domination. My correspondent also refers to the Boer War in South Africa. No fair-minded man can deny that great injustices were committed by individual Englishmen in South Africa. The Jameson raid is often referred to as an example of British selfishness and greed, but it must be remembered that Jameson was tried in London for that raid in an English court and was punished by a term in an English prison. At the close of the Boer War the South African colonies were federated by England into an independent commonwealth, and the Boers have been given an equal voice with Englishmen in the government of the commonwealth, and since then that commonwealth has been actually under Boer control. This is quite SERVIA'S DISTRESS AN INTERVIEW WITH GEORGE MACAULAY TREVELYAN Mr. George Macaulay Trevelyan has just arrived in this country, partly to acquaint himself with American sentiment regarding the European war and partly to arouse interest throughout the country in the work of Servian relief. Mr. Trevelyan is a son of Sir George Otto Trevelyan, the distinguished author of "The Life and Letters of Macaulay" and "The American Revolution," and is a grandnephew of the historian Macaulay. Mr. George Trevelyan himself is known to a large circle of American readers for his three books on the history of the period of Italian unification, the title of perhaps the best-known volume being “Garibaldi and the Thousand." American interest in his literary work has been greatly augmented by "The Life of John Bright," which, as our readers know, we have regarded as one of the great recent contributions to biographical literature in the English language. At our request Mr. Trevelyan has made to a representative of The Outlook the following statement regarding the situation in Servia. An international committee of three representative men-an Englishman, a Frenchman, and an American-has just been created to organize and administer Servian relief. Contributions of money are urgently needed, and may be sent to the Treasurer of the Servian Relief Fund, 70 Fifth Avenue, New York City.-THE EDITORS. What is the duty of Americans with regard to Belgium and Servia? How should they distinguish between their duty to the two countries? On the one hand, the moral debt to Belgium is the greatest because it had no share of its own in the quarrel which led to this war. It is a perfectly innocent and detached victim. Whereas, in the case of Servia, although much more sinned against than sinning, her quarrel with Austria was nevertheless her own fault. For that reason, of course, the principal efforts and sympathies of the citizens of the neutral world belong to Belgium. But, on the other hand, the actual situation to-day is that one pound spent in Servia will relieve a greater quantity of human suffering and save a greater number of human lives than one pound spent in Belgium. Furthermore, the Servians are morally not undeserving of assistance, because of their most heroic efforts by which they have driven an army of four hundred thousand Austrians out of their territory in defense of their national liberties. Also the humane conduct of the Servians in this war stands out in striking contrast with the atrocities committed by Servians and other Balkan peoples in the previous Balkan wars and the atrocities committed by the Austro-Hungarian troops against the Servian women and children in the present war. What is there in the character of the Servian country, the Servian people, and the actual fighting on Servian soil that has made relie there more necessary at this time than anywhere else in Europe? The typhus which is now devastating the population of Servia is far more severe than any disease prevalent in any other part of Europe at this moment, and unless stamped out is likely to become a danger, not only to Servia, but to the rest of the world, to which it may spread. The reason of this unusual, this local, severity of typhus in Servia is found in the circumstances of the present war there. The Austrian atrocities committed near Shabatz in the middle of August, when about three thousand civilians were murdered and several hundred women and children burned to death by the Austro-Hungarian troops, caused the flight of more than half a million inhabitants of northwestern Servia from before the advance of the Austrian troops later in the autumn. These refugees are now planted down in the central and southern parts of Servia. There is no proper accommodation for them, because Servia is a poor and merely agricultural community without great public institutions or any resources of its own to cope with such an influx of refugees. The refugees have therefore been crowded into the other private houses there, without change of clothing, as are also the sixty thousand Austrian prisoners. In these circumstances it was inevitable that once typhus began it should spread most terribly. When I was in the northwestern district of Servia ravaged by the Austrians, an attempt was being made to replace a portion at least of these refugees on their farms in this district, but it was clearly at that time impossible. The Austrians in their passage had destroyed all the stores of food which they found, as well as all the mills and agricultural implements and the furniture of the houses. I saw children dying of starvation by the roadside, the mothers weeping over them and having no food to give them. Servian soldiers were doing all they could and all humane kindness could do to save these unfortunate women and children, and to enable them to set up life again on ruined homesteads. But this was clearly impossible. The country had been too thoroughly destroyed, and the means of locomotion were at that time, at any rate (January), insufficient for the work of restoring the population to this district. The refugees, therefore, still remained crowded in central and southern Servia. Hence now either provision to restore them to their old home, which grows more possible with the coming of spring, or else the proper provision for their housing in tents and clothing them with new clothes, must be made. In effect, a complete change has to be made in the sanitary conditions of Servia if typhus is to be stamped out, and if cholera is not to follow in summer. This cannot be done by the Servians themselves. Of the four hundred Servian doctors more than one hundred have already perished of typhus. They have not the material plant, and all their organizing ability is being used up in the military work of the armies. The civil population can be saved only by more and more extensive assistance from western Europe and America. What have Americans already done, and what may they still do, to meet the conditions you describe? When I was in Servia at the beginning of the year, the Servians were already extremely grateful to the American doctors and hospitals. Their imaginations had been greatly struck by the presence of Dr. Ryan and Dr. Baker in Belgrade, where they were able to keep a large hospital going throughout the Austrian bombardment and occupation, under the protection of the Stars and Stripes. It was impossible for the Servians or the British to have hospitals in Belgrade, owing to their status as combatants. When the Austrians insisted on bombarding one of the American hospitals, they received a message from the doctor in charge that unless they stopped he would chloroform the Austrian wounded prisoners, of whom he was taking tender It is doubtful whether the threat would have been fulfilled; but, at any rate, it was a characteristic and commendable piece of American" bluff" which served its purpose. Since this date several American doctors have died in the service of humanity, the victims of typhus. One of the most regretted was Dr. Donelly, who perished at Jevjeli, in southern Servia. American and British doctors and nurses have given up their lives in this struggle with typhus, and perhaps half of them in the country have already been affected by that disease. The gratitude of the Servians is very touching. These things will be remembered for generations in Servia. care. |