Evening star., 1950-04-13
23 Public Fund Drives Conducted Here Every Year

At least % public fund drives
now are being conducted in Wash
ington every year.
One of them-the Community
Chests a combined effort. pro-
viding some $3.5 million for 100
different agencies.
The rest are independent, and
they collect even more-this year,
probably at least $4.5 million or 81
million more than the Chest.
This month, two of the city's
biggest drives Cancer and United
Jewish AppeaD are being launched,
with goals totaling a resounding
$2.7 million. The Red Cross cam
paign, the city'S third largest.
ended this week. Since January
|, this and II other campaigns,
some still incomplete, have raised
nearly So million.
This is the picture that recently
prompted the Community Chest
Federation to urge a civic meet
ing to consider a larger federated
drive.
In 1928. when the Chest was
founded here, it was tagged with
the slogan, "One drive for ALL"
Two No-Drive Months.
In 1850. there will be only two
months-June and July-when a
new fund drive will not be
launched.
Chest President Chauncey G..
Parker. jr., in his annual report,
called the situation nearly cha
otic." Board of Trade President
Frederick P. H. Siddons is pre-
pairing to appoint a committee to
study the problem. Junior Cham
ber of Commerce leaders also are
giving it attention. The Fedora
ton of Businessmen Associations,
first to take concrete action, has
formally indorsed the bigger-fed-
Grafton idea.
The problem isn't one for busi-
nessmen alone. Labor Secretary
Tobin at the recent Chest FEEDER
alton meeting. served notice on
the community that, if the drives
themselves aren't combined, the
Government probably will be
forced to impose its own system
of joint solicitation-"once for
ALL"
The average citizen, according
to some drive leaders. also is re-
acting. Solicitors have met COM
plants and sometimes turndowns.
Some Oversubscribed.
Washington still is giving gener-
ously to some causes. The Red
Cross, as usual, has just exceeded
its goal. The recent Metropolitan
Police Boys Club campaign for
100000 was purposely stopped at
the 100000 mark-with people
still in mood to give, according
to it's leaders. The Cancer drive,
now underway again, last year
went $4,000 over it's 100000
quota.
Even the giant Community
Chest campaign, though we'll un-
der its quota. managed last fall
to register an increase over the
previous years collections. 1t has
raised, too, tremendous grand
total since it's founding.
On the other hand, not only the
Chest but some of the newer, less
pretentious campaigns are def
nitely facing trouble in the pres
ent multiplicity" of drives. Their
leaders are frank to admit they
are beginning to see handwriting
on the wall.
The chairman of growing
health group reported recently
that he has had difficulty both in
finding gifts and in recruiting the
solicitors to seek them.
Amvets May Drop Sales.
A spokesman for the American
Veterans of World War II said
Amvets is considering giving up
its September sale Of white clovers
because of poor results last fall.
Some Of the key organizations
in the picture still are adamant
in their opposition to the bigger
federation idea, however.
Anti-federation in both national
and local policy are the American
Cancer Society, American Red
Cross, National Foundation for
1nfantile Paralysis, National Soci-
ETY. for Crippled Children and
Adults and National tuberculosis
Association, together with their
District branches.
These groups argue they have
distinctive national purposes which
are best, and most generously
served by independent fund
raising. They question whether
citizens would respond adequately
to one approach for all, or whether
the organizations could tell their
own stories adequately in a COM
lbined campaign. They insist on