In common with every man in North Carolina, I have been sorely distressed at the calamity which has befallen Western North Carolina. The people of our little city have responded generously to your appeal for aid. Busy man as I am, I quit my business and went out among my people to solicit subscriptions to this fund. The response to your calls from all over North Carolina is going to be generous, because there are no finer people on the face of the earth than live in this State.

Now the all important question is whether or not these funds are going to be dispersed in a manner that the needy ones will get the assistance that they are entitled to. This is the one thought in the mind of the average contributor. This fund is a sacred trust and should be handled and guarded with the utmost care.

I attended a meeting in Raleigh yesterday of the Relief Committee who are upposed to have in charge the distribution of these funds, subject of course, to your approval. I am writing you to say that I disapprove entirely of the sending three thousand dollars to Winston-Salem yesterday. I think this was a serious mistake. Reason first is, It will stop in a large measure, the efforts on the part of the people in Winston-Salem raising funds (although I understand that Reynolds & Company are giving one dollar for every dollar raised in that city). With this generous effort there should be eight or ten thousand dollars raised in Winston-Salem. This is one reason why I disapproved the sending of this money, and the scond reason is: There was no more reason why a committee living in Winston-Salem should have the distribution of funds in four or five counties where this city was not in either one of the counties, than there was that this fund should have been dispersed from Raleigh. There is a third reason, and to my mind, one of the most important: It is a reflection on the intelligence of the people who live in those counties that these funds should be dispersed from this city.

As I will probably not attend any more of the meetings of this Committee, as an executive committee is to be appointed who will have immediate charge of this work, I am writing you to give you my idea about what should be done about this matter when you return to Raleigh.

I believe that a Relief Committee should be appointed in every county in the stricken district, that this committee should report to you directly just what the immediate needs are in their county, and what the prospective needs will be to, in a small measure at least, rehabilitate the homes and the farms of these unfortunate people. You have splendid citizens living in every county in Western North Carolina, Men whose ability and integrity are equall to any in Raleigh, Winston-Salem, or elsewhere. Men who will regard this as a labor of love to undertake the task that you will impose upon them. To these men should be intrusted the distribution of this fund, which both you and I and every other member of the Committee should regard as a sacred trust. This is the measure I tried to get through yesterday, but failed. The criticizm that I have to make about that meeting yesterday, as a business man, is that in two short hours they attempted to do work that should have required careful thought and consideration of a whole day. There seemed to be too much of a spirit of let us spend this money, and not the caution of "Shall we spend it wisely?" There is another thing that is just as important as anything why this money should be judiciously spent, and that is, that should another disaster befall another part of North Carolina, if this money is wisely and judiciously expended there will be no difficulty in raising any amount of money in reason that the necessities of the people may require, but if its expenditure is not judicious, and the money is not used as it should be you will not find the ready response that you otherwise would.

I am frank to say to you in confidence that the meeting yesterday was entirely unsatisfactory to me, and I do not believe its action as far as sending the money to Winston-Salem wise. I want you to feel that you can command me to do anything about this matter at any time that you want done, and I will say for the good people of this city that if you need more money from here, it will come in the same splendid spirit in which that was given before.

I ask that you regard this letter in confidence and understand the spirit in which it is written. I have the highest personal regard for the gentlemen constituting the Committee, many of whom are my personal friends, but that does not lessen one iota the fact that I think they made a mistake.