Evening star., 1919-07-13
Feeds Millions of European Children

medicines and some of their own ply
sicians with them. Yet, look. Their
excessive death rate comes from too
long strain on their poor little hearts,
of day and night shock from high exA
plosives. Judge the others!
In north France and Belgium they
had schools in which the children re-
ceived special rations. ut is the pride
of Herbert Hoover's heart" / am told,
that in most of the districts the
word starvation could not be used in
the strict sense of children dying
from want of food, purely. Had it
been so, the commission would con-
slider that 1T had failed. In spite Of
everything the Germans feared the
complete condemnation of the world,
feared to have a dead population on
their hands. feared the stoppuge Of
American supplies. Otherwise, the
commission has no illusions; and it
should be remembered that, at best,
these poor Belgians and French of
the north had only about so per cent
va " hoi MAJ IdllOu at any llme.
That small ration should sink into
the heart of every American who ever
regrets the high cost of living at
home says the commander. ITO live
for four years and some months and
never satisfy your hunger on any one
day may do for developed adult, but
you have only to talk to your doctor
TO know what 1t does to babies and
adolescents. 1t is the fight against
these effects that the French and Bel
gians are making today in the pre-
Viously German occupied regions;
and 1t is task which will cause them
privation and sorrow for many years"
Judge of the others.
In all this, we do more than loan
and give.
We stimulate. lead by the hand, set
the excellent pace.
THE total sum which we are giving
on this children's program is about
SS.0OO,OOO." says Alonzo Taylor. but
L fancy that the children's program
will cost $4,000 OOO-because the peo-
pie themselves Of these new nations
are putting up their own money. and
will be furnishing as much as we do.
perhaps little more. That is the
great value of it, BY giving of our
own to their children, it has aroused
their own rich people and their gov
ernments and >got out of them co-op.
GRAFTON equaling our gift. There was
no original move on their part to feed
these children specially. but we come
with our $s.0oo.000. and the result is
that they devoted $40. 10000 to a pro-
gram on which. they had previously
no idea of spending anything at all"
This autumn we withdraw and they
continue on their own. as in Belgium
and north France. Belgium and north
patterns.
THE whole thing was started by tho
Americans" says Commander I:aker.
but from the earliest local commit
tees of the best and most unselr,sn
classes were organized in north
France and Belgium. They became
experts and methodical. At one time
the commission was frightened at the
enormous spread Of childhood debil-
ity, but the special ration provided
In schools. etc, and given once daily
was at once inaugurated; and. in the
end. 1T stopped the worst of this
slump toward decline. At one time
there were 10000 Belgians alone
working under most trying conditions
among their own people as unpaid
distributors of the ration The sys-
tenn then developed is that under
which now the American relief ad-
ministration Is managing the child
welfare work in all the newly Nb-
Grated nations"
In the district OF north France the
American Navy placed $50 men and
officers who worked like laboring men
FOR months building barracks for the
homeless. and they seemed proud Of
the fact that from having been train
ed TO destroy life. they had promptly
turned to saving life.
Every American should think OF his
Army and Navy az having made the
greatest invasion the world has
known-eNer giving. giving never
ha h.s