Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 9, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 January 1918 — RED CROSS’ CARE OF SOLDIERS [ARTICLE]

RED CROSS’ CARE OF SOLDIERS

While Uncle Sam’s soldiers have been traveling to camps and cantonments all over the country, the Red Cross has been busy proving that the boys in khaki never lack friends no matter where they go. More than a thousand chapters have organized “refreshment units,” which make a business of serving light refreshments —coffee, . sandwiches, and the like —at the Vallroad stations in their home towns when the troop trains go through.. Many chapters also stamp and mail letters and post cards for the soldiers, and send off their telegrams.. In a town of less than .15,000 people in lowa, the Red Cross chapter served light refreshments to over 3,500 men in about two weeks’ times. Twentyfour hundred homemade cookies and ten bushels of apples were donated for use in a single day. When the selective draft men left the town every man took a pound box of candy, made by someone of his neighbors, with him. For another detachment, the Red Cross loaded the . cook car with enough sweet corn, apples and tomatoes for two meals for the whole trainful of soldiers. During one full day of 24 hours (for the chapters are ready night and day) the Red Cross canteen workers served homemade apple pie to 1,142 men, and every man got a quarter of a pie I