THE TRAGEDY OF EUROPE

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 57, 1 December 1920, Page 7

THE TRAGEDY OF EUROPE

THE SADDEST SIGHT IN HISTORY. A tragedy is being enacted over immense, areas of Central Europe, about which men of British birth mercifully know nothing. Tho following stalemonts are picked at random from tho of the Leaguo of Red Cross Societies, of Govern mont officials, and of American experts. (1) Famine: "Wholesale starvation is threatened in Poland . . . No words can describe, the appalling misery of the famished population of Vienna (Austria). Death, stjilks through the streets of Vienna iu broad midday, a.ud takes unhindered toll. An examination of 187,000 school children, in December, 1919, showed that 20,000 were well-nourished, 70,000 ware luulor-noarislied, and 97,000 were undernourished and sick. • The general deathrato has risen 48 per.cent, sinco 1913. The mortality from tuberculosis has risen 250 per cent, in the. same period. Many children of one year have not sur'passed their weight at birth."' . . . Budapest (Hungary) "is one vast city of misery and suffering. In 1913 then) were 23,000 births and 17,300 deaths; in 1918 there were 1-1,700 births and 29,900 deaths—the Jiumbter of deaths double that of births." ... At Vlove (Czechoslovakia): "In one cottage a'sick ma.n and his four children were crouching round the 1 store, .stark naked. The mother was out trying to »et food, and failed. This is only a sample of many other families who are so weakened by starvation that they must sit. at home and die unless food is sent soon. Armenia: "It is estimated that there is the equivalont of half a million peopl" n.t prose it needing complete support if these ]>eople are nob to perish from the earth."

(2) Disease.—Poland: "Prom the present, indications the population is threatened with one of the worst typhus fever epidemics in th© history of the world, which unless checked will provo a danger that will threaten the whole of Europe. There are now approximately 250,000 cases of typhus. In some districts there is but one doctor to each 150,000 people." The 'Ukraine: "In villages of 2000or3C<>0 people, half of the people would be ill nt the same time, and 10 or 20 would die each day from the disease. There were physicians who had to attend to o tcrvitorv 40 miles in diameter. Doctors who had to treat disease in areas in which there were 20,090 or 30.000 tynhus patients could eel no medical supplies! and had to jrivo only moral encouragement to their sick. Subscriptions are now being taken up in Wellington for the Save the Children Fund, and the first list, published elsewhere in this issue, shows that the appeal is meeting with a. fair response so far. It is stated that' Wellington, however, is still far behind Otago's contribution.