The Arvada enterprise., 1920-02-19
Shall Chaos or Reconstruction
In Europe Follow the Great
World War;
IMPERATIVE NEED FOR ACTION
Twelve Months Since the Signing Of
the Armist'es Practically Wasted
Call for Aid From America
Must 0s Needed.
Article v.
Dy FRANK coMERFoRp.

Dy FRANK coMERFoRp.
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 II the work Of re-
construction. and when write the
word reconstruction" have not In
mind the mere rebuilding Of the war
stricken areas Of rrance, Belgium.
Italy. Poland and Russia. Gigantic
and important as this task 10, neces-
sary as II IL, 1t 10 only q 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 un.
der shell fire. Millions Of acres of land
that once yielded food In response to
the touch Of the plow have for the
past four years been titled by high ex.
plosives.
Belgium was literally looted. pill.
laged and ravished. Almost the en-
tire state was violated. Nearly one
eighth Of France. her Industrial Sec
tion. was crushed. Buildings were de-
stroyed, factories dismantled. Sixty
thousand square miles 10 Poland were
laid waste. Italy suffered terribly.
The ground is filled with high explo-
gives. 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 dan.
gerous wilderness out Of what was
once highly productive area.
Cities and villages are jungies 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 plas-
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 oil Of the
powers Of cyclone. a tornado md
an earthquake. and spilled their fury
on these mangled. dead villages.
elahts to We,uo the Heart.
Picture the refugees returning to
these villages back home.
What the sight must have meant to
them. have seen them. their faces
gray as the gray ruins. standing IN the
midst Of their destroyed homes. I
have seen them picking their way over
piles Of stone and brick through great
openings made In the broken walls.
saw in their eyes homesickness, a hurt
Of heart ! never shall forget Old men
and old women and little bnre-legged
children: now and again a hoy with
Q worn. soiled uniform. some iimping
on crutches. others wearing an empty
sleeve. One thought surged through
my mind until II almost sIckened me
War. The land Of the war zone
must be reclaimed. These acres are
needed nov |re than they were be-
fore the waH The worlds food sup.
ply Is low. Hundreds Of miles Of
trenches must he filled up Trees
must he planted. the ground must be
cleaned OF shells. cleared Of barbed
wire; villages, cities. must he rebuilt :
sewer systems must he installed. The
mess must be moved. 1t Is big job.
One grent misfortune is that al.
though - months have come md gone
since the signing Of the armistice. no
general comprehensive plan NJ 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 Ia all well and
good. but intelligent. economical. EN-.
Client and speedy reconstruction de-
mands a general plnn and an Orgnnixa.
tiOn big enough to put II over. Tie
doing Of this work requires vision and
capacity for doing big things well. n
the physical reconstruction is left to
Europe II will not he finished In 10
years. Here is n chance for America.
We have n faculty Of doing things on
a big scnie and In q short period Of
time. Europe needs our help n We
are to give II eventually. why not now 7
Bui the clenrIHg up Of the wrecknge
and the rebuilding is % minor problem
compared with the other greater md
more important question OF reconsiruc.
tiOn, the reconstruction Of Industry.
the establishment Of normal life.
The reclamation Of the devastated
sren Ia. after all. only ~ mntter Of
plHn. time and money. and notwith.
standing the fnct TINT Europe Is bnnk.
rupt today. the money must md will
come. The barbed wire will be rolled
up. the mines and shells will he dug
from the fields. the villages will he re
built; everything TINT has been de.
stroyed will he replaced. Physical ~
A. -