Evening star., 1923-12-02
KING URGES RELIEF
OF NEEDY CHILDREN
Greek Sovereign Outlines Ref
ugees' Plight in Letter
Borne by c. D. Morris.

! c. d. Morris, secretary Of the Near
| East Relief's commission to Greece
! arrived in Washington yesterday for
conferences with government officials
! here regarding conditions in Greece
/ The refugee situation in Greece is
. becoming very acute with the ap-
| proach of winter, he said, and in
creased outside assistance Is an i'm
! perative necessity.
Il have made an urgent recon-
mendation to the Near East Relief in
New York for the care and supple
mentary feeding of 100000 children
in the refuge camps. in addition to
the children whom that organization
already has in it's large orphanage in
stftutions." said Mr.. Morris yester-
day.
From government officials and from
the reports which have been received
by the state department, l shall OBJ
tain official confirmation of my own
observations in Greece. and through
these documents 1 hope to persuade
the American relief organizations to
carry at least a small part of the
burden through the coming winter.
Quarter Million in Need.
More than a quarter of million
settlements of Greece are in imme-
diate and urgent need of relief"
Returning to America from Greece,
Mr.. Morris visited Russia and Germany
to study the comparative needs of those
countries.
Nothing in either Russia or Ger
many can compare in seriousness with
the plight of the refugee children of
Greece" said Mr.. Morris. "The Greek
government has asked the Near East
Relief to do what it can toward caring
for 100. 900 refugee orphans this winter,
but these government figures do not
begin to represent the seriousness of
the situation in Greece, which l think
is the most urgent matter for the
charitable attention of the American
people.
Ravages OF Epidemfcs.
AT, least a million and a quarter
refugees fled into Greece after the
Smyrna disaster. submit that more
than half of this number were children,
for as rule the adults. especially the
men. and older boys. were either killed
or driven into the interior. In the epi-
WHICH followed the mortality was much
greater among the remaining adults
than among the children. On the long,
cold deportation marches mothers car
ried their children, often two or more
of them at once. so that the little ones
We're saved while the mothers sue
cumbed to exhaustion and disease"
Text Of Kings Letter.
Mr.. Morris brought with him an
autographed letter from King George
of Greece, which will be put into the
hands of President Coolidge this
week. The letter is addressed to the
American people, as the non-exist-
ence of diplomatic relations between
Greece and America makes II impos-
sible for the king to address Presi-
dent Coolidge directly. The letter
says:
The observance OF Golden Rule
Sunday throughout the world. and
especially in America, offers me an
opportunity to express my very high
personal appreciation of the practical
sympathy which the American people
have manifested toward Greece dur
ing the past twelve months.
The necessity of caring for hum
dreds of thousands of refugees. with
so large a proportion of dependent
women and children, has taxed the
resources of Greece to the utmost
Indeed, It would have been impossi-
BILE for Greece to have met the con-
dtions which faced her without the
aid SO generously extended by the
people of the United States.
Not only personally, but in the
name Of my country, may I EXPIRE IS
the hope that the American people
will continue to support the splendid
work of the Near East Relief, as by
so doing they will. prevent much suf-
fering and death. Again / express
the sincere thanks Of my people for
your sympathy and help"