A Cry for Help
The size of the heart Of Boston will be shown dur
ing the next few day* in the scope of its aid for a bat
tered Dutch town.
The little town of Brouwershaven on the ancient
island of Schouwen has cried out across the sea, calling
for help from the people of this city.
As reported in today's news columns, the Boston
Traveler has accepted the call and relayed it to the
public with full confidence of a swift response. As a
result, business and professional men already have met
to decide the best and quickest way to rush aid across
the Atlantic.
Brouwershaven has been crushed to her knees by
the fury of midwinter storms and rampaging seas.
"Totally flooded" is the description given in the poig
nant cablegram that seeks our support.
She's a proud little town. Originally she was the
home of brewers and wine merchants, later of fisher
men and oyster breeders. She is rich in Netherlands
history. For more than 1000 years, she held the North
Sea at bay.
But now she lioc sodden and bruised, while the
surly North Sea waves lash at the wreckage of her
homes. She needs our aid immediately. Other storms
and other tides are on their way, and if Brouwershaven
is to survive she must be given a chance to fight back.
The people of JBcston can give her that chance.
Since the trans-Atlantic cablegram first arrived here,
the Boston Traveler has felt confident that this city will
adopt Brouwershaven as its own. With the money that
can be raised in Greater Boston, the townspeople on
the island of Schouwen can rebuild their shattered
dikes, push the sea back from their soil and reclaim the
land that has been theirs since the Middle Ages. Dutch
courage plus Boston backing can turn disaster into re
covery.
Here in Massachusetts, we pride ourselves justly
on our sympathetic nature and our willingness always
to aid a fellow man beset by trouble. In a sense, the
good people of Brouwershaven paid us a rich compli
ment when they called upon us to ease their desperate
plight.
We must not let them down. There's not a person
among u's who cannot spare something from his own
pocket ta help the: stricken people.
The drive to rescue Brouwershaven from the sea
begins today. Let's complete it with speed and gen
erosity.
-4S
