The Challis messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1912-current, 1920-07-07
HOW EUROPE CAN
ESCAPE COLLAPSE
We Must Aid by Extehaing
Credit, Says Dawson.
GRAVE MENACE TO U. S. A.
European Ruin Would Involve
America.-Starvation and
Disease Rampant.


;ors of the Leegne Of Red Cross So
cieties, said:
AS chairman of the conventions ut
Red Cross Societies, composed of rep
lresentatives of twenty-seyen nations
that met recently in Geneva, am Gus
tedinn of authoritative reports record
ing appalling conditions among mil
lions of, people living In Eastern
Europe.
One of the most terrible tragedies III
the history Of the human race is be-
iiig enacted in the broad belt of terri
tory lying between the Baltic and the
Black and Adri;tic seas.
This area includes the new Baltic
| ,states-Poland, Czecho-Slovakiai the
Ukraine, Austria, Hungary, Roumaniai
Montenegro, Albania and Serbia.
The reports which come to us make
it clear that in these war-rayaged
lands civilization has broken down.
Disease, bereavment and suffering are
present in practically every house
hold, while food and clothing are IN
sufficient to make life tolerable.
| . Men, women and children are dying
| by thousands, and over vast once civil
lized areas there are to be found
neither medical appliances nor medical
skill sufficient to cope with the deyas-
tating plaques.
Wholesale starvation Is threatened
in Polasd this summer unless She can
| procure food supplies in large quail-
titles. There are now approximately
100000 cases of typhus in Poland and
in the area occupied by Polish troops.
Worst Typhus Epidemic in History.
This is one of the worst typhus cpl
denies in the worlds history. In
Galicia whole towns are crippled and
business suspended. In some districts
there is but'ona doctor to each iJO, UU0
people.
!. In the Ukraines. we are told, typhus
and influenza have affected most Of
the population.
report from Vienna, dated Feb
ruary II, said: There are rations for
three weeks death stalks through the
streets of Vienna and takes unhinGer.
ed toll"
Budapest, according to our infonna-
ton, is one vast city of misery and
suffering. The number of deaths is
double that of births. OF the l60,-
OOO children in the schools, 100000
are dependent on public charity. There
are 10000 workers idle.
flf,6
the four countries composing Czecho.
Slovakia, and there is lack of medi.
cines, soap and physicians.
In Serbia typhus has broken out
again and there are but 200 physicians
to minister to the needs Of that en-
tire country.
In Montenegro, where food is run,
ming short, there are but five ply.
sicians for population Of 100000.
Returning TO the United States
few weeks ago with all these horrors
ringing in nv ears, / found myself
once more III land whose graoaries
were overflowing, where health and
plenty aboundei and WEcre life ac.
tivity and eager enterprise were in the
full flood.
I ask myself: "what If the plague
and famine were here in the great ter.
ritory between the Atlantic seaboard
and the Mississippi valley. which
roughly parallels the extent CT these
r0vaged countries, and that G5,00o,OW
of our own people condemned to idle
ness by lack of raw material anc
whose fields had been devastated By
invasion and rap!nc wcry rackad by
starvation and peStilCnCe and if WE
had lifted up oar voices and invoked
the attention OF o,ir brothers in hap
pier Europe to our own deep miseries
and our cries had fallen on deaf ears
would we NOT in our despair eXclaiir
against their heartcssncss."
Only Three Ways to Help Europe.
There are only three ways by which
these stricken lands can secure sup
pi,s from tie outside world. One is
by payment, one by credit, and tht
third is by exchange of commodities
Ii these people tried to buy materia.
and supplies in America at prcsenl
market value Of their currencies, Aus
tria would have to Pay forty times tbs
original cost, Germany thirteen times
Greece just double. C2echo-Slovaki,
fourteen times, Poland fifty times
These figures are official and are g.
true index of the economical plight
of these countries.
1t is clear, therefore. that they cnn
not give us gold for the things they
must have, nor have they either pro
duets or securities to offer in return
for credit. II only tEey could Obtain
raw material which these idle millions
of theirs could convert into r.anufac
tured products they would have some
thing to tender the world In return
for its raw material, food and medi
cine. But if they have neither none,
nor credit, how are they to take this
first great step towards redemption.
One half the world may not ca
while the other half starvas. How Ions