The true Democrat. [volume] (Bayou Sara [La.]) 1892-1928, 1915-11-20
WOMEN AND CHILDREN LOOK
TO AMERICA.

and Northern France, mostly women
and young children, must be clothed
and shod by Christmas. If the gar
ments and shoes for these destitute
people are not forthcoming at once,
their sufferings during the winter will
become desperate.
Such is the keynote of an urgent
appeal issued to the people OF the
United States by the Commission for
Relief in Belgium. The New York
Committee have received from Mr.. Her
bert Hoover, Chairman of the Commits
sion, the following statement:
ut appears to me that it is neces-
sary for us to go frankly to the Amer
lean people and ask them to clothe the
destitute in the occupied areas Of Bel
GUM and Northern France during the
coming winter. There are nine million
people in these areas and of these over
one-half are now either wholly or par
TALLY destitute and are today receiving
their food either wholly or partially
without payment.
LAS you know we have set up eco
nomic measures based on the ability OF
a portion of the population to pay for
it's food which, with the contributions
of other countries, enables us for the
present to find the bare minimum of
food supplies for the whole nine million
people, but we have no reserves with
which to provide clothing for the desti-
tute. We now plead for help on their
behalf.
Even if these nine wilton people
had money they could not import
clothes, or the raw materials with
which to manufacture them, through
the blockade into an area under mill
tary occupation. While the better
classes have some clothing with which
they can get along, the destitute are
composed of the working classes which
naturally had little reserves of clothing
when the war broke out The only
additions they have received since
then have been the generous contribu,
tons from America, Canada, and else,
where BY Christmastime all the cloth
ing which we have in our various es-
Establishments will be exhausted.
1T is certainty that the undue
exposure of underclad men, women and
children to the bitter winter will great
ly increase mortality. The clothing for
these people can be provided only if
we receive gift supplies for the pur-
pose. We must depend upon the Amer
lean people.
1--WE have arranged that the cost of
transportation of clothes fro many cen
trail point in the United States to Bel
GUM and Northern France and of the
distribution will be paid for out of
funds which have been especially pro-
vided so that the whole American con-
tributions will reach the destitute with
out one cent of deduction.
"In the matter of the character of
clothing for these people, we are sur
rounded with multitude of difficulties.
In the first instance the drastic sani-
tary arrangements made by the gov
ernments through whose territory we
must pass make the introduction of
secondhand clothing, especially in the
areas of the operating armies were the
want will be greatest, practically i'm
possible. For this reason we must ask
frankly for new clothing and more par
ticularly for UNMADE MATERIAL.
at must be borne in mind that those
for whom we appeal are living under
almost total industrial paralysis; that
many millions of them are idle, mad
that the cry we have from them daily
is, Give us something to do, give us
something to work on, SO that we may
contribute to our own support There
fore if we can provide them with the
materials they will make up their own
clothing. Furthermore the poor of Bel
GUM and Northern France can devise
an extraordinary amount of clothing
out of a given piece of cloth and can
work in such materials to patch up
their own clothing. For this reason
we are anxious to secure piece goods
as far as possible, or, alternatively, I'm
worn made-up clothing.
1--WE have established work-rooms in
all the leading Belgian cities. The one
in Brussels alone gives employment to
over $4,000 people. This clothing is all
distributed free through our local COM
munal committees after they have made
a careful investigation Of the neces-
sites of each recipient. There are
today between thirty and forty thou
sand of the noblest and best Belgian
and French people giving their whole
services in the volunteer conduct of
these local committees, endeayoring