The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-07-18
A Nation of Good Neiehbors
By MARY CHAMBERLAIN

lages each having it's own hospital. laundry etc At the central clothing station in the camps, the clothes pro- visioned by the commission for relief in Belgium are stocked and given out to needy applicants.
 The detail of the camp Is perfect wire waste baskets stand along the walks, tuberculosis warning signs are posted In the schools fire extinguish- CTS are placed on the buildings, sanitary fountains bubble and a miniature freight railway runs from one village" to an other. Everything is scrubbed clean with Dutch thoroughness until 1t Is like an advertisement for spotless town. , Most wonderful of all however, Is the spirit of the camp. From the minute we were saluted at the gates by Belgian Boy Scouts. who offered any assistance. till an hour later when we came to the end of our walk. and found group of Belgian carpenters busy with portable houses, l was struck by the usefulness and cheerfulness of the 5000 campers The mcn were laying out garden plots or com pleting the drainage system of the camp; the women were feeding clothes to we'll guarded mangles in the up-to-date laun- dry, sewing under supervision in a Rocke-
 
 a party of 100 or more in big kitchen shed.
 There are also tailoring shops for the mer, plenty of carpentry work. and Major Plas is establishing a shoe- making shop after having trained two men for over seers in Dutch factories. No work is com pulsory except personal tasks such as caring for rooms. washing clothes. etc, but 1t is eagerly seized both for the in terest 1t brings and for the gulden and half a week (S0 cents in American money) which the Dutch government pays for such labor.
 They don't kill themselves working" said Major Plas. pointing out a man lean- ing on a shovel, but 1t improves the morals and health of the place"
 As for the children, we saw them run ming errands. playing games and waiting for shower baths in tho well equipped bath-house.
 Both Work and Play
 When the inhabitants of the camp are not at work there is plenty of play. There is a theatre where dramas and enter tainments are given (the camp boasts a band and a chorus), library stocked with Flemish and French books, and cafes for both men and women, where soft drinks and beer are sold. Children are not permitted to enter the cafes unless accompanied by an adult. For those who wish to spend their time more profitably. there are night classes for adults in the schools Finally, there Is a chapel with a pretty altar and niche for the Virgin "a sanctuary erected by the Protestant Dutch for their Catholic neighbors. Leaving Ede. I felt not so much sym pathy for the refugees as admiration for those sturdy Hollanders who have planned and created this orderly, self-sufficient town. And I wondered if these people, SO safe and well cared for in their tenn porary communities. would ever be willing to return to devastated Belgium, for the long and trying process of rebuilding . wrecked country. At this point recalled the statement of the Rev. Dr. John A. Van Schaick. Jr.. pastor of the Universalise church in Washington, D. c. He has charge of the central office at Rotterdam of the Rockefeller foundation war relief commission. whose function Is to distribute clothing sent from all parts of the world | both to the destitute Belgians in Belgium and to those in the Dutch camps. This problem of caring for the Belgians ! is more than one of relief" Dr. Van | Schaick said to me earnestly. First of ] all, we must make them feel that the l relief is temporary. We must make them understand that their home is in Bell gium, that every effort will be made when