ARE THE BELGIANS TO STARVE?

Gisborne Times, Volume XLV, Issue 3976, 8 July 1915, Page 4

ARE THE BELGIANS TO STARVE?

SPECIAL APPEAL FROM THE NATIONAL COMMITTEE. , (To the Editor of “The Gisborne Times.”) Sir, —On behalf of seven million Belgians, who have dared to stay in their native land, we appeal to our fellow-countrymen throughout the British Empire. A great emergency lam arisen; an cm urgency which involves our national honor. We are v/elj aware of the magnificent response already made by generous and patriotic individuals to appeals for fuwl» during the present war; yet, under the circumstances, we do not hesitate to say that we must make further and. even greater sacrifices to meet tin* emergency of saving the people now left in Belgium from tho horrors of slow starvation. No victory could I*, lastingly glorious if it involved the decimation by famine of a small nation. that deliberately sacrificed it.v-Jf rather than sacrifice its honor.

From the dav when tho people in Belgium laid down their land and their lives for the sake'of their country’s independence arid tho honorable fulfilment of its undertakings to maintain a perpetual neutrality, tinGerman Army of occupation lias refused. to feed them. They have !x *-n kept alive only by the merciful and effective interposition of a neutral Commission for Relief, formed under the auspices of the American and Spanish diplomatic representatives in. Brussels and London. That- Commission, of which Mr. Herbert Hoover i* chairman, has worked miracles by arranging for the importation into R-i----gium, m the face of unparalleled difficulties, of food supplies valued a» over £10,000.000. Tne philanthropy, rendered necessary by the large number of destitute who cannot pay n.r their food, has been generously aid- d. by the United States and the British Dominions. No appeal has been rnadw by Air. Hoover’s Commission in tin. United Kingdom because, as neutrals, they quite properly considered thi* was not- within their province. -Mr. Hoover and Mr. Francoui, Chairman of the Commission in Brussels, now write:—

"Unless we get more asoi.su.nchundreds of thousands of the seven million people still in Belgium will actually starve. At least a million and a-iialf Belgians are now entiroly destitute. With the rapid exhaustion of the meat and vegetable* supplies there will probably be. \r fore harvest time, 2,500,000 in Belgium who must be fed and. clothed, solely by charity. The remaining 4,500,000 will get their pitiful daily allowance of bread through the (Commission and will pay for it. Will you help us to keep the destit-ut* alive?’’ To this question there can onlv Ix 3 one answer. Having satisfied themselves that his Majesty’s Government saw no objection, the undersigned iiavc- formed the National Com mitt* -e for Relief in Belgium, in the confident belief that the people of the British Empire will not allow the bulk of the Belgian nation to die for lack of bread. In providing a national channel for every part of tils British Empire through which benevolence to meet this emergency shall directly and safely reach the Belgians in Belgium, it is'also intended to consolidate the existing philanthropic efforts in tins direction. As it is obviously impossible for any British subject to enter the occupied part of Belgium, the representatives of the neutral Commission will distribute the relief purchased from the National Committee’s funds. Mr. Whitlock, the American Minister in Brussels, on March 29th, wrote a* follows : "I am glad to be able to say that there is not a single instance in which a pound of food sent under our guarantee has been touched by the German authorities.” In conjunction with the Belgian "Comite de Seeours” and under the supervision of neutral Americans actually in Belgium, a system oi distribution has been organised so perfectly . as to make it almost physically impossible for a German soldier to touch one loaf of Belgian bread. All the neutral authorities on the spot ar« convinced that- if the supplies of food u> Belgium are discontinued the Gormans will act up to their declaration that they will not, or cannot', save the seven million people from starving to e''-;;tll. ; To k. op body and soul together iu I liie 1,000.000 who are now utterly des- ! urate, £-500,000 a month is required. 'Tie.- desolating hand of war has throttled Belgium's industries and pauperised almost a third of her population. In Liege 30,000 women, obi men. children and cripples daily line up to go* t-h.vir half-pound of bread and their i pint- of soup. In Malines, 2-3.(M0 ou* !or 40.000 are entirely destitute: in I>iussels nearly 2-30,000 Belgian- wait : ivory day for their bread c.i roars. ; Babies and children are harry being i kept, alive for want of miLk. So it is througnout all the country where those v.ho stayed and bravely faced the invader are now dependent upon the morev of the world. And if that mercy is denied, the amazing selfrestraint of these seven million people will collapse. Under the impelling anguish of hunger they may be tempted to strike, desperately, but with tragic unarmed futility, and will be shot down, like so many wild creatures, in streets that were lost- by sacrifice ae noble as the world has ever known. duly organised effort on an unprecedented scale will avert this tragedy, in caring for the 200,000 Belgian refugees now in this country, we are apt io forget that the great bulk of the Belgian nation—at least seven million? of them—are living under conditions of such misery as can scarcely 'be conceived by a people who, like ourselves, have been spared the horrors or invasion. . Faced with a situation from which there is no immediate escape, deprived of their freedom, the poop!,' o> desolated Belgium only ask from us enough bread to keep themselves alive. Shall it be said that wo denied them this? Food cannot bo exported from this country to Belgium, but the donation*! c<> urgently needed to buy it should no sent to the lion, treasurer, Mr. A. Shirley Bonn, M.l 1 .. Trafalgar Buildings, Trafalgar Square, London. W.C. Tile working expenses of the National Committee have all been gene ready provided for, and every pennv or every pound received by the* treasurer will, without any deduction whatever, reach the long-sull'ermg Belgians in the form of food. CHARLES JOHNSTON, R>v<l Mayor of London, Chairman. R AND ALL CANTU Alt. FRANCIS CARDINAL BOURNk', fHOMAS NICOL, Moderator, Church of Scotland JOS. COMPTON-BJCKETT. President, Free Church Council. J. H. HERTZ. Chief Rabbi. W. A. M. GOODE, Hon, S <• NORFOLK. " LANSDOWNE. J ROSEBERY ARTHUR. HENDERSON. JOHN E. REDMOND. A. SHIRLEY BENN, XJ n.i »