THE APPEAL FROM BELGIUM

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2393, 24 February 1915, Page 4

THE APPEAL FROM BELGIUM

The pathetic appeal for help for tlfe starving people of Belgium wTiieh reached us yesterday has not fallen on _ deaf ears. In • the few Eours which have • elapsed since it was made nearly £300 m the way of private contributions have been received at The Dominion Office, and no doubt other newspapers which have supported the movement have had a similar experience. _ But generous as these contributions have been from the outset, it is plain that if the_position Ts as bad as depicted, and there is no reason to doubt that it is, the whole matter must be placed on a different footing. As a rule, when appeals are made to the public the burden falls largely on the same shoulders all the time. This is not a case where the uurden should be thrown on the few-7-it is essentially an obligation resting on the nation. The generosity of the private contributions of individuals must win bur admiration and respect, and already the sums so bestowed must have afforded relief to many thousands' of distressed Belgians; but, subject to the inquiry which we suggested yesterday, it is the duty of the Government to act in this matter on behalf of the people of the Dominion.' No one would begrudge—on the contrary, all would heartily approve— a regular monthly contribution by the : Government towards the assistance of the dependents of our Allies who are starving in Belgium as -the result of their resistance to Germany's crime against civilisation.