Poverty Bay Herald. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1915. RELIEF FOR BRLGIUM.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 13803, 1 October 1915, Page 2

Poverty Bay Herald. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1915. RELIEF FOR BRLGIUM.

Tt is easy to imagine the satisfaction with which the people of Liege and other parts of Belgium received the bulletins dropped from the clouds by Allies' aviators, announcing that the forward advance having for its objective the freeing of Belgium from the invader, had begun. "For fourteen long and weary months that hapless country has been under the iron heel of a tyrant oppressor, and there is much evidence to show that the conditions laterly have been growing more and more severe. The Huns have taken heavy toll of the people and have robbed and despoiled them right and left, many thousands of the population being reduced to a state of serfdom. We fear that unless the Allies can follow up the Loos and Champagne victories with another rapid advance which will send the Germans scurrying to their defences at the' Rhino unhappy Belgium will be bled even more severely, and a protracted campaign with shellfire of such a devastating nature as that which fell upon Loos can only result m the complete demolition of the towns and villages and the probable destruction of many civilian lives. The one bright spot m the darkened lives of the Belgian people is the sympathy which has been afforded them by tfhe, Anglo-Saxon speaking peoples, and m this connection we are glad to be able to pay tribute to the generous and ■ systematic nature of the relief organised by the American nation. From New " Zealand many

thousands of pounds have been sent for the relief of Belgian distress, and but for the friendly office. 1 ? of ih-e philanthropic men from - the United States, who took the work of' distribution m hand it- is probable that very little real help could have been given, or, at anyrate, there would have been great uncertainty as to its reaching Uic recipients for whom it was intended. We have been much interested m an account of the work of the Belgian Commission published m an American paper, and feel sure that when the details ure fully known they will modify much of the harsh criticism that has been passed on America's attitude m connection with the war. We learn, for instance, that m one week there was .unloaded at Rotterdam 46,000 tons of foodstuffs — sustenance for all Belgium for from 15 to 20 days, and that eighteen steamers m addition to the six regularly employed had been chartered to lift a further 107,800 tons at American ports. April marked the high tide of the Commission's business, it loaded nine ships for Rotterdam m the~ last week of that month, and >has . shipped 6500 tons from American' ports every 48 hours since then. Tke Commission — the greatest private enterprise ever undertaken m the States-Ms pro- ! viding two meals a day for men, women and children 3000 miles away at a cost of £2,000,000 "a month, and has given its pledge to! continue to supply those two meals a day until the end of the war. By the j middle >of August the Commission had provided foodstuffs and clothing to the value of , thirteen million pounds to the Belgian people. From November to. August ; over 460,000 tons of supplies had been delivered. Nine million , bushels of wheat, one million bushels 6i flour, 22^ million pounds of hog products — are items of the food purchases made on behalf of the distressed Belgians. The Commission, started entirely on the impulse of a generous American, MiHerbert C. Hoover, who happened to be visiting Europe when the war broke out, has developed into one of the most efficient business machines m the world. Mr Hoover called upon a friend, Mr Lindon W. Bates, an eminent engineer, to organise on the American side, . whilst he looked after the distribution I end, and together, with the help of many prominent business men who have • given their time and services voluntarily, they have developed a remarkable organisation with over one : hundred branches throughout the States. The ! weekly balance-sheet shows that the operating costs are less than 2 per cent, of the turnover. The nine and a half million people who are being fed are not all m Belgrum, but -include 2£ million French people m Germanoccupied territory who were m dire need of food. until the Commission came to their assistance, the necessary funds being supplied by French banks ftncP institutions. Nor is the Commission giving free food to the seven million Belgians. As a matter of fact there are at present less than 2,000,000. entirely destitute m this great breadline, though the number is increasing daily. More than 5,000,000 of the people still have some resources and for social as well as pecuniary reasons it would be foolish to give theni food free of cost even though they should consent to take jt on these terms. Ten ounces of food a day — about a quarter of the average amount consumed by the average adult m. America — is the amount allowed to each adult m Belgian. No matter feow; much money they may have they 1 cannot purchase more^ and the entirely destitute receive as much. The history of the movement organised by Ma* Hoover is a wonderful romance of philanthropy, as well as a splendid result of American business methods, and a striking evidence of American generosity. AH the States have contributed handsomely to the cause of starving Belgians. Some twenty Americans of prominence m business and the professions have abandoned their ordinary avocations to conduct the affairs of the' Commission m New York, London, ' Rotterdam, and Brussels, where only; men of high standing and exceptional ability are competent to cope with diplomatic and other difficulties that are constantly arising. There are another 2000 voluntary workers m various branch offices. Three great shipping firms m London and New York give their services free, and a leading firm at Lloyds acts m ocean insurance matters without compensation. The American ; railway companies carry thousands of tons of foodstuffs free, and the Dutch Government gives free transportation to 500 tons daily, as well as free telegraphic facilities. How less than a hundred men— all Americans with the exception of four Spaniardscomposing the Commission for Relief m Belgium, took on themselves the feeding and clothing of an entire nation, \s a story of altruism that perhaps will not be fully appreciated until the present conflict of arms is viewed m perspective; it is possible that then the world will consider America's response to the appeal of the starving Belgians the most glorious event of these hateful times. Others helped— Great Britain; Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Queensland, New South Wales, Holland, Spain, Italy, China— the wealthy and the well-to-do among the Belgians co-operate with the commission to save their own people; but to quote the historians of the ■ Commission, "America fairly leaped into the breach, and with her own body, as it were, defended Belgium's civil population from famine and cold." The story of Belgian relief is one of the bright pages of the history of 1914-15, and it redounds immensely to the credit . of the United States.