The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1917-02-22

January %, Mr.. Hoover, according "
the New York Herald Of January 81,
1917. endeavored TO make the Amerl-
can people comprehend the conditions
in Belgium and the necessity for con-
tinued and greater assistance, as FOL
lows:
"A difficulty / have is to visualize TO
men who have not been in Europe
since the war began the actual situa-
ton which exists in an occupied terrl-
tory. Endeavor to Imagine New YORK
and about five adjoining counties oc-
crpied BY an enemy army, blockaded
from without and surrounded within
by an army of steel the normal ITO"
of food stopped: you would awaken
within So hours to find your markets
empty and your bakeries stopped.
add to this that your railroads
would be taken over for military puf-
poses that your telephones and tele-
graphs would be suppressed; that
your newspapers would be closed up;
that every form of communication and
that you could not move outside your
own wards and your own villages
that you could not assemble except by
special permission: that every street
occupied by a sentry; that the normal
feeling of security which every man
has is lost that he has not even an
appeal to justice-al this is gone. He
is submerged in the fact that he is
subject only to an army-even then
YOU have an inadequate picture be-
cause it is almost impossible to con-
vey to you the psychology of people
under such a stress.
THE feeling that The food supply OF
the community, the food supply OF an
individual, may cease at any moment,
that YOUR women and children are In
imminent jeopardy, and the feeling
that disturbance only means bloodshed
in the streets and there is no possible
salvation nor any solution, all this IN
a population ashiver with rumors goes
beyond the ability to describe.
Their One Salvation.
"This has been the situation of Bel
ginm and northern France with TO-
600 900 persons. for nearly two years
with one exception and that exception
is the commission for relief. The COM
mission for relief has not only been
the salvation of their food supply, but
has been their protection and despair
Mr.. Hoover here explained that both
Germany and the allies regarded the
restitution of Belgium as being the af-
fair of the other forces, although each
eUnwed the work of the commission
the allied governments even donating
s14000,000 monthly to feed the desti'
tute people of the country,
"JTp until the first of January NJ
said. eve had spent S250,000,000, an
we are now issuing over 2,5OO,O0t
loaves of bread every month; we have
divided up 2O,0OO,O0O to So,OOo,OO(
pounds of fats and distributed 5000
600 tins of condensed milk.
"The Belgians have come to look up
on Americans as their sole saviors, t(
look upon the American flag as the
flag which is fighting to protect them
Within six weeks time | have visited
in the slums of Brussels where 1901
children were sitting down to theil
one meal. and heard these youngsters
warbling the first stanZa of The Stal
Spangled Banner Now, knowing thai
that food supply was not American
could feel nothing but shame. Europe
is taking stock of this relief commits.
sion.
1--WE started off with high promises
as to American support and American
ideals, we have rested on the belief
that we had the undoubted backing oil
the American people in our endeavol
to keep this gate open. Oftentlmes we
have had to defend the portals of the
enclosure, and we have always USED
AS our last and final weapon that in
reference with the Belgian relief
would offend the sensibilities of the
American people more deeply thaH
ANYTHING that has happened in this
war. And yet Belgian relief is being
raid for with foreign money. But OF
more importance than this purely
moral question is the fact that oui
finances are in great jeopardy. AS
the time goes on the situation becomes
more desperate in Europe, our neces-
stiles grow greater, It is growing more
and more difficult to see our way
through.
Appeal to National Pride.
To-day our budget calls for apou'
s1S,OOO.00O to $19,00O000 month, II
we are not to reduce the food supply
of these people. We are receiving VIA
600. 600 month from the allied gov
ernments: there is no hope of any In
crease in that and there is always the
possibility that at some stage we may
lose it altogether In any event, we
are from 100000 to $5,000.000 Q
month short. We have to raise this
money by public charity and the few
American measures which we are able
TO secure. and we thought that perhaps
the American people would take on
our shoulders the burden of those L.
100000 children. This feeling Is