Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1924-11-05
BRILLIANT TALK
ON CONDITIONS IN
GREECE At COLBY

Memorial chapel at Colby college
was well filled last evening with stu
dents OF the college and townspeople
10 listen to noted speaker on con-
ditions In Greece, Madame Tsana-
DOS. Professor Clarence II. White,
mead OF the department Of Greek at
Colby, introduced the speaker of the
evening.
Madame Tsamados spoke about the
conditions in Greece at the present
time and told of the reasons for the
conditions as they are She stated
that Greece had long been the bar
rier between the Westrn civilization
and the march Of the Eastern Otto
mans and that this struggle was but
prolongation Of the age old strug-
gle between the Greeks and the ma
lions to the east
she stated that the Allies were TO
be blamed great deal for hte pres
ent conditions as iealousies amongst
them led to their withdrawal of sup
port and the consequent retreat from
Smyrna with its destruction. In
speaking of the present conditions in
Greece. Madame Tsamados said:
After an absence OF five yeags
ana knowing what the conditions
were in Greece, I was prepared to see
inuch misery, but could not imagine
the full horror Of what confronted
me. | had my first glimpse of the
refugees when landed at Piraeus. In
vacant late / saw hundreds of tiny
tents and before these tents women
and children. or rather, ghosts of wo-
men and children.
My hrSt visit to q refugee camp
was In Athens at the Municipal The
atrc. This theatre. in more happy
times. was the rendezvous of the aris-
tocracy of Greece and the pride of all
Athenians. Now. from the door to
roof it is peoplcd with refugees.
Twelve hundred people live under
conditions that In America would be
considered unfit for animals. Chill
dren, pale and haggard. their faces
bleeding from insect bites and COW
cred with flies. We're living on the
filthy floor now and then moaning
asking for bread7 old women with
the look of despair in their eyes sa t
mOtiOnless. SpeechleSS, waiting for
the death which is their only hope.
In a warehouse | have seen as
many as four children sleeping on
the remnants of mattress. one of
the four dying with consumption
There was little air or light in that
building. never a ray of sunshine,
only dampness which penetrated to
the bone and chilled the blood: and.
in that atmosphere, three hundred
people live a living DEATH"
Madame TaSmadoS spoke at length
on the conditions as they are at the
present time where hundreds of
thousands of refugees have fled into
Greece for protection AGAINST a driv-
ing enemy and she lays all of the
blame of their suffering upon the
Turks She claims that the Turks
had absolutely no provocation for the
acts which they have and are prac-
ticing. She continued to tell some of
the storys so common during the
great World War of the brutalitieS
7 which have been practised by the
, accused foe. the butcherinS of men
by the soldiers and the cnslavement
of the women by the army.
In giving some statistics. which
were somewhat of a surprise to the
audience. she stated that these faith
crless children of Greece are in re-
ality the children of refugees in
Greece and not the children of Greece
itself She stated that the refugees
3re the remnants of the Christian
population of Asia Minor and East
ern Thrace. the majority Of whom
were lOItl'lN tfbbIltl dlltl Tue ufS-
truction of Smyrna. These refugees
are in Greece because that country
was the only one in the world which
would accept them, Tho refugees
have Increased the already crowded
popula ton of Greece more than 2S
lerCent. Since October 1902. more
than one and half m.llion refugees
have landed in Greece with more
than $4,000 of them diving. She
stated that the Greek government has
already contributed more than twenty
million dollars towards theft relief
but that more is needed. In closing
Madame Tsamados said:
How will this relief he extended
to the fatherloss children" In every
conceivable way. Food EDUCATION.
housing, medical attentio" clothing.
homes under SURROUNDINGS which Will
help them to forget and to become
normal and not n social menace in
after years. What do these upwards
of n hundred thousand fatherlesS
children mean to the world five. ten
fifteen wears hence? Think of that.
Think of what their children may he.
Madame Tsamados explained that
the relief work is under way. that the
problem most pressing is the securing
OF means to carry out the work of re-
lief and to broaden it out until it
meets the demand of the existing ne