Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-10-04
COOLIDGE TALKS TO RED CROSS
AT GROUPS ANNUAL MEETING
President Traces Work Done In Mississippi
Flood Relief and Tells of Plans
For Prevention.

President Coolidge spoke rs follows
last night at the annual meeting OF
the American Red Cross:
Members Of the American Red
Cross:
The past months have been times
Of great activity on III" part Of onf
organization. For the fiscal year
which ended June 30 relief was eN-
tended in 20 different disasters which
occurred abroad. Nearly $6tS.o0o was
devoted tc foreign work. In the same
! wear SS,216.S93 was expended in re-
lieving about 100000 people az re,
sulr Of - domestic disasters. In this
sum only about 5S,G00.00o Of the Mis-
Sissippi flood fund is included. bur il
does; cover S4.4S0.00D used for relief
and h. bilta ton due 10 the storm IN
t',orda which occurred last yrar. In
cldln~ the So 900 900 expended on
the Mississippi food. the aggregate
= amount used ut home AMI abroad in
the charitable work Of this orGaniza
zion in the II months referred l."
amounts 10 about SIG, 000. 900.
The main work Of the present sea
son has been caused by the MISSISSIPPI
flood. While high water in his ba sin
has been Of constant recurrence, the
rise this wear vas or 3 feet ahoV"
any other record from Cairo 10 the
Gulf Of Mexico. distance Of ov"t'
a thoucand miles. bikes We're
broken down in 80 places. su6merG
ing over 20 900 square miles. in.
volvinc ~ counties in parts of
seven States. The means Of communi-
cation were entirely interrupted. much
live stock was DESTROYED. and homes
Of more than 700. 900 persons were
flooded. 1t IS estimated that about
$50 people were drowned.
Nations Heart Quickened.
1.-THE Red Cross established its first
nooi relief camp in Arkansas on
March IS In April the situation
steadily grew worse. When on April
II the city of Greenville, Miss. was
inundated it was realized that seri-
Gus catastrophe was impending. The
following day the full organization of
the FED Cross was placed in action.
[ issued a proclamation asking the
people 10 contribute $1,000 900 for its
work. ] named a committee of the
90 oinet 10 see that all the resources
Of the Government We're made avail
able. Secretary Hoover. as a member
OF the central com nittee of the Red
Cross, was placed in charge Of opera
tionS. Cooperation and co-ordina ton
were assured through his general di-
rection and leadership. ably assisted
by James l.. FeiSeT. acting chairman
OF the Red Cross in the absence abroad
OF Judge Payne. Accompanied by
ncers Of the War Department, they
left for Memphis on April 20. They
have made four trips since, spending
a total Of about IS days in the flooded
area. The Secretary OF War has also
been on the scene of the disaster.
THE story is one OF the fine chaC
ters in American HISTORIC record OF
generous response TO call for funds,
OF the high devotion to duty by those
engaged in saving life and relieving
distress and of endurance and courage
shown by the people of the stricken
area. The North and the South have
! been brought closer together in tie
bonds of sympa thy and underSta nding.
/ The heart OF an entire Nation has
been quickened.
Fund Over $i.,000.OOO
Il issued second call for an add
tional $1,000 900 on May 2. and orr
country quickly responded. Without
further request. the Red Cross fund
has now reached a total of over SIT
000.0 900. The money in hand is sniff
! cient to carry the relief still required
and the reconstruction plans, already
under way. well beyond January ].
There were many deaths from
/ drowning prior 10 April -. but SO ef-
! ficiently was the relief extended thai
less than half a dozen persons lost
their lives thereafter, although the
perils were very great. The health or
| the refugees was so well guarded that
! there were more births than deaths in
/ the concentration camps. A recent
medical survey of the districts affected
shows that, generally spea king. dis
ease is less prevalent now than IN
previous years This affection may
have proved blessing in disguise.
undoubtedly the people have learned
! lessons Of santa ton and health which
| will not be forgotten. The lands have
been enriched by deposits of river
mud, and many Of the farmers. sup
! piled with better quality Of seeds
than used before, have been aston
ished by the size Of the crops they
have been able to grow since the
waters subsidized. New buildings will
be better than the old. These advan-
1 tages will remain. And, finally. we
! propose to solve the problem of flood
control so such q situation may never
again have TO be met. In the soln-
/ ton we shall advance our system OF
inland waterways.
THE ST., 900, 900 contributed 10 the
Red Cross for Mississippi flood relief
| By no means represents the total eX-
! penditures. 1t is extremely difficult to
| estimate the value of the services, the
equipment and the supplies given by
! the Federal Government. but il prob
ably amounted u about 81 100000 OF
a <.f he mt
will be salvaged.
Response OF Railroads.
"The railroads in the affected area
responded superbly. They provided
thousa nds Of box cars for shelter
gave free transportation for workers
and materials, all al an approximate
cost Of $4,000 900. Other large cor
/ porations were most generous. IN al
ditjon, there were important contribu-
tons from the States affected and
from variety OF orga nlzatlons IN
various parts OF the country and per
/ Sonal services given ny tnousanoS oi
/ volunteer workers.
! Never before have so many gov
J ernmental departments been used IN
disaster relief work. The war De
partment had former experience, In
working with the Red Cross and was
! familiar with the Mississippi through
is Engineer Corps. This department
not only did what was possible to
hold The levees intact, but prov ided
*ents. cots. blankets, stoves and cloth
ing frcm various depots TO the value
Of 5000, 900. Rescue work was Or
ganlzed in four districts, each under
an Army engineer Marine and aerial
activity was cO-ordinated in most
ofYact;va ,yay The Army and the Navy
furnished more than so airplanes.