Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-02-13

terestins experiment to when i've
American Red Cross can wisely sase
fnrther assistance, rs may be neGe oo
sary' in the hope that it Will i nnue
The handling of the refugee propassI
elsewhere. We found. in fact. sev e
Instances in which the authorls.es
we're attempting to keep and
neirhhors from the same village Nv
naturally every attempt was Haoe \
enable refugees to find relatives ~
friends. Extensive use is mace " t t
in printing notices VI '"'S
kind.
Children in the War Zone.
special problem to when
We have sought to call the attentlo"
| of local authorities is that of the cn,i-
| dren in the actual fighting zone. III
our visit to the Piave front we Say
scores of such children near enousn
to be under shell fire and eviden,iy IN
great danger even if there snouio ~.
only the slightest retirement: ns
been adopted behind the fighting ines
in Belgium. for gathering up these
| children and caring for them at points
not too distant from their homes
where schooling facilities could oe
provided and their parents kept IN,
formed as to their whereabouts n
welfare, the reproach of eSposlns
children of tender years to the phS,
steal dangers of the actual front couio
be avoided.
IA third task which we believe
should receive immediate attentloh
and which we discussed with Ganes1.
Diaz and with the local authorities OF
Padua. is the removal Of the aged ana
the sick from the fighting zone am
from the towns Immediately eenlno
the front. 50 that at least those VINO
are unable TO move and who cannot
be moved without obvious SUFFERING
; and hardship might he cared for in
time in case fighting should sweep
through the district. Our under
standing is that no objection would De
made to this. Notwithstanding the
general policy above mentioned that
in case of invasion the civilian popu-
lation would remain.
The Period Of Transition.
THE first emergency has passed.
The larger constructive work lies
ahead. At the present moment we
are in a transitional period which may
De described as the period of arrival
and first settlement. or as the period
OF distribution. Our information is
thai there are still man refugee
families in every part Of Italy who are
i sorely in need Of blankets. mattresses,
Undertaking. warm suits and shoes
and food. Therefore although the
first emergency is past it is still essen
tial that the American Red Gross.
both at its central headquarters and
in its local organizations. should bend
every effort To get supplies of these
| III iI,c a.. rnni11&. &c ic AIN, n1E nNG.
sihle. actually delivered to the suffer-
ing families and individuals.
This should he a first responsibility
TO supplement what the official and
voluntary Italian agencies are doing
and to sec to it as far as u resourc
es 90 that every refugee actually has
these essentials. Responsibility as to
Just how to do it should be decentral-
ized. hut emphatic and repeated in
Sistonce that it should he one should
go p~crsistently from headquarters tc
every locality where we are or can be
represented. The general problem OF
food is of course one for the govern.
ment. but condensed milk for babie:
and other kinds of special diet can be
included in our supplementary relieI
measures.
The State Of Health.
THE first of the more permanent
problems Of resident refugees is tina
of health. Hundreds of these peopl
have gon through suffering and pri
walton which have left their mark. W,
have taken steps in several places t.
iset going different forms OF medica
help and these should be further de
ve]oped wherever existing agencies ar,
not sufficient to cop with the alb
normal conditions created by the in
fux of refugees. This work may TAX,
various forms. as for instance. cstab
fishing a special refuge for sick an,
infrn,. as has been done by til,
American committee in Milan: takin,
a certain number of beds in an exist
ing hospital with an Italian staff, a
has been done in Rimini: organizinJ
n travelling disrensary especially 70
children. as has been done by tn,
American Red Cross in France. a
Nesle. and as may be developed i,
Rimini; A systematic inspection O
refugee families to discover persons i,
need of medical car or nursing. suc]
as Miss Gum wishes to undertake II
Naples and the physicians of the pre