Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-02-03


starvation. win America help to keep
the intellectual life OF Belgium from
being crushed out by the war? TO
answer this question i'm the affirmative
is the aim of new subcommittee OF
the Belgian Relief Fund The Belgian
scholarship committee will try to give
the artists and scientists OF Belgium
chance 70 go on with their life work
Artists and men /of science and let
tcrs stand first among the classes
whose means OF livelihood Is swept
away by war. Art and the pursuit..
OF science are Injuries; when people
need bread they cannot pay for pie
lures. Moreover, the arts and sciences
are the last lines TO recover from war
conditions. Reconstruction begins n:
the bottom. poems and statues and
abstruso research are the capstOnc or
the SOCIAL structure. the products oc
order ana prosperity Belgian scholar
shlp at present is in bad way
The artist and educator has n hard
time fitting himself into the primitive
conditions of war time" His life has
not prepared him TO earn q living a;
any or the manual trades open TO un-
This fact Is strikingly shown by the
way in which such men have been
turned away from the lnunition plants
when they applied for work. Thcy
didn't look to the authorities 49, II
they could make muui,ions-and navbc
the authorities were right.
Pressing Need Not MnterinI
The artist type IL proverhially inn
providcnt. even when he earns a large
income The scientist or educator who
c3ruS Il large income IS so rare bird
as to be negligible. Hence few men
Of the class which the committee hopes
10 assist have anything in the shape
of financial resources laid by The
problem Is complicated by the fac,
that Offering such men money is hard
~ practical course Their pressing
need il not material. yet they are sut-
!cring from very real and acute
distress. due to the fact that they
cannot go on with the work with
which their lives arc bound ND. SO
the scholarship committee has c"nsti-
tuted itself a clearing house between
American universities and the Bel
giau victims OF the war
Numerous Belgian professors have
been engaged 10y universities ~ the
Cni.cd states Chicago. Vale. Prince
ton. Harvard and George Washington
arc among the institutions which a.
ready have taken tAe Sep great
double good is accomplished by such
action Not only db- these Belgian
savants get "a chance u pursue their
careers 1t: the II ited states g IN.
richer 70: their services. Many OF &! IN
are distinguished ia their lines -:
"Oth. some OF ll.l nave european
the rceG for the European pont OF
vi.w IN our higher education was Sec
ogni2.1 long ago, With the establish
meut OF the so-ca!lyd exchange 800
f"ssr,.;ilps" between Wig American .tai
r.UroI can institution7 Parties 10 Fi.h
Ti agreement exchanged professors. y
Professor from Rerlin lec,ured for a
YEAR in Columbia. for instance. wrile
a Columbia professor lecturcd in Fer
in j-iicr the present Arrangement
our universities get the serves OF men
from the principal universities OF Bel
GUM.
Helping by Contributions
III many cases 1t is inpracticab!e
10 the United states 10 bring the pro-
from their work. and in such cases
the committee hopes TO help them by
means OF contributions, in England.
Holland. France or wherever they may
he. a broader end than the mere as
| sistancc of the particular scientist is
| often served in this way, Tor when some
| % these men stopped work the cause
81 the advancement Of knowledge in
| their line received severe blow.
The second object of the committee
| is the raising OF a fund toward re-
| storing belgian universities, museums
! and libraries after the war Clearly,
! the need for such fund has nothing
| 20 do with who eventually wins out
1
! stiles Will have TO resume their work.
! Besides actual cash. contributions OF
| books are being campaigned for As
| soon as the committee has provided
for their storage. appeals VIII be sent
| to all the American private and public
| hhrar ieS asking for their duplicate
copies Heads of some Of our biggest
| libraries have already promised CO.
operation.
The various societies in this country
| NIL ;cl, ice, al puIliro finnS " i'll
| bc asked for sets of them. For the
| library Of the University Of Louvan.
one complete set OF all the most i'm :
portant books published in and about
! America will be part Of the contribu-
ton, If possible Such n set will con-
! tribute greatly toward better under
standing in Europe Of our American
way of thinking and doing business
Originally. the committee intended
also to bring Belgian students over
to the United States. where they could
go on with their studies and learn
something about this country at the
same time. Several of our UNIVERSE
| tics offered free tuition to such stu
dents. but the plan has been put aside
| because the expense connected with
| bringing the young men across the
Atlantic is hardly justified when the
money is 80 badly needed for other
| sorts OF relief work.
BcIglumS Universities.
The principal Belgian universities
arc located in Louvain, Client, Brus-
sells and Liege. I4ouvain is the Oldest
OF the four, and perhaps the best
known 1t was founded 500 years ago
by Duke John of Brabant. and ever
since that time ii has enjoyed first
| place in the Belgian educational sys-
tenn. Its library included 10000 vol
umcs, besides several hundred rare
manuscripts. Back I'm the sixteenth
century it was one of the principa
institutions OF It's kind i'm Europe. and
had 5000 students Just before the
war, its attcndent colleges included
about 1000 students.
Five professors Of Louvain Unjvcr.
sity are now connected with American
colleges. Professor Carney is at Penn.
eylyanla, DR.. Gregolre at Yale, Dr.