Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1921-03-08
LUTHERANS AID
POLlSHPEOPLE
$25O,OO0 Fund Used to Help
Communities Instead of
Individuals,

Berlin. March S.-American Lu-
therans have just completed a year
OF relief work in Poland, designed to
help Poles to help themselves. which
Is highly gratifying to DR.. John AL
fred Morrhead. European commits
sioner of the National Lutheran
Council of America. who has just fin
ished an inspection tour in Poland
with $250.o00 which we loaned to
Polish farmers, and did not give to
them. we have enabled the agricul-
turalists in nearly 500 villages. with a
total population Of probably 100000.
to erect temporary homes. restore
their farms and become self-sustain-
ing" said DR.. Moorhead. Il have
just visited the section to which the
loans were made. The farmers have
paid four per cent interest on the
small loans, as they agreed, and IN
some cases they have even paid off
the principal in a single year.
Lived in Shacks.
The villages aided by the American
Lutherans are chiefly in h vicinity
Moorhead found h population Inv
ing in cellars and shacks in the fall
of 1919. The country had been laid
waste by years Of fighting. 1t was a
land of small farmers having tracts
OF lands varying from five to forty
acres. but with little machinery. no
stables. no houses. no animals n
10 seed.
When the farmers asked DR.. Moor
head for food and clothing he called
together local committees n told
them he would rather help the COM
'munities re-establish themselves on a
permanent basis than grant tenn
porary relief which would only better
their situation for a short time. Loan
banks were established in each of tho
villages under the direction of local
reached with the government where
by the impoverished small landown-
ers were to have timber at a nominal
price and small loans. seldom ex-
ceeding 5000 to a family secured on
real estate mortgages. were made Tor
the purchase of necessary FOOD, I'M
plements. COWS. horses and seed.
The armer were able tp get thei
fall blowing done and many of them
planted rye. Buildings were thrown
up, and spring found them ready to
plant vegetab les. wheat and other
grain. The s250.000 advanced by the
American Lutherans was equivalent
to roughly 5000, 900 Polish marks
because of the favorable exchange.
Price High.
Prices for grain and vegetables
were 80 high in Poland last summer
that the families which had planted
crops realized Il handsome income
and were able to pay their interest
and make other needed improvements
on their farms in preparation for next
year. ro-
VI found the villages have a dl1er'
~nt outlook upon life" SAID Dr.. Moor
head. 1.-The spirit OF hopelessnes,
and ruin is gone. Workmen and mer'
chants have pronted by the good for
tune Of the farmers. and there ha
been a general spiritual. us well as ar
economic. regeneration, Tho plar
worked so we'll that the interest !!
being used to help other villages nnc
/. additional appropriations Will be mad
from our relief funds to extend thu
sort Of relief in Poland"
The villages assisted werc made VI
chiefly Of Lutherans. but whore Their
were Jewish ard Catholic farmers II
the communities these were also aid
ed by the loan banks. In many OF tn
villages assistance was also EXTENDED
to textile workers. whose handloom
a been destroyed. n the peasan
homo industries are being. restored.
All in all. the American Lutheran
have given $4,000. 900 for Europea
relief work in the last eightee
months and this has been expende
II fourteen countries of Central Eur
ope. extending from the new Baiti