The sun., 1919-01-28
NEAR EAST RELIEF
DRIVE IS OPENED
Committee Seeks to Raise Sc,
000,QQ0 in New
York City.

Remember! This Is not a campaign
to raise money. II Is campaign to
save lives. Every one OF YOU during the
coming week will be the direct means
Of saving some scores of lives"
With this statement Charles v. Wick
rey, secretary Of the American commit
tee for relief in the Near East. launched
the campaign Of the committee in New
York city to raise S6.00o.oo0 or more
for food for the starving Greeks. Ar
menians and Syrians in Asia Minor. He
was addressing the hundred and more
will raise the money as they dined last
night in the Hotel Savoy.
II suppose ] would startle you II
said that before o'clock this evening
every one in this room would be dead.
Mr.. Vickrey said 1T would not be true
of course, but II lie emphatically true
that by 9 o'clock tonight an equal num-
Der will have died OF starvation. plain.
ordinary starvation in just one OF the
areas which we are endeavoring TO sup
ply with food. Even as l speak men
women and children have passed beyond
our power to aid. In that one small
area in Asia Minor a months delay will
mean at least 10000 Deaths
starvation, utter restitution. were the
themes dwelt upon by all the speakers
Abram l. Elkus, Ambassador to Turkey
James W. Gerard. former Ambassador
TO Germany James N. Speers, chairman
OF the City Committee. and Charles 8
Ward OF the International Y. NJ G. A.
I'm telling the people OF the city OF
the great need-for am sure you will
need only to tell them. not to beg OF
them-speak not of the weak. starving
men or dying women. Mr.. Elkus said
Speak only OF the children, OF the 4O0.-
600 children with neither mothers nor
fathers alive, who are wandering about
the streets OF towns and cities in Asia
Minor begging every passerby for Just
piece of bread. Many are small chill
dren-children OF three. four or Ave, who
would not be allowed out of the house
alone in this country. yet over there
they are sleeping ana dying in the
streets with no one to look to for food.
Ambassador Gerard drew a picture OF
the sufferings undergone by the enslaved
people OF France and Belgium, as he hat
himself seen behind the German lines
and then said that present conditions
are even worse in Armenia.
There isn't anything in history with
which to compare IT," he said. "Yor
can so all the way back to the time OF
the Modes and Persians without finding
| a parallel. NOl oven liIp -hcucs Wcls
guilty OF such cruelties as those prac
ticed on the Armenians and Syrians,"
Nothing he could say to the German
Foreign Office before the United States
entered the war about the sufferings OF
subject races OF Asia Minor moved tn
German Government to lift a hand il
aid. Mr.. Gerard said. A word to Turkey
from the German rulers would hav,
stopped the outrages. but that word wal
not spoken. He declared that all TIL
| contributions to various war charities
made so far by the United States did no
amount to more than dollar year fo
the past three years.
None Of the money raised during TIT
| coming week will be used TO pa,
| salaries or any other expenses In THU
| country, It was announced. All will q
for actual food and supplies. So far, II
the campaign outside New York city
about $1,000, 900 OF the S3o.Ooo.o00 OBJ
tectiye has been collected. Beginning TO
| morrow the teams will meet daily a
luncheon Mt the Bankers Club in thu
| Equitable Building to report the progress
| OF the drive.
| The captains OF the thirteen team
are ]. Fred Talcott, II. X. ka'af, Henri!
lw. Jessup, NJ KaraRheusian. DR. William
Jay Schieffelin. Samuel Thorne, Jr
| George T. Scott, Frank w Jackson. Rob
ert McBratney, Hugh Monro, John b
Creighton, A. p. Updyke and Henri
| Fletcher.