Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1914-11-14


American Relief Arrives
THE American relief steamer Co
bleZ, carrying more than 1000 tons
of good stufts, arrived at Rotterdam
from London at 8 o'clock Sunday
morning. The Dutch government,
with great kindness, made an eXcep-
ton to the rigid rule against working
on Sunday. rhe labor unions made
equal concessions, with the result that
on Monday morning eight barges,
towed by four express tugs, LETT Rot
terdam enroute for Brussels with re-
lief supplies. ON each barge was a
large printed notice certifying tnat
the cargo had been sent by the Amer
lean Commission in care of the Amer
lean Minister to Belgium. On the
door of the captains cabin in each
barge was n copy of General Won Der
Goltz's proclamation instructing all
German officials to give safe conduct
and assistance to the American relief
cargo. General Won Der Goltz is Ger
man military governor OF Belgium.
The crews of the barges and tugs
We're Dutch and each man carried
with no little pride an order for safe
conduct from the German authorities
permitting him to go to Brussels and
return unmolested to Holland.
Accompanied by NJ. Nj. Langhorne,
secretary of the American Legation at
can resident, in an automobile, l fol-
lowed this old fiotilla of mercy as il
threaded it's way from canal to canal
and from lock to lock. At Hanswert,
IL town on the Belgian-Dutch frontier,
! anticipated some difficulties as to
this first consignment of relief. ON
the contrary, the German officials We're
fully Informed and there was no de-
lay whatever.
Thence to Brussels the German ar
rangments for getting our cargo
through eXpeditiously were perfect.
grhe sealed matches of the barges were
sheVer opened or touched on all the
way to Antwerp, Malines and Brussels.
The country people came running
to the banks of the canal, where they
stared at our hotilla as if it were a
mirage. For a week not a single
barge had passed where formerly
there were a thousand hourly.
Food Was Godsend
ITO the Belgian country folk it was
at first just Godsend dream TO re-
mind them of the peaceful days pre-
ceding the nightmare of war. When
they found that there were real barges
bearing food their great thankfulness
found ready expression.
"On Wednesday morning, just one
week after the ship left London, we
drove up in front of the American Lee
BdtlOn at IoTuSStlS ana LOlu Brand
Whitlock, the American Minister to
Belgium, that the relief barges were
safely moored in a pocket of the main
canal. A few minutes later Mr.. Whit
locks automobile brought the Marquis
De Villalobar, the Spanish Minister,
and the heads Of the Belgian Central
relief committee. The Marquis was all
enthusiasm. lie grasped my hand,
eXclaiming, What splendid news! You
Americans are wonderful. When you
take thing in hand you certainly do
and do it quickly
There was no need for the news
papers to spread the report of our
arrival. In one hour all Brussels
knew and rejoiced. Many people had
feared that we would never get the
food into Belgium and that if we did
we would not get by the wall of SOL
diers surrounding Brussels.
I'VE drove back to Holland by way
of Louvain, Aerschot and Thourot to
Breda, on the Dutch frontier. We
found several villages in the Limburg
district that had been without salt for
month. At almost every bridge we
met men with boxes soliciting relief
from travellers from more fortunate
districts This looks like begging, but
there are some conditions justifying
anything. We met few Belgian men,
Eighty per cent. of the people in these
country districts are women and chill
dren. We saw them eating green
vegetables, beets and apples. They
had little else.
Children Afraid to Laugh
There We're thousands of children
all afraid to laugh. Like their mothers
they seemed spellbound by the melan-
choly fascination of the ruins in which
they found shelter. The contrast be-
tween them and the contented song
loving German soldier Is appalling.
1.-THE Germans, who throughout
treated us with the greatest courtesy
and consideration, are clearing the
debris from the water fronts so that
the shipments of relief supplies from
America can be landed in the various
towns without difficulty. They also
are working on the canals and prom
ise us by November II to clear the
waterway to Liege, which at present
is very hard to reach
Mr.. Bell will return to Rotterdam
to-day to continue the work of rush
ing the emergency food supplies into
districts where they are most needed.