The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-08-07
AMERICA EXTENDS
HELP TO THE. CHILDREN

Harvesting In going on In the
Czecho -Slovak republic, and the fear
months ago II looked, as IL tho scenes
: from India and China--millions OF
human beings starving to death would
/, be repeated in fertile Bohemia, where
a famine has not been known since
the eighteenth century. But Amer
lea with it's wealth and with its re-
markahle organizing ability stepped
in and fei millions at distance OF
5000 miles from It's wheat fields and
nearly, a thousand miles from the
sea The Czecho Slovak nation grate-
fully acknowledges the great debt it
owes to the United States In extend
ing it credit and overcoming all the
physical, political and military liffi-
culties connected with the delivery
of food from the heart of America
to the heart of Europe.
| But II the nation as n whole has
been saved, death still stalks boldly
in the new republic and gathers in
by the thousands those who have not
yet learned to know what life Is,
namely the little children. The great
est tragedy Of these after-the-war
days is the awful slaughter not by
arms violence, but by disease brought
by insufficient feeding. lack Of milk
and medicines. exhaustion OF mothers
and general want.
Think Of the tragedy. both indivi-
dual and national. contained in the
following comparison: In 1910 there
! were $4,000 children under the age
of fourteen in Bohemia. Moravia and
Slesia. in 1918 there were only q
$4,000 Over $4,000 young lives
fickered out before the eyes OF their
| mothers who knew that they could
have been saved. II only one had milk
and medicines. During the last year
of the war death-rate Of babies under
the age OF one increased in Prague
from IA to 10 per cent. in some of the
suburbs reaching as high as % per
cent. Compare that with the normal
mortality OF Zurich ba bies which is
only per cent.
There are skilled physicians and
good hospitals in Bohemia, but with
out drugs and without nourfshing
food they can accomplish little Thus
in the Children's hospital, OF Prague
the death-rate in 1913 was only 3
per cent, hut in 1917 II was SIS per
cent; in the Founding home the
death rate increased from s per cent
In 1914 to 81 per cent in 1918. All
the skill OF the doctors was useless
without milk and milk was not to
be had during the war. Very little
Improvement in this respect has been
effected since the arnistice. Thus the
General hospital, of Prague, which
| formerly used to get 500 liters Of milk
a day for it's patients now gets from
so to 60 liters; in the Maternity
; hospital milk can be given only to
. very sick children: the ration la two
liters per day to five children.
The lack Of milk is the most seri-
Gus factor in raising the mortality OF
the babies, but there is lack of al
most everything else. born
babies have to be wrapped In Ia ser,
as there Is no clothing or linen. Medi-
cines are woefully lacking. especially
cod liver oil, and so famished for
: fats are the little bodies that chill
! dren actually like this remedy. Hos
pitfalls are overcrowded. Comsump-
ton which formerly took small toll
of the children now kills them by
s thousands. 1t is said that 50 pei
cent of babies in Prague are rachitic
{ anemic or tubercular. Hospitals have
no bed linen, no underwear, no soar
Il even. There are not enough beds o
g those just died: many are refused ad
q mission every day for lack of room
( Beds in the wards are placed, side b,
Z side, in the corridors, in the bath
= rooms.
It Conditions are SO terrible and tn,
= chances of baby to live and grow
II into sound and healthy man o
q woman are so small, that one is al
e most glad of the low birth-rate. TIL,
= decrease is startling. In the city o
d Prague there were $50 births II
IS 1914. and only 2,675 in 1918. In tn
Q large industrial suburb of Zizko'
d there were 1854 births in 1910, SO
Is in 1917 and only $50 in 1918, les
: than fifth of the normal
e Milk, food, medicines baby cloth
n ing, fresh air will save tens of thou
sands of young lives. The America
10 Children's relief has already accom-
& plished much it has branch offices al
;: over the Czecho-Slovak republic;
r has a grant from the Czecho -SlovaI
o government funds and gets the fu
It cooperation of the Czecho -SlovaI
l. Red Cross
u But money and supplies are need
d ed, and DR.. Alice Masaryk looks t
the Czecho-Slivak people in America
1t and to all the friends of the new ma
3 ton to help the starving and sic
s. children. She asks for milk, plai
condensed milk and matted mill
r. chocolate, cod liver oil. soap In car
o loads. babies garments. underwea
It and clothing for boys and girls, hos
l. pita1 linen, bed linen, bandages. X ra
81 apparatus. tents for tubercular chill
i dren. hlms to be shown to children
and money.
l. The New Yorks office, of the Alic
e Masaryk fund, is located at 1912 Sec
l. ond avenue, Mrs. Libuse Motak, hea
e OF the relief department of the Amer
It lean Czecho-S lovak board, is Il
!, charge of the campaign and acts a
: the representative OF the Czecho
r Slovak Red Cross in America. TIL
s Bank OF Europe, of New York, an,
II the Bosaa State Bank, of Scranton
!. Pa, consented to act as the treas
: urers of the fund.
5. Help to save the children of me,
o who fought bravely for the allies il
e France. Italy and Siberia.
Q ------------
v