The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1922-03-16
WILL AMERICA COMMUTE THE
DEATH SENTENCE

murders and suicides of the year, do
not involve as many lives, as much
sorrow or as great injustice as was
wrapped up in this one act.
Thousands of innocent little chill
dren were condemned to die within
the next ninety days.
The Committee or Jury that pro-
nounced the death sentence was
of big-hearted, warm
hAarted, judicious men-themselves
fathers of little children-but they
have no alternative. Circumstances
beyond their control forced form
them the death sentence upon chill
dren as much entitled to life and
happiness as the children in their own
homes
Seventy pages of eablegrams and
reports from all sections of the Near
East lay before the Committee
from Jerusalem, Beirut, Cilicia, Con-
stantinople, Asia Minor and the Rus
sian Caucasus. The following are
but a few typical excerpts from a
score of cabled appeals:
Hunger spreading over new
areas"
death from starvation increas-
ing"
Hasten food"
Hasten despatch seed and in
creased help to the starving"
'Never in most narrowing cnOdi-
tons of relief work have seen such
suffering and tragedy"
''Next two months most critical.
Death rate appalling unless addition
al funds available"
"Alexandropol reports $4,000 de-
stitute starving who cannot be help
ed by present budget"
''Unless seeds secured Armenia
finished"
american seed wheat for Armen-
ians is only hope of preventing worse
conditions next winter"
Impossible to tell of misery in
spite of enormous work of Near East
Relief"
Children dying in all corners OF
Erivan."
Armenian Government at end OF
Resources"
Temporary help imperative in in
terest of humanity"
''Two hundred thousand Cilician
refugees now scattered through Beir-
ut-Constantinople areas"
''Mersine shore crowded with re-
fugees awaiting transportation tc
Cyprus and Syria"
''Ten thousand Armenian refugees
with many children arrived Beirut
thousands TripOh, Tyre, SidOn."
Emergency on account refugees
demands immediate action; thou
sands camped by roadside"
''Find money somewhere and cable
authority to relieve worst Distress
widow refugees begging us tC
save their children"
Every mandate of humanity calA
ed upon this Committee (the Execu-
tive Committee of Near East Relief
10 double existing appropriations OF
make at least 5O9o increase to meet
these war and famine emergencies.
But the Committee faced also the
treasury with it's decreasing receipt!
and depleted balances. They were
forced to vote, not an increase, but
q $3.50 cut in the already inadequate
appropriations.
The cablegram containing the
tragic news was quickly sent th'
same afternoon. 1t was cleared cas-
ily from New York, and the gay, rich
pleasure-loving city little dreamed o.
the slaughter of the innocents order
ed at the other end in Bible lands
The 25e Go cut literally means death tx
thousands upon thousands of limo
cent children. Death just as certain
ly as if those thousands of children
were lined up along the avenue anC
shot down with machine guns!
In addition to these children Their,
are other hundreds of thousands o
equally innocent and helpless adult
women and girls-driven in mid
winter from the plains of Ciicia o
destitute upon the \war-swept
ADMINISTRATOR plateaus of the eau
easus. These Christian refugees il
Bible lands now stand under the sen
tenee of death by starvation.
No Time to Linger.
Riu Steedum says that when he see