Jasper County Democrat, Volume 21, Number 87, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 January 1919 — A SPEAKER IS SELECTED [ARTICLE]

A SPEAKER IS SELECTED

County Director J. M. Sauser 1 received a telegram" Monday ! afternoon from the State Di- ' rector of Publicity and Speak- ' ers, saying: “I am sending Wm. ' J. Ohan, native Armenian, for ' meeting of January 29.” ■ Rev. William J. Ohan is a native of Armenia, and was born ■ within a few miles of Mt. 1 Ararat. “ 1 His father was_a minister and * suffered great persecution at * the hands of the Turks. It ‘ was his unfortunate lot to have ‘ been incarcerated in thirty-five ’ prisons of Turkey, because of * his steadfastness to his religion ■ and as well as because he was ■ an Armenian. ■ Dr. Ohan’s sister was a vlc- * tim of the great massacre of * 1898. His mother, his brother ' and a sister are now in Syria, * and through them and out of * the fund of his own knowledge * and experiences, Rev. Ohan * draws the material for his ad- * dress which he will ‘ deliver at * the Christian church, Wednes- * day evening, January 29. ’ CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE.

You ■ are asked for $30,000,000 to sustain the lives of 3,950,000 Christians and Jews through the winter, through their 'return to a new life free from religious and political persecution. Why? America entered the Great War that the rights of small nations may never ..gain be trampled upon. The noble little nations of the Near East have kept the faith and borne the burden of massacre which thousands of miles have kept from our homes. » Victory has come. And now these bravest and staunchest pilgrims, in sight of the goal of freedom, stand for lack of $30.00(1,000— your $5 and $lO and sso—• in immediate danger of starvation or of death from the diseases of war and Lunger. Why doesn’t the Red Cross do it? The Red Cross found the machinery of relief already at work in the Near East —the missionaries, who know the people and speak their languages, and all official representatives of th'e United States had been organized by the American committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief. Channels of distribution were well established. And the Red Cross asked the committee to carry on all relief work in the Near East territory, in order that there be neither duplication nor lost motion. The territory is Asia Minor/ the Caucasus, Armenia, Persia, and Norther i Egypt. 100 per cent efficient! Every t dollar you give goes to the Near East. All expense of collection and of distribution is met privately. Of the $12,321,145.92 collected before September 30, 1918, $12.371,145.92 was sent to the field/ The increase of $50,000 over collections was interest accrued from daily balances. Your $30,000,500 will go in full to save the lives of Individualsand of whole countries. Full government approval and co-operation is given to the Com-

mission’s work. All funds are transmitted through the Department of State. The Shipping Board and all consular agents of the United o cates government give every possible aid. Tjhere are 3,950,000 souls, 400,000 of whom are orphans, all in desperate need. 17 cents per per-, son per dav is the estimated expense of giving them food. Catholics, Protestants and Jews alike have been the victims of Turkish oppression and of Turkish government orders to exterminate or drive from their homes and lndustri®s every other people in the Near East. Catholics, Protestants, and Jews alike are receiving every help within Our power. The Commission’s work Is one, not only of relief but of repatriation and reconstruction. Our budget includes seeds for next year's crops, fr.rm implements, cattle and sheep. These people are freed from their oppressors but shorn of homes and property. Our part is to set them on their own f«et. Cables from every worker in the

Near East tell a story such as thia: Cable from Constantinople “Refugees from all com tries and many deported Armienlans drifting back. Their homes in ruins, lands laid waste, cattle and implements gone. Need help to reestablish. Need much help for they have lost everything. Heroic men and women who have strained every energy to save lives now have task of picking out those who shall perish. Can you not cable that promised mcnthly appropriation is certain till end June, 1919. Such action would double value of gift.” (Signed) STQVALL, U. S. Minister at Berne, Switzerland. Jasper county’s quota is 11,700. COUNTY CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE J. M. BaUser, - Chairman C. Howard Mills, - Treasurer G. A. Williams, Director of Speakers M. L. Serrett, Director of Publicity Grant Davisson, Dennis O’Riley, F. B.' LeFevre, Alfred * Duggloby, ' ' Clifford Fairchild, Mrs. Mollie Dunn, ’ Chas. W. Postlll, * Erhard Wuerthner, Warren E. Poole, Chas. W. Wood, Walter Harrington, John Pettet, John Bowie.