The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-05-11
SAYS ORPHANS LIE
NAKEDM STREETS
Major Lcwenstein Tells Of
Saving Starving Children
in. Asia Minor.
VICTIMS OF THE TURK
Moslems Tried to Raid House
Containing Girls Rescued
From Harems.

u never completely understood what
the word orphan meant until the Red
Snoss began Its work of relief in Asia
amor said Major Solomon Lowenstein
OF the Red Cross Commission to Pales-
tine, yesterday. For we had to take
care OF thousands of refugee children
VINO mad been driven far from their
parents by the onrush of the Turks.
thousands OF other children had seen
sneir parents slaughtered. They were
lar from home, helpless to take care of
themselves
our answer to the cry for immediate
help was the establishment of orphan
ages Here In America we speak of
orphan children as being rescued from
the streets. We use It as a figure of
speech. In Sidon and Aleppo and Da-
mascus that phrase has a terrible and
hteral meaning. We used to 60 out at
night In machines to pick up children
lying IN the streets, most of them naked
most Of them half starved Many were
TOO starved to be saved, but we man.
aged to rescue hundreds in that way.
starvation" continued Major Lowen-
stein. was almost the rule In Asia
Minor. In Lebanon the Moslems were
organizing a sort of starvation cam
paisn, deliberately Kidding themselves
OF the Syrian population by starving
them out. In Sukhel-Gerbh We were
told that thirty people died every day
from hunger. Many OF these could have
been saved IL food had reached them In
time. We began Immediately to open
soup kitchens. The SOUP a surprise
dish which contained unexpected slices
OF meat and many different vegetables,
was prepared in a central kitchen and
sent around by automobiles to the vari
Gus distributing centres. In one month
more than 10000 portions were served
in Beirut alone.
Another insistent problem for the Red
Cross to solve had to do with the
refugees who came TO US by thousands.
In Damascus alone we had more than
1000. In Aleppo the number exceeded
even that They were housed in large
Turkish barracks just as rapidly as we
could get them from places where the
Turks had hidden them. AS quickly as
We could they were sent to their old
homes in distant places.
Their terror of the Turks amounted
to panic at the mention Of the word.
Fear for their lives was not the worst
of their terror. Women were seized In
large numbers to be taken to the harems
ard the problem of rescuing these women
was one Of the most difficult we had to
grfpple with. In few cases had they
been kindly treated. On one occasion
we established $50 women In the bar
racks at Damascus An hour-before they
were TO staret on their jouriey to their
old homes the Moslems made a raid on
tho barracks. One OF the Turks was re-
solved to keep a girl that had taken his
fancy and we discovered the plot Just
in time to Illustrate the design.
There's no doubt of the truth of the
old saying, East Is East and West is
West They were perfectly Mortified in
Jerusalm when we insisted on putting
children in beds at night. They had
never even seen European beds. 1t was
only their respect and affection for the
Red Cross that made these miserable
people consent, but they shook their
heads. saying. What will these people
do EeXt"' But they trust the Red Cross
implicitly. At the clinics whatever the
doctors directed was implicitly obeyed.
They refused. however, to wear our
American clothes and our one recourse
was to have them make clothes for
themselves. The Red Cross paid them
for their work They absolutely refused
to wear our 'heathenish' American shoes.
Again and again. as we worked
among the. refugees we saw Longfel-
lows Evangeline' working out its
tragic story. Thousands of Armenians
had been forced to fee. Families had
been broken up and husbands, wives
and sweethearts driven far apart. 1t
was up to the Red Cross to bring them
together, and our men were sent far
land wide. working on the basis of a
card index system which proved sue
cessful from the beginning. The work
Of the Red Cross in Syria was to do all
the odd Jobs that nobody else had done"
The Red Cross announced yesterday
that Gen. Pershing has written to Lieut.
Col. George II. Burr. American Red
Cross Commissioner in France, to con-
vey the congratulations OF the American
Expeditionary Force to the Red Cross.
The letter Is a brief survey of the task
which began with the arrival of the
first contingent overseas and includes a
mention of the work of civilian relief
In devastated districts.
II cannot speak too highly of the
devoted services OF the individual men
and women of the Red Cross" Gen.
Pershing wrote.