The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-07-02
MEN, WOMEN
 AND THINGS

The word reconstruction" is never ut- tered in the south without causing the blood of the men and women who lived through "the helr' of it to boil with in- dignation.
 l It brings up pictures of desolated homes, waste farms and biting poverty but more horrible still the indignities of a beaten but not broken people humiliated by an army of carpetbaggers devouring the land like a swarm of locusts.
 | The story of the rehabilitation of the south after years of political exploitation adds as much luster to southern manhood and womanhood as does the record of | their deeds during the four momentous years of the civil conflict Thank God, after a half century southerners are able | to partly wipe from their memories the horrible nightmare of being under alien rule.
 But this is not to open old wounds but to emphasize the sufferings endured by the Jewish race on account of the great war, for one of the most terrible trag- edies in the history of mankind is be- ing enacted within the broad belt of ter ritory between the Baltic and the Black and the Adriatic seas. This area includes the new Baltic states, Poland, Czecho- Slovakia, Ukraine, Austria, Roumania, Montenegro, Albania and Servia.
 
 The south was Stripned a+ tba olaSe of the war, but in spite of the political and social upheaval in the freeing of the slaves, its civilization was intact, and brave men and courageous women set about to mend their broken fortunes by heroic endeavor to cultivate the land, re- build their homes and start anew their businesses. The new south rose on the ashes of the old south to the admiration and astonishment of the entire country.
 
 But from reliable reports which come trodden under foot by the cruel Hun. it is clear that in these war-ravaged lands civilization itself has broken down. Dis- ease, bereavement and actual suffering are present in practically every household, while food. clothing and shelter are in- sufficient to make life tolerable. Men, women and children are dying by the thousands. and we can't excuse ourselves by saying, We are sorry, but we did not cause it."
 I'll admit that the very size of the calamity is temptation to get from under it, for s,0o0.ooo are involved in the catastrophe but we cannot fold our hands. for in this twentieth century the fact that i've are our brothers keeper- is scared into our very souls and un- less we do our dead level best to assume responsibility by relieving to the extent O. our ability, our consciences will not let us rest. "One-half of the world may not eat while the other half starves'' un- less we forfeit the name of Christians
 The difficulty is to get well-fed Amer icans who eat three full meals a day, to really believe that on the other side of the world men, women and children are starving. To bring it home to you, jet me repeat here the statement of Dr. Mor- ris Newfield, who told us at the Rotary Club that in the soup kitchens estab- lished in Poland, eight pounds of meat was used to the broth which was fed to 1000 hungry undernourished people. and served only one time during twenty four hours.
 am writing this primarily to Chris tians. It was the Master who said: And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of disciple, verify l say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward" Paul, the apostle. also wrote If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst. give him drink; for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head"
 have given these quotations from the New Testament to forestall any one who may fear in giving to the drive now being conducted for the relief of the oessi- tute in the areas heretofore mentioned that portion of it will fall into the hands of some who were found in the AoAinS VI ouI cH0iiicS. nope some or iL may, for I have never so hardened my heart to keep it from beating in sympathy with the distressed of all nations, and the cry of a little child reaches my ears even though it comes from Germany.
 
 Do you suppose would withhold a con- tribution because part of it might find it's way to Vienna, where 100000 school children are reported as underfed and dis eased on account of food shortage? They are not to blame. We cannot punish them for the sins of their fathers. hope and believe that the Gentle schol- ars, along with the Jews will be cared for. The people of this once great pleas ure-loving city are apathetic, fatalistic tired. The plight of the Jews is really serious. for refugees still flow into Wiz enna. as it seems to be the only city in Europe which has not closed it's doors
 The distribution committee had to spend much on emergency relief. Much money was used for palliative purposes, but now the task of appropriation for ''reconstruc- tion and rehabilitation" is to the front be enlisted and mobilized, for the older ones know what help a lift would have been to them after the war when they got home. A horse meant crop, a blow was a necessity, credit was boon With these three any man was ready to face life anew.
 This is why $5,o0o,ooo. the largest Jewish war relief appropriation ever