THE WELFARE FUND 



WHEN the forestry and lumberjack regiment was 

 organized the American Forestry Association 

 started the collection of a Welfare Fund for the 

 purpose of supplying the men with comforts needed and 

 with means for recreation to aid in keeping up their 

 morale. This fund was later developed into the Welfare 

 Fund for Lumbermen and Foresters in War Service, 

 with the following officers : Honorary chairman, R. H. 

 Downman, Council of National Defense, Washington, 



D. C.;acting chairman, W. R. Brown, Berlin, N. H. ; 

 secretary, E. A. Sterling, New York City ; treasurer, Per- 

 cival S. Ridsdale, secretary American Forestry Associa- 

 tion, Washington, D. C. The members of the commit- 

 tee are: R. H. Downman, W. R. Brown, E. T. Allen, 



E. A. Diebold, M. E. Preisch, for the Lumber Industry ; 

 W. A. Priddie, E. D. Tennant, for the Order of Hoo- 

 Hoo ; A. F. Potter, W. L. Hall, for the U. S. Forest Serv- 

 ice ; Charles Lathrop Pack, for the American Forestry 

 Association ; James Boyd, John W. Long, for the Lum- 

 ber Trade Press. 



The Welfare Fund was devoted to purchasing wool to 

 be knitted into sweaters, scarfs, socks, helmets, etc., to 

 furnishing phonographs, athletic supplies and various 

 articles needed by the men, and in providing funds for the 

 use of the men when their pay failed to arrive. It was also 



used in caring for sick and needy persons in the families 1 

 of soldiers and after they had been ordered home it was 

 used in the endeavor to secure work for those who de- 

 sired jobs. It is still being used for this particular pur- 

 pose. The method of finding jobs for jobless men is 

 described on pages 1159 and 1160. 



Senior Chaplain Howard Y. Williams of the 20th 

 Regiment, in writing on February 25 from France about 

 the use of the fund, said: 



"The welfare fund raised for the men of the 20th En- 

 gineers is unique in the A. E. F. No other organization 

 that I know of has had such splendid backing as the 

 forestry troops in France. The $4,000 sent seemed a 

 fortune when it stood to our credit in a French bank 

 for 22,400 francs. Almost 3,800 francs was assigned to 

 work among the pioneer forestry engineers, the 10th 

 Regiment. Athletic supplies, indoor games, phonograph 

 records, needles, books, sheet music, refreshments for 

 evening parties and other like necessities have been pur- 

 chased with this fund. One of the large uses to which 

 it has been put has been that of loans. The fund has 

 been put out on loans several times over and has proved 

 a friend indeed to men in need. It has made it possible 

 for men to go out on leave ; it has brought to men dis- 

 charged from hospitals, who had not seen a pay day for 



IJSTER BAGS ("CARRIE NATION COWS") CONTAINING CHLORINATED WATER FOR DRINKING PURPOSES. 



PONTENX, LANDES, FRANCE 



BELLEVUE CAMP, 



1163 



