The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-12-07
.BELGIANS HAVE THREE DAYS' FOOD American Relief Commissioner Says Their Plight Is Still
 Desperate.
ALL IDLE; 70 PER GENT. ILL
Nation of 100000 Will Be De- pendent on the Outside
 World in Month.

London, Dec 1.--Eierbert Clark Hoover, chairman of the American Commission for Relief in Belgium, re- turned to London today after a weeks trip of Inspection in Belgium. MT. Hoover reports that the distribution of foodstuffs sent in care Of the Amer ican Commi ssion is we'll under way, but that the condition of famine which threatened the population of Belgium is still desperate, and that on account Of the attitude of the bel ngerents the Belgians must still ap- peal to the people of the United States for relief.
 sst is difficult to state the position of the civil population of Belgium without appearing hystericaI,'' said
 MT. Hoover in his Statement. ssI do not know that history presents any parallel of a population of 2, 900, ,000 people surrounded by a ring of steel and utterly unable by any concefvahle effort of their own to save themselves.
 From the nature of things, it is inn possible for the commission even to possess an opinion on the rights and wrongs which have created this situa-s ton. The Germans state flatly that the people of Belgium are normally ldependent or1 the importation ofSfood- 1 stuffs for fve-sixths of their subsist-5 lence; that the Germans have not the slightest objection to the Belgians or Ianys one else importing foodstuffs into BGl&1uXns LnaI IL Is nOL. the N1eTInanS 1 who have blocked the overseas supply 1 and that there is no obligation upon them to feed the civil population which could through the normal course of trade, obtain subsistence.
 The Allies, on the other hand, con-. tend that a free port. for the nnpor-
 tation of foodstuffs into Belgium would practfcaIly amount te an entrepot for food supplies for the Ger
 mans. It is enough for us that there are 7,00o.000 people ground between
 two gigantic n1il1stones.
 Germans Aid Disfrfbutdon.
 .sWe are meeting with no obstruc- l ton from the military authorities of l Belgium in the prosecution of our \ work Not one loaf of bread or one I spoonful of salt that We have intro lduced has been taken by the military l The most stringent orders have been E given that we shall have no interfer- i ence, and our members meet ith re- spect and assistance in all quarters. I sHThere are considerable quantities I Of vegetables available in certain dis l tricts. In some localities there is still Ia supply ofScerea1s for two or three I weeks but in certain other localities i there has been no bread available for
 over a fortnight Every soul will be I ldependent upon us for bread within thirty days.
 slsastsSo far our efforts have necessarily i been devoted to provisioning the q larger centres. It requires organization land patience to be able to penetrate sl the outlying towns and villages It will Esbe difficult for the people of the T limited States to comprehend the diffi- l lcu1ties which we meet in the elabora-
 ton Of this work
 ssThe clock has absolutely stopped q in Belgium. An industrial country
 which was dependent on the overseas I before, is now walled up with T per of 1as
 There are no telegraphs, tele- I 1sphoness railways, or post offices ex- Icept for military purposes. The Bel ! gians of a military necessity, are not sf allowed to pass from their own towns, I and consequent1y there is no conn $. Inunication throughout the country except by personal visits of our own
 members.
 s Even the Canals Blocked
 ] .sTransportation by rail is possible lin only few directions, and then must 4 await, military necessity The wonder ful canal system is blocked in many .I places by the destruction of bridges,
 and some canals have been allowed 3 to run dry. Therefore it becomes part ( of our business to get these cleared
 and to stimulate the subsidiary trans ( port services of the country, not only for the transp ortation of our food, but to permit the transp of coal
 from the Belgian n1ines-a sore necs | essity this winter.
 There are no courts, and the pris- sons have been emptied; but the gend- armerie have remained at their posts and are themselves both policemen and judges. The people are most law abiding The central and proYincial $ governments have disappeared The city and communal governments, how
 ever, still exist, and through them the distribution of food is being arranged.
 1he BeIgians are applying them
 selves with the most extraordinary de- vofion to the perfection of this organ ization, and if we lacked any other , inspiration for exertion in our part of ; the labor to save these people, suffi- cient lies in this devoted work of the rich and the poor, a veritab1e demoe- racy of famine which is working night and day to perform their part.
 How Relief Is Distributed
 sHThe detail of the method is. thai
 after investigation by the communal
 auth oritiess food tickets are issued, in- a dicating the number and amount of 3 rations the holder is entitled to, and I twice daily this ticket is presented by :, the holder to the food canteens for it's < squota and is duly punched. The ra-
 tion consists of bread, soup containing
 potatoes, together with a little coffee :. and salt
 All those who can afford to pay . are compelled to pay the communal
 auth critics at the rate of cents per { diem per ration. The destitute are
 given tickets gratis. The comnunal authorities contribute to the relief ] committee 1 cent per diem per capi- 5 tai on the total tickets tissued in their ? commune, they obtaining this reve-
 nue from the tickets sold or by public
 subscription in the communes
 through the National committee un-
 der our supervision. These funds ul-
 timateIy become available to use fol the purchase of food. Furthermore ( the same ration of bread and salt pe1 diem is sold through the bakeries te
 agreed lists of the more we1I-to-do
 population, and, as this bread is dis,
 posed of at a positive profit, our in