The Leavenworth echo. [volume] (Leavenworth, Wash.) 1904-current, 1919-01-10
Financial Men from all Sec
tons of the United States
IntereSted-Dr. James L.
Barton Makes Report.


Der 10 and 20 to receive reports from
returned relief workers who had been
helping to care for the suffering and
starving peoples of the Near East,
there being 1872 persons in attendance.
AT that meeting plans were def
nitely outlined for the campaign to
raise $30,000,0O0 to help care for the
destitute people, this having been de-
cided after much discussion as the
real needs were reported to be in ex-
cess of $560OO,O0O.
The campaign will run from Jam
uary II to 10.
Giving survey of the entire field,
DR.. James L. Barton, chairman of the
committee, made the following state
ment of conditions in Western Asia:
The committee has taken as a
basis minimum casts as reported by
our distributors and others personally
acquainted with local conditions in
the areas of restitution. The largest
possible allowance has also been
made for the development of self
support through industrial relief. The
minimum budget with which to meet
the most urgent needs of the winter
and early spring, by the most conser-
yatlve computation, amounts to $780,
100000.
Asia Minor.
Audited reports covering relief
work in the Ottoman empire have
been received through diplomatic
channels from Constantinople ac-
counting in detail for the receipts and
disbursements of all relief funds up to
July | of the present year. These re-
ports, signed and certified by we'll
known American citizens and neutral
diplomatic representatives, show the
exact amount of relief that has been
administered by American citizens or
other responsible representatives in
more than thirty interior distribution
centers. DR.. Charles F. Gates, presi-
dent of Robert College, the chairman
OF the Central Relief Committee in
Constantinople, in his extended re-
port says: The Ottoman govern
ment has not opposed any obstacles to
our work. In some places the local
governors have recognized the great
usefulness of the work and have
helped our agents to secure food at
reduced prices
The Russian Caucasus.
"a large portion of the 100000
homeless refugees in the Russian eau
casus were driven by military opera
tons into southern Russia. F. Will
oughby Smith, the American consul
to Tiflis, reported that when he left
Tiflis these refugees were passing
through that city northward at the
rate of 5000 a day. Our commission
ers are now serving them by means
of soup kitchens and such employment
as can be procured in Vladikavkaz and
Samara, where they are gathered in
large refugee camps. The commits
sioners are cabling through the Amer
lean consul at Vladivostok for funds
not only to maintain soup kitchens,
but also to help return these people
to their homes or COLOMBO them in
Siberia on self-supporting basis at
the earliest possible date.
Persia.
"Dr. Harry Pratt Judson, president
of the University of Chicago, as the
leader of the Persian Relief commits
sion of 20 members, has now reached
Persia and is engaged in organizing a
relief along industrial lines wherever
possible that will prevent the awful
harvest of death of last winter when
people died of starvation by whole
sale. Recent cablegrams from the
American minister to Persia, John
Lawrence Caldwell, and from Ameri-
can Consul Gordon Paddock report
the arrival at Hamadan, within the
British lines, of the remnant of $4,000
(hricftot, from
Urumia, $4,000 having persisted en-
route. The Rev. DR.. w. A. Shedd,
chairman of the Western Persia Re-
lief Committee and later American
vice consul, died of cholera while
leading these $4,000 refugees to safety.
Mesopotamia.
Thousands of refugees, most OF
them women and orphans, are finding
their way from their hiding places III
the mountains and deserts to points
within the British lines, and are being
cared for temporarily by our commits
sioners in refugee camps in Bagdad
and vicinity.
Palestine and Syria.
THE rapid advance of General Al
lenby's army has brought within reach
relief workers in Palestine, whole
provinces with hundreds of thousands
of Syrians, Armenians, Greeks and
others, whose ports have been block
AIDED for four years. Relatives and
countrymen of these people number
ing tens of thousands have starved
and the remainder have been re
duced to the last stages of destitu-
ton. They are now a challenge to
American philanthropy in providing
the necessities of life for the coming
winter, after which they will very
quickly return to self-support and
prosperity.
Will Give Industrial Help.
Contributors may depend upon the
wisdom, business sense and practical
philanthropy of our commissioners in
the various areas to see that industrial
self-support is developed at every OPP
portunity. Moreover, the people
themselves, the subject races of the
Ottoman Empire, are for the most
part frugal, enterprising and indus