Evening journal., 1921-01-08
.TYPHUS, FAMINE
GRIP POLAND
Thousands of Acres of Food
Crops Ruined by Rus
sian Reds
NEED 100000
TONS OF COAL
BY LLOYD ALLEN

(United Press Stam Correspondent
WARSAW (By Mail.) - Poland
hoped TO start reconstruction work
last summer, but the Bolshevik in
Nasion that almost succeeded in reach
ing Warsaw shattered every hope OF
Hundreds Of thousands Of acres OF
food crops were ruined by the Soviet
occupation which took place lust at
harvest time. Today Poland il in the
midst OF a terrible winter, almost
Arctic in its severity, with a very
serious coal shortage. Ten million
tons OF coal are needed at once, ac-
eording TO official estimates that have
been carefully checked by American
officials here.
The grain shortage is even worse.
Poland must purchase $500 cars OF
grain from America and 1900 cars
from Roumania, paying the ROu-
manians i,50OOOOOOO Polish marks.
Wherefore the cost OF bread must
be increased to the working people OF
this hard pressed land which the
BOlsheviks Of Moscow and the Ger
mans are trying TO capture, using a
hundred skillful devices for crush
ing the none too strong Polish gov
ernment.
Meanwhile the gas supply Of War
because Of the coal shortage.
Always the BOlshevik military
pressure menaces the safety Of Po-
land from the East To prevent swift
occupation Of the entire country and
the disappearance Of the Polish State
| from the map OF EAurope, Poland is
| forced to- maintain an army Of 100000
men. This is a heavy drain on the
states resources. But this army Of
half a million is one OF the principal
mainstays OF European peace.
Throughout the length and breadth
OF Poland, according TO official govern
ment reports here. typhus and famine
are raging worse than any winter in
| history Typhus fever was brought
westward from the far away Ural
mountains and the dark provinces of
| Russia, when the Cars millions over
ran Poland in 1914 on their futile
attempt TO reach Berlin.
! Since 1914 suffering from typhus
/ has been indescribable. While only
about seven per cent. OF the Polish
sufferers die from typhus, the NOR
| tality among Americans and Euro
peans who contract the disease is
eighty per cent. For this reason the
! Western European powers, France and
England especially, realize the danger
lOf a typhus-ridden Poland to the re-
mainder of Europe.
America. however, took the lead in
| fighting typhus. sending to Poland the
largest relief expedition ever organ
lied, composed OF 500 American sol
diers, % officers under Colonel Harry
Glchrist. With fifty train loads OF
| typhus fighting equipment, valiant
work was done But the job OF clean
ing up the menace has not been COM
pleted; it has scarcely been started
despite the expenditure Of millions OF
dollars.
The Polish Ministry Of Health de-
scribed this impossible health situa-
tion 10 me. Briefly, Poland has ~
100000 people more or less, Of whom
% per cent. are lousy. Until most
of them are deloused, typhus cannol
be wiped out. because the louise car
ries the typhus germ from afflicted tC
the healthy.
Polish officials are wearied OF car
lrying on the fight They realize thai
until actual reconstruction starts
when soap clothes, shoes and the
labsOlute necessities Of life are agar
within reach Of the population, POLAND
lis apt to remain what is probably the
worst typhus hole outside Russia.