New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-01-22
Nations Needs Des-
cerate, Says Commits
sion's Chairman
BUSINESS LIFE
OF CITIES DEAD
Universities Closed and
Professors Have Left
Home Country

The man VINO holus NS'"e
= ~, arms came down the gang
,,.nk Of the liner Philadelphia INTO
New York City yesterday.
u. stood for a moment, silent IN
- hurry Of disembarkment HIS
,;r,d ewes looked through the gloomy
,rcb Of the pier out upon snow
,rsnt bit Of the richest city IN the
..,ld He was Herbert c. Hoover OF
ne Belgian Relief Commission
uoovsr Of Belgium-head of the great
organization that works unceas'ng,y
"a keep the beaten souls Of a people
IN their starved bodies.
vs has come 70 America once more
n, the same endless mission-to ask
hat the United States do her share
&, sppplying a part of the s2oo'oOo'-
ooo which Belgium must have or per
sh.
Has Seen Suffering Daily
There are new lines about the mans
svss for they have looked on suner-
ing every day for months. he IS
,birrsr than when New York saw him
last and there is more WEAKNESS IN
HE face. That has been stamped
upon it by the woes of 5,6OO,OOO peo-
ple. the S,5OO,OOO Belgians and 2,OOO'-
600 French which he and his commits
sion. by the grace of the German En-
pire are allowed TO keep from starv-
ing to death.
Since the beginning of the war he
has toiled continually, and all this time
the fight has bsen going against HIM
The mighty efforts of the commission
have saved Belgian bodies from dying
They have not been able to lift up the
spirits of a people that Germany is try
.ng TO crush.
And Germany is succeeding, accord
ng 10 other neUtrsls who have re-
turned from Belgium with Mr.. Hoover
There is no hope left in the dreary
bsartbroken population of the strick
land. they say. Everywhere there Is
one mournful cry, "Pesce!"
Peace. with or without honor. The
.tsrving people do not care now so long
as the torture ends.
OF this Mr.. Hoover would say noth'
ing. He spoke slowly, weighing his
words.
"Tbe situation IN Belgium is the
worst since the beginning OF the war;
he said. 81 have come home to asi
Americans 10 do their share in raising
between s15O.OOo,OoC and $2oO'oVo'Vo'
needed TO feed the DESTITUTE" 3,
Throughout the land there is stead!
dseeneration among the people, cause'
by their great privatons ana uhIot' I9t
suferings. All business and social III
ia extinct. In centres like Brussels
Ghent. Bruges and Antwerp everythlh'
is dead. Only in Brussels are TN
streetcars running, but the tractIoi
companies at the beginning OF the @ yea
showed a loss of 90 per cent I'M
shows how little they were useu u
civilians. -,
che .kermesses,' or county fairs
which for hundreds of years have pee
held eyerv autumn throughout Bel
gium. have become nothing more thal
a memory. There are no amusement
Of anv kind, while even civilian meet
ings are not permitted"
Extra Meals for Children
Asked what he regarded as the great
est accomplishment OF the AmerlSS
commission in the last year, nj nj
Hoover replied: "One-fourth OF mn -
ron school children have received a a
extrs meal daily from the commissloi
The meal consists only of meat mas
and bread. but IL has helped greatly I
increase the attendance of the school
Previously the children renamed
home, as their parents were AFRAID Una
thew would 20 hungry II allowed 10 OF
part from the parental hreslde' NY
With their extra meal guaranteed IN
parents let them attend classes. ~,
Mr.. Hoover declined 20 discuss IN
deportation Of the civilian popula'io
into Germany. -
rs Il true that the Belgians haV
been deported into Germany, that the
may be more easily fed, as all Ut "
trains running from Germany into ne
gium are employed for the transporGU = =
ton Of munitions and food for the ue
man army7" Mr.. Hoover was asSeo
His only reply was: The suoJeot
deportations is too dangerous 10 ol
Cuss" He expects 10 return 10
hsadouSrters az Brussels in about 10Y
weeks. he added.
When first asked for an interview
ne Belgian situation MIR. Hoover q
ssrted that he was not prepared
make any statement regarding the a
lions Of the American Commission uni
he had conferred with its American
6cers He said that q full statemei
would be issued in about a week, col
taining the report Of the achievement
u the body's work in Belgium in lsl
Il was only due 60 his emotions regar
ing the suferings of the populate
hat Mr.. Hoover allowed himself
speak regarding the fate OF the Belgl'
people.
After he had declined to speak abo
dsportstions. the talk turned 10 COZ
uercial life in the various cities.
"ls there any business being tran
scted in Brussels?" Mr.. Hoover "
asked
Business Is Dead
Business is dead" he replied. wv M
say that I mean that there is only
Negligible amount transacted. In ma
% the streets which formerly teen
with trafic Of the world grass gro
between tho cobblestones. Antwei
formerly such a large port, where shi
OF all nations discharged their esrgo'
Continued on page 4. column