Perth Amboy Evening News

A DOLLAR FOR EVERY FAMILY
It is necessary for Perth Amboy to go back only five years to get first hand knowledge of what the Red Cross means in times of great disaster. When the Morgan Explosion occurred, followed by the influenza epidemic, the Red Cross came to Perth Amboy and took charge of things in a way that will not soon be forgotten. Every Perth Amboyan had reason to thank God for the Red Cross at that time.
But Perth Amboy's troubles sink into insignificance when compared with the appalling disaster in Japan. Whole cities have been wiped out, thousands of lives have been lost and hundreds of thousands are sick and starving. Once more it is the Red Cross that comes to the rescue. In Perth Amboy or in Japan—it makes no difference; the Red Cross is everywhere. Some people wonder why it is necessary to support the Red Cross in times of peace and when there are no great disasters. But were it not for the contributions made at such times the organization could not be maintained on a war footing, so to speak, ready to jump in at a moment's notice in any part of the world and start its machinery going. By supporting the Red Cross year after year it is made possible for it to render such prompt assistance as is now seen in this Japanese catastrophe, which came without the slightest warning.
But in an affair of this kind, the funds immediately at the disposal of the Red Cross are sufficient only to start the relief. Many millions of dollars will be required and the Red Cross merely sets itself up as the agency for collecting this vast sum and spending it to succor those in distress. Money, therefore, given to the relief of the Japanese sufferers is not given to the Red Cross in the sense that money given during a regular "drive" by the Red Cross is. It is money given to aid the victims of the Japanese earthquake; the Red Cross is merely the agency through which the funds are handled.
It ought not to be necessary to argue the need of money at this time. Everyone knows enough about the terrible disaster to understand why the appeal is made. Perth Amboy is asked to raise $6,600, the quota fixed by the national headquarters of the Red Cross. To count for anything, this sum must be raised quickly. There is no time for building up an elaborate organization to make a house to house canvass of the city; the success of the appeal rests entirely with the generosity of the people of Perth Amboy. No large sums are asked unless a person chooses to give a large amount. Mgr. Cantwell at the Red Cross meeting last night, suggested the slogan, "A dollar from every family." If every family in Perth Amboy should give a dollar, being only a few cents for each member of the family, the quota would be more than raised.
With the idea of getting at least one dollar from every family in Perth Amboy, the Evening News publishes a coupon today to be signed and sent along with the contribution whatever it may be. The money and coupon may be sent to the Evening News, to the headquarters of the Red Cross in the Raritan building at Madison Avenue and Smith street, to Isaac Alpern, treasurer of the fund, at the Perth Amboy Trust Company, or contributions may be made at any of the agencies that are to be established in all sections of the city where it will be convenient for people to stop in as they are passing.
There is to be no begging for this fund. If a person is not moved sufficiently by the horror that has befallen Japan, and is not sufficiently thankful that the calamity did not occur right here at home, to give something he can keep his money. No money is wanted that is given grudgingly and has to be coaxed out of people. A dollar for every family in the city is not much to ask for such a humanitarian object as this. The thing is to make the contribution promptly so as to make it effective. And it should be borne in mind that this is a contribution to the Japanese relief, not to the Red Cross. The Red Cross is merely acting as the agency handling it in a way to do the greatest good in the shortest possible time.