The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1920-11-26
RED CROSS
WORK IS
EXPLAINED
/ SPECIAL 10 les rIsEsl

SPECIAL TO THs TisEsl
WHITING, Ind. Nov. g. - Iae
Fourth Red Cross Roll Cali for menu
bership IS being well responded TO n
Whiting While the local directors
and Senator J. J. Nejdl. chairman OF
the Roll Call, did not expect the same
amount OF enthusiasm as prevailed
during the war. they have been much
gratiHed BY the showing 70 date
As was shown a. the annual meee-
ing CT the Whiting chapter. the first
consideration of the Red Cross is the
care Of the discharged soldier. sailor
and marine. This work with the serv
ice men includes among other things.
the obtaining Of back pay. Liberty
bonds subscribed for and not received.
compensation for disability received in
the service. allotment Of pay not re-
celved by relatives Of service men. and
government allowance to dependents
OF service men. While IL was believed
that the after care Of the returned
service men would be completed with
IN year after the war, the actual fact
< that this work Will not be finished
Tor sometime to come.
considerable part % the present
and recent Red Cross work in Whiting
consists Of arranging medical and hos
pital treatment for discharged men
The percentage OF disabled from Whit
tnE inductions IS larger than IS gen
orally supposed 1t viii be remcmh-
cred tina. there were over four hundred
enlistments fro mthe Standard OH
plant alone and other enNstmeuts from
the city brought the number Up to'
several hundred more. There are
number OF cases OF serious disability
.-
disabilities. so that the Red Cross has
constantly endeavored TO bring 10 the
ex-service mans attention the oppor-
tunities offered for the care u these
cases. whether major or minor. by as
signing them TO dental and medical
treatment or seeing that they were
placed in tho proper hospitals. Be
sides this. the local chapter has tried
10 bring to the attention Of the serv-
ice men the opportunities offered for
Vocational Education, under which
disabled man may be trained n the
trade or profession Of his choice, while
at the same time receiving compensa-
tion in a sufficient amount to maintain
a livelihood for himself and depend
enis
In this work the Red cross met IN
some cases with the disinclinstioa o.
the service man himself to lake ad-
vantage of these agencies. IN The first
months following the signing OF the
ArHnistice there was much difficulty in
getting results from thc Bureau OF
War Risk Insurance a. w1i] as Va
arious other agencies nv n-10a q, due
is the multiplicity OF forms 10 be toll
lowed n procuring one or the other
* ind OF relief. IN addition 10 This the
average service man had become
zvca-ted with army red taps in many
cases the reluctance to again forge
through this entang glenn mt 0s rcd tape
r.s1lted in his failure to actually pro
cure what he was entitled TO. and IL
has been part OF the efforts Of ths
Rcd Cross chapter, through it7 Homo
Service Section, TO overcome this feel
ing
The result has been that in The ten
months last past. the Home Service
section OF tho local chapter has cared
for about one hundred and atty cases
os ex-service men, and many Ell these
involved tedious and repeated effort
and inquiry with the government
agency concerned. Not a day passes
when some ex-service mans case is
NOT looked after. and the complicated
nature of the inquiries is such as 10
yequtre long training and experience to
properly handle them. This work the
chapter is bound TO continue because
| IS the first duty Of the Red Cross
to care for the discharged service man
4 growing and important phase OF
re Home Service work is also the To-
,s relief work which the Home Serv-
Ice Section has undertaken By authori-
tT OF Red Cross headquarters. This
consists OF emergency, and. in some
cases, continued care Of unfortunate
families Since January !, 1920, when
the local chapter was given permissioa
% extend its Home Service 10 the civil
ian population. It has been carrying OF
work OF the same nature formerly
done BY the Whiting Relief & Aid So
ciety when that organization was IN
existence. Under this plan il IS the
duty OF the chapter to use both time
and money for the relief OF any de-
serving case. As instances OF this, the
chapter IS now paying rent for two
and at times third. deserving widows
with small children mas bought furni-
tune. clothing and bedding for one
Widow and family whose home was
burned has paid for Quitting a pa
tent to tuberculosis hospital; in an
other case has expended eighty-cl ght
dollars for nursing in a family where
TWO children were critically III and
only expert nurSns would save them;
the children are now we'll This is not
The only case % providing a nurse at
HE proper time IN last winters in
fuenza epidemic the chapter employ
"a nurse constantly. going from
home to home where her services were
most urgent a widow with three
small children. who has been deserted
by her husband, Is being assisting by
the purchase OF stated amount OF
groceries each week. The chapter IS
cooperating with other agencies for
relief. both local and county.
The Red Cross locally mas not
stressed publicity 10 proclaim it5
works. and possibly. therefore. its &c
tivities are not fully understood. Itsi
mission is not one chiefly o. charity.
for there are institutions Tor that pur-
pose. Its aim is to afford emernency
relief. for the main part by temporary
loans 10 persons in Unexpectedly un-
fortunate circumstances. giving to its