October 24, 1918

Today’s Evening Star https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1918-10-24/ed-1/ 

Influenza mortality news was pushed entirely off the newspaper’s front page today by progress in the War. But the statistic crept back up a bit to 49.

President Wilson’s daughter (and wife of Treasury Secretary William) Eleanor McAdoo has taken on a prominent role in fighting the epidemic. Her success in organizing volunteers from the Treasury department has encouraged health officials to ask her to extend her program to employes of other agencies.

 

At the request of Surgeon General Blue of the United States public health service the War Council of the American Red Cross authorised the creation of a sanitary unit to be
known as unit No. 36, and appropriated $13,500 for its maintenance.
…[T]his unit’has been organized for the specific purpose of lending, material aid to the. local health department in seeing that modern sanitary methods are applied to existing conditions in producing the best sanitary standard as a means of public safety.
The unit’ will be under the personal direction of a surgeon of the United States public health service,with two acting assistant surgeons, one chief sanitary inspector, ten
sanitary inspectors and the other necessary help. The Red Cross organization will provide automobiles for the transportation of the personnel. The unit will commence to
carry out Its program immediately.