Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1920-05-20
HOW EUROPE Can
ESCAPE COLLAPSE
European Ruin Would Involve
MISUNDERSTANDING and
Disease Rampant.
GRAVE MENACE TO U. S. A.
Outline of Speech by Henry P.
Dawson Before N. E. Con-
ference, Des Moines.

oulSl episcopal Cnurch, Henry r,
Dawson, Chairman of the Board OF
Governors of the League Of Red Cross
Societies, said:
AS chairman of the convention of
Red Cross Societies, composed Of
representatives of twenty-seven ma
tons that met recently in Geneva. I
am custodian of authoritative reports
recording appalling conditions among
millions of people living in eastern
Europe.
One OF the most terrible tragedies
in the history of the human race is
being enacted within the broad belt
of territory lying between the Baltic
and the Black and Adrlatic seas.
This arear includes the new Baltic
states-Poland, Czecho Slovakia the
Ukraine. Austria, Hungary, Roumania,
Montenegro, Albania and Serbia
The reports which come to us make
1t clear that in these war ravaged
lands civilization has broken down,
disease, bereavement and suffering
are present in practically every house
! hold, while food and clothing are in
sufficient to make life tolerable
Wholesale starvation is threatened
| in Poland this summer unless she can
| procure food supplies in large guam
| titles. There are now approximately
100000 cases of typhus in Poland and
| in the area occupied by Polish troops.
Worst Typhus Epidemic In History.
|
| typhus epidemics in the worlds his
| tory. In Galicia whole towns are
crippled and business suspended. In
1 some districts there is but one doctor
to each 10000. In the Ukraine we
were told typhus and influenza have
| affected most of the population.
A report from Vienna dated Febru
airy IL said: There are rations for
three weeks. Death stalks through
| the streets of Vienna and takes unhin
dered-- toll
In Serbia typhus has broken out
clans to minister to the needs of that
entire country.
In Montenegro where food is run
ming short there are but five physt-
clans for population of 100000
/ Returning to the United States
| few weeks ago with all these horrors
| ringing in my ears, found myself
once more in land whose granaries
were overlooking, where health and
plenty abounded and where life and
activity and eager enterprise were in
the full food.
asked myself: What II this
| plague and famine were here in the
great territory between the ATLANTIC
seaboard and the Mississippi valley{
which roughly parallels the extent of
/ these rayaged countries and that S.
! 100000 of our own people condemned
to idleness by lack Of raw material
and whose fields had been devastated
By invasion and rapine, were racked
| by starvation and pestilence and II
we had lifted up our voices and in
voked the attention of our brothers
| In happier Europe to our own deep
miseries and our cries had fallen on
| deaf ears, would we not in our de-
4
ness.
Only Three Ways to Help Europe.
4 There are only three ways by
which these stricken lands can Sc
cure supplies from the outside world
One is by payment. one by credit
and the third is by exchange of com
modities. II these peoples tried to
buy materials and supplies In America
at the present market value OF their
currencies. Austria would have to pay
forty times the original cost. Ger
many thirteen times. Greece Just
double. Czecho Slovakia fourteen
times and Poland fifty times. These
figures are official and are a true In
dex Of the economic plight OF these
countries
+ II is clear, therefore that they can.
not give us gold for the things they
must have nor have they either pro-
ducts or securities to offer in return
for credit. If only they could obtain
raw material which these idle mil
lions of theirs could convert into
manufactured products they would
have something to tender the world
in return for it's raw material. food
and medicine. But IL they have
neither money or credit how are they
to take this great step towards re-
demption?
One-half the world may not eat
while the other half starves, How
long do you believe the plague Of ty-
plus that Is taking a hideous death
toll in Esthonia and Poland and the
Ukraine and eating along the fringes
Of Germany and Czecho Sloyakia will
| confne itself to these remote lands.
Only last Saturday our health com
missioner of New York, DR.. Copeland
said for the other side Just to meo.
sure the danger and take precaution
against such an invasion
This is one menace at our TIRES
hold. The other more Threatening.
more terrible is the menace of the
worlds Ill will. We can afford to dta.
but to be despised for ever as
greedy and pharsaical nation Is a tate