The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-11-06

dunning you?
 Well, the Elks are responsible, in a great measure. E1ks seemed to hear more about the Salvation Army and it's work from the first than the general public did. One reason was, I imagine, that the war crowded the Elks out of house and home so thor oughly. They gave up their club houses and their lodge rooms to the Red Cross all over the country, you know.
 Sometimes they kept one room in 9 sometimes they just borrowed a room when they had to have it.
 The Elks are a convivial lot. They knock around a good deal. And they are the sort who have on tap, always der dog. e..
 They couldn't help seeing a good deal of what was being done for war relief. And they seem to have seen the Salvation Army as a, sort of Gin derella. So, here and there, quite spontaneously, local lodges of the Elks began getting in touch with To- cal Salvation Army leaders.
 See here," the E1kS would say in effect: You people are doing mighty good work. You need money. We want to help. We can't go over there and bake doughnuts for the boys in help you to get the money you need! How about it ?''
 'They Saw Us Through"
 Then the time came. in the spring needed five million dollars and sim ply had to make drive to git it. By that time the tie between the Elks and the Salvation Army was pretty well established.
 Reports had been coming to Sa1- vation Army headquarters about the help the E1ks were giving. And the leaders of thed rive were nervous v11C 1 l .r,-, money on wholesale basis. They'd always managed to paddle their own canoe. They didn't have a great publicity department. They didn't Cross and the Y. M. c. A. had.
 So they went to the Grand Lodge of the Elks. And the Elks, who had been hearing from their local lodges. more than fifty cities the Elks took complete charge of that drive-no- taoly in Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Kansas City and St. Louis.
 They paraded the streets; they got up circuses. They left the Salvation Army people. who really had enough to do with their regular work, free, and guaranteed the money.
 They saw us through" says Col onel w. A. Mcintyre, who is at the head of the Army's New York office We're still a little dazed by all they did for us. We never could have got the money we did without them. We couldn't ask them for anything they didn't give us. Usually we didn't have a chance to ask They took hold of our drive magnificently. There aren't words strong enough in praise of the E1kS.
 They're a wonderful lot. It's not quite a new thing for them to help us remember, once, years ago, they held their Grand Lodge in Buff falo- And at the same time we were having festival. and, trying to raise some money. We had a hurdy- gurdy. among other things. We'll, lot of those Elks just took thai kept it going T for three d days-and nights! They charged a dollar a ride and every Elk must have ridden a dozen times: They went all over
 What the EIks Can Do.
 It isn't a new thing for the E1ks to turn in and help in an emergency, either. Back in 1906. when the news flashed over the wires. Bob" Brown of Louisville was Grand Exalted Ruler of the order. He caught the first train for Chicago. wiring Fred tary, to have s5,000 in cash and tickets on the Overland Limited ready for him. Robinson gave him $1es00e, and Brown beat all records
 
 More money, in cash, kept coming to him. He stayed out there Tor weeks, and for a time the E1ks were the only people who had any cash al all for relief work-the banks being closed.
 Brown tells one story of that time. He and 8 lot of other relief workers representing various organizations, sula that had been left an utter wreck. Brown spoke last at a meet ing that was organized.
 ''The others passed around slips on which people could write down what they needed" Brown says, 'It was flne-and it was all they could do But when it was my turn I opened a satchel I had and slapped down S5,- 900 in bills.
 There's what the Elk can do, Mr. Mayor" I said. We happen to have the cash. Go to it!'
 a The Elks contributed and sent in 4OO carloads of food to San Francis co. And they raised so much money that Brown couldn't spend it all, and out of the surplus a fund was estab- 1ished that the Elks have used ever since to give quick relief in case of disaster.
 They helped in the same way at the time of the Dayton floods in 1918 and after the forest fires in Mime sota last autumn.
 And at Christmas no soldiers chill dren lacked Christmas tree. House toulouse investigations py the loyal lodges Of the ElkS took care of that. Christmas has been a geat Elk time always. Every lodge has sent mem oranges and cady. After Christmas there would be, as a rule, too, more permanent he1p-something to insure the future. But the E1ks think kids ought to have a good fine Christmas and hang the expense!
 Don't you rather like these EIkS 
 .. THREE NIGHTS OF IT.