The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1925-11-11
RED CROSS YEAR
A RELIEF RECORD
Huge Relief Work After Midwest
:. :" ,Toriado 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 larges
peace-time project of post-disaster re
Mobilization ever known has been &C
complished by the American Ret
Cross in Jess than year. as par
of its relief work in the more thar
80 disasters in which it served in thu
past yeaE.ans.
This greatappogram was undertaken
folio wing .thss tornado which strucl
five mid.western States last spring
killing 796o people, injuring 2,239 more
and causinsinestimable property loss
1t left ashuges area of devastation il
its wakes presenting a real problem
The. Reds &ress, however, went t.
work ons@he sbeels of the storm, car
ing for the gnjured, sheltering AM
feeding wholes communities, and help
ing every individual sufferer from the
destruction back to normal.
The magnitude of the problems is in
dicated by com parison of its huge cas-
ualty list owith that of the entire pre-
ceding year, whose combined losses
were 735sdead and not quite 1000 in
jured, as a result of the record mum
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 forces7with % 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 it's relief organization on
the scene within a 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
Iromptness 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 o.
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 op-
erations reported in which the Red
Cross rendered service either through
chapter or national stan personnel
during the year. In "a OF these the
national organization appropriated a
total Of 1904, 25S.49, the greater por-
ton of which was received as direct
contributions for the relief of speci-
fed disasters. The relief operations
folio wing the northern Ohio tornado
of June. 1894, were brought to close
III 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 mex.
two years. In this single disaster the
relief work, as finally accounted.
reached a total of $1,019, 1913.
year, covering strip of territory 400
miles long involved an expenditure
up to June 80 of $774,00O, 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 Devil
derment, they began At once to re-
build, materially and otherwise, and
always ON 4 better scale where posi-.
BILE. Another significant feature OF
these occurrences, ~ noted in the re-
Fort Of the Red Cross, was the prompt.
ness with which the local chapters
organised emergency relief before
kelp could b received from outside
sources. A direct effect Of their ex-
ample hes 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 3s, during
which support through membership
wf1I he in yited for 1925