RELIEF FOR BELGIUM.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXI, Issue 68, 17 October 1916, Page 7

RELIEF FOR BELGIUM.

fTo The Editor l >r >»r 1 Sir, —In consequence of having been told that people in Stratford are telling others "That the Belgians are doing very well, and do not need any further assistance," I ask you to kindly insert this letter, in which I' give extracts that show the falseness of the above statements. The Hon. G. W. Russell, Minister of Internal Affairs, on 9th October, 1916, wrote: "In closing this report, it must be pointed out that although the need in Belgium is greater than ever, the income of our committee is decreasing. At the risk of seaming ungrateful, your executive must urge those who have already worked so well to work even harder. There is overwhelming ,evidence +o prove that if the benevolence of tin British Empire slackens, the suffering of the three millions who are destitute and oppressed in Belgium will be tragically intensified. Your executive council earnestly trust that strenuous efforts will be made to avert this added

misery. "Money raised in the British Dominions is expended on Belgian relief alone." Mr Arthur Mason, London correspondent of the Sydney Morning Herald, who has visited Holland to obtain particulars, gives a long refrom which I take the following extracts:— ' "It is work which in its' first stage is concerned with the reception of a million tons of goods in a single year, and in its last stage with the supply of his daily dole of bread to some destitute applicant in a far off Belgian village." "The Commission employs from 350 to 370 barges a month, and an average fleet of 65 to 70 steam tugs. The barge capacity ranges between 270 and 700 tons, and in regard to all cargoes a close control is kept by the inspection stair of the officers of the Commission. Every parcel of goods is weighed twice, once at Rotterdam, jand once at its Belgian terminal." ■ "The daily food ration allowed these sufferers ' cannot be reduced. It consists of fom slices of bread; ; 25 grammes (less than loz) of lard, and bacon, 70 grammes (2foz) of rice, and 80 grammes (3oz) of peas and beans." (The figures in brackets are mine.) No wonder that with such a .frail support of li f e the capacity of any man for hard work soon ceases to exist. I am afraid if I write more I shall trespass too much on the space in the columns of your paper, so conclude by hoping that I have convinced my readers of the urgent need of the Belgians to further assistance to prevent starvation. Any person who wants further information can read the documents from which I have made the above extracts by applying at the Stratford Borough Council Office, where they are placed for public perusal.— I am, etc., G. N. CURTIS, Chairman, Belgian Relief Committee. Stratford, 17th October, 1916.