passing through Portland en route to different stations on the Coast. This was at first done at the Union Depot, where the soldiers were met by committees and served a substantial lunch, consisting of coffee, sandwiches, cake, fruit, etc. In this branch of work the Flower Mission, composed of twenty or more young women, has rendered valuable assistance in serving refreshments and decorating the trains. Tons of flowers have been donated for this purpose, and the departing soldier has been given a bouquet of Oregon roses in addition to his box of lunch. Frequently has a letter accompanied by a box of flowers been sent at the request of husbands, brothers, and sons, to their distant homes, and replies received from many have made sweeter the saying, "Small service is true service while it lasts."
After the use of the Armory was tendered the Corps by the State Military Board, the soldiers were met on their arrival at the depot and escorted to military headquarters, and lunch served in the spacious drill-hall. The freedom of the building was extended, the gymnasium, bowling-alley, reading-room, etc., affording rest and recreation for all.
Six thousand three hundred and thirty-one soldiers were entertained at lunch in the Armory, and 3,578 given boxes of lunch for use on the train.
In July the work was found to be increasing so rapidly that it was necessary to in- crease the executive staff. To this end the President made the following appointments: First Assistant, Mrs. Levi Young; Second Assistant, Mrs. H. W. Wallace; Assistant to Treasurer, Mrs. William Patterson; Assist- ant for Correspondence, Mrs. Edmund Nol- lain; Assistant for Recording Secretary, Mrs. Lischen Miller.
Headquarters were again established at 137 First Street, to meet the request of busi- ness men and others who wished to contrib- ute to the society, and found the Armory at an inconvenient distance.
An honorary membership list was opened, with the fee fixed at one dollar. This list at present numbers over three hundred, and among the names recorded are those of Captain C. E. Clark, of the battleship Ore- gon, Rev. Edward Everett Hale, General Longstreet, Hon. Jos. E. Sheldon, and Mrs. James Shafter.
The total membership of the society is 1,557. Of this number, 553 are members of
Auxiliary Corps, leaving 1,004 members for the Portland organization.
Among the treasured souvenirs of the so- ciety is an autograph letter from Captain C. E. Clark, in response to a congratulatory telegram sent upon receipt of the news that the Oregon had been selected as the flag- ship of Commodore Watson's fleet. Another is from Edward Everett Hale. This aged author paid the Oregon Volunteers the great compliment of presenting twelve copies of his famous story, " A Man Without a Coun- try," with his autograph upon the title-page of each copy, to the Second Regiment. These books were sent to the care of the Emer- gency Corps, who forwarded them to Ma- nila, acknowledging the receipt of the same in a letter to the author.
Valuable service has been rendered the State of Oregon by a member of the Corps, Madame A. de Fonfride Smith, who has compiled an official roster of the enlisted men for 1898. This has been entirely her own work, and contains a careful history sketch of each member of the State Military Board, officers of the Second Regiment, and the name of every volunteer. This little book is tastefully bound, and illustrated with views ^f Camp McKinley and photo- graphs of the officers of each company. The author has visited nearly every town in the State from which volunteers were recruited, circulating the work, while a copy has been kept for every man whose name is recorded on its pages. Several thousand copies have been sold and the net proceeds are to be a contribution to the treasury of the Emer- gency Corps. In work of this kind Oregon stands alone, being the only State that is the fortunate possessor of so concise and comprehensive a history of its brave sons.
Up to the time of the departure of the Oregon recruits for San Francisco, there had been an ample field for the labors of the Oregon Emergency Corps in its local work; but it became evident that in order to carry out the promise of continued care and atten- tion to the Volunteers while in the service of their country, to assist in the relief work of furnishing supplies for the hospital ships or sending nurses to care for the sick at Manila, it was now necessary to have Governmental protection. This could only be obtained through the agency of the Red Cross Society, and the question of expediency in this direc- tion was considered. On July 23d, Judge
