The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1919-04-04
HOOVER FACES TASK OF FEEDING
STARVING NATIONS OF EUROPE
Backed by Sl00000,00o Voted by Congress He Is Directing
Americas Part in the Work-Trusted Aids Make Personal
Inspections of Food Situation in Poland, Serbia
and Austria-Diffcut Problems to Solve.

- VI III hliluS, cSpcCluly tcAtllCS
have been dangerously depleted and
on account of the short production Of
coal the railways Of the Austro-Hun-
garian states are badly crippled. Hav.
Ing efficient railway transportation Is
an important factor In moving foods
where they are most urgently needed.
Anything for the CZechs must pass
through what is left of Austria proper.
Austria Hungary has been divided
into five separate political areas. Tay-
Tor believes that this action has for
the time being greatly reduced the re-
sources Of all this territory. Each
state sets up barriers against the 9th.
ers. He found the food distribution
and supply which formerly was a mat.
ter of exchange among the separate
states almost at a standstill. One sec.
ton will have coal, another some SUI
gar, another some grain, but each un.
able to carry on" because Of lack of
what the others have. In such a sit.
uatiOn, one state, inefficient, and with
It's financial system paralyZed, will
have plenty of coal, but no food, while
another having some food cannot dis.
tribute it because its railways have
no coal.
All of which causes such general IN.
employment as to approach the dan
ger point.
In the essentially Austrian lands,
there Is a condition Of apathy. No one
seems to have hope. The people walt
and in Vienna make an attempt at
gaiety. OF industry there is none In
i Jugo-Slavia and In Czecho-Slovakia
there is an entirely different psychol,
ogy. These liberated people have faith
in the future and are reaching out
and struggling to build up prosperous
nations, while the German-Austrian
state. and the Hungarians live in q
daZe of proud resignation. Galicia
and eastern Hungary, that have been
taken over by Roumania, have become
~voiceless.
Doctor Taylor found the food short
age most serious In German Austria
where the people are on a very low
daily ration with extremely short sup.
plies in stock, or In sight.
In Czecho-S lovakia there was sufi,
Gent food to carry the nation through
the worst of the winter, but a short
age before the new harvest was inevi
table.
Observation-Disclosures fatalistic at
titude-seemed unable to start recon
struction; not knowing and scarcely
caring what became Of them. Polit
zeal bitterness and financial paralysis
completed the picture.
Out Of this chaos, as director gener
al Of the supreme council Of supply
and relief, Hoover must find some
method for distributing American food
stuffs.
Feed Him Before He Faints.
For the nations, the Czecho-
Slovaks and the Poles and Jugo-Slavs
that have no money, the scheme fol
selling American foods on credit IL
simpler.
Should any emergency arise in these
countries demanding the prompt dis
tribution Of food, 1t will be distributed
on the principle of "feed him before
he faints."
The communities or nations must
pay. Where they have no money-and
the new democracies have little or nc
money worth anything outside their
own borders-the food commission will
take over some commodity produced in
the nation.
Some time must elapse before the
Americans car trade with Austria even
on the basis Of getting money or Its
equivalent for every pound of Ameri
can-bought food that Is distributed, be
cause Austria was one Of the nations
against which America declared war
Until the blockade Is lifted American
interests cannot trade with the Aus
trians-unless perchance the situation
develops to a point where red tape
must be cut to save the lives that 9th
erwise would be lost on account Of the
inroads of famine.
While the peace conference was
building up a machine to settle prob
--. c-SSin. Prom N y,ortorp Lr,rrona