| Show EUROPE CAN CANI CAF I II I r m m mm Tm f Im t II ESCAPE COllAPSE W we w. Must Aid by Extending Credit Says Davison GnA GRAVE VE MENACE l TO U. U S. S A. A I European Ruin Would Involve America Starvation America Starvation and Disease Rampant x Des Moines low Iowa Speaking peaking before the General Conference of or time tile Metho Metho- disc 1 Episcopal church Henry P. P Da Dav Dav- chairman of tJ the e board of ot govern govern- I ors of the League c of oC Red Cross SocIeties So So- cleties said sale 1 As of or tile the of It lI Cross Societies composed of rep rep- l' l ii cs Q of twenty seven n nations nation met mot recently y In Geneva I am custodian cus df of f authoritative reports leports record record- lug appalling conditions among millions mil mu- lions o of people living Jiving In En Eastern tern Europe One of or l time the most t terrible tragedies In Inthe Inthe Inthe the history of the human race Is heIng he being be ing enacted in the broad brond belt of territory terri tern tory lying between the Baltic and the tho Black suit ami Adriatic seas This TJ ls area Includes the new Baltic altIc Poland states states Poland Czecho Slovakia the I Ukraine Austria Hungary Montenegro Albania and Serbia I The reports which come to us make it clear that In these hese w war ravaged lands civilization cl has broken down Disease and find suffering are arc pre present ent 1 In 1 practically every hou e- e hold while wide food and clothing are Ini insufficient in In- I e-I sufficient i to make life tolerable ten Men women and children are aie dying by hr thousands and over vast once c civi- civi vi- vi areas there are to be found neither me medical ical appliances nor medical skill sufficient to cope with the devastating devas devas- devastating mas tating Illa plagues lt s. s Wholesale starvation is threatened in to Poland this summer unless she can proem procure e food supplies in large quan quan- quantities tilles There are now approximately cases of typhus in Poland aJl and andIn andIn In the a area ea occupied by Polish troops troop Worst Typhus Typhus' Epidemic in History I This is one Of r the worst typhus epidemics epi Ii in the worlds world's history In In I Galicia whole towns are firc crippled and I I business suspended In Iii some districts there Is but one doctor to each people j I jIn In the we are told typhus and ind influenza have hare a affected mo most t of o othe the population A report from Vienna dated February February Feb Feb- luary 1 12 said airl There are arc rations for fUl three weeks week death stalks talks through h the time streets of Vienna and tal takes take cs unhindered ed cd toll Budapest u t according to our information tion Uon is one vast ast city cHy of misery miser and find suffering The Time number of deaths is I double that of births Of the children In the schools are dependent on public charity charit- There are l work workers workers' rs' rs Idle Typhus and smallpox have invaded the four countries composing Czechoslovakia Czecho Czecho- slovakia and nd there is lack of medicines medicines medicines medi medi- cines soap and physicians In SerbIa typhus has broken out ll again and find there are but physicians to minister to the needs of or that entile entire entire en en- tire tile country In Montenegro where food is running running running run run- ning short there arc but five ph physicians physicians phy phy- sl lans for a 11 population of Returning to th the United States a afew afew afew few weeks ago 30 with all aU these horrors ringing rIng in my ears ears I found myself once more more- moreIn In a land whose granaries were overflowing where health and plenty abounded and where life activity ac- ac thUy and eager enterprise were in the full fun flood I ask myself i t what if the plague and famine were here here in the great rent territory territory ter ter- between the Atlantic seaboard l lami and ami the Mississippi valley valler which roughly p parallels th the extent of or the these e ravaged countries and that of or o our lr own own people condemned to idleness idleness idle idle- ness lIess h by lack of raw material and whose fields had been de devastated b by invasion and amI rapine were racked h by starvation and find pestilence and if we hud had lifted up our voices and amid invoked the time attention of our brothers In happier hap pier Europe to our own deep miseries miseries' mind mid our 11 cries had fallen on deaf dent ear ears would we not in our 11 despair exclaim against their heartlessness j I Only Three Ways to Help Europe I There are only three ways by which these stricken lands can secure supplies supplies supplies sup sup- plies from the outside world One Ouo is isby isby b by payment one oue by credit and the third is IJ by exchange e of ot commodities If It the these thee e people tried to to buy material and anil supplies In America at present I market value alue of their currencies Austria Austria Aus- Aus tria tiia would have to pay fort forty times the original cost Germany thirteen times Greece Greere just double Czecho Slovakia fourteen times Poland fifty times These figures are official and are atrue n a true truc index of the economical plight of ot these countries It is ms clear therefore that they cannot cannot can cnn not give us gold to for l' l the things s they must have nor have thc they either products pro pro- ducts or securities to offer in return for fOI credit If It only they could o obtain raw law material which these Jdie millions o of theirs could convert Into manufactured manufactured products thc they would have something something some- some thing tIling to In tender the world in return for It its raw RW material food I and medi medi- clue CliO I J But lit if they limey have neither l money noney nor credit how are they to take tako this first grant l step stel towards toward redemption One hal half the world may mRY nod ea cal eat while the other half halt starve t w. w now How tom Jon do you ou believe the plague of tn hu I i alt wn Ia I is taking a aid nd tI the t Il thin the tb of of t Ier Ger nc and aud eating Atone along IA will con coat confine man many any and IDa tc land Jan tine fine it itself el to th these u Only tail last Saturday aur aur- health com com- uI I ton nr r t of f New York Dr Copeland sailed for lor the other cIde Just to measure neasure mea nea- sure the danger and tal take lake precaution against such an invasion 10 at our threshold This is one out menace the other more threatening more tier tier- of the worlds world B ill Is the menace o will We Ye can can cun afford to o die but to be and a 11 greedy despised forever as Pharisaical nation is ia a fate tilte that we must not Incur The French government lt has many serious problems to to solve soh- but time the and the 1 is working French lench peasantry still sUlt sadly adlY in la inn French artisan while materials has not lost his n cd of or raw habit of ot Industry and thrift The Time most encouraging fact about France today ollay is ib that her people are alive to the ner of ot Frances France's pr problems hl ms and forward bravely to they are going soing solve that problem Italy Hal despite her great shortage e o oraw ot of and U it looking forward raw materials not backward Italy can m n be relied upon up UI- on to do her Imer part England is mooting meeting the pr problems of ot r reconstruction Just as iii l' l those who knew v her past should have expected her to tom m meet et them r Plan to bo Aid Ald Central Europe It Is not for tor me IDe p perhaps to give in formula for tor solution of the tl detail tall a s. s worlds world's ill III but as I hive be been ben n a asked ked many times What would you do dot OJ I Iam am ant glad to give my own answer Accordingly I 1 would n uk ask k 1 That I. That congress Im Immediately pass passa a a. bill appropriating a sum not to exceed exceed exceed ex ex- for tor the use of ot central central cen cen- and eastern Europe 2 That 2 That co congress resl call upon the president to appoint a political nonpolitical commission of three Americans dis dis- distinguished for their character and executive executive executive ex ex- ability and the time respect of th the American people Such Sucha a commission should Include men melt of ot the type of ot General f Pershing Mr Jh Hoover or x ex Lane Iwo I wo would ld invest that commission ion with complete power powell the commission Instructed Instructed In In- 3 I 1 I would have strutted to proceed at once accompanied accompanied accum- accum by proper personnel to survey surveys survey conditions in central and eastern Europe Europe Europe Eu Eu- rope and then act for lor the re restoration of those countries under such conditions conditions conditions condi condi- and upon such terms as the commission commission com comma mission itself may decide to be practicable practicable practicable and effective Among Amon the conditions conditions con con- should be provided that thal there should be no local Interference with the free tree and untrammelled exercise by byth bythe th time the commission of its own prerogative of ot materials Governmental politics should be eliminated unreasonable s prejudicial barriers bt h between Veen t the various countries should be 1 re removed removed re- re moved and su such h substantial Guarantees guarantees guaran Guaran- tees as may be available should hould he ex ex- exacted eXacted exacted acted in order that t the conditions Imposed imposed imposed im im- posed should be fulfilled 4 4 As As to financial terms I should make them liberal I would charge UP na interest for lor the tho first three years yeans for tor forthe forthe the next three years year ear 6 G per pel cent with provision that much touch of or such interest might be refunded if tf the aconomie conditions con con- of ot the country were not approaching approaching approaching ap ap- ap- ap normal or if it Its ts exchange conditions were so 50 adverse as to make payment unduly burdensome I should make the maturity of the obligation five years from its date and I should have no doubt as to its final pa payment 5 Immediately the plan was adopted adopt adopt- ed cd I would have our government Invite In tA vite vUe other governments In a t to assist to participate in th the under under- taking 6 To To set forth completely my opinion I should add that in the final instructions the American people through their government sh should uld say sayto sayto sayto to the commission We W want you to go gm and do this tills Jobin job jobI jobIn I In such a a manner munner as after a Stud study you think It should be done This Is no ordinary undertaking The American American Amen Ameri Ameri can people trust you to see that it is done right I would also saT say to the commission Use so much of ot this mone money as Is needed Personally I nm confident that with the assistance and co cooperation opera co-opera opera opera- tion which would come from other parts of the time world the sum sura of or from the United States would be more than enough to start the thesy countries on their way to self support S rt and aud the r restoration of gf normal cond cone l Uon 1 The fhe whole Thole plan of cour course coure e Involves In many practical considerations lh the most serious of which is t that at of or o ob obtaining J I taming the money whether ether by issuing additional Liberty bonds an Increase in the tho floating debt or or by taxation But I think we could properly sn say to the treasury department We know how serious your financial finan finen- cial problems are we know V the difficulties dif flir- which are immediately I confronting con fronting you we know th importance u of deflation and we vre know that the government must economize and nud that individuals must economize mize but we also know that the American luel can govern government ment meat advanced to its Us allies to attain victory and peace Certainly Certainly Certainly It Is worth making the additional addi advance in order to realize time the peace leaCe for tor which we ve have already struggled strut struggled for nothing i is more more certain certain than that until normal conditions are re restored stored In Europe there can cm be no peace pence Above all things I would say that whatever action Is taken should be betaken betaken betaken taken immediately The Time crisis Is Ig so acute that the situation does not admit admit ad ad- mit of ot delay except with the of ot consequences on one hardly dares contemplate The situation that I have bare s spread out omit h here rc is far b beyond the Uie scope of or h individual indi u ll- ll vidual charity 0 Only by the action of ot otIo Io governments our ow ow and th the oth others rs whose resources enable them to cooperate co co- cooperate operate ran cun aid uirl i be lie given in sufficient I voI volume 1 t am om also aho confident that our action would be br followed by the pov- pov ov- ov eminent of Gre Great t Britain of or Holland of ot th the Scandinavian countries of fp Spain Jn and Japan and that Franca and aad n. n Bellum Del Bel- lum and Italy notwithstanding all aU g f their the loses would help t te tAO to but their j I |
