Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1923-09-27
NEAR EAST RELIEF
SECRETARY'S THANKS
TO CITY WATERvILLE

ceived by Mrs. Florence NJ. Wallace
secretary of the Observation-Disclosures
Chamber of Commerce, from c. V.
NlcKery, general secretary of the Near
East Relief. at Athens, Greece. The
local chamber for the past two wears
has been carrying on campaign to Sc
cure warm clothing for orphan chill
dren In the Near East, and this letter
comes as an Acknowledgement of an
probation for the effort put out in this
city to help those unfortunate people.
1t runs as follows:
Dear Mrs. Wallace:
How l wish you could see some or
your overseas family!
DIR. Finley and l recently saw 10 nm
of them, orphans all. marching past in
single afternoon. Some Of them were
so small that they had to be carried on
the shoulders of the older boys.
They were part of the $4,000 chill
dren IN our orphanageS in the eau
casus. most of whom are refugees from
Turkey, and at least three-fourths of
whom would have persisted had 1T not
been for help which you and others
sent from America.
we have also reviewed another TO-
600 or your children recently driven
from Asia Minor-some of them de-
Churches of Asia-now scattered
among the newly established orphan
ages OF Greece, on the island OF Corfu
| an ancient Corinth. Ovropos, KaValla
| (Neapolis of Pauls day), Salonicva,
| TheSSalonicVa, Berea, Athens, Chalchis,
| SYRIA and elsewhere. e-.
Last week in Jerusalem at st.
| James monastery (Armenian) within
the ancient walls of the city. at the
| Conventof the Holy Cross and in the
| Syrian orphanage just outside the
walls. l saw another thousand of YOUR
children. most of them refugees from
Van and eastern Turkey. who almost
certainly would not be living today had
| it not been for your expression of true
| religion in sharing your substance with
the widows and orphans of Christian
martyrs.
| Again. last week in Nazareth ! saw
| 1873 of your boys. occupying at night
stable on a hillside overlooking the
village, and by day the older of them.
! possibly averaging II years of age,
| earning part of their support by work
ing in 4 modern carpenter shop estab-
| lishcd by the Near East Relief within
! 10 PAGES of where stood the carpenter
| shop of Joseph, in which the Boy
! Christ labored at the carpenter bench.
| A total of more than 10000 such
children are now in various orphanag es
throughout the Syria-Palestine area.
| Fully 5000 of these are Armenian chill,
! dren-orphans driven out from, Asia
Minor within the last IL months.
! Every child is being taught trade
| and the largest possible measure of in
! Gustrial self-support is being sought
| in the orphanages, as well as training
| for industrial usefulness and leader
! ship in later life. As rapidly as the
children become 16 years of age or
| able to attain sclf-support, they arc
| placed out as apprentices, adopted in
| homes or otherwise made independent
| of outside assistance. but they will
| never forget as long as they live their
Indebtedness to the American people.
to whom they owe their lives.
More than 1000 of these children
have been graduated or places outside
| the orphanaees during the past sum-
mer. The country is too impoverished
| to receive them into homes. especially
as these regions are already ovcrrun
with a million or more Christian refu-
| gees.
Our statistics show that $50 per
| cent. of the children are under IA years
| of age and 62.S per cent. are under II
years, while the Birds Nest" orphan
age at Sidon, nesting $50 "birdies."
and the Doll House, sheltering a part
| of the 1000 girls on the island of Ceph-
alonia. are devoted chiefly to babies
and children of kindergarten age. One
cannot look into the faces of these
| thousands Of children, potential lead
! ers of new Near East. without being
| impressed with the strategy of the
great work in which YOU have had
and are having a substantial part.
The thought frequently recurs, "Edu
cation now, or battleships later"
| There can be no doubt as to which is
| the wiser, more economical and con-
structive program.
Even as / write the preceding sem
tence my ship pulls into the Piraeus
! (Athens) harbor alongside ship
loaded with Greek refugees from Asia
| Minor. The deck of the adjoining ship
is jammed with women and children
! and an occasional man. | have seldom
seen cattle herder more closely. few
months ago they had comfortable
| homes; some of them were wealthy.
Today they are homeless. penniless;
but on this particular morning they
are comparatively happy, for after
months of indescribable hardship, hum
ger. sickness and loss of relatives by
death, they are at last in friendly
harbor Some of us in schooldays wept
or were deeply moved by Longfellows
| "Evangeline," but the story Is mid
summer holiday romance compared
| with the stern reality that l now Wit
| ness in the PiraeuS harbor.
This ship is but one of the dozens.
! if not scores, of such vessels that have
arrived and must yet arrive before the
first chapters of the great tragedy are
completed. Many. if not most, of these
people are living today because of as
sistance given by the Near East Re-
! lief. in which you have shared. Ad-
| miral Bristol. thu American high COM
missioner in Constantinople. in his Of
fetal July report to the government,
referring to Near East Reliefs feeding
of refugees, said: IF these relief ac-
| tiyities are withdrawn from the Pom
| tos and Constantnople. the refugees
will undoubtedly perish of hunger and
disease"
In the Selemiah Barracks alone, they
were actually dying at the rate OF more
] than 100 per day until Near East Ike
lief came in with food and medical
care that reduced the death rate to
| unfortunately three per day. Pracu-
calIy the entire population OF the par
racks would have been eXtermlnated
had it not been for the life-savlng serv-
ice rendered by your Near East Keller.
| On the island of Haiku, out OF a total
of 1000 in one camp 500 died and 9TH
crs would have followed had 1t not
| been for the introduction of Near East
| Relief Tens of thousands OF these rel
ugees are living today who would nave
| died had it not been that your repre-
| scntatives, warehouse supplies ana
supplementary foods were available 10
! savethem. A full score of the relief
workers, American and native, sacrl-
in service,