Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1923-06-17

Russian refugees). S7.9+S,00O, and
other countries, SS,lll,ooo
Hoo,er.s Name Written Large.
The name of Herbert Hoover will
I've written large in the worlds his
tory as the rlan who organized the
American relief work throughout
Europe. He was chairman of the
American Relief Committee in Leu
don. l914-l9l5: chairman of the Com
mission for Relief in Belgium, l"lf,
1919; was chairman of the United
States Grain Corporation, member
rf the Interallied Food Council, Of
the Supreme Economic Council and
of the European Coal Council. He
was director of various economic
measures in Europe during the
;rmis tice, including the organization
If food Supplies to Poland, Serbia
.'zechoslovakia Germany, Austria
Rumania. Armenia. Baltic states,
,tc., during 1917. 1918 and 1919 he
was chairman of the American Re
lief Association engaged in children's
relief in Europe and a member OF
the European Relief Council.
The cash donations from the United
States for the commission for the re
lief of Belgium. under Mr.. Hoovers
direction. totaled $4,996.614S5. Pro-
visions from the United States aggre-
gated 26469, 1917, and second hand
clothing contributions from the
United states were valued al s9,2O2,-
737.34
The American relief administration.
headed by Mr. Hoover. was for Il time
a government organization. up to
1919. while distributing relief using
the SlO0.000.h00 appropriated by Con-
preSS revolving fund. OF that
$l00.0oo,O00 $S4.000,000 in securities
from the various governments was
turned back to the United States
Treasury.
Made SIOO,O00.G00 Work.
Mr.. Hoover made that 100000, 900
do intensive work, and turned it over
several times. Here an illuStra-
ton of how much of the American
relief was not straight charity. In
the Russian relief work Mr.. Hoover
utilized system which he had pre-
viouSly inaugurated and used sue
ceSSfully in other parts of Europe, .
hy selling food packages to people in
this country who had relatives or
friends in the stricken territory
which they could not reach person
ally. The Hoover organization took /.
their money, hunted up the relatives
or friends and delivered to them food
10 the value of the money received.
That proved an exceedingly popular
arrangement and did much to relieve
distress. Many millions of food pack
ages were sold in that way.
when Hoover organized the Amer
lean relief administration for Russia
there were two phases: One was to
feed the starving and the other to
give medical care. The American Red
Cross agreed to support the medical
side and spent $3,000,000 in this way.
Profits Left Over.
When the American relief admin
istration closed out it's task of dis
tributing the 500 0OO,0O0 fund appro-
priated by Congress for working cap
ital in 1919 there were left over GER
tain funds some of them profits from
the United States Grain Corporation,
and some rebates on shipping. When
MIR. Hoover was director of the Su-
preme Economic Council in Paris he
made arrangements with all the gov
ernmentS receiving foOdStuffS that il
there were any rebates or profits out
of the operation of supplying the food
whatever balance was left would be
turned over for feeding the children.
The President of the United States
agreed that these funds should be
taken over by the American relief adj
miniStration a private charitable
organization TO carry on that work.
The American relief administrator
made an appeal to the American pub /
lie for funds three years ago and COL
lected more than S29.000.000.
This American relief administra-
tiOn, as Il private organization, has
dispensed S70,000000 in Russia alone.
in cooperation with other orsaniza-
tions
The American relief administra-
tons task in Russia gigantic
and widespread with Succor given in
many ways. that it is impossible
to give even Sketchy picture of it.
Last August alone there were nearly
ft.On0 600 persons fed-4.113.339 chill
fren and 6.317. 95S adults. There were
aJ2l2i tons of food and seed COM
mudities shipped TO Russia between
August. 1921, and April 4. 1928. includ-
October 1921 and March, 1923. the So
called food package sales. by which
individuals in this country. sent food
through the American relief admin
istration. amounted to $14,066.24S. The
deliveries of such food remittances
per cent of the purchases. The cloth
ing relief since September, 1921, in
Russia, chiefly among children,
amounted to s1,456,00O. |,
100000 Patients Cared For.
More than 10000 medical institutions
with a capacity of more than 100000
patients were assisted with medical
ments and hospital supplies. More
than 100000 persons were inoculated
or vaccnated in the campaign
against epidemcs inaugurated through
out Russia by the American relief
administration.
Two years ago the Near East Re
lief disbursements were reported to
be more than S60.000,000. During the
year 1922 the disbursements amount
ed to S12,2S0325 exceeding the dis
bursements for 1921 by s2,31S,419.73.
There was a balance on December 81
of S32S.3S9 and well over $1,000, 900
in supplies in the warehouses over
seas, according to Cleveland II. /
Dodge, the treasurer. |
The outstanding event Of 1922 in
which the activities of the Near East
Relief organization shone forth was
the Smyrna disaster and the eVacu-
alton of the Christian population of
Anatolia The Smyrna fire. with the
accompanying panic and the later |
evacuation of the Christian refugees
from Thrace. from the Black sea
coast of Anatolia and from the
Mediterranean ports of Cilicia was
more serious drain the finances
of the Near East Relief than the
transfer of the orphans. Near East
Relief workers were on the ground
at the time of the fire. They mme-
diately provided food supplies from
their Constantinope warehouses and
co-operated in securing and handling
ships that took the panic strick en-
fre-driven refugees to safety.
100000 Lives Saved.
The Bishop of Smyrna is quoted as
saying that within the area of his OBJ
servation alone he is convinced that
the American relief workers were re-
sponsible for the saving of at least |
2n0,0OO lives.
Aside from general relief work
of trNl1 Il, Il