Evening star., 1915-12-26
FOOD |SAGRAVE
MEXICAN PROBLEM
Red Cross Relief Work Aban-
doned at the Request of
Carranza.
THOUSANDS ARE HUNGRY;
DEATH RATE GOES HIGH
Efforts of the Government Well
Planned, But Not Adequately
Supported.

That the outlook in Mexico appears
to be extremely grave regarding food
supplies for next year, is asserted in
an article sent out today by the Sur
vey press service. Work done by the
American Red Cross, and later under
taken by the Carranza government, is
outlined. The story follows:
After conducting relief work for
several months in Mexico. in response
to an appeal from the people of that
country, the American Red Cross has
recently withdrawn at the request of
Gen. Carranza. This request came just
at time when increased. relief funds
were available from the American pub
lie, including a special appropriation
from the Rockefeller Foundation.
This request came with assurance
from the Mexican government that ade-
Quate plans for the relief OF suffering
were being carried out and that the
Red Cross was no longer needed.
Situation Serious One.
'In the middle of October. when the
Red Cross agent, Charles ]. O'Connor,
left Mexico City, however, he felt that
the situation was serious. He had found
that the official record of burials in one
cemetery in the early part Of August
gave starvation as the cause of per
cent of the deaths.
How the lack of food-wfth the help
of typhus-has swelled the death rate
may be gathered from the deaths in
the federal district. In early October
the daily number of deaths was about
800 in a population of about 100000.
The normal number used to be eighty
one, or a death rate of about forty. The
death rate in early October was thus in
the neighborhood of $50 to $50, or ten
times that of New York city.
conservative estimates place the
number of people living en- charity in
some form as at least 100000. and prob
ably as high as 100000. Money of the
only a small part of its face value.
$4,000 being equal to about $1,000 of
United States currency. A smal! loaf OF
bread sold for 81. larger loaf for W
were paid on substantially the old val
ues-a laborer receiving about 81
day. Industry was paralyzed and even
where jobs could be had 1T was not
surprising that men refused TO work at
such a wage.
s"The foresight Of Americans and 9TH
er foreigners had led them to buy large
supplies of corn and beans last Janu-
ary These they used for their famiiies
and employees, selling small quantities
to the latter at a low price. But for
this forehanded action many ONCE
clerks store statesmen and factory op-
eratives would have starved. Some EN-
ployers kept their employees on tneir
pay rolls at much sacrifice.
Served "Chick Pea" Soup.
'sWhen the Red Cross agent went
from Vera Cruz to Mexico City 1t was
some weeks before supplies could be
brought in because of the fighting lines
around the city. For the early Red
Cross relief. $4,000 was available
With a large part OF TINS money SUP sIPs
vegetable is not eaten very much In
Mexico, but is exported to Spain, where
it is known as garbanza: With this
supply. which the owner had not Deea
vegetables, a soup was prepared Tor
distribution through eight stations in
various parts of the city and four In
the suburbs: ABOUT o9,v9O n.eIs ooa oa
soup were distributed uaiiy 10 io'oVo
families.
the Red Cross received splendid CO.
operation. AS many as 1000 volunteer
investigators from clubs, churches, the
foreign colonies and various sorts OF
organizations rendered efficient serv-
ice. The applications of about $1,000
families were approved and about H.
900 applications were pending. 1t is
estimated that probably 100000 people |
needed relief. Such a number could
have been kept alive for from $4,000
to $4,000 month.
Cordial relations were early estab- |
lished with the international charity |
committee, organized by foreign resi-
dents representing seventeen nationali- |
ties. The method Of this committee
was to sell food at low cost. but It
had difficulty in securing supplies. 1t
was asked by the constitutionalist |
government to discontinue its work |
about the time the request was made |
to the Red Cross
Relief Well Planned.
.srhe relief work of the Mexican gov