FRIENDS' EMERGENCY AND WAR VICTIMS RELIEF COMMITTEE.
IT° THE EDITOR Of THE " SPECTATOR."1 SIR,—May I claim the hospitality of your columns to bring to the notice of your readers a matter of great importance?
Many of them are probably aware that in the territory surrounding Coblens the American army of occupation has recognized the necessity of feeding the under-nourished German children, no doubt from humanitarian motives, but possibly also from the knowledge that such action is in the interests of public order and good feeling. The French also have established soup-kitchens in certain areas, but up to the present nothing has been done by the British authorities with regard to the feeding of children in districts occupied by the British Army. Yet the extreme gravity of the situation is beyond question. The Dutch Hospitality Committee, through whose hands during and since the war large numbers of children from Germany have been passing, is drawing attention to the fact that the children now coming from that country, owing to the cumulative effects of under-feeding, are in a worse condition than the little German guests of previous years. This fact is in itself of terrible significance.
In Cologne alone there are about 86,400 children. Of the little children who have reached school age, 10 per cent, are mentally and physically unfit to commence school. The local authorities are making some efforts at feeding by providing a breakfast, which consists of a quarter litre of a drink made with five grammes of chocolate powder—an exceedingly thin beverage— without any accompanying bread or solid food. The Friends' Emergency and War Victims Relief Committee have been urged to provide one substantial meal daily to underfed children on a medical certificate, and feel that this appeal coming from a district in the occupation of the British Armies cannot be ignored. The British authorities in the district are fully alive to the urgency of this need, and it is at the suggestion of British officers, and with their promise to facilitate the carrying out of the work, that we have decided to undertake it.
The child-feeding carried on by the American Friends with such beneficial results in the unoccupied districts of Germany cannot be extended to Cologne; but we believe that the British public, on realizing the seriousness of the position, will not be behind the Americans or the French in responding to the call of innocent childhood. To finance such a scheme for six months 830,000 is needed, and, unfortunately, we have no funds avail- able for the purpose, largely because of our heavy commitments in Austria, Poland, and the unoccupied parts of Germany. We therefore confidently appeal to your readers for help to meet this new obligation. Donations should be earmarked "Cologne," and sent to the Friends' Emergency and War Victims Relief Committee, 27 Chancery Lane, W.C.—I am,
Previous page
