The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1917-03-21

and permitting themselves or their
friends to become dependents.
But the situation is critical. The
price of food-stuffs increases enor.
mously, the rising cost of tranporta.
tion, the shortage of ships, and the
shrinkage of native production have
added to the anXieties of the Commits.
sion. There is another point which
! desire earnestly to impress upon
every father and mother, and upon
every clergyman and every physician
in this country; that is, that in order
to preserve the children of Belgium
1t was necessary some months ago to
increase their allowance of food to
beyond the fifty per cent. normal ra-
ton which is distributed to the desti-
tute.
4 "Adolescent children cannot thrive
and grow upon the half supply which
will maintain an adult in reasonable
health. This may have been known
accidentally before, but it had never
{ been proven on a vast scale. At this
moment we have on our hands one
million two hundred and fifty thous-
and children to whom we must give
an extra meal every day if we are to
avert great tragedy.
Already we have one hundred
thousand debilitated children under
special feeding in an endeavor to re-
build their bodies.
! There has been an alarming in
crease in tuberculosis, ricketts,, and
other ills that follow surely upon
under-nutrition. They are receiving
the tenderest care from the thousands
of we'll to do men and women of
their own people, who are setting
an example to the whole world of
devotion, diligence, self sacrifice and
intelligence. 1t is left to America to
say, first whether the hands of these
devoted Belgian and French men and
women shall be sustained in their
work; second, whether the destitute
children of Belgium-one million two
hundred and fifty thousand-shall be
saved from disaster, and, third,
whether the credit for great and eff
ficient humanity that this Commits.
sion has established to the American
name shall be dimmed.
"To provide the imports required
for this extra meal of which l have
spoken will cost us $1.0O per child
per month. Therefore, we must have
one million two hundred and fifty
thousand dollars a month. TO the
one hundred million American people
this is small sum. am mot scold.
ing-I believe that the American peo-
pie have not hitherto sacrificed them
selves for this work because, some.
how. we have failed to bring home to
them, it's vital importance and to
touch the American heart. But Eu-
rope is looking at us; our measure Is
being taken. We have believed our
selves to be more nation Of ideals
than of mere commerce. The time to
prove ourselves, to show that we are
capable of self sacrifice, is here, and
it will not brook delay.
when Cardinal MERCER ordered
prayers offered in all the churches Of
Belgium that the American Commits
sion might remain in Belgium, he
looked confidently to America not |
only for the day to day moral. and |
material support Of little handful |
of Americans in Belgium, but for the
larger\ support which would mean
that when Belgium is restored to
freedom, her returning Government
might not find her an empty husk,
but people of high spirit and re-
generated ideals.
"The British empire, and France, to