On another page will be found a brief account of the recent great dynamite explosion in Baltimore with the relief measures which followed. The incident offers an excellent illustration of the adaptability of Red Cross methods and of the fact that the organization, though national in scope and policy, is none-the-less local in its relations and an integral part of the community in which its service is needed. When a disaster is of such magnitude or character that local agencies of relief are prostrated or overwhelmed, the Red Cross is prepared to provide the necessary machinery for relief distribution; in smaller disasters the Red Cross simply joins hands with other local agencies and lends its strength and influence to concentration of resources and cooperative effort. In time it is hoped that at least in our larger cities and towns there will exist Red Cross Chapters in affiliation with all the local agencies that can be utilized in case of disaster, so that relief work at such times will all become Red Cross work. THE RED CROSS BUILDING In the RED CROSS MAGAZINE for January, 1913, appeared an illustration of the beautiful building which the Red Cross hoped to obtain through the combined generosity of the New York Commandery of the Loyal Legion and the Congress of the United States. The proposed building was to be a memorial to the loyal women of the Civil War and was to become the permanent headquarters of the American Red Cross. The Loyal Legion offered to donate $300,000 toward the memorial on condition that Congress would give a suitable site in the City of Washington. A bill was accordingly introduced in Congress to carry the plan into effect by appropriating $300,000 for the purchase of ground. Everybody was favorable and all conditions seemed auspicious. Those who have had opportunities to observe legislation in the making, are familiar with the fact that the only certain thing about it is its uncertainty. A resume of the career of this particular measure affords a shining example in point. The bill was introduced in both Senate and House in the spring of 1912, and was referred to committees in the usual manner. The Senate committee gave prompt consideration to the bill, and of its own accord increased the amount of the proposed appropriation to $400,000, after which it reported it to the Senate, which passed it without opposition. The Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds of the House, after hearings, submitted a unanimously favorable report to the House on the last day before adjournment for the summer of 1912.