cannot meet sudden emergencies. It cannot distinguish between the needs of families except in an arbitrary way, as, for example, according to the number of children. Yet we know that sickness, habits of life, place of residence, and a great variety of other things cause families to differ from each other in their financial needs.
Here, then, is where the financial phase of Home Service begins. When the unforeseen happens, when there is delay in the payment of the monthly allowance, or when the allowance needs to be supplemented, the Red Cross is ready to help.
Credit, the credit that goes with a good name and the confidence of the public, this also the Red Cross has without limit. Shortly after the declaration of war with Germany, President Wilson in an official proclamation designated the Red Cross as the one agency with which the government would cooperate in helping the families of soldiers and sailors. It has also the credit that comes from a membership of more than twenty million persons. There is no hamlet so small or so remote that the Red Cross pin is not to be seen there. Nearly every county in every state in the Union has its Red Cross Chapter. Excepting perhaps the postal service, there is no agency in the United States that is so widely organized. The credit of the Red Cross is second only to the credit of the government.
The Red Cross offers the families of men in the service the assurance of friends. Wherever households are found to be in need of help, whether in city, town, or country, there a Home Service Section has been formed as part of the local Red Cross Chapter. The Home
