New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1920-02-20
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 v.
BY A

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 ] write the
word Reconstruction" | have not in
mind the mere rebuilding of the war
stricken areas of rance Belgium,
Italy. Poland and Russia. Gigantic
and important as this task is. neces
sary as it is, it is only a small part of
the work OF real reconstruction. Hun
dreds of thousands Of square miles
make up the actual war M the
ground marched over. the territory I'M
der shell fire. Millions of acres of land
that once yielded food in response to
the touch OF the pillow have for the
past four years been titled by high eI-
plOsives.
Belgium was literally looted. pill
LACED and ravished. Almost the n
tire state was violated. Nearly me
eighth Of France. her Industrial sec
ton. was crushed. Buildings were de-
strOyed. factories dismantled. Sixty
thousand square miles In Poland were
laid waste. Italy suffered terribly.
The ground is filled 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 o II of metal make a dan.
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 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
VI hCfl tlttt tit stt. tlib . wi NioNh
OF the wal and come upon Of these
unsightly. shapeless masses OF materl-
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 manglcd. dead villages.
Sights to Wiring the Heart.
Picture the refugees returning TO
these villages-coming back home.
What the sight must have mean to
them. ! 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. !
saw IN their eyes inconsistencies. u hurt
of heart ] never shall forget. Old men
and old women and little barc-legged
children: now aud again a boy with
a worn. soiled uniform. some limping
on crutches, others wearing an empty
sleeve. One thought surged through
my mind until IL almost sickened me
War. The land of the var zone
must he 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 mnst he filled up. Trees
must be planted, the ground must be
cleaned of shells. cleared OF barbed
wire: villages. cities. must he rebuilt:
sewer systems must be Installed. The
mess must be moved. II is a big Job.
One great misfortune is that al
though II months have come and one
since the signing Of the armisiice. no
general comprehensive plan 81 recon
has been started. Here and
there small sections ~ the devastated
are being partly reconstructed.
provision is being made
the homeless. This Is all well aud
good, but intelligent. economical. eff
mands a general plan and an o~rganiza-
tion big enough tn put II over. The
doing of this work requires vision AMI
rapacity for doing big things well. n
the physical reconstruction is left 10
II will moi he finished In 80
years. Here Is q chance for America.
We have q faculty of doing things on
2 big scale and IN a short period of
time. Europe needs our help. n We
ire to Civ Il eventually. Why Dot now?
But the clearing up 81 the wrrckage
and the rebuilding is a minor problem
compared with the other greater and
more important question 81 reconsfrnc-
ion. the reconstruction 81 industry.
he establishment of normal Iife.
The reclamation Of the devastated
urea Is. after all. only n matter Of
,lan. time and money. and notwith-
standing the fact that Europe is bank
upt today. the money must and will
The barbed wire will he rolled
ID. the mines and shells will he dug
rom the fields. the villages will he re-
everything that has been de
troyed will be replaced. Physical re-
obstruction is the least Of Europe's