 0rganiza
tons Toward Alleviating
Distress,

New York, June 2.-Indication of the
worldwide generosity awakened by the
war is given by preliminary reports of
the British and American Red Cross,
Young Mems Christian association, the
Order of st. John of Jerusalem and sim.
liar organizations which during the past
four years have done service in alleyiat
ing distress and which are now taking
part in the work of reconstruction.
A recent issue of London Truth, in
commenting on the record of ST5,000,0 900
war contri' utions to the Red Cross by
the British people during the period from
1915 to 1918. inclusive, says this must
easily be a record collection for char
liable purposes" Admitting that the
amount does not equal that raised for
the American Red Cross, The Truth oh.
serves that "the general total Of volin.
tary giving for war purposes in England
must have been something without pree
edent in that country's history"
The British people, it is pointed out,
were lavish in their private benefactions,
no record of which was kept. The first
two years of the war, for instance, it is
said, individual Britons fed and clothed
more than 100000 Belgian refugees and
Belgian relief was only one of wide
diversity of objects which included the
rehabilitation of crippled soldiers, the
Blue Cross for War Horses and numer-
GUS other charities An interesting fea-
ture of the work of the British Red
Cross, shown in the preliminary figures.
& L. IS 81, 90, =.
1915, this cost was less than per cent
and it fell progressively until, in 1918, it
was about IA per cent.
Contributions to the American Red
Cross from the date Of the entry of the
United States into the war on April G,
1917, to the present are roughly estimat-
ed at about S350,000,000 This amount
was raised mainly in two donation
drives" which brought in Sl06,000,000
and Sl80,000,000, respectively, and two
membership drives" in which 100000
membership signatures of one dollar each
(many were for much larger sums were
obtained
The cost of administration, il was
stated by an official of the Atlantic di-
vision, was entirely betrayed by the Red
cross membership subscriptions and for
every dollar contributed Sl.02 was made
available for actual relief by reason of
bank interest. L. j. Hunter, comptroller
of the American Red Cross in Washing
ton, is now at work on receipts and ex-
penditures, it is said, and is expected to
make an official report in June.
Many millions of dollars already had
been raised for the Young Mems Chris
tian association, knights of Columbus
Jewish Welfare board, War Camp Com
munity service, American Library asso-
citation, Young Women's Christian asso-
citation and the Salvation Army when
the United War Work drive was under
taken last winter The subscriptions
aggregated more than $4,000 900.
Vast sums were raised in France,
Italy, Japan, Russia and other countries,
including neutral powers, for the "amel-
ioration Of human want and woe" When
all the figures are compiled, a charities
statistician estimates, it will be shown
that the most devastating war of history
Embossed mankind's pursestrings in the
most remarkable and prodigal manner.