The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1920-02-26
PROBLEMS FACING
STRICKEN WORLD
Shall Chaos or Reconstruction
in Europe Follow the Great
World War?
IMPERATIVE NEED FOR ACTION
Twelve Months Since the Signing OF
the ArmistIce Practically Wasted
Call for Aid From America
Must Be Needed.
Article Y.
BY FRANK coMERFoRD.

BY FRANK coMERFoRD.
The signing OF the armistice ended
the fighting. The signing of the peace
treaty brought peace, but neither OF
these acts restored devastated Europe.
The great job ahead is the work of re-
construction, and when l write the
word reconstruction" 1 have not in
mind the mere rebuilding Of the war
stricken areas of france, Belgium.
Italy, Poland and Russia. Gigantic
and important as this task is. neces-
sary as it is, It is only small part Of
the work Of real reconstruction. Hun
dreds of thousands OF square miles
make up the actual war zone. the
ground marched over. the territory IN
der shell fire. Millions of acres OF land
that once yielded food in response to
the touch OF fhe pillow have for the
past four years been titled By high ex-
pIosives.
Belgium was literally looted. pill
tagged and ravished. Almost the en-
tire state was violated. Nearly one
eighth of France. her industrial sec
tioh. was crushed. Buildings were de-
stroyed. factories dismantled. Sixty
thousand square miles In Poland were
laid waste. Italy suffered terribly.
The ground is filed with high explO-
sives. undischarged mines and shells.
Every day since the work OF recovery
and restoration began men working
In this zone have been blown TO pieces.
Billions Of feet of barbed wire and
millions Of tons Of metal make a dam
gerous wilderness out. of what was
once a highly productive area.
Cities and villages are jungles Of
twisted. broken, torn wood, iron, brick
and stone. / have walked through
these villages and have stood stunned
by the completeness of the destruc-
ton. The streets are uneven and
lumpy with brick and stone and pIas-
ter and glass, aisles of wreckage. Roof
less houses with walls Quilted and torn.
heaps and piles of broken building ma
terial; jagged. ragged pinnacles, masses
of debris meet the eye. Had not known
Of the war and come upon one of these
unsightly, shapelesS masses of materi-
al, should have thought nature had
entered into a mad conspiracy, COM
bining and concentrating all of the
powers of a cyclone. a tornado md
an earthquake, and spilled their fury
on these mangled. dead villages.
Sights to Wiring the Heart.
Picture the refugees returning to
these villages-coming back home.
What the sight must have meant to
them. 1 have seen them. their faces
gray as the gray ruins. standing In the
midst of their destroyed homes.
have seen them picking their way over
piles of stone and brick through great
openings made in the broken walls. I
saw in their eyes inconsistencies, hurt
of heart never shall forget. Old men
and old women and little bare-legged
children; now and again a boy with
a worn. soiled uniform, some limping
on crutches. others wearing an empty
sleeve. One thought surged through
my mind until it almost sickened me
War. The land Of the war zone
must be reclaimed. These acres are
needed now more than they were be-
fore the war. The worlds food sup
ply is low. Hundreds of miles OF
trenches must be filed up. Trees
must be planted. the ground must be
cleaned of shells. cleared OF barbed
wire; villages, cities, must be rebuilt;
sewer systems must be installed. The
mess must be moved. 1t is a big job.
One great misfortune is that al
though II months have come and gone
since the signing of the armistice. no
general comprehensive plan of recon-
struction has been started. Here and
there small sections of the devastated
regions are being partly reconstructed.
Temporary provision is being made
for the homeless. This is all well and
good. but intelligent, economical. eff
cient and speedy reconstruction de-
mands a general plan and an orgaDiza-
ton big enough to put II over. The
doing Of this work requires vision and
capacity for doing big things well. If
the physical reconstruction is left to
Europe it will not be finished in so
years. Here IS a chance for America.
We have faculty of doing things on
a big scale and In a short period Of
time Europe needs our help. II we
are to give It eventually. why not nowT
But the clearing up of the wreckage
and the rebuilding is a minor problem
compared with the other greater and
more important question Of reconstruc-
ton. the reconstruction OF Industry,
the establishment of normal life.
The reclamation OF the devastated
area is. after all. only q matter OF
plan. time and money. and nOtwith-
standing the fact that Europe is bank
rupt today. the money must and will
up. the mines and shells will be dug
from the fields. the villages will be re-
built; everything that has been de-
stroyed will be replaced Physical re-
construction is the least of EurOpe's
problems
The great problem is the reconstrue-