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LETTER FROM THE CANADIAN RED CROSS SOCIETY TO PERSONS AND ORGANIZATIONS WHO HAVE "ADOPTED" CANADIAN PRISONERS OF WAR. July, 1918, Head Office Canadian Red Cross Society, 56 Church St., Toronto. Dear Madam The Canadian Red Cross Society is greatly indepted to you (or your organization) for your generous assistance in its work of caring for the Canadian Prisoners of War through your monthly payments of the sum of $5.00 on behalf of Lt Cpl P.I. Tappin 28th Battn. The Society has welcomed this support and has been glad to be the means of keeping our prisoners in touch with their friends and relations. But the number of Canadian prisoners has now increased so greatly that is found impossible to continue the present system of adoption, and it has become necessary to cancel all present adoptions in order to inaugurate a simpler and more workable system. Early in the war, the Canadian Red Cross began to send our prisoners in enemy countries an occasional parcel of comforts, for which $2.50 a month was sufficient, and many persons and societies were able to subscribe that sum. Now the prisoners depend on the Red Cross parcels for their very existence, and the cost of supporting each prisoner of war is reconed at $200 per annum. This amount is liable to be increased at any time as the price of food rises; and the now upwards of twenty five hundred Canadian prisoners, The Canadian Red Cross Society has undertaken the full responsibility of feeding and clothing these men, and in its Budget for 1918 has estimated that it will require $600,000 in order to care for our Candian prisoners. From funds provided by the public, the Society will continue to send to each Canadian prisoner in enemy countries the maximum amount of food and clothing permitted, and the Provincial Branches of the Red Cross, through their local Branches and auxiliary organizations, have undertaken to raise the necessary funds. The present system of "adoption" which was easy to work when there were only a few prisoners and all their parcels cost only $25 for a year, has become impracticable now that there are so many prisoners and their upkeep is often too costly to be borne by one individual or society. In the attempt to keep up the "personal touch" with prisoners, sometimes as many as five persons or organizations are "adopting" or contributing to the upkeep of one individual prisoner. Anyone who multiplies by twentyfive hundred the amount of letter-writing and book-keeping for each man necessitated under such a system will realize that it is too complicated to be continued ( or even expanded if the number of prisoners should be increased). Already, by relieving the London Office of this clerical work, we have enabled them to undertake the actual packing of the parcels by their own voluntary staff. The Society recognizes fully the right of the next-of-kin to "adopt" his own friend or relative even if he can only afford part of his upkeep. If you are the legal next-or-kin of any Canadian prisoner, please indicate his name and number and state whether or not you desire to "adopt" him, wholly or in part, as outlined. above. The Society does not solicit contributions for this purpose from the friends of prisoners. It gratefully receives their subscriptions if offered and assures them that if such support is a burden it will be gladly borne by the Society. in order to preserve local links with the prisoners, the Society is arranging to allot to the Provincial Branches of the Red Cross Society the support of prisoners who reside or next-of-kin reside, within the Province. The Head Office will send to the headquarters of Provincial Branches all cards of ackknowledgment received from the cards to individual adop