River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1925-10-29
RED CROSS YEAR
A RELIEF RECORD
Huge Relief Work After Midwest
Tornado the Greatest in
American Annals.
DISASTERS DROP IN 1925
Ranged From Fire to Earthquake
and Covered Wide Area at
Home and Abroad.

Virtual completion OF the largest
peace-time project of post-disaster re-
Mobilization ever known has been &C
/ complished by the American Red
Cross in less than a year, as a part
of its relief work in the more than
80 disasters in which it served in the
past year.
| This great program was undertaken
following the tornado which struck
FIVE mid-western States last spring,
killing 1876 people, injuring 1888 more,
and causing inestimable property loss.
1t left huge area OF devastation in
its wake, presenting real problem.
The Red Cross, however, went to
work on the heels of the storm, car
ing for the injured, sheltering and
feeding whole communities, and help
ing every individual sufferer from the
destruction back to normal.
The magnitude of the problem IS in
dicated by comparison of its huge cas-,
ualty list with that of the entire pre-
ceding year, whose combined losses
were 1856 dead and not quite 1000 in
jured, as result of the record num-
Der Of 1872 catastrophies.
The story of the Red Cross service
in the past year, recounted by the re-
port, ranges from fires heading the list
of destructive forces with 20 disasters,
to mine explosions, tornadoes, ty-
phoons, floods and earthquakes.
The Santa Barbara earthquake was
among the outstanding events record.
ed in the report. The Red Cross had
completed its relief organization on
the scene within few hours Of the
disaster, and in addition had launched
a program designed to permanently
restore every person affected by it,
to his former status once more.
The Red Cross service in the period
following the wreck of the Navy air
ship Shenandoah" was typical of its
Tromptness and effectiveness. Serv-
ice in this instance was afforded by
Red Cross chapters in the vicinity Of
the wreck, and by representatives OF
the national organization. 1t demon
strates graphically the value of each
of the more than 5000 chapters OF
the society which are at work in vir-
tually every part of the country, in
the facility they afford the national
organization in emergencies.
There were 81 domestic disaster OPP
erations reported in which the Red
Cross rendered service either through
chapter or national staff personnel
during the year. In "a of these the
national organization appropriated a
total Of 1904, 25649, the greater por-
ton of which was received as direct
contributions for the relief of speci-
fed disasters. The relief operations
following the northern Ohio tornado
Of June, 1924, were brought to close
IN May, 1925, after an arrangement
had been made with the Lorain chap
ter to provide expert services to the
families of any tornado sufferers who
required such assistance in the next
two years. In this single disaster the
relief work, as finally accounted,
reached a total of $1,019,7 51.2S.
The mid-western tornado Of this
year, covering a strip of territory 400
miles long involved an expenditure
up to June 80 of $774,000, while the
total amount turned in to the fund
through the agency of the Red Cross
was $2,645,000. In addition to this
sum specifically collected for the pur
pose, the Red Cross had expended
from its regular reserves $124.00O.
In all these disasters, Red Cross
workers have been impressed by the
spirit of determination and hopeful
ness shown by the people. Once they
recovered from their grief and bewil-
derment, they began at once to re-
build, materially and otherwise, and
always on better scale where posi-
BILE. Another significant feature OF
these occurrences, as noted in the re-
Fort of the Red Cross, was the prompt
ness with which the local chapters
organized emergency relief before
help could be received from outside
sources. A direct effect of their ex-
ample has been to stimulate disaster
relief preparedness among chapters
ell over the country.
The services of the American Red
Cross are performed invariably in the
name of the American people. On the
effectiveness of this representation
during the past year, it will launch
the ninth annual roll call this year
on November II, to continue until
Thanksgiving, November 26, during
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