The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-07-01
APPALLING NEEDS OF SERBIA

A country in want Of practically
everything necessary for the preserva-
ton and maintenance of human and
animal life: country whose man
power is so depleted that, even II the
implements and materials for these
needs should be supplied. would not
be equal 20 the task Of properly en-
ploying them and this country both
the center and circumference OF the
7rce OF unrest which have Kept the
nrid afire since the era of Alexander
which must simmer down before
asting world peace can be had. Is
o description with a message in IL |
VI the American people which Colo F.!
mel Homer Folks. former commits
s!oner OF charities for the state of
New York, has brought home from
Serbia where he travelled the length /
and breadth Of the Balkan states, !
making an exhaustive survey of con-
ditions for the American Red Cross.
IF / were to try" said Colonel
Folks. 30 enumerate the things that
Serbia needs and to give an adequate
description of her economic condition.
would have to begin at the top and
follow down the list OF all nouns OF
sustenance and adtectives of suffer
/ ing There IL nothing. outside of the
arfUai son OF npF EOuHtTS--Anu SNCi
that must be refertilized-whieh Ser
bia does not lack. She is a nation
raralzed--excent as to spirit. And
that Will ~. too. before long. IN
her needs are not met for the forces
q! Bolshevism. whose greatest ally
Is hunger are close TO her border,
waiting for the moment to swoop
down on her and insert its poisoned
beak in the core Of the worlds unrest
which Serbia. for a reason as yet UNI
solved by historians, has always been.
still lis and will always be until her
problem is properly solved"
A proper portrayal Of her condition
is most adequately given in a few con-
else statements by Colonel Folks. In
which he tells OF Serbia as she was
when he left her. He emphasizes:
I'm Serbia not bank was doing
business; no schools were open for
the children there were practically no
doctors or hospitals for the sick, the
stores had practically nothing TO sell.
, except food supplies locally produced;
| no factories were In operation; prac-
! tically no fuel was to be had: no
| labor was available, the entire man
power OF the country being modified
| in the army and the army being in
what was Austria Hungary, there was
| no means Of transportation. no horses,
no mules, no automobiles. no gasoline.
/ no trucks and but few oxep.'
! Taking UP the moro imminent re-
! uuirement of this land sitting on the
! doorstep OF the world and too weak
| to speak for herself. much less to hold
out her hand for the aid that must be
| hers If peace is to he lasting, Colonel
! Folks touches upon the subject on
| transportation
/ He saws Food of course. must be
| rushed 10 her at once / understand
| that this is being done. but 1t will IN
deed be difficult to fill hurry-up orders
until her transportation is put in some
sort of shape. From Skoplje on the
| south to Belgrade on the north there
| Is not a decent roadbed in Serbia.
| II n railway must be rebuilt When
| l left. that half from Skoplje to Nish
| had been put in fair repair. and the
remainder will soon be accomplished
| In conjunction with this must be sent
| rolling stock, automobiles. gasoline.
horses, mules and oxen. Immediately
she must have garden tools. seeds.
! AGRICULTURAL implements He. herds
must. be rcplenished She must have
| cattle. hogs, poultry. When these
have been attended to, she will he
| able to feed herself"
| And Colonel Folks supplem ents his
| plea with an explanation. Starva-
+, ton" he maintains. rs not the most
/; destructive result OF lack OF 1000.
| Long before starvation reaches us
/ ultimate. the majority OF human sys-
| TENS break down under hamilton ana
become victims OF epidemics which
are effective instruments Of annihila-
ton. And It is not only epidemics
result from malnutrition, but organic
diseases such as tuberculosis and
purulent aenemia Serbia has felt and
is feeling these results In the ex-
IRENE. This means, OF course. that
! human conservation Is the greatest
| problem confronting her today"
And. here he DEFINES and outlines
ithe situation as 1t must be under
| stood by those who are 70 carry re-
! lief to this mos. stricken Of the war
zone countries THE first great waste
OF life in Serbia came through loss
Of man power on the battlehelds. Al
together some 350, 900 men were mobt-
lized in her army. When II re-entered
the war In 1918 even with all the men
returned from America and other
places, and with her entire man
hood between the ages OF sixteen to
fifty called TO the coiors. its fighting
(! men numbered less than 100000.
| Added to this her deathrate from
tuberculosis alone during the Austrian
occupation jumped to the astounding
figures OF 1,453 in every 100000. In
FAINT mortality has increased accord
! ingIy There are no accurate figures
on the ravages OF typhus and In
| fiuehza-
Before the war the birth-rate Of
| Serbia was higher than her death
rate, which meant that, in spite Of the
! inroads OF epidemics, her population
! was increasing at the rate OF $4,000
a year Now 1t Is accordingly de-
creasing. Bereft of her man-power
J and with her women and children
. organically wasted, the question of
population 10 till the soil and build