New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-01-03
London, December Is.

London, December Is.
asst night sat up til l o'clock
reading the reports, published
and unpublished, Of the Ameri-
ca, Commission for Relief in Belgium
dated from October 81 to December o
!, Was impossible to put them down
From the appeal Of Albert, King Of the
Belcians, signed, we are told, under
frc in the battle before Dunkirk'' TO
the las. bald summary Of the work OF
the commission those typewritten
pace- held me enthralled. Their story
is one Of the most poignant, most ter
riblc. most superb in history.
i. simply tells how small handful
OF American business men in London
wore visited with an idea. The idea
was so preposterously vast, so in
credible, so impracticable thai the au-
thorities to whom it was first impaired
MAY be forgiven if they smiled in
tender pity. It looked so very like the
kind Of idea that originates with a
handful. not Of business men, but Of
loyable Humanitarian lunatics.
Seven Million Starving People.
II was the idea Of feeding the en-
tire Belgian nation al time when
transport was impossible and money
not TO be had for any consideration.
There are seven millions Of starving
people in Belgium, and it takes $4,000
10 feed them-for one day. The rest Of
the calculations is beyond me. The
mind reels at the figures it involves.
Vow this superbly impossible thing
is the thing that these business men,
backed by the whole American nation,
have been doing, not for one day, but
for two months. Sitting in their Of
fees in London they took Americas
backing for granted and made arrange
ments accordingly. America might
have stood aside with clear
conscience. She was not responsible
for the state Of Belgium.
This was not her war. She has moth
ing 70 gain by the war and a great deal
TO suffer by the sheer nuisance Of 1t.
She had nothing % gain by helping
Belgium nothing, not even interns-
tional prestige, to lose By not helping
her. She might have said, not, per
haps. with the best possible grace, bat
with a staggering show Of reason: "it's
up TO Germany and France and Great
Britain to feed Belgium, if they go
bankrupt in the attempt"
But she said: Germany won't feed
Belgium. France and Great Britain
can't. So it's up 20 Us" Simply, as n
Plain duty OF whicn there can be no
question, she took up this almost su-
perhumsn, this entirely superhumani-
tartan task.
Non Combatsnts Become Insignificant.
Now there is something about war,
especially a big war, that reduces
every non-combatant TO insignifcance.
Everybody feels IT, II is as il the
streaming glory Of life had passed
them by. The business man, sncaking
ANONYMOUSLY TO his Office, feels it.
The artists-the novelists. the must
clans. the poets and the painters feel
IT, They and their works have become
FOR the time being utterly unimpor-
tsnt. There IS no sadder sight in
England at the moment than the poet
who has not enlisted. The only writer
who can hold his head up is our spe-
eisl correspondent st the front The
pacifst feels il IN his secret heart.
The women feel it terribly.
Apart from pity and humanity, this
sense Of the utter worthlessness OF the
pon.combatant is at the bottom Of the
rush Of so many people At the front