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Show NEEDS FOR RED GROSS I SERVICE ON INGREASE, SAYS CHAIRMAN PAYNE Disaster Relief and Service to War Veterans Make Heavy DemandsFirst De-mandsFirst Aid on Highways New Plan. Demands upon the public servlcea that the American Red Cross Is organized or-ganized to give are Increasingly heavy and will continue to be so in the future, fu-ture, John Barton Payne, chairman, has announced. The two major services of the societyservice so-cietyservice to war veterans and their dependents, and relief in disasters disas-ters show each year a greater number num-ber of persons helped by the Red Cross. . Pension legislation passed recently for World War Veterans, and increased allotments to all Spanish-American War Veterans, have given to Chapters and the national society many thousands thou-sands of additional cases to handle, Judge Payne said. In the past year help was given In 108 disasters. Ninety of these were in the United States, twelve in foreign possessions and six were in foreign countries. Health activities of the Red Cross also are being extended, especially in the rural communities where all health authorities agree the greatest need exists. Red Cross, with 794 nurses in its employ, is the greatest employer of public health nurses in rural areas in the United States. In its campaign against accidental deaths, begun twenty years ago with Its life saving and first aid programs, the Red Cross now has adopted an additional ad-ditional program that of combating the huge toll of life from automobile accidents on the highways. Expenditures of the Red Cross in the past year were $4,254,796.34, of which $1,208,151.09 was spent in disaster relief, the chairman pointed out. "The Red Cross depends upon the public for its support, through their memberships enrolled once each year in -the period from Armistice Day to Thanksgiving Day," Judge Payne said. "We do not receive any support from the Government, or through other taxation, tax-ation, although as the President of the United States is president of the society, so-ciety, and one-third of Its governing members are representatives of U. S. Departments. It ranks as a semi-governmental agency. "By joining as a member, In the local Red Cross Chapter, once each year, during the annual Roll Call, every citizen will have a part in carrying car-rying on this great humanitarian task." |