New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-09-20
Nine. Vandervelde Gets
Woman'S Contribution
to Start Fund.
SENDS APPEAL TO
SCHOOL CHILDREN
Wife of Minister of State TO
Gross Country in Campaign
for Money.

I campaign TO raise Sl,OUU,UUu lot Del
gian reconstruction yesterday by
taking in $4,000 before breakfast and
by sending out an appeal to the boys
and girls of America to give their
pennies to the fund.
| The $4,000 was handed to her per-
gonally by a woman whose name is not
to be made public, but whose initials
are "a. B. B."
The letter to the children is as fol-
lows:
my Dear Young Friends: You are
just going back to school, after having
thoroughly enjoyed your holidays.
Every morning when you leave for
| school you know that when you come
back in the afternoon you will ind
/ your mothers and fathers ready to
welcome youyou will sit down to a
good dinner in a bright and cheerful
/ home. Now, will you not do some
( thing to show your affection and
sympathy for the Belgian girls and
| boys? Just think that most of them
/ are refugees, outcasts; they have no
more homes, no more gardens to play
in or schools to attend. The boys and
girls of st. Peters School, Thorn
/ ton, Manchester, England, have just
/ sent me 50 for the Belgian relief fund,
and their headmaster has written 70
/ tell me that idea originated entirely
with the children, who wished to show
/ their sympathy with US all in this sOr-
I rOwful time. Do you not think that
this is a beautiful example to follow ?
IF each American boy and girl
would put by only few .ents every
week think what big sum we should
/ have in a short time, and how CRATE
/ full the Belgian boys and girls would
DE to know that right across the At
/ lantic their friends have saved up this
/ pocket money to help them to have
new homes.
"Now, American boys and girls, will
you do this? Your friend,
"LALLA VANDERVELDE.
You can send the money to me for
the Belgian relief fund, 10 Bridge ST.,
Room ll3, New York"
country l0e Appeal
. Nine. Vanderyelde conferred ycster-
day morning with Robert w. de Forest
secretary of the Belgian Relief Com
mittce, and it was decided that she
should go from one end of the country
to the other, talking to the people
wherever they will listen to her.
IL expect to be here about two
months" she said with a smile, wher
the reporters asked her how long she
thought it would take to collect ST.,
100000. However, | shan't go ava!
until do get il. every cent"
Nine. Nandervelde declined to speal
on the subject Of the German atrocities
THE Belgian Commission presented
to your President everything Belgium
has to say on that subject" she said
Every one of those Incidents was mos
carefully investigated and proved to b.
true by members of Parliament, judges
burgomasters and other responsible
citizens. shall not repeat what
know only from hearsay. OF course,
was not in position to witness any
atrocities myself, because, being a mem
Der of the official government OF Bel
GUM, | should have been arrested a
once if had come within the power o.
the Germans.
81 can describe the affair of the Yep
pelins in Antwerp. because the whirrlnG
of their propelIers wakened me as
slept in my hotel. 1t was at | O'Clock
at night. Undoubtedly, there was &
spy on board that Zeppelin, and the
bombs were aimed at the royal palace
where the King and Queen and all the
royal children were sleeping, as well
as at the hotel where all the members
Of the Cabinet were. There were ten
bombs. Large numbers of people were
killed on the streets, as well as IN thelt
houses by bombs which tore open the
roofs.
Part of my work has been to visit
the soldiers in camp, to carry them
presents from their friends and cheer
them up in general. | always took
them cigarettes and books to read
That may sound strange in wartime
but before the Germans arrived near
Brussels the men at the forts had a
very slow stupid time, you know. They
were very grateful for novels, and any
thing amusing to read. | visited camp
the day before the battle of Haelen
1t is most pathetic to recall now, how
those soldiers lay in the sunshine
smoking their cigarettes, and talking
about the battle that was coming. The
,ext day we saw them brought into
the hospitals, wounded and dying.
Belgium Ready for Fray.
Everybody in Belgium vas ready to
frht the Germans even the dogs that
drag the little cannon, the mitrail'
lcuscs. These are the most wonderful
Is intelligent dogs. They stand up to
he harncssed at word Of command
At another word they begin to march
I'm battle, however. they pay no atten'
ton TO orders and bite the enemy right
and left.
Il must express publicly the appre'
citation of the Belgian people Tor the
work Of Mr.. Brand Whitlock in Brus'
.cls. II was he who stayed in the city
when the Germans were coming, and
everybody else was fleeing. He went
out 10 meet the Germans, and told the
commanding officers that he was II
charge of the city. | don't think they
would have destroyed the city anyway
hut | am sure that they would have
treated the people much more harshly
if the American representative had ROT
been watching them"
Emil Vandervelde, Of the Belgian
commission in this country to protest
20 President Wilson against German
atrocities, will speak at a meeting IN
the Harlem River Casino tomorrow
evening. Mrs. Nandervelde also will
address the meeting, reading letter
from the Queen of the BelgIanS and
telling Of what she has witnessed dur
ing the war The affair is being spon'
sored by the Russian Social Demo