The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1921-10-26
$50 DISASTER DEATH
TOLL FOR ONE YEAR
Red Cross Gives $1,87l,000 Re-
lief When 5000 Families
Are Made Homeless.

Forty-three disasters, resulting In
the death in the United States or 800
persons and the injury Of $500 called
for emergency relief measures and
the expenditure Of S1,S71,000 by the
American Red Cross during the fiscal
year ending June 80, 1921 says an
announcement based upon the forth
coming annual report Of the Red Cross.
These disasters caused property dam
age estimated at $3O000,000, affected
sixty-seven communities and rendered
65000 families homeless.
The years disasters were Of vary
Ing types, including several which pre-
yiously had never been thought of
as falling within that classified
ton. The Red Cross furnished
relief in seventeen fires Of magnitude,
five floods, seven tornadoes or cy-
clones, one devastating storm. three
explosions, including the one in Wall
street; one building accident, two
typhoid epldemics, the most serious be-
ing that at Salem, Ohio, which az
fected 8 per cent Of the population
one smallpox epidemic, in the republic
OF Haiti; one train wreck, the race riot
at Tulsa, Okla. the famine In China,
emergency relief In famine among the
indians Of Alaska, the grasshopper
plague in North Dakota and an earth
quake in Italy.
Pueblo Most Serious
BY far the most severe of the dis
asters in the United States during the
period covered by the Red Cross re-
port was the Pueblo food early In
June, 1921. The rehabilitation prob
lem confronting the Red Cross IN
Pueblo was one of the most difficult
in recent years. When the first news
of the horror was flashed throughout
the country, the American Red Cross
National Heac quarters responded with
a grant of 100000 for relief work.
Governor Shoup Of Colorado, apnre-
ciating the long and successful expert
ence of the Red Cross in organizing
disaster relief work, placed the en-
/ tire responsibility for the administra.
| ton Of relief In Its hands.
In response to appeals from Pres.-
/ dent Harding, Governor Shoup AMI
| other governors Of western states and
| through local chapters of the Red
/ Cross and other community organiza.
/ items, public-spirited citizens brought
the total contributed for Pueblos re.
Mobilization to more than $4,000.
I The terrible havoc wrought by thc
| food waters Is a matter Of record,
More than 1900 homes were affected
and 1851 persons were left homeless.
Estimates Of 100000 as an absolute
minimum for rehabilitation were made
by Red Cross officials in charge Of the
/ relief work
Fast Work In Wall Street
The Wall street explosion was nota.
bic in that relief workers of the Red
Cross were on the scene twenty min
utcs after the disaster occurred. Ths
race riot at Tulsa also was unique IN
disaster relief annals in that outside
Of small emergency relief fund con
tributed by the Red Cross, the only
relief measures outside the city con
sisted of the service of social work
ers. nurses and a trained executive
whose object was TO assist local forces
in directing their own efforts
IN decided contrast with the pre-
vlous year, only one tornado assumed
the proportions Of major disaster
This occurred on April is, in the Dor
der sections Of Texas and Arkansa
with the city of Texarkana as th'
center. The significant feature OF thl
disaster relief work was the fact tina
II covered so much rural territory a
TO make necessary large number o
relief workers.
The famine In China, necessitatinI
relief expenditures totalling more thar
| 81 100000 by the American Red Cros
4 was by far the most serious of tn,
foreign disasters in which the Rel
cross gave ard.
Builds Up Its Machinery
In connection with the admnlstra
tion az disaster relief measures, an In
creasing effectiveness on the part o
the Red Cross to deal with emergen
ces was manifested during the pas
year. In 32S Chapters of the Amerl
can Red Cross there have been forme
special committees TO survey the re
sources of their respective communl
ties and to be prepared In ense o
disaster. In others Of the 3,a02 actly
Chapters, a network Of communicated
has been formed through which instan
taneous relief may be dispatched t
any part Of the United States.
That its work in this field may b
continued with ever greater effective
ness, the American Red Cross is an
pealing for widespread renewal o
membership during Its Annual Rol
CALI 70 be conducted this year fror
| n