Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-10-19
DESCRIBE RELIEF WORK
T0M0NDAY EVENING CLUB
E. P. Bicknell and Rev. John Van
Schaick, Jr., Tell of Scenes
Witnessed in Europe.
Found No Apparent Destitution i,
Belgium Owing to Work of
Charitable Systems.

Before an audience that taxed the
capacity of the auditorium Of the Y. NJ
c. A, last night, Ernest P. Bicknen of
the Red Cross. and Rev. John Van
Schaick, jr., pastor of the Church of Our
Father CUniversaIist), spoke on Relief
Work in the War Zone" at a meeting
of the Monday Evening Club of the Dis
trict of Columbia, giving intimate pic
lures of scenes they witnessed while in
Europe.
The two speakers. who were members
of a committee sent to Europe about
the first of the year by the Rockefeller
Foundation to ascertain what meas
ures could be taken for the relief of
destitute civilian population, dwelt at
length upon their observations.
Mr.. Bicknell gave an Illustration of
the humane treatment of the Poles by
the German government. Mr.. Bicknell
said that government, after holding one
Of Its quarterly national food inventor
les. volunteered to provide large
Poles. after the relief committee had
applied in vain to nearly every other
nation in Europe in their behalf. Ar
rangements had been made with the
Russian government for the purchasing
of large quantity of wheat, he said. but
when the time came to get the grain
1t was found that the wheat was thou
sands of miles in the interior of the
country.
Belgium Far From Destitute.
The speaker said that in Belgium the
restitution one expects to see is not at
all apparent.
The feeding of Belgium" he said,
was and is going on like clockwork,
and the inhabitants do not want for the
necessaries of life. Most of the sup
plies are procured by the relief COM
mittee with money furnished by the
BelgianS themselves. Their communal
and charitable systems are immeas-
urably better than ours. and have
of the war
He told of the conditions in Serbia
while the typhus epidemic was at it's
height, declaring that in Nish pyra-
mids OF collins containing corpses were
stacked on the public square for long
periods awaiting burial
report of the relief work with
which he was identified was read by
DIR. Van Schaick.
Various Chairmen Announced.
Walter S. Urord. president of the
club. announced the chairmen of COM
mittees for the year as follows:
committee. Judge ]. Wilmer Latimer;
banquet committee, Mrs. John NC
Laughlin: reception committee, Charles
F. Nesbit.
Committees on the clubs social serv-
ice program-Remedial loan legisla-
tfon, Willim H. Baldwin; the chunrch
and social service, Rev. John Van
Schaick. jr.; modern municipal hos
pital, John Joy Edison; a modern
municipal lodging house, Miss Aline 10
Solomons; the juvenile court. Miss Julia
C. Lathrop; provision for the care of
the feeble-minded. George S. Wilson;
supervision of dependent and neglected
children. Mrs. Walter S. Ufford: pro-
vision for the treatment of inebriates
and drug victims. DR.. D. Percy Hick-
ling: the indeterminate sentence, w. H
w hlttaker; committee on housing Mrs
Ernest P. Bieknell: an effective system
OF health supervision of school chill
dren. DR.. w. S. Small; atypical schools,
Prof w. b. Patterson; open-air schools,
Prof. Selden NJ. Ely: use of school
buildings as social and civic centers,
public recreation, William Knowles
Cooper: municipal care and supervision
OF the tuberculous, DR.. John w Trask;
committee on child labor legislation,
Mrs. j. P. S. Neigh; improved pro-
cedure for the commitment of the in
sane. Frederick A. Fenning; low wages
and unemployment, A. ]. McKelway;
social hygiene. DR.. William C. Wood
ward.
New members were elected as fol-
lows: G. Grosvenor Dave, Mrs. John
Freeman Day. Miss Edith Dowen, A. ].
Driscoll. Mrs. A. J. Driscoll, Frederick
v; Coville. J: r. Hildebrand. Mrs Jen-
ME A Griffith. Miss Laura Morris. Miss
Elsa d. Muencle, Miss Emma Wilson,
Miss Margaret Wilson, Richard B. wat
rous. Mrs Washington Topham, J. Clin-
ton Hiatt. Lewis E. Stein. Miss Geor-
gia NJ. Nevius, Miss Jep Falk, Frank
OHara, and DR.. John w. Lorrentine.