The Piteous Appeal from Siberia.
General Sir Alfred Knox, KA who arrived in Shang-Lai on December 91, called, the same evening, on Lady de Sausmarez, when he expressed a wish to meet some of the ladies of the B.W.W.A., so that he might personally thank' them for their services rendered to the British Military Mission in Siberia.
To meet his wishes Lady de Sausmarez invited all those who had been Representatives of Centres, members of the Executive Committee, the Advisory Committee and other officers to assemble at her house at 5.90 last Friday.
Lockhart, Representative of the industrious Centre of Weihaiwei, was present and Mr. and Mrs, Fox, the President and Treasurer of the Siberian Comforts Fund, attended.
When Sir Alired Knox arrived, each was presented to him when he had a courteous word for everyone and an hour of pleasant chat followed. A little business was done at the same time. Sir Alfred Knox had given Lady de Sauswarez a cheque for $600 to be expended in women's and children's clothing she had also received earlier in the day a cheque from Colon) Douglas Young for £483 to be spent, in providing warm underwear for men and women. This proceeding was in accordance with an agreement made some time ago that the B. W. W. A. would execute commis si were funds available and, had it been still working, she would as a matter of course have handed the cheques to the Association, but since it no longer exists she asked that a small Committee be formed for the purpose of dealing with the money as requested. General Knox was consulted as to the steps proposed and fully approved.
Heartrending letters come from Colonel Douglas Young concerning conditions in Siberia. He writes that there were between Irkutsk and the Ural mountains in October and November approximately 60,000 cases of typhus, recurrent fever, and typhoid fever.
"On top of this, owing to the Omsk Government falling back on Irkutsk, we have the appalling number of refugees flying before the Bolsher Many of these die on the roads and in cold and Ronger and through lack of e railway we is owing to typhus,
warm clothing...
The people in China, I am sure, do not realize the suffering going on day in day out over here.
Tt is impossible with our limited means, I know, to provide hospitals, but we can work wonders with supplies of underclothes, disinfectants, and hospital supplies. These we can issue where most needed, following up the issues immediately and see what results are obtaine 2
Colonel Douglas Young also encloses letters—piteous appeals for help addressed to the British-Canadian Red Cross. We quote one on
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.