Arizona republican., 1915-09-20
First Complete Report of the C0mmission for Relief In Belgium Reveals Fact Is Greatest Relief Move ment In History.
SOURCES OTHER THAN PIULANTHROPIC
Remarkable Feature of Re port Deals With Effort the Belgials Are Now Ex- erting to Effectively
 Take Care of Themselves.
ASSOCIATED PRESS D1spArcH1

lASSOtlATED PRESS DlSPATCHl i LONDON. September 19-Tae first complete report of the Commission for Relief in Belgium, covering the first eight months of it's existence. made public today reveals that III income and expenditure the organiz- aUion forms the greatest relief move nent of history The commission ] has collected and disbursed fifty million dollars, fifteen million of which has been contributed in the form Of money or gift food by the people of the United States and the British Empire and Belgium itself The bulk of the income has come from other than purely philanthropic
 sources, but the raising of this enor-
 nous sum has been exclusively the
 work of the commission, which by
 financial arrangements with Belgian
 Individuals and institutions, exchange
 of currency with Belgium and .sys-
 tenn of providing the solvent Belgian
 inhabitants, has maintained the en- tire population of a nation for almost a year
 A remarkable feature of the report wh1ch has hitherto received but little notice is the effort being made by
 llIS LoclS leiIlS tO iAtip l.ltIiIStlNtS NbNti
 fifty per cent of the money expended
 by the commission in benevolence Is being furnished by Belgians abroad. and large amount also is being
 supplied by Regians in Belgium.
 In discussing the report, Herbert c.
 Hoover chairman of the commission, said: Ut may cause more surprise among Americans, who believe that 1 ba ;e II, Belgian and French people in the track of war, that only something over six million dollars in food, clothes and money have come from the United States However, the American public should realize that the commission in it's organization, working personnel and political as- poets is distinctly, American. The American charitable support, so early and promptly given, came at the very inception of the movement when such backing was vital to. the sue cess of the organization in giving it time to build. This support gave the commission it's foundation from which it acquired the moral prestige that enabled it to secure vitally nee essary concessions from the various belligerent governments. Nor is the necessity for this valued support at' all over. The problem becomes more difficult every day for the number of destitute has increased from 10000 last October to 2,750,00O in June, and now grows at the rate of 200,0 a month. And our resources large IS they are cannot keep pace with the need if the charitable pub lie loses interest in our work. More over, the continued support of Amer ica is necessary to provide the com mission with the moral prestige as an American institution which it now possesses in the sight of the warning powers. and the maintenance of this prestige can only be secured by the continued sentimental and practical backing of the American people"
 The report includes detailed state ments of the commissions work, such as complete accounts of the disposi tfon of 195 cargoes of roodstuffs and clothing, and other statistical data. as well a general survey of the in Belgium. It is pointed out that the organization as it stands now is the result of constant up a feature of which has been the organization of local relief com mittees in practically every commune with federal system of district and provincial committees with the Com ite National at the apex. The rela- tion of this structure to the com
 Continued on Page Eight)