THE AMKHIGAN R^LIKP ADMINISTRATION IN CZECHO-SLOVAKIA. 1921. W'^m The American Relief x\d ministration In Czecho-Slovakia A SKETCH OF THE CHILD -FEEDING OPERATIONS OF THE A.R.A. MISSION TO CZECHO-SLOVAKIA, 1919-1921 PRAGUE, CZECHO-SLOVAKIA DECEMBER, 1921 The American Relief Administration 42 Broadway, New York, N. Y. 14;i^l^:' yWrVERSITY o! CALIFOF^'!?' LOS ANi..- i.v... ^ VAV C 3^ ' 5 A Sketch of the Work "^ of the American Rehef Administration T in Czecho-Slovakia, 1919-1921 Q m^ Contents V I. Conditions Following the Armistice. k 1. Political Dismemberment and Economic Disintegration. ^ 2. Crop Shortages and Food Conditions. 3. Birth and Mortality Rates. II. What Has Been Done. 1. Child Feeding and Clothing. 2. Food Remittances. 3. Commonwealth Fund Gift for Intellectuals. 4. Student Relief. ^ III. What Needs to Be Done, IV. Proposed Legislation. I Conditions Following the Armistice 1. Political Dismemberment and Economic Disintegration. The close of the Great War witnessed the political dismemberment and the break- up of the economic solidarity of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Empire, as has frequently been pointed out, was an economic unit and self-sustaining in the essentials of life. Western Austria, Bohemia and Silesia furnished the manufactured goods, the raw materials and fuel; the Danube plains the food; and the Baltic, Adriatic, and Black Seas access to the world markets. Among the provinces there was free trade and exchange of food from the country for manufactured goods from the town. Although the Empire was largely spared the physical destruction of war, save in Galicia, the wastage of five years incident to mobihzed armies sank the birth-rate below the death-rate, spread disease, disrupted ti'ansportation, paralyzed industry and bi'ought agricultural production to a dangerous level. The accumulating force of all of these evils was emphasized and aggravated by the artificial restrictions to transport and trade immediately erected by each of the six new nations into which the Empire was divided. The former economic solidarity was completely broken and within each country there began an acute struggle for existence within the confines of its own frontiers. The immediate effect was the debasement of the common currency; the cost of living mounted; higher wages were demanded; and the process of inflation began. Czecho-Slovakia was untouched physically by the ravages of the war save in a minor degree in north-eastern Slovakia and northern Carpathian Russia and later in southern Slovakia during the invasion of the Magyar Bolsheviks. But when the economic bonds which so closely connected her with other provinces of the Austro-Hungarian Empire were severed the repercussion to a State weakened by five years of war was so great that society all but collapsed. Paralysis of transport and trade, scarcity of food and clothing, coupled with prices up to 1500 per cent, above pre-war levels and enforced idleness, brought acute misery to the urban population and was particularly reflected in the physical condition of the children. S. Crop Shortages and Food Conditions. Normally Czecho-Slovakia is self-sufficient in essential foodstuffs although the margin of necessary bread grains is close; ordinarily the excess of rye production permits the import of the small tonnage of wheat necessary to meet requirements. The wastage of the war wiped out the margin of safety and the economic disintegration following the cessation of hostilities increased the food demands — particularly for fats and carbohydrates — beyond the powers of home production. The harvests of 1916, 1917, and 1918 showed a marked and continual decrease in the planted areas, in the yield per hectare, and in the total yield. In Bohemia Moravia, and Silesia the yield of 1918 wheat and rye fell to almost 50% of normal, barley to one third, oats to 46%, potatoes to 45%, and sugar to 80%. The situation demanded not only foreign relief but the strictest control of domestic supplies. The elaborate war-time machinery of food control was of necessity continued by the new Government. Flour, both wheat and rye and mixtures, sugar, potatoes, Tolal Crop in Thousands of Tons Bohemia-noravia-Silesia Ry« 1400 I2oo 19o«t 1915 19m 15 16 1? ^8 19 2o 21 Ods Barl«Y looo Wheal Tola! Crop in Thousands of Tons Bohemia -noravia-5ilesia igoif 6600 1913 14 15 16 1? -18 19 go g 1 5ugar Porafoes / , / ^ 6ooo / \ / V 5ooo / J \\ V , \ \ \ — "~" '^ / 1 ■tooo \ \ 1 \ \ \ \ \ \ 1 /' / \ \ ^.-"^ "^-- \ \ / \ \ / \ \ / \ V i \ 1 / "" 2ooo meat, fats and milk, were rationed and control maintained in varying degree until the harvest of 1921. After the 1920 harvest the Government rationed flour on a basis of yearly income. Flour was always the commodity in demand; other foodstuffs, such as sugar and meat, seemed to be obtained in sufficient quantities to satisfy needs, while milk and for a long time potatoes were so far from obtainable as to be beyond con- sideration. Ordinarily it was never possible to draw the full ration even though it was below the need of the average man. Farmers were reluctant to deliver their grain at the low price of Government requisition. The illicit trade therefore flourished although punish- able by law. The average urban family could not pay the prices demanded and could do little to combat the accumulative results of malnutrition. Early in 1920 a study of the dietaries of 250 families from all classes and engaged in all manner of work through- out the Republic was made by the Mission. (a) In relation to income: Total Number of Calories Weekly Per Cent. Number Per Person Average Man Per Cent. Income Spent in Per Day Per Day of Normal in Crowns on Food Family (Non-Producer) (Producer) (3300) 85 90 7 1,960 2,333 70 148 80 6 2,097 2,495 75 230 75 5 2,387 2,842 86 320 60 5 2,480 2,952 89 420 55 5 2,489 2,858 86 540 48 5 2,517 2,996 90 Note. — Since the average man (producer) requires 3,300 calorics per day, each person (non-producer) will require 3,300 x 0.84 or 2.862 calories per day. (b) In relation to occupation. p^^, (^^j^^. ^f Weekly Income Number Per Per Average Occupation in in Person Normal Man Crowns Family Per Day (3300) Laborers 70 7 1,950 .59 Coachmen 70 7 2,100 .63 Servants 70 7 2,240 .67 Small Pensioners 85 5 2,216 .67 Factory Employees 160 7 2,290 .69 Private Clerks 200 6 2,105 .63 Grade Teachers 210 5 2,890 . 69 Lesser Govt. Officials 250 6 2,360 .71 Artisans 260 6 2,400 .72 Small Tradesmen 310 '6 2,460 .74 Teachers 330 4 2,510 .77 Physicians 480 5 2,935 .89 High Govt. Officials 450 5 3,010 .91 Miners 280 7 2,670 . 80 It is interesting to compare the average food consumption in Czecho-Slovakia as shown by food survey with pre-war consumption, with the minimum standard of the Commission for Relief of Belgium, and the standard of the Inter-Allied Scientific Food Commission. 5 ao.ooo ^91^ 15.O00 I0.000 5.000 BLACK COAL PRODUCTION Jn Thousands of Tons BOHEMIA- MORAVIA-SILESIA IQ-IS ^9^b -IQiF 1Q18 ^^9 ^92o ^92i PRE VAR \AVE RAGE "^ ^^ 25.000 J?:^ 20000 Ib.ooo I0.000 BROWN COAL PRODUCTION Jn Thousands oF Tons BOMEMIA-MORAVIA- SILESIA -1915 ^1916 -(917 -1916 -19^9 192o ^92i PRE- VAR AVERAQ E \ ^ -^ ^^^ ^ Czecho- Czecho- slovakia slovakia 1919-1920 1914 Protein 67.7 100.5 Fat 62.8 11.3 Carbohydrates 470. 646.2 Caloric Value: Average Man .... 2790. 3920. Per Head 2322. 3292. Commission for Inter- Allied Relief in Bel- Sci. Food Com. gium, Minimum Standard 71.6 100 72.0 100 434.5 500 2842. 2274. 3400 2856 In 1918 and continued into 1919 and in part to 1920 war kitchen.s were feeding on an average of 55% of the population in towns of 5,000 and over, in the following proportion : Workers and Artisans 44 . 86% Employees 19.82% Students 8.45% Officials and Teachers 26. 63% Tradespeople 24% 100.00%, 3. Birth and Mortality Rates. The interruption of domestic life for five years and hardship of life during and following the War is strikingly reflected in the birth and mortality statistics. Each year of the war added its toll of misery until the peak was reached with the coming of peace at the close of the year 1918. P'or the ten years prior to 1914 the average annual excess of births over deaths in Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia was 42%. In 1914 this excess fell to 37%. In 1915 deaths exceeded births by 2.8%. In 1916 this percentage rose to 35%. In 1917 this percentage rose to 52%. In 1918 reached the shocking figure of 101%. In that year there were more than twice as many deaths as births! Such was the general situation in Czecho-Slovakia at the close of the War. These conditions dictated imperative and immediate need for relief. As one measure the American Relief Administration, under the general direction of Herbert Hoover, estab- lished a child relief bureau. In April, 1919, the children's relief work began and con- tinued through the harvests of 1919, 1920 and 1921, that is, until September 1, 1921. II. What Has Been Done 1. Child Feeding and Clothing. During the critical post-war years and until the harvest of 1921 the American Relief Administration, in close cooperation with and assisted by the Czecho (iovern- ment and the Czecho-Slovak Pece o Dite, the national child welfare organization, fed a great proportion of the under-nourished children. A great quantity of clothing was also distributed in every part of the Republic. In this work the local Cesky Cerveny 3ooo 290O 28oo 2600 2400 22oo 2ooo l9oo 13oo 1?oo •16 00 ie>oo -IHOO -1300 Jndices ^•■-..^. V, \ \ • contraband or free trade '^., Czechoslovakia N, Rerail Price Jndices 1921 ^\ July 191H-100 \ \ \ .y y \ \ ^ 1 N ■> .-■ — "~~""~~- -.^ ^^^- J ^ ^^ ^ 1 ^^ y' Jon Feb tlarf April May June July Auq Sept Average Value oF the Dollar In Czech-Crowns 1oo 90 8o ?o 6o 5o i«o 3o 2o 10 H925 / \ / \ / \ / V / / \ ^ / \ \ /I / / \ \ / ^ f \ / / / A / XI / \ ^ - - ~ -- - - -- - - - - - - Par of Exchanqe ' fl 1 1 ! I~ -- - - - - - — - - — - t "5 >- ^ ^ tr'o..- > V T= . Q) n,IDQ.;OSnjQ;«Ja.(03D3(UOOQ)tOQ;IDQ.fD333a' zn<:c^'=^-<(/)0z:Qr^ij:sr a. u i a < a. a: < r K. a. < 3 33 or 3 -19^9 192o 12 1921 4. Student Relief. In the spring of 1921 the American Relief Administration in cooperation with the European Student Rehef Fund, the Y. M. C. A. and the Y. W. C. A. gave material assistance to students in the Universities of Prague, Brno (Czech and German), and Pribram. The change in economic conditions due to the War created great hardships for the student class and their numbers had greatly increased by the influx of refugees chiefly from other Slav countries. The relief work for the University students was greatly simplified through the existence of student mensas, notably the Studentsky Domov of Prague University where the great proportion of relief has been given. This home, with its superb kitchen, a gift of students of America, and under the direct control of the Y. M. C. A. and the Y. W. C. A., proved an invaluable adjunct. The following quantities, valued at approximately $25,000, were delivered to the students: cocoa, 2,956 kilos; sugar, 1,360 kilos; milk, 16,903 kilos; flour, 41,797 kilos; beans or rice, 10,751 kilos; fats, 1,578 kilos; salmon, 4,162 kilos, a total of nearly 80 tons. These foodstuffs permitted a meal of 1,000 calories a day, including fats and sugar which ordinarily were supplied by the student organizations themselves. Student Mensa Opened Closed f'^j Dually '^lleds''' Prague University— Studentsky Domov. . Mar. 15 July 16* 1,485 184,083 Prague University— Letna June 16 July 16* 286 6,869 Pribram Mining Academy May 9 June 30 158 8,201 Masaryk University, Brno May 20 July 2 573 25,207 German University, Brno May 2 June 30 317 21,545 *NoTB.— The Studentsky Domov and the Letna Mensas remained open throughout the summer and on an average 800 students were fed daily during this period. The students receiving this form of relief represented the following nationalities: Czecho-Slovaks Magyars Germans Bulgarians Ukrainians Roumanians Russians Poles Jugo-Slavs Ruthemans III. What Needs to Be Done The object of the A. R. A. Mission in Czecho-Slovakia has been to aid in the reconstruction of economic and social life primarily through the restoration of under- nourished children to health that they might become useful citizens and promote the peace and welfare of the new state. The medical records, supplemented by the opmions of school teachers and committee members in daily contact with the children, afford abundant testimonv that in large measure this purpose has been fulfilled. But it should be emphasized that in this relief work only the emergency has been met. 1 he American Relief Administration and the Czecho-Slovak Pece o Dite have finished this emergency work-a relief designed to keep the children alive until the country was able to produce sufficient foodstuffs for its own support. This point has been reached 13 with the harvest of 1921, but surveys show that the evils of malnutrition still are evi- dent. The figures reveal that the results of the War on children are more far-reaching than is generally supposed; that the ill-effects will continue throughout this generation and may be reflected in the next. A continuance of feeding on the present restricted and voluntary basis will not meet the problem. There is needed recogniiion by the Government and by the people that it is as much a public duty to provide for the physical development of the child as for his mental development. National legislation is needed providing in cooperation with societies and municipalities for the feeding of all under-nourished school children. By emphasizing the need for national legislation it is not meant to imply that the National Government should alone be carrying the burden. As Mr. Hoover well puts it: "The child problem must be developed out of the conscience of every separate com- munity. Such a problem cannot be solved by benevolent dictatorship or the central government. The solution must come through the devotion of small groups in every center, spreading thought and service into every individual home." The Czecho-Slovak Pece o Dite brought together in 1919 a great body of public- spirited men and women. "The devotion of small groups," such as these operating throughout the Republic, has carried the children of Czecho-Slovakia through the critical post-war years. The wealth of public opinion that this body represents and the value of its services should be preserved for the future. To accomplish this purpose Parliament has been asked as a matter of public economy and safety to make perma- nent the work to which the American people have contributed so generously. The law which has been proposed follows : Proposed Law for the Feeding of School Children IN THE Czecho-Slovak Republic {Translated from the Czech) In order to provide through cooperation of the Government, the districts, local governments, child welfare organization, and the parents of school children for the establishment, maintenance, and administration of school kitchens for the feeding of under-nourished children; to provide for the fulfilment of other purposes aiming towards an improvement of the health and social conditions of children; to provide for an organization which will carry on the work of the American Relief Administation — Hoover Mission — in cooperation with the Czecho-Slovak Pece o Dite. I. The Ministry of Public Health, with the cooperation of the Ministry of Social Welfare, Education and National Culture and Food Supply through the Czecho- slovak Pece o Dite, and with the assistance of other organizations, be empowered and authorized pursuant to Article 2 of this Act: (1) To establish, maintain and operate kitchens for the feeding of insufficiently nourished children in schools and elsewhere and to issue such orders which it deems necessary for their efficient administration. (2) To examine from time to time the health and social conditions of the children in the Czecho-Slovak Republic, to determine the extent and degree of the consequences of malnutrition and to obtain information which in the judgment of the ministers is necessary to carry out this Act. 14 (3) To establish or support institutions giving a sufficient professional training in matters of nutrition and related subjects to such persons who wish to serve in organi- zations this Act provides for. II. The head office of the Czecho-Slovak Pecc o Dite, as the successor of the American Relief Administration — Hoover IVIission — shall be authorized to carry out the pro- visions of this Act. The Czecho-Slovak Pece o Dite, with all its present privileges, shall work under the support of the Ministry of Health as the auxiliary office of said Min- istry, as far as the execution of this Act (and of all its provisions and rules) is concerned, that is, that the central administration will be done as heretofore by the Headquarters at Prague and the work in the various territories (districts and municipalities) by the organizations existing within these districts; namely, the Czech and German district Commissions for child welfare, Czech and German local organizations for the care of mothers and children, local organizations of the Czecho-Slovak Red Cross and others who have authorizations from the Ministry, assuring them a full autonomy in the accounting and material departments of their own organizations. III. The expenses incurred in carrying out this Act, including the administrative expenses of the Czecho-Slovak Pece o Dite, shall be borne in equal division by the state and the various districts participating in the benefits of this Act in such way that the subvention of the Government contributed to obtain the purpose as stated in Article I of this Act; be it either in money, or goods, or in services shall in no case exceed the total of money, goods or services contributed towards the purpose of Article I of this Act by organizations within same district, be said funds of the district raised by the sum total of the districts, municipalities, cooperating organizations, parents of the children or by anybody and under whatever conditions. Provided above be ful- filled, the Minister of Public Health is authorized to withhold cooperation whole or in part from districts which do not comply with the requirements given within this law. IV. For the fiscal year ending December 31, 1922, there is hereby appropriated a credit of Kc. 7,000,000— which was set aside in the state budget for 1922 in Chapter 24 tit. H., Article I for expenses of cooperation with the A. R. A. E. C. F. V. This law shall come into force on the day of its publication. It shall be carried through by the Ministry of Public Health. A. R. A. Mission to Czecho-Slovakia— 1921 Arthur C. RiNGLAND Chief . .^ ^l"^' \l]?^ c .moi James V. Foley A. R. A. Warehouses . Mar. 1920-Sep . 92 Joseph W. Rice Inspector Jan. 921-Sept. 92 IvAR William Wahren Inspector June 1920-Sept. 1921 Ivan H. Baird Secretary May 1920 Harold M. Fleming Assistant Aug. lyiii 15 Former Members of the Mission to Czecho-Slovakia John Charles Miller, M. D . . . Chief Oct. Joseph T. Shaw Chief Aug.- LoRiN A. Clark Accountant Aug.- Miss Dorothy Geberding Dietitian Aug. C. Hanbury Accountant Sept. Raymond A. Kleindienst Inspector Oct. Vale H. McGuire Inspector. Francis J. Murphy A. R. A. Warehouses. Will Shafroth A. R. A. Warehouses. Thomas M. Temple Inspector Prentiss M. Terry Inspector Dan M. Walker Inspector Apr.- Feb.- Jan.- Aug. Aug. Aug. 1920- — Sept, -Sept, 1919- 1919- 1919- -Aug. -Mar. -Nov. 1919- 1919- 1919- -Jan. 1921 1919 1920 -Oct. 1920 -Mar. 1920 -Aug. 1920 1920 1920 1920 -Aug. 1920 -Jan. 1921 -July 1920 Czecho-Slovak Child Welfare Organization (Pece o Dite) National Committee Honorary President Dr. T. G. Masaryk, President of Czecho-Slovakia Honorary Vice-Presidents Vlastimil Tusar, Dr. Karel Kramar, President of the Council Ex-President of the Council President Dr. Alice Masaryk, President of the Czech Red Cross Dr. Eduard Benes, Minster of Foreign Affairs Dr. Ivan Derer, Minister of Slovakia Dr. Karel Englis, Minister of Finances GusTAV Habrman, Minister of Education Rudolf Hotowetz, Minister for Foreign Commerce Members Antonin Johanis, Minister of Food Dr. Alfred Meissner, Minister of Justice Karel Prasek, Minister of Agriculture Kunes Sonntag, Minister of Commerce Frant. Stanek, Minister of Post and Telegraphs JiRi Stribrny, Minister of Railways 16 142179 Dr. Vavre Srobar, Minister of Hygiene Ant. Svehla, Minister of Home Affairs Dr. Boh. Vrbensky, Minister of Public Works Dr. Lev Winter, Minister of Social Care Dr. Markovic, Minister of National Militia This book is DUE on the last date stamped below Furm L-9-35m-8,'28 administra- tion. "he American re- hi e n in llZftCllO- 'H 700 C0U5