The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1915-01-17
Starving Nation Of Europe Needs Aid
on Large Scale, Arnold Ben
nett Tells American Relief
Commission.
RELIEF DAY JANUARY %
Saturday VIII be Relief Day for keo-
kuk and Lee County and All
Contributions viii be Well
Applied.

Belgiun's cause is one which
should know no lines, no creeds or
parties Is the conclusion of Arnold
Bennett, who has written on "The
Prodigious Problem of Belgium, With
a Few Words to the Kind Heart" for
/ the American Relief commission.
The following by Mr. Bennett is pre-
scented to people of Keoknk and Lee
county by the Belgium Relief COM
mission as a concrete reason for a
! Belgian Relief day for this section OF
the state, on Saturday, January %:
On day in last month the load
| ing Of the ship "Massapequa" was
| finished in New York. She is 100
AL steamer, over three hundred feet
| in length, and her freight was $3.50
! tons of food-stuffs.
This cargo was packed and slowed
with such skill as to arouse special
admiration not only in New York
! but In Europe. Captain McCardi has
a detailed plan of all of it, SO as to
| facilitate unloading. Captain Nc
! Cardi, who has never sailed for
I European waters before, cast off his
mornings amid the acclamations OF
a people.
His first voyage across the Allan
tbs was full Of adventure and peril,
and once owing to stress OF weather
he had to lay to in mid-ocean for
several days. At length he arrived
at the Hook of Holland, and the news
that his ship was sighted threw the
whole city of Rotterdam into a vast
fete.
The American naval attache from
Berlin travelled to Rotterdam to
meet this wondrous ship, and other
American diplomatic officials joined
him. Before the vessel made fast to
the quay at Rotterdam, 500 Dutch
stevedores jumped aboard and start
ed the work OF unloading. They
worked day and night for fifty hours,
and easily surpassed all the records
of the port.
And while they toiled, speeches
We're made. full of enthusiasm and
gratitude, banquets were held, and
the burgomaster Of Rotterdam in
vited all the official world to be his
guests, amid the music Of the Amer
lean National Anthem. Everybody
felt deep emotion that tremendous
international deed of charity was be.
ing accomplished.
In due course the ship was emp
tied and the canal barges were filed,
the canal barges, drawn by express
tugs, and manned by crews each in
dividual of whom had special pass
from the German authorities, swung
forward with the 1850 tons of bacon,
rice, beans and flour for Limburg.
Charleroi, Mons, Client and other
places where the representatives of
distribute it. The vast business was
successfully done.
A Ship Day.
But let it be noted that NJ. Rolin,
the Belgian official who in speech
making at Antwerp returned thanks
to America on behalf of Belgium,
uttered the sentence:
There is just enough stuff on
this ship to feed starving Belgians
for one day"
This sentence should be daily re-
membered by the charitable of all
countries. If the miracle of the
"Massapequa" were repeated every
day throughout the winter until the
end of the war, the starving Bel
gians would get just enough to eat.
Holland, England and France
seem to be swarming with Belgian
refugees, who are being fed and
clothed and housed. But between
them the three countries accommo-
date only million; and this million
is the fortunate minority Of the vic
tins.
There remain, and will remain. in
Belgium seven millions of tragic in
habitants. In the country districts
eighty per cent Of them are women
and children, who, as though hypno-
tiled by disaster, haunt hopeiessly
their homes.
Many districts are nothing but
grave yards There is no seed to
SOW. There are no implements.
There is no money. There Is no
credit. There is no means of trans
port. There is no work. And there
is very little heart, save in small
corner OF that once prosperous land,
the corner still dominated and In
srired by the courage of King AL
bert and his soldiers.
No modern famine was ever like !
this famine because it is universal. /,
The entire population has to be fed,
md those whom charity does not