Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-09-22
MERCER TO meet
RELIEF WORKERS
Belgium Committee of Emer-
gency Aid Will Receive Car
dinal at Headquarters
CITY's WORK IS NOTABLE

One of the features Of particular in
terest in the visit of Cardinal Mercier
to Philadelphia will be his reception at
the headquarters Of the Belgian relief
committee of the Emergency Aid at 4
o'clock on Friday afternoon.
The cardinal will arrive here at noon
and will be escorted from North Phila-
delphia Station to the Bellevue STRAIT
ford by group of $50 prominent Phila-
delphians. @ ..,
Following luncheon at the Bellevue
Cardinal Mercier will meet the members
of the Belgian relief committee and Of
the executive committee of the Elmer
gency Aid. He will express the graft
tude Of the Belgian people for the help
Philadelphia, through the Belgian relief
committee, extended to them during the
war. ~. .
Philadelphia played a notable part
in the fight to prevent starvation in
Belgium.
With the beginning Of the Emergency
Aid work in 1914 Belgian relief com
mittee was organized to send help to
the destitute people who so gallantly
stopped the German invasion and eff
fectively held the enemy line for three
weeks. .-'
Relief Ships Sailed From Here
The appeal that was sent to all the
world to help the Belgians met with
q ready response from the citizens Of
Philadelphia, who during the first>five
months completely filled two relief ships
that left this port and assisted in filing
two others. N.
Totalling contributions for the FIVE
years from October, 1914, to October,
1919, more than $780, 900 was con-
tributed to Belgium, the first three
months of organization in 1914 showing
contributions of $24 ,324.56 From that
time appeals brought in large amounts.
500, 900 was contributed and the third
year this amount was more than dou-
bled.
Philadelphia ''mercy ship" left port
in November of 1914, carrying 1900
tions of food. In January following
the fifth relief boat to leave this port
for Belgium carried more than $75 900
worth of food and other needed sup
plies.
One of the very interesting branches
of the work was the increasing of Amer
lean interest in the starving children.
BY February, 1917, the Belgian Relief
Commission, of which Herbert G. Hoov-
er was the head, asked aid for the
million and quarter starving children
of Belgium. Public interest was easily
reused by the little stories that began
to arrive of the conditions under which
these children were living, separated
from parents, starving, cold and with
out the shelter of home, many of them
carried into the enemy country.
Protest at Mass Meeting
. A protest meeting was held in the
Academy of Music in January, 1917,
against the deportation of Belgians to
German territory and the interest
aroused resulted in a decided increase
in contributions, $3021.s5 coming in
during the week following.
BY February of that year Philadel-
phians had contributed to the care of
1873 of the destitute children between
the ages of two and seventeen years.
In March the help of the Chamber of
Commerce was enlisted, and Philadel-
phia was well on its way to sending
relief to 100000 Belgian children.
One of the most interesting branches
of work in which the committee en-
gagged was the Cardinal Mercier Fund.
From $4,000 to $15, 900 a year was
sent by the. Belgian relief committee to
the Cardinals personal fund, which he
used in helping those cases with which
he personally came in contact.
The Hospital de Philadelphia" for
Belgian officers at Cannes was main
tained entirely by contributions re-
ceived from this city, and hospital sup
plies were furnished from local con-
tributors.
In May, 1917, the first consignment
of Belgian lace was received here, the
result of months of labor under German
guarding when the women were permit
ted to do fancy work, but not allowed
to engage in a work ofSwar. The first
sale netted $500 and other sales fol-
lowed so that 1924 Walnut street opened
a lace shop in December, 1917, selling
more than $4,000 worth during the first
week.
For the year ending October, 1918.
296 packing cases containing 300, 233