The Waterbury Democrat., 1946-09-05


 WASHINGTON, Sept. 5- (NEA) Its hard to starve to death When you're not getting enough food to satisfy basic bodily needs day after day there lot of things that will keep you from literally starv- ing. The chances you will get tuberculosis first and die from that. Practically any disease is likely to get you before the doctor honestly put your death certificate death due to manutrition."
 That's what officials of the United Nations Re- mobilization and Relief Administration are discovering in their efforts to find out just how many persons died from the direct and indirect results of starvation last winter. In Austria and China they have reports of death just from lack of food-pure starvation In most of the other countries where U.N.RR.A. has been giving relief, however there have been deaths recoredd as being due strictly to starvation.
 Finding out just how many persons did die from starvation is very important in evaluatng the job UN.R.R.A. did and getting an idea of how much food will be needed in Europe next Winter. Even though UNRR.A. ceases to exist at the end of the year for most purposes, its officials would like to be able to tell the world how big a relief problem will still exist.
 direct effects of not enough to eat the aged. IT. many instances the physical exertion of having to stand for hours in long bread line was too much for these old people. Thousands died stand ing in line any didn't even have the strength to get into line. And if there was no willing to through the queues twice for them they didn't even get the little food due them.
 Eventually the statistical experts will be able to figure out the death toll resulting from the postwar famine. It will be done by comparing preWar and postwar death rates But nobody will hazard guess the subject Before the food shortage hit its peak last Winter 1t estimated that million per- sons would die in the famine Europe alone unless adequate relief was furnished. Something short of adequate relief was given Just how short it was they cant answer yet in terms of mortality figures.
 The adult mortality rate is considered more af- fected by famine than the infant mortality rate The infant mortality rate in Vienna during the first quar- ter Of 1946 was 122 deaths per thousand births. In the Winter of 45 it 165 per thousand In 1914 It was 6l and in the last year of peace 1889, it g. This is significant figure in showing just how many thousands of adults probably died from starva ton Vienna however, suffered than average from lack of food.
 In Yugoslavia, UNRRA officials claim their greatest success in the battle with starvation They claim that 100000 persons saved from actual death due to malnutrition.
 It is also known that starvation deaths were more in the cities than in rural communities and farms This expected. In fact it Is said that there were few deaths from hunger in any farm areas in Europe.
 Last Winter sample taken of 4000 Italian children to see how the famine affecting them Results showed 28 percent had rickets, disease of malnurition. The average before the war was about 10 percent
 The food shortage in Poland wiped out 50 years work in the battle against tuberculosis By 1888 that country had succeeded in reducing its TB death rate to l55 per 100000. Now 1t is up to Hl. But this