Chapter I: Part 1

The American Red Cross Bulletin (Vol. IV, No. 1)

VOL. IV. JANUARY, 1909. No. 1.

BULLETIN

PUBLISHED QUARTERLY BY

The American
Red Cross

WASHINGTON, D. C.

National Headquarters
Room 341, State, War and Navy Building
Washington, D. C.

Entered at the Post Office, Washington, D. C., as second-class matter

CONTENTS

PAGE

Preface 3

William Howard Taft (with Portrait) 4

Robert W. de Forest (with Portrait) 6

The Forest Fire Disasters (illustrated) 7
By Ernest P. Bicknell.

Report of Michigan Branch 15
By Ralph M. Dyar.

South Carolina Flood Relief (illustrated) 15
By A. C. Kaufman.

Report of Investigation in the Flooded Districts of South
Carolina (illustrated) 20
By Janet E. Kemp.

A Short Sketch of the Russian Red Cross (illustrated) 27
By J. de Thal.

The Christmas Stamp 32

The Story of the Red Cross (with Portrait) 34

Report of Chairman of the Central Committee 36
Major General George B. Davis, U. S. A.

Report of the Treasurer 40
Beekman Winthrop.

Fourth Annual Red Cross Meeting 43

Red Cross Endowment Fund 44

Red Cross First-Aid Text-Book 45
By William E. Curtis.

First-Aid Instructions to Merchant Marine 46
By 1st Lieutenant G. H. Richardson, M. R. C., U. S. A.

The Red Cross and Esperanto 48
By Major P.S. Straub, U.S.A., Medical Corps.

Notes 49

THE AMERICAN RED CROSS

Officers

_President_,
HON. WILLIAM H. TAFT.

_Treasurer_,
HON. BEEKMAN WINTHROP.

_Counselor_,
HON. HENRY M. HOYT.

_Secretary_,
CHARLES L. MAGEE.

_Chairman of Central Committee_,
MAJOR-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS, U. S. A. (Ret.)

_National Director_,
ERNEST P. BICKNELL.

Board of Consultation

BRIGADIER-GENERAL ROBERT M. O’REILLY,
Surgeon-General, U. S. Army.

REAR ADMIRAL PRESLEY M. RIXEY,
Surgeon-General, U. S. Navy.

SURGEON-GENERAL WALTER WYMAN,
U. S. Public Health and Marine Hospital Service.

Central Committee 1908-1909

Major-General GEORGE W. DAVIS, U. S. A. (ret.), _Chairman_.

Brigadier-General ROBERT M. O’REILLY, Surgeon-General, U. S.
Army, War Department, Washington, D. C.

Hon. ROBERT BACON, Assistant Secretary of State, Department of
State, Washington, D. C.

Hon. BEEKMAN WINTHROP, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, U.
S. Treasury Dept., Washington, D. C.

Medical Director JOHN C. WISE, U. S. N., Navy Department,
Washington, D. C.

Hon. HENRY M. HOYT, Solicitor-General, Department of Justice,
Washington, D. C.

President BENJAMIN IDE WHEELER, University of California.

Mr. JOHN M. GLENN, 105 East 22d street, New York, N. Y.

Miss MABEL T. BOARDMAN, Washington, D. C.

Hon. JAMES R. GARFIELD, Secretary of the Interior, Washington,
D. C.

Hon. A. C. KAUFMAN, Charleston, S. C.

Hon. H. KIRKE PORTER, 1600 I street, Washington, D. C.

Mr. JOHN C. PEGRAM, Providence, R. I.

General CHARLES BIRD, U. S. A., Wilmington, Del.

Col. WILLIAM CARY SANGER, Sangerfield, N. Y.

Judge LAMBERT TREE, 70 La Salle street, Chicago, Ill.

Hon. JAMES TANNER, Washington, D. C.

Mr. W. W. FARNAM, New Haven, Conn.

PREFACE

With its January issue the RED CROSS BULLETIN begins its fourth year. The fact that it is becoming of more general interest has led those in charge of the publication to increase its size that it may conform more to the appearance of other magazines. A new cover, symbolical of Red Cross work, will be provided for the April issue. As the expense of publishing the BULLETIN has been a heavy drain upon the limited income of the Society, it has also been decided to accept advertisements, so that the BULLETIN may in part pay for itself.

That, though elected President of the United States, Mr. Taft consented to be re-elected President of the American Red Cross is a fact upon which the Society is to be not only heartily congratulated, but for which it is most deeply grateful; that, while assuming the great duties and responsibilities of the highest office in the government, Mr. Taft still desires to associate himself in an active way with the American Red Cross is but another proof of his constant desire to be of service to his country and also testifies to his belief in the usefulness of the Society. The Red Cross has also been most fortunate in obtaining the consent of Mr. Robert W. de Forest to act as the Vice-President.

This issue contains reports and illustrations of the last two fields of Red Cross relief. A short sketch of the Russian Red Cross has kindly been prepared by a member of the Russian Embassy in Washington.

The complete story of the Red Cross Christmas stamp can be told only in the April BULLETIN. Its remarkable success is a great satisfaction.

We trust our members will read the officer’s reports, the articles on the Endowment Fund and the First-Aid Text-Books. The next problem that our National Society has to meet, and must meet successfully, for it is still young enough to have no such word as “Fail” in its lexicon, is the raising of such an Endowment Fund as will put our Society on a permanent basis and make it the equal of the great societies of the other countries of the world.

The First-Aid Text-Book cannot be too highly commended. We know too little what to do in case of accidents. When statistics show that one person out of every seven of the inhabitants of the United States is injured annually, and that in New York alone during the last three years the annual average of accidents on the surface, elevated and subway traction system has been 34,000, the necessity of the valuable information and instruction this book contains should be realized by everyone. Mr. William E. Curtis has kindly written for the BULLETIN a review of the Text-Book, and a further notice in regard to it is contained in the advertising department.

Just as the BULLETIN goes to press the Executive Committee learned, through press reports and official channels, of the occurrence of an earthquake in Southern Italy of unprecedented severity, and started its relief machinery into motion by telegraphing the Red Cross Branches and the Governors of several States, requesting that an appeal be issued and contributions received for the relief of the sufferers. Reports of the work of relief and a financial statement will be printed in the April BULLETIN.

WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT

On February 8th, 1905, on call of the Secretary of War, the Incorporators of the re-incorporated American National Red Cross held their first meeting for re-organization in the diplomatic reception room of the State Department. At this meeting William Howard Taft was elected the first president of the re-organized Society. At each of the four subsequent annual meetings Mr. Taft has presided, save in 1907, when absence in the Philippines prevented his attendance, and at each of those meetings has been re-elected president.

The active duties of the Society are delegated by its Charter to a Central Committee, the Chairman being appointed by the President of the United States; therefore, the duties devolving upon the President of the Society are supposedly of an honorary nature, but with a man of Mr. Taft’s character, duty becomes honorable rather than honorary.

Shortly after its re-organization and while in its very infancy, there came upon the Society the storm and stress of the San Francisco disaster. A great pressure of work fell also upon the War Department, but in spite of this, and, though no by-law required his presence, Mr. Taft came to the meetings of the Executive Committee, listened to the reports, counseled and advised, and by his wisdom and clear judgment brought order and result out of confusion and indecision. Whenever and however he could be of help, he has given his assistance gladly, and only those who have struggled through the problems of its re-organization can know the pillar of strength he has been to the American Red Cross.

Since Mr. Taft’s nomination and election to the Presidency of the United States, so much has been written of his life and his achievements, it has not seemed necessary to repeat it here. The people of this country have set the seal of their approval upon the labors of his past. The wonderful fidelity of his work for the far-away Philippines has led his country-men to paraphrase scripture—“Thou hast been faithful over a few people; I will make thee ruler over many people.”

In spite of the great and many new duties that the Presidency of the United States will bring upon Mr. Taft, he consented again to be elected president of the American Red Cross. Moreover, he declined an election to honorary membership, saying that he desired to consider himself an active member of the Society. In thus continuing as president of the Red Cross, the official organization for volunteer aid, Mr. Taft, who as President, becomes Chief of the Army and Navy, will be able to bring into close association these departments and the Red Cross, so that in case of the misfortune of war or of great calamities, harmonious and systematic relief work will result.

With such a man for President as William Howard Taft, the American Red Cross must live up to the thought he has, himself, expressed:

“I say to you that there are rewards that are unknown to him who seeks only what he regards as the substantial ones. The best of all is the pure joy of service—to do things that are worth doing, to be in the thick of it; ah! That is to live!”

ROBERT W. de FOREST

The Red Cross has been most fortunate in the acceptance of its Vice-Presidency by Mr. Robert W. de Forest, of New York City. There are few residents of that city so widely known for their philanthropic and public spirit and work as Mr. de Forest.

Mr. de Forest is a graduate of Yale, a lawyer by profession, having received his LL. B. from Columbia, and having also studied at Bonn University. In 1904 the degree of LL. D. was conferred upon him by Yale University. Since 1874 he has been counsel, and since 1902 Vice-President, of the Central Railroad of New Jersey. For twenty years he has been President of the Charity Organization of New York City; he was a founder and first president of the Provident Loan Society, the first philanthropic pawn-broker, the Chairman of the Tenement House Commission of New York State in 1900, trustee and secretary of the Metropolitan Art Museum, manager of the Presbyterian Hospital, a trustee and director in various business institutions, was the first Tenement House Commissioner of New York City, the President of the National Conference of Charities and Correction in 1903, President of the Municipal Art Commission of New York in 1905, and is Vice-President and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Sage Foundation.

This brief statement of the important positions Mr. de Forest has occupied, or does occupy, is strongly indicative of the character and ability of the man, and the Red Cross is heartily to be congratulated not only upon its President, but upon its second officer, the Vice-President of the Society.

THE FOREST FIRE DISASTERS

BY ERNEST P. BICKNELL

_All the country knows of the forest fires which caused loss of life and property in Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, New York and other States, in September and October, 1908. It has been estimated that the losses to property amounted to $50,000,000, most of which lay in the destruction of forests, of which thousands of square miles were swept by fire._

_In their progress the fires destroyed several towns and villages and many farm houses. Chisholm, Minnesota, a town of probably 5,000 population, seventy-five miles north of Duluth, was destroyed in an hour. At 5:30 o’clock in the afternoon of September 6, a sudden shift of wind deluged the place in a moment with an overwhelming rain of burning leaves and embers. Almost every building in the town took fire at once. The surprised and panic-stricken people could do nothing but seize a few valuables and run for their lives. When the fire died out it was found that only sixty-five structures of any kind remained standing, but that not a life had been lost. Prompt relief measures were taken, with a state commission in charge. A relief fund of about $130,000 was contributed. Mr. Ernest P. Bicknell, National Director of the Red Cross, visited Chisholm and inspected the progress and methods of relief October 13 to 16, and reported that the methods were good and that normal conditions were being restored rapidly. Hundreds of men were employed in rebuilding the town and houses were going up like magic. Eighty-seven cottages have been built by the relief committee. Employment in the iron mines surrounding the town was not interrupted by the fire. This fact greatly simplified the work of relief, as the usual income of that part of the population least able to endure loss, was preserved._

_While in Duluth on October 16, the National Director of the Red Cross learned of a disastrous forest fire, which had occurred in the northern part of the southern peninsula of Michigan on the preceding day. He hurried to the scene, reaching there on the 17th, and for two weeks devoted his time to the work of relief in that State. Following are extracts from the report of the National Director covering this work:_—EDITOR.

“The summer and fall had been excessively dry here, as elsewhere, and there had been little wind. Farmers had been clearing up their lands, burning logs and stumps and accumulated rubbish, as is their custom at the end of the summer. In thousands of places fire was smouldering in log heaps, and in the roots of stumps and in the peaty soil which, when dry, will burn without flame and with little smoke until extinguished by rain.

“Early in the afternoon of October 15, a strong wind from the southwest sprang up and almost in a moment these smouldering fires burst into flames. The effect was as though the entire country had taken fire at once. The wind, whose velocity is estimated to have been fifty miles an hour, carried a vast wave of flame which destroyed everything combustible in its path. Several men whose homes were destroyed assured me, with entire seriousness, that the air was on fire. The area damaged extends approximately seventy-five miles along the northeastern shore of the lower peninsula and reaches back inland from fifteen to twenty-five miles. The center and worst of the fire covered an area perhaps twenty-five miles long and ten miles wide. Within this smaller area were the villages of Metz, Posen and Bolton, surrounded by an agricultural country occupied by Polish and German families in moderate circumstances. The Detroit and Mackinac Railroad passes through this district and each of the villages named is upon the line of the road.

“The village of Metz was completely destroyed, not a structure of any character remaining. The village of Bolton was also completely destroyed with the exception of a small church. Posen was saved by a desperate fight. The open farming country offered little hindrance to the progress of the fire, which in many instances leaped across treeless spaces of a quarter of a mile or more, destroying all buildings and fences between. The number of homes destroyed in an area ten miles square was 177. The number of persons made homeless and temporarily destitute by the fire in an area twenty-five miles long and ten miles wide was about 2,000.

“When the people of Metz, early in the afternoon of October 15, realized that the village was in danger, they telegraphed to the railroad company for a relief train to carry the women and children to safety. At 2:30 P. M. an engine arrived with a steel gondola car—a steel box with solid walls about four feet high and without roof. The danger did not appear immediate when the train arrived and the people delayed to gather up their more valuable portable property and load it into the car. The trainmen urged haste, but the people were determined, and hours passed. At 5:30 P. M. the train started with about forty-five women and children huddled in the open car. Four trainmen were on board and a farmer and his wife, who were trying to reach home where their children had been left earlier in the day. Two miles from Metz a line of box cars stood on a siding close to the main track. On the opposite side of the track was a huge pile of cross ties awaiting shipment. Both box cars and cross ties were burning. The heat had warped the rails of the main track, but the dense blanket of smoke prevented the engineer from seeing what had happened. The train dashed into the furnace between the burning cars and the burning cross ties and was wrecked. Seventeen of those on board were burned to death. The fireman and brakeman and the farmer were among the killed. The rest were women and children. Those who escaped clambered over the sides of the car and crawled along the ground to an open place where they lay on their faces several hours until the fire had subsided. The wreck occurred within fifty feet of the home of the farmer. The farmer’s wife escaped from the train and reached the burning house. She rushed in, in search of her children, and her bones were found later among the ashes. The three children, the oldest nine, had fled to a neighbor’s house near by and were saved. Many who escaped from the train were terribly burned.

“The men of Metz, who remained to fight the fire, escaped without loss of life. One of these men told me of his escape. He threw some small valuables into a large wooden candy pail and started to run along the road through the woods. Presently his hair began to burn and his face to blister. He felt himself failing. He emptied the contents from the pail and put it over his head. With this protection he managed to crawl along the road to a field and escaped, with clothing on fire and many injuries.

“After driving about the region a few hours, in order to gain an adequate idea of the extent of the loss, I took a train for Detroit for the purpose of conferring with officers of the State Branch of the Red Cross, concerning relief measures. Some relief supplies were already arriving, contributed by the people of the City of Alpena, twenty-five miles to the east, and hurried in by the railroad company. I found Detroit awakened to the situation. Mr. Emory W. Clark, treasurer of the State Branch, and Mr. Ralph M. Dyar, secretary, had been in conference the morning of my arrival. Mr. Clark took me to call upon the Mayor, who requested me to attend a meeting of business men, which he had called to assemble in his office at noon. The result of the meeting was the appointment of a relief committee. Mr. Clark was made the Red Cross representative upon this committee. The committee appointed Mr. J. D. Hawks, president of the Detroit and Mackinac Railroad, its representative in the field and requested me to return to the fire district with him to help organize and direct the work of relief. It was arranged that we should start to Metz that same evening.

“In the afternoon, this being October 19, the Red Cross opened a large downtown room for the reception of clothing intended for the fire sufferers. Mrs. R. McD. Campau, an active and enthusiastic member of the Red Cross, took charge of the supply depot and plenty of volunteers joined her staff. The afternoon papers announced the arrangement conspicuously and before night supplies began coming in. In a week so much clothing had been received that the supply room was closed and the public requested to send no more.

“In the fire district three relief stations were opened at Metz, Posen and Alpena. The Alpena relief committee, which was extremely active and efficient, had charge of the relief station in that city. A committee of women managed the clothing distribution, while the men’s committee handled other supplies, including hay for live stock. At Posen the railroad company gave the use of its freight house for relief headquarters. At Metz the railroad company placed freight cars upon a siding for relief supplies. The company also gave the services of a number of its capable officers for the work of relief. For example: President Hawks, of the railroad company, not only gave substantially all of his own time, but detailed the General Superintendent of the road, the Chief Engineer, the District Passenger and Freight Agent, and other men of proved ability. The railroad company also facilitated in every possible way the shipment of supplies of all kinds and put into service a daily relief train which transferred supplies as required from one relief station to another, carried the relief workers back and forth, etc.

“As the climate of northern Michigan is severe, and winter was close at hand, the providing of shelter was of immediate urgency. Mr. Waterman, the chief engineer of the railroad, designed a ‘shack’ which could be built quickly and cheaply and the work of housing the homeless, who in the meantime were crowded with almost incredible congestion into the homes of their more fortunate neighbors, began promptly and went forward with the utmost speed. The ‘shack’ consisted of unplaned lumber, long, upright boards forming the walls, rough boards forming the roof and floor, and the entire exterior of the structure covered with tar building paper. Each ‘shack’ was 14 by 16 feet and contained three small rooms. About twenty carpenters were gathered up along the line of the railroad and brought into the relief work. The plan of procedure was for the farmer to receive the lumber, paper, windows, hardware, etc., for a ‘shack’ and haul it to his farm. Then one carpenter would be sent to the place to direct operations and with the farmer and his neighbors helping, the ‘shack’ would be quickly completed. If two or three ‘shacks’ were to be in a group, one carpenter could supervise all at once.

“On October 29, exactly two weeks after the fire, thirty-eight ‘shacks’ were completed and occupied on the sites of burned homes and twenty-four ‘shacks’ going up. It was estimated that about 150 ‘shacks’ would have to be provided by the relief committee and almost as many more for horses and other domestic animals. These ‘shacks’ cost, complete, only $50 each.

“On October 24, Governor Warner announced the appointment of a State Relief Commission. It was composed of seven men, including Mr. Emory W. Clark as a representative of the Red Cross. It also included Mr. J. D. Hawks, president of the Detroit and Mackinac railroad. The Commission met on October 26, and elected Mr. Frank Buel, a prominent lumberman of Bay City, chairman, and Mr. B. M. Wynkoop, manager of the Bay City Times, secretary. The State Commission requested me to meet with it on October 30, and visit the fire district. This I did, and after a day with the members, became satisfied that they were men of affairs and that they had accepted appointment on the Commission for no purpose other than a sincere desire to serve the State. At this meeting it was decided to take over the relief work and put it upon a permanent basis with men in charge who would be paid for their services, but continuing substantially the same methods of administration then in use. As superintendent, the Commission employed Mr. F. E. Merrill, who had had a responsible position in the relief work from the beginning, and who was given leave of absence by the railroad company for the purpose.

“From two sources should come help which will materially lighten the burden of relief.

“First, from insurance. The total insurance upon the property burned was $149,000. Of this amount $95,000 was upon village property and $54,000 on farm property.

“Second, from the sale of lumber and from wages in lumbering operations. The trees which were killed by the fire will produce good lumber if sawed this winter, but if they remain longer they become almost valueless, except for fuel. Thus in order to save their lumber, the farmers must get their burned trees to the mill this winter. That will mean unusual activity in the woods. Those who own timber will realize some income from its sale and those who do not own timber will find employment with those who do.

“The total amount of relief funds collected in the various cities could not be accurately ascertained up to the time of my departure from Michigan, November 1, but was approximately $50,000, including $5,000 given through the State Branch of the Red Cross. This, with the contributions of provisions, clothing, lumber, etc., it is hoped will be enough to carry the work through to completion. In the event that it does not suffice to purchase seed grain for the farmers next spring, it is believed a small additional fund may be obtained by an appeal to the public, or perhaps through an appropriation by the State Legislature.”

REPORT OF FOREST FIRE RELIEF WORK

BY R. M. DYAR

Secretary, Michigan Red Cross Branch

November 11, 1908.

Referring to the work done by the Michigan Branch of the American National Red Cross towards raising funds and the handling of contributions for the fire sufferers in northern Michigan, I beg to report results accomplished as follows:

Total amount of cash contributions received to date has been $4,432. Regarding the handling of clothes, supplies, etc., I beg to give you herewith a copy of the report presented by Mrs. R. McD. Campau, who had charge of the receiving and forwarding of all supplies.

“From October 19th to and including October 26th, a ‘Relief Station’ was opened in the Owen Building, in a room donated for that purpose. During that time many contributions of clothing, furniture and some money were received. Many merchants contributed largely and also assisted in collecting individual contributions, there being five hundred and seventy requests by telephone to call for donations. It was impossible to keep account of all these donations, as they came in in such quantities and many had no names attached. Fifteen people worked every day during the week from eight in the morning till five in the afternoon, opening packages, sorting, packing, marking and shipping boxes. Each box was marked with the contents. There being one hundred and sixteen in all, a great deal of furniture and $210.75 sent from the Red Cross Relief Station to the fire sufferers in northern Michigan.”

I can report that a sufficient amount of clothing and other household articles has been forwarded to the district to provide for the needs of all the fire sufferers, and with the money raised by the Citizens’ Committee of Detroit and other cities of the State, together with the amount raised by the Michigan Branch of the Red Cross, sufficient food and fodder for the cattle and horses can be provided to take care of all requirements up to the middle of the winter. When the State Legislature meets they will, no doubt, provide the extra funds that may be needed.

SOUTH CAROLINA FLOOD RELIEF

BY A. C. KAUFMAN

President of State Branch

About the end of last August, a flood more violent in its character than any known to have visited these localities at any previous period, swept down from the mountains of North Carolina, across the Piedmont section of South Carolina, continuing with maddening rush along the Congaree, Wateree and Pee Dee Rivers, overflowing vast tracts of fertile lands in high cultivation. It laid waste completely these fruitful fields—garden spots—smiling with luxuriant crops of cotton and corn, wrecking comfortable homes of all their possessions—yes, their all indeed—the property of a contented, happy and prosperous people.

As soon as the extent of the disaster reached me, I immediately notified the authorities at Washington and at once came a reply order, by wire, to issue an appeal for help. This appeal was promptly issued as directed, and contributions began to come in. With that noble spirit so characteristic of the present management of the Red Cross, recognizing the fact that instant assistance was needed, a message flashed by wire from Washington, to draw upon the National body for three hundred dollars, reached us, at the right time, and was used with marked effect. Following this quickly came a check from Honorable William H. Taft for one hundred dollars, forwarded to him from a prominent lady in New York, to be devoted to this purpose. On September 11th another Red Cross check for three hundred dollars was sent, and on October 17th still another for one hundred dollars. These added to a check for fifty dollars from Honorable Robert C. Ogden, of New York, made eight hundred and fifty dollars contributed from sources outside the State. Within the State $675.41 are credited, and of this $260.00 were the gift of our colored fellow-citizens. The total amount, therefore, which our Treasurer, John B. Reeves, has had in bank for this fund, as shown by his books, is $1,525.41, reduced by payments to different committees to $1,067.41. Credit must also be given to those who have sent in large donations of wearing apparel, bed clothing, etc. These have been carefully packed by active lady friends and shipped by Mr. W. E. Renneker, agent of the Atlantic Coast Line, free of cost for distribution among the most needy sufferers.

Another act of your body which has won our encomium was to furnish, at our request, an expert to visit the devastated sections and report thereon. The lot most fortunately fell on Miss Janet E. Kemp, a lady of culture, refinement and business experience. Her report will best tell you of the pathetic scenes and incidents that she encountered on her journey of investigation. Her visit partook of the nature of an angel of mercy, and I was blessed in having such an assistant in the time of peril.

The following graphic sketch taken from _The News and Courier_, of Charleston, and _The State_, of Columbia, two leading and most influential newspapers, giving an account of the conditions in the Congaree and Wateree districts, may prove interesting to your readers:

THE CONGAREE AND WATEREE SECTION.

“After spending Sunday and Monday,” says _The News and Courier_, in its issue of September 23rd, “in Columbia, whither he had gone to institute, as closely as possible, an investigation into the condition of the flood sufferers, together with making provision to supply their present necessities, as well as to plan for their relief during the winter months, Mr. A. C. Kaufman, President of the South Carolina Branch, Red Cross, returned to Charleston yesterday. ‘I had an opportunity,’ he said to a reporter last night, ‘during my visit to consult with white and colored men from the afflicted section of the Congaree and Wateree Valley, both as to the extent of their losses and the extremity of their condition. Theirs was, indeed, a harrowing story, enough to make the heart bleed. Some of the sufferers are unable from childhood, age or infirmity to labor in any shape or manner. The only kind of work most of those, able to do anything, can do is to pick cotton in the fields. In remuneration for this labor they receive 50 cents a hundred pounds for the cotton which they gather. This will enable them to eke out existence until the middle of November, and then will gaunt poverty haunt them, labor of all kinds, to which they are adapted, being then at an end. Then will come to them starvation and death unless the humane people of South Carolina place in the hands of the Red Cross, working in co-operation with the local committee of Richland County, the means to save their lives.

“‘A committee composed of three citizens of Columbia of the highest character in connection with sub-committees, to be selected by them, have agreed to handle the matter.

“‘The following article from _The State_, of Columbia, will give a fuller idea of the business-like manner in which the Red Cross and the committee propose to handle the situation:’”

_The State_, of Tuesday, says:

Col. A. C. Kaufman, of Charleston, the representative of the Red Cross Society in this section, came to Columbia Saturday night and spent Sunday and yesterday in the city, going over the ground in connection with the Richland flood sufferers.

As a direct result of this visit, a central committee has been formed in Columbia, its members taking part upon the special request and designation of Colonel Kaufman. This committee contains but three members—Captain William E. Gonzales, Editor of _The State_, Chairman; Mr. W. A. Clark, President of the Carolina National Bank, Treasurer, and Mayor William S. Reamer, of Columbia.

The duties of this committee will be to designate sub-committees throughout the entire flooded district in Richland to secure an accurate census of those persons who need assistance, to estimate the cost of relieving distress until another crop can be procured and to receive and disburse funds.

Mr. Gonzales requests that all moneys be sent to Treasurer W. A. Clark, and it is necessary for the business-like and just distribution of relief that those who have undertaken to extend relief in this section shall work with the central committee, and there shall be an accounting of all funds to the central committee.

As matters now stand it is not likely that much relief will be needed from this committee for the next two months. During that time the people affected, or most of them, will be able to earn a living by picking cotton on the highlands, but from about the middle of November until the next oat crop (in May, 1909) can be harvested, scores and scores of families will be absolutely dependent upon assistance, and it is to prepare for that time of need that the central committee and the sub-committees to be appointed will now work. Of course, every effort will be made to get these people to help themselves. There will be absolutely no encouragement to idleness or pauperism, but there is no use attempting to conceal the fact that later on in the winter there will be a real problem to solve in caring for the destitute.

Columbia and South Carolina, it is hoped, will be able to care for these needy people. What they fail to do the Red Cross will be asked to supplement. The central committee represents Columbia and will also act as agent for the Red Cross.

This visit was made on September 20, 21 and 22.

THE PEE DEE SECTION.

The account of the conditions in the Pee Dee sections is equally important:

On October 20th last I visited the City of Marion from which radiates the principal business of the Pee Dee section. On my arrival I was met at the depot by Mayor Miles, Associate Justice Woods, of the Supreme Court of South Carolina; Congressman Ellerbee, and many other citizens of prominence and distinction in South Carolina, and beyond her borders—an evidence of their keen anxiety to put themselves in position to provide relief for their unfortunate and crushed neighbors. Two meetings were held that day—one in the morning, the other in the afternoon. The matter was carefully discussed and weighed in every particular. Mayor Miles presided at each meeting.

Hon. W. J. Montgomery, President of the Bank of Marion and Senator from Marion County, spoke as follows:

“We are not so much concerned about the present, although there are some serious cases we are forced to handle now. The problem most difficult to solve, and which creates intense anxiety, is how these hundreds of dependents, unable to find employment to which they can adapt themselves, are to be fed during the coming winter. This can only be done with the kind permission of the Red Cross, to draw upon our share of the fund, which that worthy organization is endeavoring to swell through its urgent appeals to the people of the whole State for money donations, added to that furnished by local contributors.

“Another point,” said Mr. Montgomery, “which I wish to make plain: The idea has gone abroad that the beneficiaries to this fund are only colored people. This is a grave error. Many deserving white people, some of whom were in comparatively easy circumstances previous to the flood, have now become miserably reduced through this visitation of God. Help is solicited for them because help is sorely needed. They ask bread; can we give them a stone? We propose to care for the sufferers of both races.”

Mayor Miles also took a dismal view of the future unless help came. To the Red Cross they look for it.

Mr. Davis, a large planter, spoke in a manly, yet pathetic vein. He stated that his losses had been immense, but that to the best of his ability he had been feeding from his scanty store his helpless, distressed, starving neighbors, white and colored, in their fearful poverty and want. He was willing, and intended to go as far as his circumstances permitted, aye, to make sacrifices in this humanitarian work. That is the spirit which pervades the neighborhood.

The Citizens’ Relief Committee, composed of their first citizens, has the Honorable S. C. Miles, Mayor of Marion, as Chairman, and Mr. Albert G. Woods, as Treasurer. In conclusion, the emergency may be thus summed up: Our prospects are very discouraging. Money is superlatively required. It must be had if human lives are to be saved. The final analysis of the case reads thus: Food or starvation, life or death. Only with money can the evil be averted. It would be unreasonable to expect more from the Red Cross fund. Their provision has been bountiful. Our treasury, however, needs replenishment. After help already rendered, there remains in our treasury about $1,000. By January this amount will be materially reduced, as the committees require aid without delay, and must have it. This small sum is all we can count on to keep the wolf of hunger from the doors of one thousand human beings for six months, during the winter, the most trying season of the year. It does not take a skilled mathematician to tell how far this will go. How long will this last? Echo answers “how long?” Disasters of wider extent and affecting more people are on record. Yet without an attempt at exaggeration, I affirm that never has any been more severe.

REPORT OF INVESTIGATION IN FLOODED DISTRICTS OF SOUTH CAROLINA

BY JANET E. KEMP

Special Red Cross Representative

The itinerary, as outlined by Mr. Kaufman, was to include Columbia, Florence and Marion; each of these cities being the center of districts which were reported to have suffered severely during the recent disaster.

COLUMBIA.

Arriving in Columbia late Monday night, I was met by Mr. Baker, a representative of _The State_, which is Columbia’s leading daily paper. The city is situated in the Congaree Valley, at the junction of Saluda and Broad rivers.

Columbia itself escaped with comparatively little injury; the city extending at an elevation considerably above the flood level.

The power house of the street railway company and the city water works situated near the river sustained considerable damage. The cotton factories also located on low ground were obliged to suspend work for a few days; the loss in wages said to be about $4,000.00.

Early next morning I had an interview with Captain William E. Gonzales, editor of _The State_. Captain Gonzales estimated that there were about two hundred destitute families in the flooded section between Columbia and Kingsville. From information received later, I should think this is probably an under-estimate.

The fertile “swamp” lands on each side of the river belong to a chain of “plantations” extending from Columbia to Kingsville. On some of these the owner lives, surrounded by his tenantry; others belong to non-resident owners. Corn and cotton are the staple crops.

The destitution of which Captain Gonzales spoke exists mainly on those plantations owned by non-residents who have no personal interest in their tenantry; and among the negroes who are working their own land. The flood sufferers living on land occupied by resident owners will not, as a rule, need any outside aid, as their landlords, though themselves very heavy losers, will provide for their pressing needs. The gravity of the situation, even for those who are actually destitute, is mitigated at present by the fact that for the next two months work will be comparatively plentiful, in harvesting crops in sections untouched by the calamity, and in repairing the damages occasioned by the flood.

Mr. C. B. Simmons, agent for a large plantation of 3,000 acres, drove me out to see the conditions on his place, which are typical of those on other places owned by non-residents. Mr. Simmons estimated that the damage done to the crops would be about $12,000. There are 40 tenants on the place, six of whom are white families. The crops are in many cases practically a total loss; the whole year’s work has been swept away. The only thing that will be realized will be a hay crop, which, under favorable conditions, may be harvested before frost. Some of the men had tried to get work in the phosphate mills near by, but without success. The entire body of tenants gathered together by appointment to meet Mr. Simmons, and each in turn gave detailed account of the loss he had sustained.

Mr. Simmons said that the most direct and practical way to help these people would be to provide them with seed-oats, which could be planted in October, and would yield a crop early next June. About 700 bushels would be needed for the 40 tenants on the place.

On Wednesday morning, September 9th, I went to Lykesland by train, a distance of about nine miles from Columbia. Here I was met by Mr. William Lykes, who drove me out to see the conditions in a little colony of negro swamp farmers.

There was not much room for possible exaggeration in the stories we heard here; the white line of mud in the branches of the trees, often 12 or 15 feet from the ground, indicated the height of the flood. Fallen chimneys and wrecked buildings showed the violence of the current. The cotton was ruined, fit only to be plowed under to fertilize next year’s crop. The corn was rotting on its stalks. The poor little, unpainted, windowless frame houses were unspeakably desolate; the walls marked to the very eaves with white mud left by the receding waters, and everything within the homes—bedding, clothes, furniture—wrecked and ruined, and saturated with mud. Nearly all the live stock had perished. They showed us the stockade on a small knoll, a little higher than the surrounding country, into which they had driven all their animals. Here they had managed to save most of their mules, but even at this elevation nearly all the cattle had been drowned.

The largest land-holder in the colony, a very intelligent negro, with a reputation for honesty and industry, had lost 16 acres of corn and 16 of cotton, 6 head of cattle and 10 hogs.

A week before, when Mr. Lykes first visited the colony after the flood, he found the people literally starving. At one house the hungry children were trying to eat the rotten corn. He at once secured $50.00, through Captain Gonzales, from the South Carolina branch of the Red Cross, with which he purchased provisions and supplies to meet the immediate need.

The flood sufferers, who had at first seemed dazed by the calamity, were now making efforts to rehabilitate themselves. Some were rebuilding their chimneys and outbuildings; others had secured work; one man had gone to work on a plantation five miles away, walking that distance twice daily; the women and children had also begun to pick cotton on neighboring plantations. The conditions on this little colony illustrated the situation of the small land holder, who has no resources except the crop, which he had hoped to harvest as the result of his year’s labor.

The flood also had seriously crippled the larger landowners, who could ordinarily be looked to for the relief of their poorer neighbors. From Mr. B. S. Rawls, who has a “general store” on the bluff road that parallels the river between Columbia and Kingsville, we learned, that he had lost 235 acres of his own crops, and would get practically no rent from the 2,000 acres he had rented out. Worse than this he expected to be “out” from $1,200 to $1,500 for supplies advanced to his tenants.

FLORENCE, S. C.

The next point visited was Florence, Florence County, 81 miles from Columbia. Reports of heavy flood losses had come in from the Lynches River section. A Relief Committee had been formed by the Honorable Hartwell Ayer, editor of the Florence _Daily Times_ and a small sum of money raised.

After conferring with the committee, I concluded that it would be desirable for me to make some investigation of conditions for myself, and went down to Cowards, which is located in the flooded district, 16 miles from Florence. Here, at the recommendation of the committee, I called upon Mr. Z. C. Lynch, who keeps a large general store and supplies the needs of over 200 farmers in that vicinity.

Immediately after the flood Mr. Lynch had spent three days in riding around through the section that had been flooded, noting carefully the conditions of the crops, and talking with the farmers. He gave me a positive assurance that he had not met a single case of destitution, and that, as a rule, the loss in that section would not average more than 10% to 25% of the crop. After this frank statement from a man who is in a far better position to get the exact truth than I could possibly be, I decided to make no further investigation, but to await the report of Dr. Hicks.

After spending two days in the flooded district, under circumstances which enabled him to come into touch with representatives from every point, Dr. Hicks returned with exactly the same report as that given by Mr. Lynch. He said that while the losses had been heavy, and many people were considerably crippled, there was no destitution and there was not likely to be any that could not easily be met by local resources.

MARION, S. C.

Proceeding to Marion on Friday night, with the expectation of being able to complete the investigation in another 24 hours, I found a situation which made it imperative that I should spend two or three days in that section.

A very active and interested Relief Committee, with Mayor S. T. Miles as chairman, was fully alive to the needs of the situation, and had succeeded in raising a fund of over $500.00, in addition to what had been sent by the Red Cross. I learned from this committee that the four townships of Marion County had been practically submerged. These townships form a tongue of land lying between Big Peedee and Little Peedee Rivers. During the flood the water of Big Peedee had risen and flowed clear over the intervening strip of land until they met the water of Little Peedee. A sandy ridge extending North and South through the interior ordinarily forms the water shed between the two rivers, and, at many points, the water had covered even this comparatively high land.

Arrangements were at once made for me to proceed to Eulonia, the home of Mr. S. U. Davis, who was said to be more thoroughly familiar with conditions in the flooded section than any one else.

After dinner Mr. Davis drove me through several miles of flooded country. It was a matter of regret with him that I had not come a week earlier when—nearly two weeks after the flood—the whole country was still under water, and boats were the only available means of transit from point to point. At that time most of the homes were vacant, and the occupants, with their cattle and household effects, were camping out wherever they were lucky enough to find a spot that was “high and dry.”

In a little two-room shanty, near Mr. Davis’ place, thirty-four people found shelter at one time during the high water. One resourceful farmer, when forced to move out of his home, which, though partially submerged, was still the dryest spot on the farm, provided for his live stock by tethering the cow to the cook-stove in the kitchen, and quartering his five hogs on the bed. In another instance a couple, who were determined to stay in their homes at all risks, themselves “camped out” on the bed, and at meal times paddled over to the cook-stove on a hastily-constructed raft.

That people who had suffered as these people had could still be brave-hearted enough to dwell upon the humorous side of their tragedy, shows that it is hard to drown out American “grit,” and the American sense of humor. But the tragic side was ever present and needed no emphasis. One woman, of whom Mr. Davis spoke, a widow with three small children, had lost her entire crop. At the time of the flood she was desperately ill, and, when rescued in a boat with the children, it was feared that she would die as a result of the exposure. She was now, however, recovering, but some provision would have to be made for her until another crop could be raised. Throughout all this section there had been comparatively little loss of household goods and effects, because most of the people were warned in time to enable them to remove their belongings to a place of safety.

We drove through acre after acre of rotten corn, and of cotton fit only to be plowed under to fertilize the ground for next year’s crop. Fences had been ruined and bridges swept away, and several times it was necessary to make a wide detour, in order to find a safe crossing place.

One man with whom we talked, who, with his family, had just moved back into their still damp house, said that he had nothing left, but a little corn, a few chufas and a patch of cane. Every farm we visited in that section was practically in the same condition.

The next day, Sunday, we started again at 10 A. M. over a road that led down the sandy ridge that, for the most part, had not been covered by the waters, though even here the lower points had been submerged. Then turning eastward through the section marked on the map as the Low Flat Lands, we left the beaten track and, for a long time, traveled through alternating areas of partially submerged woodland, and sodden savannahs—the South Carolinian term for meadow land. It was not easy to follow the trail across the savannahs, and the drive through the woods was even more difficult. As we lurched along through the water we never knew at what moment the buggy might strike some submerged log or stump.

We took dinner at the home of Mr. Fontaine Davis, a planter and merchant at the lower end of Britton’s Neck Township, who kindly volunteered to take me on down into Woodberry Township, as far as we could go, while Mr. S. U. Davis rested his horse ready for the return journey.

The country we drove through at the upper end of Woodberry Township had suffered severely from the floods, and the crops were an almost total loss. We went as far as the road was open until we struck a point, beyond which all the bridges had been washed away. Woodberry Township forms a peninsula between the two rivers already spoken of. Fortunately it is very thinly settled, and most of the farmers have their homes on the comparatively high land in the center of the township. Mr. Fontaine Davis said that he had only heard of five families in the section below that which we visited who had suffered to any serious extent.

We talked with an old man, who for 43 years had lived on his farm in the upper part of Woodberry Township. “I ain’t never saw anything like it before,” he said, “and I don’t know how to figure it out. The waters was five feet higher than they was in the Sherman ‘fresh’ of ’65.” He said that within a radius of three or four miles there were eight or ten white families, and ten or twelve colored families: all of whom had lost practically their entire crop. He, himself, had lost all of his corn, most of cotton, and nearly all of his live stock.

Mr. Richardson, whom we next interviewed, a man who owned 80 acres of land, 27 in corn, 35 in cotton, the rest in pasture, garden, etc., had lost everything. The cotton had been an exceptionally good crop, and would have made a bale to the acre at the market price of about $40.00 a bale; this alone meant a money loss of $1,400.00. The corn upon which he depended for food for his family and stock was also gone, and, as he put it, “I don’t know what we are going to do for something to eat this winter.”