Commission for Relief in Belgium
1009 Mills Bldg., San Francisco, Cal.
BELGIUM'S NEED.
The following statement has been pre-
pared by Tracy B. Kittredge, Field Secre-
tary in California of the Commission for
Relief in Belgium (C. R. B.). Before the
outbreak of the war, Mr. Kittredge was
traveling on the continent of Europe as a
graduate student of history.  On   the
organization of the Belgian Commission by
Mr. Herbert Hoover, Mr. Kittredge volun-
teered his services, and was in Belgium
from December, 1914, to August, 1915, as a
delegate of the Commission in charge of
the actual distribution of food and clothing
in the province of Limbourg. Beside being
founded on personal observations, his
statements rest on documentary evidence,
and are authentic.
1.-WHAT IS THE CONDITION OF BEL-
GIUM TODAY?
Three million people in Belgium are
wholly or partly destitute.
Paralyzed by war for eighteen months,
ruled by a conquering army, they are fed
by charity. To them, the American flag
and the letters "C. R. B." (Commission
for Relief in Belgium) mean bread and
meat, and the possibility of continuing to
exist.
11.-WHY IS THERE DANGER OF FAM-
INE IN BELGIUM?
The products of Belgium's soil will feed
its people only one-third of the year, and
ordinary imports are stopped.
With a population of seven millions,
and a density of population of more than
six hundred to the square mile, the peo-
ple of Belgium in peace times imported
seventy per cent of their food supplies.
Left to herself Belgium would starve in
a few months, as the war has closed all
the ordinary channels of importing food.