éMen Against the Sea'
i
Usually it is those who go down to
the sea in ships who are meant when
the phrase "men against the sea" is
used. But the phrase is no less vivid
when applied to those rugged Dutch
men who over a.period of centuries
have wrested acre after acre from the
sea by construction of dikes and have
converted this land to agricultural use.
Within the past week tough-willed
Hollanders have faced what a news
writer aptly describes as their "biggest
battle against the sea since the Middle
Ages." Their small country has borne
the heaviest brunt of terrific storms
which brought floods on the top of
the spring high tides to parts of Eng
land and Belgium as well.
There is a cruel note in the fact that
the Netherlands Government only a
few days before had avowed its ability
to get through the next six months or
more without the postwar financial aid
which it, in common with other Euro
pean countries, has been receiving
from the United States. It is as if the
elements conspired to challenge the
assertion of self-reliance.
An international army of rescue
workers is bringing marooned sur
vivors from the numerous islands off
the Dutch coast near the mouths of the
Schelde and Waal Rivers. Besides
heavy human casualties, the storm has
taken a toll of more than 15,000 Dutch
cattle, and many fields now covered
by salt water will require two to four
years to produce crops again.
Americans already have responded
with gifts of food and clothing in such
volume that these needs are said to be
met, though money for other purposes
still can be used.
No one familiar with the thousand-
year struggle to turn salt marsh into
pastures, plowlands, and tulip beds
will doubt that the Dutch by their in
dustry and thrift will justify every
possible assistance.
