Hermanner Volksblatt. [volume] (Hermann, Mo.) 1875-1928, 1921-01-07

than billions of dollars spent later in
suppressing international warfare and
strife"
Mr.. Vickrey considers the need in
the Near East and especially In Ar
menia greater than anywhere else In
the world, because, as he says, an the
countries of Central Europe there are
going governments which have merely
been temporarily impoverished by war.
In the Near East, on the other hand,
there Is no such thing as stable gov
eminent. The whole fabric of the
state has to be created from the be-
ginning, and the innocent and help
less children have to be trained to the
responsibilities of future citizenship.
Peace in the Near East and, In great
measure, throughout the world, will
depend very largely on the character
Of thu. citizenship of the peoples of the
Near East"
Irresistible Appeal Of Orphans.
Describing the orphanage work of
the Near East Relief in the Armenian
Republic, Mr.. Vickrey said:
I'VE have at Alexandropol in the
Caucasus, one orphanage where there
are approximately 10000 homeless
children, fatherless or motherless,
many of them having no known living
relative. Some of them do not ever
know their W names, or the place of
their birth, They have shown wonder.
full r%ecupcrative powers, and to see
them play their kindergarten or other
games under the direction Of our Amerl.
can relief workers, one could never be.
lieve that they had passed through
the years Of suffering that most OF
them have experienced since they, or
their parents, were driven from their
homes in Central Turkey FIVE years
ago.
For the accommodation of these or.
phans there are sixty splendid stone
buildings, erected as barracks for the
Russian army. These buildings are
now given to us by the Armenian gov.
eminent for a period Of ten years and
lend themselves admirably to relief
purposes.
"This orphanage at A~Iexandropol Is
but one Of the 300 orphanages that the
Near East Relief Is now operating In
various parts of the Caucasus, Anato.
liza, Cilicia, Syria and the CONSTANT.
nople-Straits area.
Thirty miles from A~lexandropol, al
Kars, there Is another group Of Rus
sian army barracks, which were giver
us by the Armenian government fol-
relief purposes. l was going through
the dormitories Of this orphanage al
Kars when the young American col
lege girl in charge turned to me and
said Mr.. Vickrey, 1t sometimes makes
me feel just a little older than Me
thuselah TO be called Mother By
5000 Of those Armenian children.
And that is exactly what she was
the only mother that these G,O0O Ar
menian children have, except as she
avails herself of the organized assist
ance of native Armenian women, II
caring for this large family.
I'm the hospital at Kars 1 foun,
1,150 beds, which, the day l was there
were occupied by 1888 patients, Il
frequently being necessary to put tive
or more children In a single bed. A
Alexandropol we have In one hospital
or group of hospital buildings, 1861
trachoma patients. At Karaklis, fort,
miles east Of Alexandropol we hay,
an orphanage devoted exclusively t.
the care and training of the blint
children. At Delijan we have anothe,
o%rphanage, located on a mountain side
for the care Of tubercular children
this segregation being as much 10,
the welfare Of the healthy children II
the orphanages as for the care of tn,
unfortunate consumptlves. At Erival
we formerly had twenty-six dlstinc
orphanages, though they have nov
been reduced and consolidated {,
seven In number. There are some
thing more than 5000 orphans In tn,
region Of Harpout"