Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1919-02-14
NEEDS or FsCE
YER MOST URGENT
SAYS COMAEITTEE

lThe following supplied by the.
French Heroes Lafayette Memorial
fund committee Is given publication
II the Evening Capital At the request
lof Annapolis ladies Interested to the
success III this work Editor
You have read many stories Of the
scenes that were enacted following
/ the liberation OF Frances prosecuted
ltowng and villages BY the Allied
armies how children who, through
/ fear and misery had grown old beyond
Itheir years. seemed unable 10 realize
/ the truth Of their deliYeTance:. how
! weak old people, who had been treat
/ ed as slaves by their captors, Wept in
silent thankfulness: how women and
young girls. whose staring eyes and
| torture lined faces told of recollec-
ltions 100 horrible for words. wept and
lkneit Ii gratitude Is they tried 70 kiss
the hands of their deliyerefs These
are true stories and these are some Of
] the people who are very badly II need
4of aid at this time
Although the Allies have won d
glorious victory and long coveted
peace has been restored. France to-
day Is facing serious emergency
Peace has brought its blessings, but
Eft has also developed conditions as
distressing as they are widespread,
conditions that call for immediate
measures Of relief France now SUI
Hfers from the terrible wounds inflicted
and 1t is these wounds that must be
healed
There are hundreds Of thousands Of
war victims who are In the most ur-
gent need OF assistance Civilian ref
ugees, sick and disabled soldiers,
many former prisoners liberated from
German concentration camps and now
returning lone these are sae un-
fortunate and helpless ones who now
suffer from conditions il Is easily III
our power to remedy.
There Is scarcely part OF France
from Paris to the Belgian borders
from Ypres 10 Verdun. but today Isl
suffering from the effects Of the rav-
ages and atrocities OF war. Hundreds
lof square miles have been laid waste
and to these devastated sections peo-
pie are returning by the hundreds
They are empty handed and many are
broken III health. but Ii Is only human
nature that they should want To go
back. for 1t Is home to them Also
in these devastated sections are many
people who braved the periIs and per-
secntions Of German occupancy OF
their territory Some were unable to
escape. as the only means of trans
portation then was on foot; they were
too old and infirm, too young and weak
or too III from exposure and priva
gtion to fee from the enemy.
Many Of these people recently lib
Grated had been under the tyrannical
rule of the Germans since 1914 In all.
that time some were without much
needed medical attention, others suf-
Tered for the want of enough to eat.
SUFFICIENT clothing and proper shelter
while many others were forced to en-
dure unspeakable indignities and OUT
RACES Can you imagine what their
plight must be today? Bear In mind
that these numbers of unfortunate
people are made up of women and
children, Of young girls and aged peo-
pie. weak and infirrn. None Of them
were able to fight, none had the
strength to show effective resistance
against the perfidy OF the invaders.
They had to submit and suffer, because
their husbands, fathers and sons who
would have defended them. were Tar
away, fighting and dying on the bat
tIefields of France
1t must be realized that the sudden
liberation Of ali the invaded territory
Iof France has materially increased
the number Of people who have suf-
Tered from the war. New towns and
villages With their populations have
been added to the grand total of the
dependent and destitute It is possible
now to supply necessities To many
whom the Allies until the present
time were unable to reach
In addition to all Of this, one must
give thought to the vast numbers OF
former prisoners now being repatri-
ated from the German dens Of horror
known as concen ration camps The
terrible facts descriptive Of these
places have too often been told to need
repetition Let us merely say that
many of these violated. starved and
prosecuted martyrs will return to
France with shattered minds and
bodies and hopeless victims Of tuber-
enlosis and other diseases. It is upon
past records that present and future
estimates are based.
There is also much that must be
done for various classes OF soldiers in
France Think of the appalling num-
bers OF MANNED and blinded, Of tuber-
cuious. victims of wounds. gas poison
ing and shell shock The hospitals
are still crowded, for the closing
weeks Of the world tragedy saw thou-
sands Of brave men fall. many max
ing the supreme sacrifice many
others remaining to be cared for and
made strong and well again, Of as
nearly SO as possible. Can we do less