The Dillon herald. [volume] (Dillon, S.C.) 1894-????, 1921-04-21
WHY SEND MILK TO ITALY?

There seems to be a very general
impression that the Italian Babies are
cared for by the Central European
Relief. Q This, however, is not the
case, as Mr.. Hoover has himself en-
phatically stated. The Central Euro
pean Relief, as its name indicates.
cares for the children OF Central Eu
rope-Poland, Austria, Hungary and
adjacent states. 100000 children of
these countries have been rescued
this winter, but Italy too, needs help
anu we must give both OF our SYM
pathy and our substance to her in
this her hour of need.
The question is often asked-"Rut
why is Italy not able to take care of
Ter children-but the circumstances
are extraordinary.
In Italy today milk famine ex-
,s's-due to the fact that many cattle
nao 10 De sacrificed the last year of
inc war to feed the army. Later the
dread Mouth and Hoof disease broke
out and swept the country of the re-
naming milk giving animals. This
mas left them with no native milk
Four years of devastating war had
ie1t the nation with enormous war
ldeots, deprecated currency and
great scarcity of the necessaries NJ
IRE. AS the currency went down
the cost of living went up. and for
the poor the conditions of existence
became almost unbearable. Foods
were so high and so scarce that
III november last the Government
round 1t necessary again to issue
ioou cards-more stringent than dur
ing the war, and much of Italy's un-
rest mas been due to the food situa-
ton.
Under these conditions, the Italian
mother, herself undernourished has
not been able to nourish her baby-
rs formerly she was abundantlv ahIe
to do-and in Italy the unprecedent-
Ell has happened-Italian mothers
nave had to feed their babies artifi-
caily. The artificial feeding Of a baby
Is not the best way. but it can be sue
cessfully done if good milk is avail
able, but without milk it becomes a
question which scientists have not
Yet been able to solve There is no
substitute for milk-and the baby
under one year deprived of it, cannot
live. The little child over one year
may live but becomes an easy prey
10 rickets, anaemia and tuberculosis
-the hunger diseases-and with
these the hospitals are filled.
Three hundred baby hospitals and
institutions for children in Italy are
now being supplied with milk by the
American Free Milk Fund, and
through its dlspensaries and milk
distributing centers 100000 babies
nave been rescued, but many prov
inces have not Yet been reached for
the relief can go only as far as the
milk goes. The institutions already
established must be maintained and
the work can be extended only
through larger shipments of milk.
The situation in italy is briefly
this:
The people are burdened with tre-
mendous taxation necessary to pay
their war debts and the currency so
deprecated in consequence that they
cannot buy from us with the ruinious
Exchange now existing. Few people
here realize that the Italian lira,
which used to be equal to 20 cents in
our money is now worth only 8 1-2
cents. Five dollars used to be the
equivalent of 25 lire. Now it takes
nearly $50 lire to purchase five dol
lars worth of American goods.
The milk that we are sending over
costs us here, wholesale IL cents a
] quart. but if it is sold to the poor
Italian, he must pay nearly sc cents
a quart for it in Italy.
Can Italian babies be properly fed
without milk if we sell il to them?
ltaly's suffering babies are the vic
tins of war-they are reaping the re-
suits of Italy's great sacrifice in "the
cause" which was "Our Cause"
Italy was our friend and ally. Shall
we be content to offer her no sympa-
thy. no aid? A cup of milk is all that
is asked in her name-that her bab-
les - the futuree hope of the nation
may not be dwarfed and stunted as
a result of malnutrition.
Send your contributions. large or
small. to Miss Jane B. Evans Flor
ience. s. c., State Chairman - For
American Free Milk and Relief for
Italy. Inc.
Every Penny Counts.
Is it Not Much to You:
ITO know that there is saved for
great tomorrows
a man who may stand firm for truth
and right,
May be the one to lead a cropping
people toward the light?
Somewhere in distant lands a child
is happy,
And growing happier with it's every
breath,
My child. whom, through Gods gra-