Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 208, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 September 1918 — RED CROSS DOING ITS BIT-Al HOME [ARTICLE]

RED CROSS DOING ITS BIT-Al HOME

Aids in Contentment of Families * of Our Soldiers. PROVIDES RELIEF FOR NEEDY Human Touch la Found Necessary In ' Addition to the Allotments of Pay and Various Allowances From the Government. (From the Committee on Public Informa- , tion, Washington, D. C.> 1 Last Christmas a woman walked into the office of one of the Red Cross homeservice stations and laid down $21.50. It represented the profits of a luncheon served at her home for the benefit of the children of the soldiers of the First Separate battalion. “It is my btf,” she said. “You were all so good to me when I was sick that I wanted to do something for others now that I am able to.” x This woma'n has been one of the first applicants for relief from the home service of the Red Cross. Her husbaqd had volunteered in the army, and, after his enlistment, sheha'd done such heavy work that her health had broken down. She had been ill in bed and had been attended by a doctor who had signed false certificates for her insurance. Finally, In despair, she sent word to the local Red Cross. The Red Cross home worker came to see her and learned the facts in ths case. A better physician was secured, and it was found that she had incipient tuberculosis. She was immediately sent for treatment to a tuberculosis dispensary, where she remained during the summer. Within a few months she had Improved so wonderfully that she could hardly be recognized as the same, woman. This was only one of a very large number of cases. in which the Red Cross has proved a blessing to the families of our fighting men. War disturbs the even current of our lives. Few indeed are the families who are not intimately touched by the call which has gone forth to the young men of the nation. Sons, brothers, fathers, and close friends have gone to the training camps, or will soon go. They will leave" more gladly if they can be assured that the ones they love are being watched and cared for in every possible way during their absence. The Human Touch Needed. Most soldiers have a friend to whom they can entrust the welfare of the mothers and wives. But many have not. The government does the best it can by providing allotments of pay and allowances for the families of soldiers and sailors. But something more is necessary. The human touch is needed. There are bound to be emergencies which call for ministrations of a special and extraordinary sort; situations (Sailing for wits and resourcefulness. Obviously the best way to dfeftl with such cases it to turn them over to trained social workers, whose skill and expedience fit thefn to deal with these troubles. Hence, the government has done a wise thing In turning over to the home-service workers of the American Red Cross official responsibility for such soldiers’ and sailors’ families as come Into difficulties. The home-service work of the Red Cross is a logical extension of its mission of mercy. No other organization has so splendid a record in administering relief, and none is better equipped to do what is now required. Its service stations are established in every district of the United States, and it Is well-prepared to look after the dependents of army and navy men wherever they may be found. The soldier is apt to worry most over his wife and babies. And this is not to be wondfered at, because the predicaments they may fall into are legion. The story which has already been told illustrates one type of danger which may lie in wait for the soldier’s wife. The records of ; the Red Cross are filled with stories of service rendered to the wives and children. One of the home-service offices received from a young corporal a letter which contained these sentences: “I am so thankful for all you have done for me. I will never know how to thank you. But for the help that you extended to us we would have been in a destitute condition.” Lost Their Baggage. The story behind this simple testimony was a pathetic one. The husband had been ordered to Washington from a Western post. On the way all the family baggage had been lost. They recovered only $25 from the railroad, company, and when they finally gelded to appeal to the Red Cross the wife was nursing a baby a few days old. The Red Cross worker found them living in a very poor little house. The oldest child, a boy of , nine, was doing all the work for the family. His little sister, eight years old, had absolutely no clothing and was wrapped in a strip of flannel. A cafetaker was secured for thy mother, and the boy was sent back to school. Then clothing was secured for the little girl. When the mother was able to get up it appeared that she had no clothes which were, really fit to wear. When the Red Cross visitor first saw her up and about the house she was wearing one old white woman’s shoe and one man’s shoe and had on a threadbare

wrapper. A remarkably grad outfit was purchased for $25; a pair of shoes, a coat, a skirt, a hat, two waists, and two corset covers., After the start, things began to be better. The husband made an allotment of his pay and took out warrisk insurance. As soon as the payments froifi these sources begin to come in the family will no longer be in of financial assistance. In the meantime the Red Cross worker is keeping in touch with them. The legal committees of the home service have been especially valuable aids. Not infrequently a soldier’s relatives are badly Informed on the law and allow themselves to be duped. Occasionally they are not aware of the rights which accrue to them when the man of the family goes-into the army. Every sort of snarl and tangle arises, and it usually seems as though the services of a lawyer may be too costly. The legal committees meet this need. All over the country lawyers have generously given their services to this important work. - Children’s Welfare First Nothing is more vital than the welfare of the children. One of the homeservice directors issued this statement so the workers of the district: “The home service is especially Interested in children, and we feel that its most important service is in the conservation of the child and the home for the future. For this reason we stand ready to see that any child does mot have to leave school to go to work because its father has either volunteered or has been drafted into the army. We also stand ready to see that no woman with small children has to go to work because her husband or son is serving the country as a soldier or sailor.” A short time ago it was reported tothe Red Cross home service station in one of the cities that a little girl Of fifteen was about to be taken out of school because her family needed the money she could earn. Irene’s father was dead. Her oldest brother, Alex, was contributing $lO a week to the family treasury, but he was saving to get married, and that wks all that he could spare. The second boy, Joseph, had enlisted. The oldest girl, Helen, made $lO a week, while Harry, sixteen years old and just returned from a runaway jaunt, only earned $7. There was another little girl, eleven years old, who w-as still in school. The Red Cross worker explained, to Irene’s mother why she felt so strongly that the child ought to have at least a grammar-school education. In June she would be through with the grammar grades, and in the meantime the Red Cross offered to pay Irene’s family $6 a week, which was about all that she could be expected to earn. The arrangement was made, and Irene is still in school, while the mother is 'gradually paying off her debts. When June comes Irene will graduate, and she will probably be able to earn more than $6 a week. It is a splendid thing to help deserving families, but it is still better to put them in a position to help themselves. That is, of course, the ultimate purpose of social work as it is practiced nowadays. One of the large home-service sections was able to carry through a very large job of this sort recently* The family in question had been public charges for years. The husband and father was a heavy drinker and never displayed the slightest inclination to support his wife and ’children. The mother was serene and happy-go-lucky and had no other thought than to get the most she could out of the different charity organizations. The house was dirty beyond description and everything was at sixes and sevens. Pawned His Wooden Leg. Douglas, the eldest boy, was in the navy. The second boy, William, was consumed ’with a desire to enlist, too. He had tried, but had been turned down because of a physical disqualification, and, in rage and disappointment, he had gone off to the West where he wandered for several months. When he finally came home, he, too, settled down -to be a charity patient. A third boy, Raymond, seventeen years old, had also taken to tramping, although he had a we .den leg, the souvenir of an accident in the railroad yards when he was a small boy. When absent one one of his hikes the enterprising gentleman ran out of funds and chose the expedient of pawning his wooden leg. Helen, the oldest girl, had St. Vitus’ dance, and there were five younger children, all of them growing up in dirt and ignorance. By the‘■time the mother applied to the Red Cross for help the family was suffering for want of food. The worker paid a visit to the household and found the conditions as they have been described. First of all, food was supplied to the family and their most pressing wants were met. Then a court order was secured requiring the father to stay away from his family. He was always drunk, and his laziness and bad temper were the principal causes of the family shiftlessness. Then the problem of William was attacked. It developed that his rejec? tion for service in the navy was due to his being underweight He simply had not had enough to eat nor food of the proper sort It was arranged that he should go to the Y. M. C. A. cafeteria for his meals, and that he should go to the Y. M. C. A. gymnasium to exercise. In an incredibly short time he was able to pass his physical examination for the navy. His only disappointment was that he could not be taken right away. The Red Cross worker was able to arrange that too. In view of the special circumstances, the recruiting officer found a place for him immediately..