Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-01-17
0pportune Work of American
. Commission Formed for
Relief of Belgium.
SEND SUPPLIES OF FOOD
TO STARVING MILLIONS
Every Cargo Hailed as Symbol Of
Hope-Fairy Story in Work
q. a.Day Life.

Beatrice Hsrradcn has contributed this srtel.
to the Commission for Relief in Belgium, Il
Broadway New York.
At the moment of writing there arc
three ships in the port of Rotterdam
brought here by the American commits
sion for relief in Belgium, discharginS
their cargoes into the barges destined
to carry the food to the starving Bel
CLANS in their own country.
And yesterday 1 stood on the deck OF
one of them, the Orn. from Philadel-
phta, with the Red Cross marked on
her sides, and the Red Cross flag float
ing triumphantly in the air. 1 found
myself overwhelmed by feelings of
happiness, admiration, pity and intense
relief: relief to know that this treas
ury of food was well OH its way to
those thousands of sufferers within d
hands reach of US over the frontier.
AMI yet. until now. cut off absolutely
from the outside world; indescriba BILE
pity for u nation in its agony: immense
admiration for that handful of Ameri-
can business men, who, with an ina gil
nation equa1ed by nothing in the realms
of imaginative work. conceived and
achieved this plan of bringing succor
to ine-strickcn land-and happi-
ness over the wonderful response which
America is making to the appeal for
her help and active sympathy.
Holland Provides for Thousands.
Holland herself. distraught with diff
culties and dislocation of trade, and
with the added duty of providing for
100000 of her modified army, is doing
her noblest best toward the thousands
and tens of thousands of refugees who
have swept down like an avalanche
over her borders; and in England all,
from the richest to the poorest, have
risen up to take the Belgians to their
hearts and their homes, and to help the
government to care for and receive any
number of them: but there remain the
100000 starving i'll their own land.
crying out for bare necessities only
bread and salt-with ruined homes,
wrecked towns, devastated country.
fields of cemeteries of the fallen-and
these are they who have become Ameri-
cas- charge and anxious concern.
When the history of this world war
comes to be written one of the out
standing features of the whole terrible
tragedy will surely be that a great
non-com blatant country saw her oppor-
tunity of simple human service, doubt
ed not for single moment that this
was her own destined work. her own
high mission. and at once sent out her
cargoes of mercy for the men, women
and children of the brave nation over
come by adverse fate through no fault
of their own. Those of US who have
the honor of being in touch with the
work of the commission know little
at least about the many problems and
complications which have had to be
solved and unraveled in relationship
with six governments, and we can only
wonder at the splendid persistence and
courage of the commissioners, who
have refused to see any impossibilities.
and. like a forlorn hope. have turned
an impending doom into a victory
trenches Of the battlef1elds.
Every Cargo Symbol of Hope.
For the commission for relief does
not only bring food to Belgium. That
In itself Is a victory. But it brings con-
structive as we'll as alternative help.
Every single one of the cargoes which
has come or is coming is symbolic of
hope, of an awakening sense of conf
dence. of a rebirth of possibilities.
shadowy. perhaps, at first. but with
outlines ever growing stronger. Be-
cause this impossible thing has been
achieved and Belgium has been reach
ed the Belgians are beginning to bring
out their own barges. And once again
one is reminded of that great truth
that 1t is always the impossible by
which the world is saved.
These, then, were some of the
thoughts which passed through my
mind as / and friend stood on the
Orn, together with Mrs. Lucey and
Capt Lucey, he the representative OF
the commission at Rotterdam, who IL
giving all his time. brain, heart and
soul to the work with tireless de.
votion inspiring to all around him.
We had scrambled over the barge
lying alongside. guarded by "A friendly
but watchful brown dog. who kept q
firm eye on US. The name of this
hoe oh tn Antwerp
with some of the Orn's cargo. was the
Maria Cecilia. but learn that many OF
them are called God Be With Us Goo
zy met ons): and surely that is the
right name for all these barges carry
ing their cargoes of mercy into Bel
GUM. We greeted the barge lady who
came out Of her green and white paint.
ed house to receive US. took notice OF
the barge babies and puppies playing
about and SO arrived on the lower deck
Of the Orn.
Total Of 1900 Tons.
We bent over into the hold. riveted
By the sight of the vast cargo. 1900
tons Of rice, flour. salt, beans. peas,
wheat and condensed milk. We were
thrilled by the thought that this was
only one OF the many shipments COM
ing into port day by day. and that they
would continue to come with unfailing
faithfulness from Philadelphia, from
Boston, from New York, San Francisco,
Montreal. Halifax, New Orleans. Lon
don, Liverpool and other ports, laden
with gifts from Nova Scotia, Maryland.
Oregon. Virginia, Iowa. Kansas. New
England, the Rockefeller Foundation,
the southern states and many of the
nearest and most distant states of
America, and 1t was thrilling to realize
that all this wonderful machinery had
been set in motion in six weeks only
think OF it: think of it-siX weeks in
which to ORGANIZE fleet M
and barges to bring the food, Ito nego-
ttate with the German government for
permission. to secure that the supplies
should be used for the Belgians only,
to arrange the centers OF distribution
and all this at time when trains
were not running, canals We're not
open. the condition of the canals un-
known, and the proba bilites of being
allowed to use them not definitely as
certained.
Sounds Like a Fairy Story.
1t sounds like a fairy story. like some
fable Of magic feat and yet this magic
has been transmitted into work day
life-and there we were, standing on
one Of these very vessels themselves,
conjured into real existence by the
magicians of the American commits
SION