The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1916-01-06
AT Once in Order to Prevent an
Epidemic of Pneumonia in
That Country.

IlIdl OUuIluy.
| Correspondence Of the Associated Press
LONDON, Jan. 5.-During a trip Of
inspection which covered the London
Rotterdam, Brussels and Belgian prov.
incial Offices OF the Commission for the
Relief Of Belgium, a correspondent Of
the Associated Press was privileged tc
witness the preparations for the sec
ond winters campaign OF the huge
relief body.
During Its first year Of existence II
delivered into Belgium and northern
France enough food to keep nine mil
lion people alive, involving an approx.
innate expenditure Of eighty million
dollars. which provided almost one
million tons Of provisions, with the re-
suit that the population OF Belgium is
today In better than It's normal health
after one year on the commission
rations. Not single person has died
Of starvation in Belgium or northern
France. There has been none Of the
diseases which result from under
feeding, and there is ample justiflca-
ton for the recent statement Of Presi-
dent Wilson that the lives OF millions
OF people have been saved.
Every day. however. the local re-
sources Of the country become more
and more depleted, particularly In the
national livestock, for which the COM
mission must import fodder II the
country is not soon to be entirely de-
nuded of these necessities This means
much heavier importation Of food. At
the same time the charitable purse OF
the world is getting leaner while the
fighting governments are getting more
bitter in their form Of warfare and
less inclined to turn ready ear to
cries of civilian distress and with
heavy demands on their war chests the
possibilities Of gaining government
subventions for the work Of relief be-
comes more remote. Less and less
becomes the monetary resources OF
the Belgians themselves while the
great difficulty is due to the scarcity
of shipping and at present there Is
little indication Of any remedy for this
situation. Belgium is purely manu-
featuring country. importing practi-
cally all Of its food and raw materials
except coal. Sixteen months OF block
ade have exhausted most OF the raw
material, hence the growing length
Of the bread line Not only have four
and one-half million OF Belgian work.
people no means with which to buy
bread, but their spinning mills have
run out Of material after having run
two days weekly for the last year.
so clothing as well as food must be
imported. Every bleak winter day
with an inNrease in the bread line
brings an even greater proportional
increase Of the destitute in need Of
clothing.
The figures for the month OF October
will give some idea OF the magnitude
of the commissions provisioning bust
ness. The following amounts of food
in tons were delivered during the
month: Wheat $1,000, lard 1850,
bacon $3.50, rice 1000. maize 21,50O,
sundries 1000, total sale value being
$6,2O2,0O0 The price charged by the
commission to district committees per
pound was: Wheat 2.94 cents, lard
1913 cents, bacon 15.2 cents, rice 3.7S
cents, maize 2.43 cents. District COM
nilttees add small II rgin to cover
the incidental cost of milling, the fixed
price of white bread being 1856 cents
q pound. The total profit Of the COM
for the month was S1,050,201.
The total purely benevolent expendi-
ture was $4,32S,175, divided as fol-
lows: labor and purchased material
for clothing department S312,7S5,
which does not include value Of con-
tributed material amounting to ap-
proximately another hundred thousand
dollars; subsidies to various benevo-
lent committees $4S3,39S, subsidies to
communal committees in food and
cash to the destitute, $3,527,O00. This
expenditure came from the following
sources: Profits provisioning depart
ment $1,O5O,2O1, general gifts to the
commission s456.O0O, provided by cred
its from Belgian institutions abroad
s2.S16,974. Balance Of receipts from
food sales were used in payments to
financial relief and commercial ex-
change. All Of the commission sup
plies are issued only through ration
cards and it is interesting to note that
people not in possession OF these
cards and it is interesting to note that
people not in possession of these cards
paid during October the following
prices: Flour eleven cents n pound,
bacon and lard thirty-fve cents, but
ter seventy-hve cents.
In the head Offices of the commission
the correspondent saw innumerable
reports from the New York, Buenos
Aires and Rangoon offices, showing
that their volunteer helpers in those
places never lose an opportunity to