The Marietta journal. (Marietta, Ga.) 1918-1944, 1920-11-19
WHAT WOULD YOU
DO IF DISASTER
HIT YOUR TOWN?
$4,000 Victims of Sudden Disasters
Helped Last Year by
Red Cross

denly stricken by disaster?
The question is not as foolish as
it may sound to people who are living
today in safety and happiness and
who no more anticipate disaster to-
morrow than they do the end OF the
world.
For no one knows when or where
disaster will strike.
There was no warning Of the San
Francisco earthquake and fire. One
moment the people of that mighty city
were bustling about their business,
utterly devoid of fear or premonition;
he next their entire world was tum
, oling about their ears.
One morning two miles Of the city
Of Atlanta, Ga, were swept by fire
in less than four hours.
Wall street never expected a bomb
explosion until 1t came and killed
more than thirty people and manned
scores of others in less time than it
axes to read this paragraph.
Even gathering storms and rising
foods, such as the south has known
IN its coasts and at river cities like
Vest Point, Ca, give scalt warning
before homes are inundated and people
iorced to flee for their lives.
To any one at any time, tornado,
ire and storm may bring peril and sui
,ering. So the question is asked
gain:
What would your town do tomor-
0w if disaster struck"
1t is to provide an answer to that
question that the American Red Cross
nas been in existence for years and
years. 1t is the recognized official
agency for disaster relief, and ii has
lived up to it's responsibilities in a
wonderful way.
That is one reason why the Red
Cross deserves the support of every
)ne Oh it's Fourth Roll CA.l-to main
ain it so that, when disaster strikes,
he stricken will always have a help
ng hand to turn to, the American Red
Cross.
The disaster relief part of the Red
ross organization has been so thor
)ughly perfected that 1t can answer
alls for help in the briefest possible
lime.
People of the south we'll remember
low promptly the Red Cross respond
d to the need during the West Point
flood last year, the Corpus Christi
torn and several other southern dis
asters, while fresh in the memory Of
he entire country Is the fact that
Red Cross doctors and nurses were
first on the scene" at the Wall street
xplosion.
In addition to furnishing such
prompt relief as this, practically ev-
,ry Red Cross chapter has a per-
nanent disaster relief committee,
which has made survey of resources
in their respective communities and
IS prepared to act promptly with the
means at hand when disaster occurs.
Illustrative of the genuine need for
asst such preparedness as this in the
United States is the fact that, last
Jear alone, the Red Cross aided 80.
700 persons in 1874 communities, all
ictims of 70 separate and distinct dis
listers.
In the accomplishment of this re-
lef work 140 Red Cross chapters were
allied upon to assist, the sum of $780,
90 in cash and supplies was expend-
d. Thirty temporary hospitals were
;alled into existence, twenty odd mo-
or corps were organized seven spe-
;ial relief trains were sent out and
10 special representatives and nurses
were furnished in addition to the aid
given by the local Red Cross workers
n the community visited by disaster.
In these 70 disasters, including ~
ornadoes and cyclones, hurricanes,
cloud bursts, 1 hail storm, earth
iuakes, / landslide, Is fires, l explo-
sion, 8 floods, 10 shipwrecks, / train
wreck, 4 riots, l motor accident and
, droughts-850 persons were killed,
100 were injured, 10000 (approxi-
mately) were rendered homeless
while property valued at 100000 was
destroyed.
The largest and most destructive
disaster OF the year was at corpus
Christi, Texas, in September, 1919.
Approximately 400 were killed and A..
900 made homeless. The Red Cross
division director with a staff of IS
assistants administered fund of $500.
/ 900, giving aid to 5000 families and
four towns and rural districts and suf.
ficient supplies to each family to en-.
able it to stand on its feet.
Because of tornadoes, the Gulf and
Lake Divisions were called upon to
! send emergency relief with trained
workers to nearly 80 communities. The
two droughts in Montana and North
Dakota gave abundant opportunity for
trained workers from the Northern Di.
vision to help the Red Cross chapters
demonstrate their usefulness, while &
number Of shipwrecks proved the read
mess of the Atlantic Division and the
New York Metropolitan Area Commit
tee to assist in that line of work.