The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1917-11-21
MILK IS
KIDDIES'
BIG NEED
Especial to The Times.)


when | think of my native Bel
GUM today l do not think so much
of its ruined cities, It's wasted
farms. | do not even think so
much Of the grown people, sad as
their state is.
Il think of Belgium as the land
where children seldom smile.
where they die like flies from
starvation and disease.
They haunt me-the hundreds
of little hungry ones who looked
at me as II to say, why are we
made to suffer so'?"
Struggles Trunk by.
The speaker was Father John
b. De Vile, Belgian priest who
got out of the native land only
about two and half months ago
to come here as a personal repre-
sentative of Cardinal MERCER, Bel
gian hero.
On the strength Of having be-
come an American citizen, Father
De Vile succeeded in getting out
of Belgium a trunk full of docu-
ments which would have resulted
in his death had the Germans dis
covered them.
The trunk had been sealed and
approved by some German author
tiles but at the border q Prussian
officer debated long whether to
reopen 1t.
Note to Wilson.
Among other things, the priest
had two complete sets of the little
newspaper mysteriously circulat-
ed in conquered Belgium despite
all German efforts to suppress 1t.
He had also an autograph letter
from Cardinal Mercier to Presi-
dent Wilson, now delivered, and
Father De Vile has today an au-
tograph reply by Wilson which he
hopes to transmit to the cardinal.
1t is one of the most touching
and heartfelt notes the president
has written on any phase Of the
war.
Father De Vile, as Cardinal
Mercier's representative, is seek
ing to interest this country in the
Belgian children's milk fund.
Children Suffer.
"When America went to war
with Germany" he said, "the Bel
gian relief commission work was
turned over to the Spanish and
Dutch. They confined themselves
to supplying the bare necessities
soup and black bread, with no
sweets, no milk.
"Then your government gen.
erously decided to loan the Bel
gian government the money neces-
sary to feed the Belgian people.
At once all donations for Belgium,
formerly given by charitable peo-
pie, ceased.
This is a calamity because the
needs of the sick, the invalids, the
little children and the very old are
therefore not looked after. That
is where this milk fund, under the
patronage of the cardinal, comes
in.
"At present we are giving the
children one-third of quart of
milk a day. We would like to in
crease this ration. 1t will save
the children. One in five has tu-
berculosis. The proportion used
to be one in IL.
All Undernourished.
"Our children get diphtheria
and we can't save them by using
the anti-toxin. They have not
enough blood in their veins to re-
act to it.
1T is a common thing to see
girls of from 10 to % suffering
from premature senilfty. It is a
common thing to see little ones
suffering from ricketts,.
"The reason for all this Is un-
der-nourishment. II we can get
money we can get cows and II we
get COWS we can gives these little
Belgians the nutrition that will
preserve them"
The banking house Of j. p.
Morgan G. Co. of New York city
has been made the depository for
funds for this charity. Father De
Vile said all checks should be
nj a ", 1v M rLod IN tpdtnoto thai