Evening star., 1946-04-04

Red Cross Central Committee is
expected to reneU or cancel its
controversial maritime fund
ing agreement tUith labor union
relief committees. This is one
OF a series OF articles explaining
the agreement.
For an Interpretation of condi
tions existing when the Red Cros
entered into a Embarrassing agree
men with committees representing
organized labor. it is necessary t.
turn back to the year 1912.
The war had struck suddenly, ant
truly overnight the Red Cross, lik'
the newly born National War Fund
was faced with its mightiest task il
history. The campaigns of norma
years became as nothing compared
with the S200,000.000 drives the Res
Cross now must outline.
AS relief agencies stepped into tn,
breach on national scale. SO die
labor begin mobilizing its own de-
vices for relief and welfare. Tht
AFL's wheels were set in motion by
its Labor League for Human Right!
and the CLOS War Relief Commit.
tee went into action.
Unity Sharpest Weapon.
1t was time when national unity
was the sharpest weapon we had
But instead of a concerted drive fol
war relief funds, this was happen.
ing:
Early in 1912 innumerable cam.
paigns had been proposed or organ.
lied. In addition to Community
Chests end the Red Cross. the USO
various foreign relief drives and two
or three War Bond campaigns yeal
were contemplated.
The labor unions sought TO sim.
plify matters by conducting on,
drive on poyroll deduction basi!
to cover all war relief. agencies
Funds were to be collected from
local unions and transmitted Il
national pools. After the deduction
OF expenses, the money was to b,
apportioned among various welfar.
groups, including the Red Cross.
Call for Big Men.
Within the Red Cross there wa!
a job to be done of unprecedented
magnitude. The vast sums of money
sought required the cultivation o1
fields hitherto almost untouched
and to accomplish this the Rec
Cross called for big men with big
ideas.
One of these was Guy Emerson
vice president of Wall Streets Bank
ers' Trust Co., who served as q
volunteer national consultant. II
two years he covered 10000 miles
sounding out opinion among Rec
Cross people and others" He was
largely responsible for the Red
Cross agreement with labor.
In 1914 the late Norman H. Davis
Red Cross national chairman and
to three of the labor agree
ments, requested of Mr.. Emerson a
report which might be a permanent
record of the unrecorded events
the agreement.
Lack of knowledge.
Mr.. Emerson told how, in apprais-
ing the public's willingness to CO.
operate with the Red Cross. I'VE
found considerable areas in which
there was lack of knowledge. In
some quarters there was definite
element of resistance The labor
field was one of these"
The reasons were several. among
them: Labor had not learned of the
Red Gross work fully and fairly
through direct approach by all the
chapters and through the labor
press, t2) they felt Red Cross had
not included men and women in the
labor field in the Red Cross family
while businessmen and other men
and women of means were in charge
OF the Red Cross activities pretty
generally, and 90 they had certain
of some years standing
relating to Red Cross disaster activi-
ties in which they believed there
had been discrimination against
their group"
Therefore, about the same time
labor became acutely aware of its
war reliel obligations, the Red Gross
became conscious Of labor as a
prime social and economic factor
The national crisis brought the two
LOpether in a nact leaders in indus