Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-12-07

about the children? They were no,
getting nearly enough to eat, not
even enough to sustain life.
Organized Children's Relief.
LIT. Maurice Pate of the Ameri I
can relief administration and | go /
together one night in Warsaw j
and talked over the horror of seeing !
SO many starving children around
without being able to do nearly
enough to help them. After on
conversation we cabled to our or
carnations in the United States
and the result was hat the Chill
dren's Relief bureau was organized /
under the auspices of the American
relief administration. with Licuten.
ant Pate at its head.
1T is perhaps the most wonderful /
organization that has grown out o
the war, and the most far-reachinr !.
in its effects, since there is no doub
at all that it saved the children O.
the nation. Il
Kitchens for the children are now
found everywhere. In them 1000. j
600 children every day get one meal !
about third as much food as j;
child should have a day. There are
separate kitchens for the children
of each nationality. After these /
kitchens were opened, we watched
the unfortunate youngsters of Pc. j,
land turn from mere little packets OF
skin and bones, with old sad faces.
back into normal youngsters again
before our very eyes.
The present plan is to continue
the maintenance of the kitchens un-
til next June. Fully $4,000 of the
100000 youngsters are Jewisl,
children, fed under Jewish auspices
and the food served is strictly
kosher A round million children
who are now alive and fairly healthy
would most surely be dead but for
the children's relief bureaus"
Transportation Less Difficult.
By May of this year, conditions
began to show decided improves !.
ment, DR.. Bogen said. Up to that
time, there were no cattle in Poland. I
apparently. Now one saw a few /
cows here and there in rural dis
tricts. 1t was whispered that they
had been hidden in the woods all !
during the war.
Transportation was a little less
difficult, and crops began to be
planted to an encouraging extent. /,
There had seemed to be 40 automo- =
biles in Poland, and now a few be- 1
gan to be seen in the large cities. :
Food was sent over under the
relief administration for
the people until July. After that
the children's relief bureau was left
to better conditions.
"The situation was still desperate.
1t was made so because of the many
political parties in Poland, and be-
cause of the depreciation in value
of the money. Since that time il
has deprecated still more. Today
SO marks are worth only ST. In
February 81 was worth eight marks
Jews Suffer Most.
"The situation among the Jews
was particularly bad, because they
were entirely an urban population. !
or the traders in rural settlements. !
In Poland, Jews were not allowed
to own farms and till the ground.
ITO make brief summary of the !;
work of the joint distribution COM !
mittee, it has organized committees
all through Poland, to give relief or
supplies to destitute Jewish families.
r%rth -
relief administrations children's
fund. 1t has helped a great deal
with the transportation of food to
territories just acquired, or regions
difficult to reach.
Perhaps the most important thing /
it has done for the Jewish children !
of Poland is its opening of milk
stations everywhere. The Jewish
like the others, were get ]
ting one meal day at the children's
relief kitchens. but one meal was
not enough. They were especially
in need of fats. When we gave out
soap, the children ate it. 1t was no
fine scented soap, at that. but the /
plain army issue" soap, ordinary
laundry soap, that We had bought
for them.
I'm two weeks child who
couldn't stand, because malnutritu-
ton had softened his bones, could
walk and play. This was only
watered condensed milk, 10 glasses
of it made out of one small can.
THE joint distribution committee
has opened 16 milk stations in War.
saw alone, at which $1,000 children
a day are getting milk. 1t has opened
"a different relief centers in all Po-
land. 1t has organized a flying re ].
lief squadron of motor trucks. over s
which flies the American flag, tc !.
carry nurses and doctors and hard
tack and milk to the new parts oil ,
Poland. as fast as they are rcgained ]
from the enemy. /
Spirit of Poland Remarkable.
"The joint distribution commit
tee in Poland has also been giving ]
$4,000 families in Warsaw, or 72,00C !.
persons, food and other supplies
every day for twelve weeks. 1t did
the same thing for 5000 families in
LODI"
The spirit of Poland and especial
ly of the down-trodden Polish Jews,
is a remarkable thing, Dr. Bogen
declared.
Il take off my hat to them" he
said. They are wonderful. They
could not survive II they were to
look upon realities>as they really /
are. But they don't
The Jews of Poland seem
wrapped in mysticism which even
starvation and terrible sorrow cam
not always penetrate On the faces
Of the hungriest of them, you often
see kind of hope. This is true of
the Poles to a certain extent. They
ro to y,oriy ,Laa.t,,it,,