Intermountain Jewish news., 1926-04-08
No One Asked for Help

two years.
No One Asked for Help
The spirit of these people. who have
never before been unable to take care
of themselves" Miss May writes, ''was
n poignant. new experience to me. Not
one asked for help, or demanded or ex.
pected money for their institutions. All
of them We're anxious to assure me that
a good crop would put the community
and its families on their feet again.
But it is still five months before the
harvest. and the famine condition Is
reaching It's high point.
None of the Jewish institutions In
Beltzi are able to function now. In the
Old Peoples Home aged men and
women were suffering patiently in cold,
unheated rooms, with very scant food.
THE Jewish Hospital, an old and
very fine institution, is half closed, at a
time when there are more sick people In
the community than ever before. They
are short on medlcants, instruments,
linen-everythlng except patients. The
one pavilion that is open Is filled to
capacity with typhus cases. There is n
long waiting list for beds-in normal
times people do not even want to come
TO the hospital, but prefer to be taken
care of at home-but now patients are
hatnu 20 ROOD hafnrn thnr
to make room for new ones, and the
doctor told me that often one bed Is oc-
cupied for weeks be members OF the
same family one after the other. Tho
mortality rate Is about 30 per cent. and
mounting higher, as the hunger-e1haus.
ton of the people increases. This hos.
pital used to be kept up by private do
nations. very generous ones, but now
the former donors are among those
waiting for help.
The ScOurge Of Favus
"Favus is raging frightfuily through.
out the whole Of Bessarabia, and thou
sands of children are going without care
and will be branded with the ravages
Of the disease for their whole lives,
when few treatments might save
them-for the mere cost OF an x-ray
machine There Is at present only one
old and useless X.ray machine in the
whole country.
Everything is being done to keep
starvation away from the children, all
of whom are pale. in rags, undernour-
ished. at least half Of them with their
heads wrapped in bandages because Of
favus. Several hundred youngsters are
being fed in two Talmud Torahs by n
women's committee. These are the
poorest children, and this meal at
school is the only one they get-without
that. they would be doomed to death.
A Weeks Food for Family Of Ten
II watched the hunger committed in
Beltzi rationing out the precious sacks
of potatoes and cronmeal for distrlbu-
ton" Miss Mays report goes on. THE
recipients were mostly merchants and
craftsmen. The faces there were mute
testimony of what type OF people these
had been who were now reduced to
bread lines. Not one loud word was
uttered, order and quiet prevailed. The
rations are pitifully small-the portion
of family of ten for week is 20
pounds of corn and 20 pounds of pota.
toes And even with the available sup
plies spread out this way, only 1000
people can be cared for, and none of 1t
can be given free, but they must pay
half price for what they get
THE oldest people here cannot re.
member n time when Bessara did not
have an ample supply Of corn. and this
is the first time in the history Of the
region that corn Is being imported
These people. therefore have no history
of suffering like those In other parts OF
Europe. and the necessity OF relief Is q