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Show RELIEF FOR IE BELGIANS 1ST IT BE DEM Chairman of the American Commission Declares the Situation Is Desperate, U S the Only Hope 7,000,000 PEOPLE FACE STARVATION Germans Disclaim Responsi bihty, Mercy Ship Sails From New York With Food Supplies LONDON Dee. i 8 4j p m Herbert Clark Hoover chairman of the American comm ss on for relief in Bel giuni returned to London today after a week s trip of inspection in Belgium. Mr noover reported that the distnbn tiou of foodstuffs sent in care of the American commisB on s well under nay but stated that the condition of famine wh ch threatened the popula tion is still desperate and that on ac count of the attitude of the bell ger-ents ger-ents the Belgians must still appeal to the people o the Luted States foi rebef It is d fficult to state the posit on of the civil population of Belgium with out appear ng hysterical, Mr Hoovei said in his statement I do not know that history presen s any parallel of a population of 000 000 people surround ed by a ring of steel and utterly un able by any conceivable effort of their own to save themselves Different Claims ' Prom the nature of things it is 1m. possible for the commission eien to possess an opinion on the r ghts and wrongs wh ch have created this s tu tion The Germans state flatlv that the people of .Belgium are normally dependent de-pendent on the importation of food stuffs for f ve sixths of their subsist ence that the Germans have not the slightest objection to the Belgians or anyone else importing foodstuffs into Belgium that it is not the Germans who have blocked the overseas supply and that there is no obligation upon them to feed the civil population which could through the normal coarse of trade obtain subs stenco Tho all es on the other hand contend that a fret port for the importation of foodstuffs into Belgium would practically amount to an entrepot for food supplies for the Germans. It is enough for us tl at there are 7 000 000 people ground bt tween two gigantic m llstones Rights Respected We are meeting with no obstruc tion from the military author t es of Belgium in the prosecution of our work. Not one loaf of bread or one spoonful of salt that we have introduced has been taken by the military The most stringent instructions have been given that we shall have no interference and our members meet with Tospect and as sistance in all quarters There are considerable quant ties of vegetables available in certain d s tr cts In some local ties there is still a supply of cereals for two or three weeks but in certain other localit es there has been no bread available for more than a f ortn ght Fvery soul will be dependent upon us for bread with n thirty dayB So far our efforts have necessarily been devoted to provis omno- the larger centers It requires orgamzat on and pat ence to be able to penetrate the outlT ng towns and villages It w 11 be difficult for the people of the United States to comprehend the difficulties which we meet with in purely execu t ve matters in the elaboration of this work. Country at Standstill The clock has absolutely stopped io Belgium An nd str al country which was dependent on the overseas before is now walled up with 0 per cent of the people idle There are no tele graphs telephones ra lwavs or post offices except for military purposes. The Belmans of a roihtary necess tv are not allowed to pass from their own towns and consequently there is no commun cat on throughout the cointry except bj personal vis ts of our mem bers Transportat on by ra 1 is poss ble n onlj a few d rections and then must awa t n htary necess tv The wonder fnl canal system s blocked n many places by the destruct on of br dges and some canals ha e been allowed to run dry Therefore t becomes part of our business to get these cleared and to st mulate the subs diarv transport eerv ces of the country not onlv for the transportat on of our food but to permit the trinsportat on of coal from the Lejg an mines a sore nece s ty th s vnter There a e no courts and the pr sons have been emptied but the gendar (Continued on Fags Pour) RELIEF MUST WE FROM THIS COUNTRY (Cont nued from Page One ) merie hate rema ned at tlie r posts and are themselves both pol cemen and judges The "peop e are moat law" ab d ns Central and prov nc al frovernmen s have d sappeared The c ty and co nmuna provernments owever st 1 ex st and through the n he d s but on of food elng arranged The Be g ans a e app y g themselves ft th tl e most extraord narv devot on. to e perfect on of t so gai zntlon and f ne lacked anv other nsp at on fo exertion n ou pa t of the labor to sa e theBe peop e euffl lent 1 es In the de oted work of the rich a d poor a verl ab e democ acy of fam ne vhlch s working day and n ght to perform ts pa t T e de a of t method 9 that afte Invee gat on by the commu a autho es food ekets are Issued lnd cat ng he numbe and anoun o-f rat o s o whl h e ho der Is e titled and t v e da th s t ke is nresented by the ho d e to the food ap ee s for its quo a and duly punched The rat on con s sts of b ead soup contain g potatoes ogether -n th a 1 tt e coffee and sal Some Pay for Rations A 1 those who can afford to pd a e o pe ed to pay to o nmuna au o es at the ra e of 4 ents pe d en pe ation The dest tute are g von t eke s g at s The co mu al author ties con t ibute to the re ef ommittee 1 cent per d em per cap ta on t e total t ckets Is sued in the r on mu e hey obtain ng t s even e from the t eke s so d or by publ subscr pt ons e o unes rough the na ona co m t ee under our s perv s on These funds u t mate be ome a a lable o us for the p rchase of food Furthe more t e same at on of bread and sa pe d en sold oug the hake es o ag eed s s of he mo e 'we to do popu a on and as ths b eai s spose3 of at a ofit o r ncome has ome furt e ncrease Tak ng t a o gether about one ha f of he ood tsh e send to Be g u s pa d fo po ti e he Amer can peop e cont bu e t vo sh p oade of food hey enab e us o bu one ore cargo Kitchens and Canteens K a "pe- ogzo a of P usse bssip ageeanpeof ose n ea h f a In hat t a present ha n ommu a tc ens ad n een9 adu s and .here a e e k en and fo antee s d ea s o d For adu s food p e a d he com n una n doe n e ns 1 e k ns and n e a s a bepa a e z me In o d e are oper y d sub eel o od o h o a c an eenfe Fed fterent k nds ot t cketa are ssued the mothe a ca ng for different pes of a ons Tho t e s for the s on ha of a I d s fe a e prac al for m alone " a ous grades of eke s g adua e ove nto the in o due on of mo e so d food un dren 3 ears o d and over ca on e gen e a a teen I order to pro de m k X e on u es ha e taken over dair es. Amount of Destitution The amount and c a a e or the des t tu on pe h ps may be app e ated fronx t e prese pos t on n Brusse s Of the popula on of about 660 000 ema n ng in "the c tj a a e age of ZS 000 were on t e aou an eens a d 3000 bab es were on t e bab can eens ast wee or more ha one d of t e iota population Frobab no n o e pi able sigh e er was p esen ed an he long 1 nes of mothers th ch iren a ms wa ng the r turn ! a t ese an eens 1 the Indus r al d s c s e t e people naua y wotfd a sma e stores on 1 and an 1 tne ap a a n c a ger popu ai on s now on the communa canteens n some n stan es more t an 60 per cent of t e vho e number Brusse s consumed 3000 sacks of flour per d en The e were jus 9 1 sacks of flour n t e t he our first sh pmen of foodstuffs oi ived W en I eft Brus bo s es erday morn g t e e wero IE 000 sac s n e or abou dve days supply e a e bo t o or three dajs supp es I ege and s n lar sup p es in ot er ente fa such as Louva n Char ero Namu ad e b rg |