The Hawaiian gazette., 1916-08-22
GERMANS Object TO
RELIEF Of BELGIUM
Many Feel That Portion OF Native
a Supplies Should Go To Feed
Teutons
Declare American Aid Merely
ProIongs Passive Resistance
Of BeIgians Against VictorS'

LONDON, August 5. Correspond.
ence of The Associated Press)-A. J.
| aemphill Of New York. treasurer pf
the Commission for Relief in Belgium,
has returned from a trip of inspec ton
| which covered thoroughly the opera.
tons of the Commission in Belgium and
Northern France, and he expresses him.
self to The Associated Press as very
proud of the work which the Americans
are doing in the occupied areas.
In order to secure permission to en-.
ter Belgium Mr. Hemphill had to go
TO Berlin, where he spent several days.
He said:
Il was greatly impressed while in
Berlin with the difference of opinion
which exists among prominent Germans
as to the ACCESSIBILITY of permitting
continuation of the present system OF
relieving the Beigans. The shortage
of food supplies in Germany has given
| rise TO considerable criticism of the
German government action in agree
ing to the Allies demand that the
whole of the native food supplies in
Belgium should be handed over to the
| relief organization for the sole use Of
the BelgiRns. An influential German
| section maintains that at least q por-
ton of the native supplies produced
n Belgium are the rightful fruits Of
| conquest. and that as long US there is
any possibility of German women and
children and German soldiers being in
want Of food, Belgium g native pro.
duction should be cOnfscated and the
Belgians, left to the mercy of her
allies.
Prolongs Resistance
"Another internal criticism levelled
at the German government is that the
policy of permitting relief supplies -
be distributed merely prolongs the pas
live resistance which is still practically
universal among the seven million Bel
gians who are under German rule. How.
ser, despite the serious opposition on
both these scores, l am confident that
ihe more humane policy authorized by
the German Chancellor will continue to
prevail.
"When ! got to Brussels my first i'm
PRESTON was that everything was nor
NAL. except the absence Of vehicles
owing to the scarcity of horses and
the prohibition of motors except to a
Few. The people are wcll-clad, the
shops are open and everyone goes
about his daily life much the same as
IN London or New York. At the mar.
kets | saw people buying and selling
mostly Vegeta bles-and business being
freely transacted in the ordinary way
That was on the surface. When | went
to the relief stations where over thirty
per cent of the population, who are
wholly destitute, get their soup and
other provisions, ] saw in the waiting
queues, not only the needy class that
one would expect to see, but well-dres
Sed men, women and children. In
Brussels and elsewhere the human lines
that daily wait for the small ration
provided by the charity of the world
are marked by this same sad feature.
DestltutiGn is rot only widespread, but
there are now on the bread lines thou.
sands of the upper classes who never
dreamed of coming to such a pass.
1T is only after being in Brussels
for little time, and after visiting
Charleroi, Malincs, Antwerp, Liege and
ether places, thut one realizes how mis-.
leading are first Impressions. The out
ward appearance of normality is sus-
tuiped only by the fact that relief to
the value of over 100000 is, so to
speak, injected into the country every
mouth. The external calm is an amaz.
ing tribute to the efficiency of the svs
tenn whereby the relief organization
provides and distributes to this Who'll.
nation supplies without which there
would be chaos and unthinkable suf.
fering
- Both in America and England a
good deal of uncasiness somewhat nat.
urally exists as TO the relief supplies
actually reaching the Belgians\ l dis
cussed this point thoroughly with re.
sronsible Belgians and with the Amer.
leans who are supervising the distribu.
ton, besides keeping my own eyes
"ren for any indications of confiscation
toy the Germans. AS result | am
convinced that the relief supplies sent
into Belgium reach, IN their entirety,
the Belgian people, Except local Incl
tents Always remedied, l heard of no
INSTANCE whatever of the German,
breaking their guarantees to respec;
the food which the Allied governments
! allow to be brought through the block
| ade.
- was treated with the utmost con.
| sideration by the German officials and
| was impressed with the fact that
there is genuine desire on the part
of the landsturm officers who govern
Belgium to get along with the situa
ton with as little friction as possible.
1.-THE Belgians still live from day to
day in the undimmed expectancy of re.
gaining their Independence. might
Utmost say they live on hope, because
if that wonderful spirit were not there
, the scanty ration, which is all the re.
lief organization can supply, would be
Inadequate to prevent increased dis
ease and mortality. Brave is not the
! word for them.
Under ordinary circumstances the
population would be pauperized by
free feeding OF the unemployed. This
is not the case in Belgium.
'ln one canteen which | inspected Il
man came up and made complaint
There was no meat, he said, in his
soup. He had long given up the idea
Of being given meat as part of hi.
daily meal, but if he was to live, he
|, declared, he must get some of the nour
iAhmrnt that meat provides. He wa,
1 iaht