The Alaska citizen., 1915-01-11
America Feeds the Starving Be|gians European Nations Unable to Give Aid

Literary Digest. Nov. 14: After the burning of Louvain. says the Louis yillo Courier-Journal. a press cores pondent wandering near the city saw in the dust of the road child rag doll over which the heavy wheels of the great gun-carriages had passed. That doll. he declared was Belgium as he found 1t after the ruthless invasion And the American press seem to agree with more or less unanimity that the con dition of Belgium is the great trage dy of the European war.
 True, there are those who assert with the St. Louis Globe DemOcra, that the allies are under every nor al obligation to divide their rations with the Belgians, who held the Germans off till they were prepared. And the New York Evening Sun en larges upon Germanys duty to "the helpless population freshly brought under German rule" asking pointed ly which nation should see to it that no man, woman, or child starves or freezes this winter because of the military necessity that made desolation of a million homes ?' Others would raise the charity be- gins-at- t-home" cry and point to American causes and institutions laa- gushing from lack of funds.
 But the more general inclination is to note that the allies and Holland are doing all they can. and have their hands full in their own coun- tries, and that Germany may be doing her best. and must first of all see that her own soldiers are pro visioned Depiste all that can be done, says King Albert, in a message 10 the American people, the suffering in the coming winter will be ter rible, but the burden we must bear will be frightened If my people can be spared the bangs of hunger, with it's frightful consequences of disease and violence" Writes Brand Whit lock the United States minister to Belgium. who has remained in Brus- sels:
 FACE STARVATION.
 "The civil population of Belgium, already in misery. is faced with star vation. . We have obtained from the German military authorities as- surance that all foodstuffs taken into Belgium by the commissioner for the civil population will be re- spected by the soldiery and not made the object of military requisition. Not money, but food, is needed"
 So the question is. according to statements of the American-Belgi relief committee, shall the American people, "blest with peace and com parative plenty, . turn a deaf ear to the cries of these poor women and children for food and shelter from the cold?" And the answer is, Americans must feed Belgium this winter"
 In response to this call, money and supplies have been pouring in to relief committees, the Red Cross, been raised in divers ways, and many are offering their personal services. This years Nobel peace prize fund, report has it, will be devoted to the support of Belgian refugees in Hol- land But most interesting of all, to judge by the newspaper comment it has elicited, is the action of the Rockefeller Foundation. It publicly states it's purpose ito exert itself to the extent, If necessary, of millions of dollars, for the relief of non-com- batants in the various countries involved" in the war, and it calls it's action "a natural step in fulfilling the chartered purposes of the Foun- dation, namely, to promote the we'll being of mankind throughout the world'"
 BELGIUM FIRsT.
 Belgium naturally, is the first of the various countries involved" 10 receive help. A staunch American freighter. the MassapeQua. was quiet ly chartered and filled at cost of $275,000, and has already set sail for Rotterdam with 4,OO0 tons of flour, rice, beans, and bacon, which will be carefully distributed in Belgium. in cooperation with the relief commit tee.
 This action is generously and unan imously applauded by the press. Thus, observes the New York Eve ming Mail does this great agency for good find it's first big oppor- tunity and justification" without soliciting contributions. without ap- pointing committees made up of men too busy to give real time and thought to the work, without seeking publicity until the plan has been thoroughly canvassed and definitely outlined. The Foundation has set out on the greatest mission of hu- man help ever undertaken.
 Others rejoice in the large sum of money immediately available and in the assurance that the Rockefeller organization will do its work ex- peditiously and competently. Yet a host of editors, several representa- tives of organized relief work. and the Foundation itself would warn the American public against the abandonment of individual generosity in the supposition that it is no longer needed.
 Ambassador Page. in London. says that 3.0OO,0OO Belgians are now practically without food, and that no food can be bought anywhere in Europe According to Brussels dispatch appearing in American news papers, nearly 100000 people are homeless. It is thought that there are now 100000 Belgians in Eng land and S00.000 in Holland. We are informed that million homes have been destroyed or made unin- habitable and that
 "Malines. Louvain. Liege, Namur.