The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1921-06-03

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
maaia greater than anywhere else In
the world, because, as he says, "In the
countries of Central Europe there are
gcing governments which have merely
been temporarily impoverished byswar.
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 the. 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:
1--WE 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 even
know their own names, or the place Of
their birth. They have shown wonder
full recuperative powers, and to see
them play their kindergarten or other
games under the direction of our AmAri-
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 i've 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 period OF ten years and
lend themselves admirably to relief
purposes.
This orphanage at Alexandropol Il
but one of the 229 orphanages that the
Near East Relief Is now operating in
various parts OF the Caucasus, Anato-
liza, Cilicia, Syria and the Constanti-
nople-Straits area.
Thirty miles from Alexandronol. NJ
kars, there is another group of Rms
sian army barracks, which were given
us by the Armenian government for
relief purposes. was going through
the dormitories Of this orphanage at
kars when the young American COL
iege girl In charge turned to me and
said: Mr.. Vickrey, it sometimes makes
me feel just a little older than Me-
thuselah to be called "Mothern bv
5000 OF those Armenian children,
And that is exactly what she was
the only mother that these 5000 Ar
menian children have, except as she
ayaiis herself Of the organized assist
ance OF native Armenian women n
caring for this large family.
In the hospital at Kars founa
Ll5O beds. which. the day I was there
We're occupied by 1,26S patients II
frequently being necessary to put two
or more children In a single bed. At
Alexandropol we have in one hospital
or group OF hospital buildings. 1.56o
trachoma patients. AT Karaklis. forty
miles east Of Alexandropol we have
an orphanage devoted exclusivelv ~
the care and training Of the blinn
children. At Delijan we have another
orphanage, located on mountain side
Tor the care Of tubercular chIIdran
this segregation being as much "a
the welfare Of the healthy children +
the orphanages as for the care of fha
unfortunate consumptives At Erfvan
We formerly had twenty-six dlst,ncs
orpnanages. though they have now
Deem reduced and consolidated =
seven In number There are eons-
thing more than 1000 orphans Is r.
region Of Harpout~