health service and the life-saving service and marine
hospital surgeons available were placed at the command of the state
authorities. The public health hospitals at Detroit, Cleveland,
Louisville, Cairo, Evansville and St. Louis were thrown open for the
care of the flood victims. Surgeons P. W. Wille, of the Marine Hospital
at Cleveland, was instructed to go to Columbus to co-operate with the
state board of health. Dr. J. O. Cobb, of the Chicago Marine Hospital,
was ordered to Indianapolis.

BACKING OF CONGRESS PLEDGED

The President was in his office all day Wednesday, March 26th, in close
touch with the situation. He apprised the chairmen of the Senate and
House appropriations committees that the government was going ahead with
emergency expenditures on the assumption that Congress would back up the
administration later. Both promised hearty support, and orders went out
on every side for a gigantic work of relief.

Major P. C. Fauntleroy was sent to Columbus to handle the medical
supplies. Nine medical officers and fifty-four hospital corps men went
from the Department of the East carrying a big supply of surgical
dressings, anti-typhoid prophylactics and the complete "reserve medical
supply" comprising hundreds of drugs sufficient to treat 20,000 patients
for one month. Precautions against the spread of disease were to be
handled by sanitation experts.

Life-saving crews were ordered from Louisville to Dayton and from
Lorain, Ohio, to Delaware, Ohio, and the public health service
distributed its agents over the afflicted districts.

SUPPLIES ON THE WAY

By Friday more than double the apparently necessary medical supplies for
the flood sufferers were on their way to Ohio and Indiana, a full quota
of supplies having been started from the army supply warehouses at St.
Louis and a second consignment from Washington.

From the naval stores a huge consignment of wearing apparel and bedding
for the sufferers was sent to Columbus. These supplies were started from
the naval stores at New York. Paymaster-General Cowie made the
arrangements under orders from Secretary of the Navy Daniels. The
shipment included 12,000 blankets, 7,000 watch caps, 50,000 pairs of
light weight drawers, 80,000 light weight undershirts, 30,000 heavy
weight drawers, 30,000 heavy weight shirts, 4,200 navy jerseys, 15,000
khaki jumpers, 24,000 pairs of dungaree trousers, 8,000 overcoats,
24,000 pairs of shoes and 15,000 pairs of woolen sock