Evening star., 1921-08-05
Editorial Digest
"Forcible Feeding'' in the South.


The public health service report of
pellsgra and "semi-famine" in the
south upon which President Harding
stirred up Surprised ana indignant
comment In the columns of the south
ern newspapers. Writers in other
sections either express a mild sympa-
thy for the alleged afaiction IN the
who resent the charges Of disease and
The Philadelphia Public Ledger dn-
dependenD Is convinced that the
south is short Of food. .tIt has never
cares. 1 s lin s spits of eHss the esrorts @ Of the
United States Department of Agricul-
ture extension workers, county farm
agents and farm Journal editors, who
have preached diversihcation for
years. the south is one-crop coun+
The Memphis Commercial Appeal
(democraticl. on the other hand. de-
MES the need of charity" 1t says:
Were the situation anything like
what the President represents. Of
aid offered. hut since the south itself
Is without knowledge OF such q situa-
tion 1t cannot but feel that the Presi-
dent has acted with too much haste
and too little discretion in letting the
Of the United States is in the throes of
starvation. misery and death. 1t has
sought government relief on a bust
ness and not on a charitable basis.
The south Will never be a charity pa
tient on the nation and it wants the
remainder of the country to under
stand this"
In this attitude of the south. the !
Saginaw News...courier independently
sees no sense" and calls the south. |
ar fpYl :
seem that they did not wish fight to
be made upon pellagra." it continues,
that they had adopted that disease as
something to be expected, something
indigenous to the south and not to be
interfered with. OF course. their atti-
tude is ridiculous. and the fight
against pellagra will go on"
The Norfolk virginian-Pilot (inde-
nendent dsmocratic) would let the fed
eral authorities by. all means apply them
selves to step the ravages Of pellagra-
considerably in dispute" permanent
cure for the south's ''semi-famine," 1t
believes. awaits the regulation of its
paralysed cotton export commerce. When
the administration and it's business ex-
cease to alarm and the surgeon generals
department will become less excitable."
The Birmingham Age-Herald Gndepen-
dent democratic) asserts that more
fruits and vegetables have been raised /!
in the past several years than ever be- |
fore. and the diet in the rural districts |
is more varied. The thoughtless crowd !
who started the reports as to famine and J
pellasra deserve to be censured."
With the lives and we'll being of thou |!
sands of persons at stake" says the /,
Pittsburgh Sun (democratic). "the !
their pride stand in the way OF accepting
the help which the Red Cross. at Presi |
dent Harding's express request, is offer !
ing to give them
Little disposition is shown to criticise |
the President for his appeal. but the
would have been wise for him first to
have requested information from the
governors Of the cotton belt states. If
there had been any famine or pellagra
epidemic, it Is reasonable to believe that
these governors not only would have
been aware Of it. but would have ap-
pealed for aid. II aid was needed" His /,
prompt and vigorous relief efforts re-
dound to Mfr. Harding's credit as an
executive and as a man. says the st. |
Louis Post-Dispatch independently. THE !
ensuing embarrassment will not even
pause at the Presidents office; it goes
direct to the department of the public
health service which, after this expert |
ence, will probably try to avoid issuing
reports that are alarmingly at variance
with the facts The New York Tribune
(republican) pleads that "Mr. Harding
didn't mean to cast aspersions upon
southern ways. But II as q result any
thing can be done to improve the general
standard of health. the south will Join |
with the north and west in welcoming
Admitting that the south has not been
living on "miik and honey" and that |
money has been plenty scarce" the CO. |
lumbia Record (democratic) makes it |
plain that the denial Of need for outside |
assistahee'' Is not based on pride. but on |
a consciousness that the people "are not |
on the verge Of perishing Of hunger" and
that ''the south is no mendicant."