"BELGIUM UNDER THE SURFACE"

North Otago Times, Volume CIV, Issue 13656, 26 August 1916, Page 8

"BELGIUM UNDER THE SURFACE"

PROMINENT NEW YORKBANKER'B INVESTIGATION INTO THE RESULTS OF GERMAN OCOUPAHON. BELGIANS' INDOMITABLE SPIRIT SUPPLIES DO NOT BEACH THE GERMANS, The Nutiuiwl Committee for Belief in Uclgium present .their compliments lo Editor of "The North Olugo Times" and have much pleasure- in (sending him an advance proof, of an important slalomcni which thev arc shortly isbuing- lo flic public. London, July lltli, 1<)12, Mr A. J..Hemphill, chairman of thu Guaranty Trust Company of New York, one of the most powerful banking in-stitutions-in the United-States, has just left Loudon after a visit to Belgium ami Germany. He was also received by King Albert. Mr Hemphill, who acts as lion, treasurer of the Neutral Commission for Belief, crossed the Atlantic to see'.for himself the conditions in the German occupied part of Belgium and to investigate the distribution of the relief supplies to which the •American people • have generously contributed. In order to secure permission to enter Belgium he had to go to Bcrelin, where, he spent the better purl of a week. In the course of an interview Mi: Hemphill said:— "J was greatly, impressed while in Berlin with the difference of opinion which exists among prominent Germans as to the advisability of permitting the continuation of the present svstem of relieving the Belgians in Belgium. The shortage of food supplies in Germany itself, owing to the allied blockade, has given rise to considerable criticism' of the German Government's action hi agreeing'to the Allies' demand, as a condition of continued relief imports, that the whole of the home-grown food supplies in Belgium should be.devoted to the sole use of the Belgians. An iuilueutial German section maintains that at least a portion of these supplies are, under.the Hague Convention. the rightful support of the occupving army, and that so long as there is"any possibility of German women and ehil-'

dren and German soldiers in want of food these Belgian native productions should be taken ,by the German Armv for this purpose. Criticism in Berlin.

"Another criticism levelled at the German Government is that the policv of permitting relief suppleis to be distributed merely prolongs the passive resistance which is still practically universal among the seven million Belgians who are under ticrninn rule, However, despite the serious opposition on Mth these scores,'! am confident that the. more humane policy authorised by .the .German Chancellor will continue to prevail.

"When J got to Brussels mv first

impression was that everything, rtu normal, except for the absence of vehicles owing to the scarcity of horses anil the prohibition of motors except a few. The people are well-clad, the shops are open ami everyone goes about their'daily life much, (he same as thev do in London or New York. At the markets 1 saw people buying and sell-jug-mostly vegctiibles-aiid b'usiucss being freely traiisacte'd in the-ordinary way. That, was on the surface. But one lias to remember that Belgium nortoll};- lives m iiiiported, raw,., materials and food and pays' for her food % export of her manufactures. '-.This, vital current is stopped by the war, and 60 per cent, of Belgium's work-people arc idle. A large part of the commercial class are also idle and reduced to dependence upon charity. When I went to the relief stations where, tho .wholly destitute-amounting to a large proportion of the population—got their noiip and other provisions, '.] saw, in tliu waiting queues, not only the needy class that one would expect, but tvelidressed men, women ami children. Tu Brussels and elsewhere throughout Belgium the human lines that ilaijy wait for the small ration provided by the charity of the world ure'niarked by this same sail feature. Destitution is not only widespread, but there are now dependant upon relief thousands of the' upper classes who never dreamt of coming to such a pass. Misleading First Impressions. "It is only after being in ..Brussels tor a little time, and after visiting C'harleroi, Malines, Antwerp,.Liege and tf her places that one realises.how misleading are first impressions of life in Belgium as it i s to-dav. The outward appearance of normality is sustained only by the fact that relief to the value of. °w *1,2«0,000 is. so to speak injMed into the country every mouth. Jhe external calm is an amazing tribute ■ o the efficiency of the system whercbv the Relief organisation provides and distributes to this whole nation the supplies without which there would be yhaos and unthinkable suffering, 'i In tins complex work of rationing m , rv day over seven million souls, of whom just one half are totally ..or part'nllv destitute, the Belgians themselves are eo-operating magnificently. ' Without their unflagging support and publicspmted work the efforts of those throughout the world who, regardless of nationality, sympathise with the BeteRinn people would fail of their purpose. Hie Comite National in Brussels, com-' posed of the leading Belgians.who dared, to stay and face the invaders, has euro led thousands of volunteer 'helpers who are now experts in this problem ot rationing.

j "Both in America and England a good deal of uneasiness somewhat naturally exists as to the relief supplies actually reaching the Belgians. I disj cussed this point thoroughly with re- . sponsible Belgians throughout the country and with the Americans who'.are supervising llie' distribution, besides keeping my own eyes open for any indications of- conliscatiou by the Germans, As a result 1' am convinced that the relief supplies sent into Belgium reach,- in their entirety, the Belgian people. Except for trivial local incidents, which are. invariably remedied, I heard of no instance whatever of the Germans breaking their guarantees to' respect the food which the Allied Governments allow to be brought through the blockade. As regards 'the homegrown' produce, there are probably still some minor leakages—almost inevitable in a country garrisoned by a foreign army—but 1 can safely say' that !)u per cent, of the native food supplies goes towards .feeding the Belgian people. The inappreciable leakages to which T refer are always made the subject of negotiation's between' Relief organisation and the belligerent Powers; "You ask me as to what the Belgian people really think. They don't think. They just hope. Thej; live from day to day in the undimmed 'expectancy of regaining their, independence, i might ; also say Ihey live on hope, because if' thai wonderful'spirit were nor there, the scanty ration, which 'is all the Relief organisation can supply, would be 'inadequate to prevent increased disease and mortality. 'ligh German Wages Refused "Under ordinary circumstances the population would be pauperised by free feeding of the unemployed! This is ndt- the case in Belgium! In the iirst place, a daily diet of soup, bread, some-, times potatoes and a little bacon, and occasionally rice ami beans, continued over two years, does not offer many, attractions. It is only the indomitable'' spirit of the -people themselves thai makes it bearable. They will be glad enough when peace conies to, exchange free.meals of such a kind for the food they can earn by work. At present'' a small percentage get a few days' work weekly in local industries, such as the enamel, glass and coal trades, at a few francs per week. They unceasingly'refuse wages of from fifteen to twentylive francs a week which they could' obtain by .working for the Germans. Glass and enamel ware, by consent "of the Allies, are being exported in small quantities, but the payments for such exports are retained in Allied countries until the conclusion of the war. The German assertion, that the whole Belgian nation lias organised a passive resistance strike on. nn unprecedented scale is undoubtedly correct, "In one relief canteen which I. inspected a man came up and made a .complaint. There was no meat,, he said excitedly, iu, his soup. He Had" long given up the idea of receiving liieat as 'purl of'his daily meal, but if he was to live he declared he must get some of the. nourishment that meat provides. He was right. There was practically : no meat in the soup. But what is oho to do? Such meat as there is in the : country is six shillings per pound. The Plight of the Children.

"There arc.ooo,ooo children iu Belgium ontirely dependant upon: the ten-idcr-heartcdiicss of the outside world. A large percentage of the remaining two million children, up to the age of sixteen, are partially dependant upon relief. The problem 61' bringing them up and even of keeping them alive is becoming more l and more grave. 'Hho 11cliel: Organisation has just started a'h extraordinarily! interesting experiment to meet the emergency .of short' milk sUppliui) in industrial centres.- They have asked the' peasants to lend) frc'o of charge, for one year, one cow from each of. their herds to a., communal hci-d which will provide milk, for the children. In Antwerp' the herd now numbers over four, hundred catlle. In other centres the peasants are responding excellently to the appeal. At the cud of the year the cows will be returned, to their owners, who will be compensated for'the loss of .any of their cattle. "A Marvel of Efficiency," "Uy visit to Belgium gave me my first opportunity to see for myself the actual working .of the relief system. It is a- marvel of. efficiency and devotion. As an American I am only of my fellow-countryman, Mr Herbert Hoover, to whose genius for or|ganisation.the whole structure owes its' continued existence through a thousand heart-breaking difficulties, but of those Americans-who, so self-sacrilicingly and self-cft'acingly, are devoting themselves in .the occupied territory to keeping the Belgian nation alive.' M. Emile tVancflui, head of, the Belgian Comite National, has also achieved wonders, and his army of Belgian workers is the most striking instance in history" of volunteer collective action. The. 'work, both-of the Americans and Belgians, could not be carried on without the humane and effective backing of the American and Spanish Ambassadors in' London, the American Ambassador in" Berlin, and the devoted American and Spanish Ministers, who remain at their.., posts in Brussels. . . , •• . j

"All Americans admjre, the magiiilirait generosity with which the British 1 Umpire, despite the many other calls upon its benevolence and' resources, has contributed, through the Xational Ooiiimi'.tce for Relief in Belgium, to the support of the relief work. After seeing that work for myself, I venture to say that it is the duty of every humane fliidividal to help these helpless civilians in Belgium-H'specially the childrenjvho for'nearly two years havcendured sorrows and privations that would-try the soul of any nation'in the world, anil yet still remain heroically true to those traditions of liberty anil'freedom which they have inherited through centuries.':