VAST PROBLEM

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 69, 19 September 1944, Page 4

VAST PROBLEM

RELIEF IN EUROPE

UNRRA MISSION SETS OUT (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright.) Rec. 11 a.m. LONDON, September 18. At the request of the Soviet Government, a special UNRRA mission is leaving for Moscow to arrange about relief for eastern Europe, stated the director-general, Governor Lehman, at today's meeting of the Unrra Council in Montreal.

Speaking of the tremendous scale of the fight against starvation, .disease, and destruction in Europe, he said it was now known that the enemy had been even more ruthless than was at first thought. He said the Germans were laying waste the resources they used to need for themselves, and were inflicting horrible suffering on all who joined in the fight against them.

One enormous problem was ~ the moving back to their homes of all the millions of people who had been deported. This would involve an interAllied pooling of resources en.a grand scale. "BOTTOM OF THE BARREL." The United Nations are scraping the bottom of, the barrel for several basic supplies needed for the relief of the war-wrecked countries, said Governor Lehman to an UNRRA conference. Making the first public report summarising the needs, Governor Lehman said that clothing for the Europeans and Chinese will be so scarce that UNRRA is planning to collect used clothing in the United States on the greatest possible scale. For six months after the fall of Germany, 182,000,000 yards of woollen textiles have been requested. So far only Canada has made an allocation of 2.500.000 yards. UNRRA fears that woollen garments will not be deliverable in Europe until the winter of 1945 46. 560,000,000 million yards of cotton textiles will be needed; so far there is only a tentative allocation from Brazil of 90,000,000 yards. UNRRA plans to ask the United States for 300,000,000 yards. The outlook for knitted goods and knitting yarn is so bad that none has been offered from any country. Of shoes, 78,500,000 pairs are needed, and also material for repairs for 48,000,000 pairs. So far only 12,000,000 pairs have been located. Supplies are so short that t UNRRA plans to purchase all the lower-priced shoes available in the United States. ESTIMATE OF FOOD NEEDS. Governor Lehman said there is similar worry about food for Europe. Although there are ample supplies of wheat and rye, of which 3,178,000 tons are needed for the first six months. In the same time, Europe will need 864,000 tons of meat, "fish, cheese, and eggs, but supplies are extremely scarce. UNRRA has been able to negotiate for only 136,000 tons of canned pork in the United States and 7700 tons of canned fish from Canada. For soaps, 200,000 tons of fats and oils are required. The United States

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