EARLY PROBLEMS 35 



organization, or even one of federated local organizations, the 

 plan of having a strong National Association, but with indepen- 

 dent and autonomous state and local organizations, was con- 

 ceived. This independence and autonomy has been the secret 

 of the development of the campaign against tuberculosis in the 

 United States. 



With the development of organization, however, the National 

 Association was at once confronted with a number of serious 

 questions. First of all, the problem of financing the local or- 

 ganizations had to be solved ; secondly, the question of providing 

 programs and of stimulating new organizations to a true con- 

 ception of their task was continually in the foreground; thirdly, 

 the problem of proper organization to prevent ambitious or sel- 

 fish-minded individuals from gaining control of associations had 

 to be met in a very definite way; and fourthly, the problem of 

 providing in the home office a clearing-house for information and 

 education that would answer the ever-growing needs. 



To meet the first problem, that of finance, the alliance of the 

 National Association with the Red Cross in the Red Cross Seal 

 Campaign was an extremely fortuitous and happy one. The 

 Red Cross Seal started more or less as a fad, and even those in 

 the Red Cross and the National Association who were most 

 interested in it expected it to live only a few years. It has be- 

 come, however, the most important, and in many instances the 

 only, means for financing the non-official tuberculosis work in the 

 United States. By means of the Red Cross Seal (now the Tu- 

 berculosis Christmas Seal) associations in every State have been 

 financed. It would have been almost impossible to establish 

 such organizations otherwise. Probably the most difficult type 

 of organization to finance is a State association much more 

 difficult, in fact, than a local or national one. The early policy 

 adopted in the Red Cross Seal Sale of leaving the major portion 

 of the funds from the Seal Sale in the communities where the 

 seals were sold proved to be the biggest stimulus imaginable in 

 creating sound organization. It is not too much to say that 

 without the Red Cross Seal the development of the National 

 Association would undoubtedly have been very much retarded. 



From 1910 up to and including the Christmas season of 1919 



