Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1918-02-08

sicians, and missionaries. Prac-
tically all of these have returned
to America since the beginning
of the war, many of them within
the past few weeks. After a
close comparison of facts per-
sonally known to these friends
with official cablegrams the ac-
Comparing conservative esti-
mate of the number of persons
now actually destitute and in
need Of daily food was prepared.
$500 A MONTH SAVES LIFE.
These authorities also agreed
that the cost of sustaining life
varies from So 90 to $1,000, aver
aging throughout the entire field
not less than $500 per person
per month. The majority of the
people are barely subsisting,
some on local charity, others
upon roots, leaves and carrion.
The Committee is convinced
that. to prevent widespread death
by starvation and disease during
the six winter months of 1917
191S, at least $50, 900, 900 will be
needed.
In addition to this, for repatri-
alton and reha bilitatiou, an adj
ditional $4,000, 900 should be
planned for, of which So, 100000
is needed at once IN the Russian
Caucasus, Persia and Mesopo.
tamia for the winter.
mo GOVERNMENT AID AVAILABLE
| The United States and other
governments appropriate mil
lions Of dollars for relief of wo
linen and children of France, Bel
tgium and other lands. But the
lArmenians. Syrians and Greel
christians of Western Asia are
scattered races to which the
UNITED States cannot legally
make a loan. Exiled from theil
homes, robbed of their posses
lsions, wanderers in a desolate
Hand, their only hope for tn.
barest necessities of life is il
| American charity.
| They are an innocent, indus
trious people, and ordinarily are
the wealth producers of the land
| The refugees of Western Asia
have struggled through the heat
and suffering of an Eastern sum.
mer. They are now enduring
the even more terrible ordeal oil
a winter which in many parts oil
the territory is extremely rigor.
Gus. Homeless, unthinkably
destitute, with the prospect oil
starvation ahead of them, these
| Armenian. Syrian and Greek
Iexiies find but one ray of ligh!
in the leaden sky which darken s
their world.
Il From America has come heir
ienough at least to keep life il
1.-THE bodies OF these sufferers dur
ling the summer months. With
pitiful faces and eyes that seen
to say, If you fail us, only death
waits, they turn to America to
ihelp them through the winter;
land then to give them a chance
to become once more self-sup.
porting Independent peoples.
Their gratitude is pathetic.
If help is not sent soon there
will remain no people to be help
ed. All money which the Com
mittee collects is forwarded to
relief stations and used by re-
sponsible American distributors
for purchase of food and shelter
for the refugees. Not one cent
lis taken out for administrative
expenses. which are met pri.
vately.
SAVE THE ORPHANS
-Four hundred thousand or more
orphans are today destitute in
Bible lands. A missionary Just
returned from Syria tells of
passing through a village whose
houses were all deserted, with
the exception of one little cottage
in whose doorway sat a tiny girl.
The child had the face of an old
woman as she rocked back and
forth droning I'm hungry, I'm
hungry MURPHY this instance by
thousands add it to the cases of
thousands more who have been
gathered into orphanages and