In all such appeals it is vital to determine the psychological moment of greatest effect and the force of our appeal was at its highest on Monday morning following the reading of the Sunday papers.
An early call was sent to each city daily and evening newspaper and a publicity department was established where all telegrams, letters, abstracts and daily subscription lists were furnished in typewritten copy to all reporters. Such returns must be made quickly and we kept a regular volunteer force of messengers taking reports at certain convenient intervals to newspaper headquarters. These State Headquarters realizing the necessity and value of the coöperation of the towns, other than Philadelphia, throughout the commonwealth, promptly acted upon the suggestion of President Talcott Williams and the Secretary who were in daily conference with heads of all departments. A telegram was therefore sent to some two hundred towns throughout the State, addressing the leading bank, or trust company, asking them to confer with their Mayor or Chief Burgess as chairman, appointing a Red Cross Committee, and with aid of local newspapers to publish a fund and solicit subscriptions, same to be promptly forwarded to State Treasurer, Mrs. Alexander J. Cassatt, at Philadelphia, who daily deposited the amounts received for transmission to Washington. An immediate response was forthcoming from some score of towns and in a few days the funds were massing up.
This secured the hearty interest and coöperation of thousands of citizens of the State and established the groundwork of Red Cross Sub-Branches in every city, hamlet and village.
The State Headquarters, at Philadelphia, in the old Independence Hall Building, with its Executive Committee and volunteer clerks, stenographers and messengers was a busy office for the three weeks following the disaster.
Our facilities were admirable to the purpose. The two telephone companies, the Bell and Keystone, gave us free of cost each three extra telephones of unlimited service. The Postal and Western Union Telegraph companies franked our official messages. The Adams, United States and Wells Fargo Express companies sent forward our packages free of charge and the Relief Trains of the North American and Evening Telegraph put their cars at our disposal, and sent their wagons for our heavy freight, thereby greatly assisting us with a matter that was assuming serious proportions.
The Ladies’ Auxiliary Committees under the able advice of Mrs. John Dye, herself a veteran nurse of the Civil War and a trained Red Cross worker of the Spanish War, took full charge of the packing and inspection of all materials submitted and nothing of worthless or inappropriate kind went forward bearing the tag of the Pennsylvania Branch.
It was an honor and privilege extended our Secretary to act in conjunction with the National body in the purchase of large quantities of Army Blankets from local mills. These vital essentials were early despatched by rush express to the Red Cross Field Agents in San Francisco and thus can the State Branches assist the great National Headquarters in other ways than the forwarding of funds alone.
An item of a thousand baby nursing bottles and a dozen boxes of infant necessaries and a shipment of condensed milk for future ’Frisco citizens shows that the little ones were also well remembered.
In Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and other of our large cities there has existed for years many splendid and efficient Permanent Relief and Citizens Emergency Committees all of whom, with the many trades organizations, were early in the field with their appeals. Though the millions of dollars thus raised were speedily and properly expended it yet served to exhaust the giving power of many who would have gladly subscribed to the Red Cross appeal.
This serves to urge us to the immediate completion of a full State organization of Sub-divisions, and any of our Pennsylvania citizens reading this would help our cause should they proceed to organize local bodies and address these Headquarters for instructions.