The Catholics of Chicago are not far behind when it becomes necessary to alleviate distress and misery, to feed the hungry and to clothe the needy. This fact was proved by the mass meeting which was held last night in the Athenaeum of the St. Alphonsus parish, at Lincoln and Southport Avenues. This was the first of a series of meetings which the German-Austrian Aid Committee of the Chicago Archdiocese plan to hold in various parts of the city to acquaint more people with the miserable conditions which exist in Germany and Austria as a result of the war.

At each of these meetings competent speakers will describe the bitter destitution and misery; in this way the interest which the Catholics of German descent have shown in the relief work which is sponsored by the Pope will not slacken, 2but the charitable contributions, which have already reached an imposing figure within the Archdiocese of Chicago, will be further augmented.

Catholics of the North Side responded to the call in great numbers and showed a lively interest in the speakers' message.

"Let man be noble, charitable, and unselfish," was the keynote of all the speeches, and the story of our suffering brothers in the old country was repeated many times by the speakers. Miss Jane Addams, well known as a great philanthropist; Bishop A. J. Mc Gavick, who has contributed much toward the success of this great relief undertaking by his untiring efforts; Army Chaplain G. McCarthy, Monsignor F. A. Rempe, chairman; and Mr. Michael F. Girten, president of the German Roman-Catholic Central Association, whose heart is always in the right place when an act of charity is involved, all described in eloquent words the distress of our hard hit brothers overseas, and their 3appeal will linger for a long time in the hearts of their audience.

After the church choir of the St. Alphonsus parish had presented several hymns, Monsignor Rempe explained the purpose of the meeting. He then introduced the well-known philanthropist, Miss Jane Addams, as the first speaker of the evening.

Miss Addams, who was greeted with loud applause, described, in her plain and simple manner, the deplorable conditions which she found in Germany during her stay there last summer. She gave a vivid sketch of the dire distress and the unbelievable misery which had made a lasting impression on her. According to her reports, the children there are suffering acutely because of the shortage of milk, their most essential food element. She said that the children she saw looked skinny and lacked natural vitality; they were feeble and apathetic, too weak to play and too tired to talk. They were all undernourished as a 4result of the fat deficiency in their diet. There had been no butter for months, and in some cities milk was so scarce that children older than two years had not been given any. The situation was best described, the speaker said, by a question which she had heard a child ask in Leipzig.

"'Mother, is it true that there are countries where children can eat anything they want?'"

"Whoever says that there is no distress in Germany," the speaker continued, "does not know what he is talking about. There is deprivation not only among the poorer people, but also among the wealthier people of some districts. Meat is a rarity. In Saxony, the recollection of the 'turnip winter' of 1917 makes people shudder, because their turnips were the only available food. It was turnips for breakfast, turnips for lunch, and turnips again for supper. Even the healthiest persons were unable to endure this diet for any length of 5time, and death reaped a rich harvest."

While Miss Addams confined her talk to a description of conditions prevailing in Germany, Bishop Alexander J. McGavick, the next speaker, now made an appeal to the sympathies of the audience, and asked them to do their share in relieving the distress.

"We hear so much nowadays of reconstruction," said the church dignitary, "but the essential thing now is to heal the wounds which the war has inflicted. Open sores are a constant danger to the future. The wounds of war have cut deeply. Almost a year has passed since the armistice was signed and the wounds have not yet healed."

The speaker then related the parable of the good Samaritan who, on his way 6from Jerusalem, found a man lying in the street and proceeded to dress his wounds and to comfort him. Bishop McGavick said that the wounds which the war inflicted should be dressed with the oil of charity. He declared that now is the time to be charitable toward a people bleeding from a thousand wounds.

"The sentiment of hate, generated by the war, should come to an end, and the waves of passion should be smoothed by the oil of charity, for only then can there be real peace."

Referring to the purpose of the meeting the speaker said: "We are gathered here, not just to give lip service to charity, but actively to engage in it. The winter season is at hand and great will be the harvest which death will reap in Germany and Austria unless help is given, and given soon! Do not merely pity, but give and give generously!"

The audience received these words with rousing applause; they were words that came from the heart of the speaker and found their way into the hearts of those who listened. Army Chaplain G. McCarthy, who was the next speaker, told some of the experiences he had at the war front. He said he had observed that German soldiers were always considerate toward the wounded enemy who had fallen into their hands.

The concluding address was made by Mr. Michael Girten, president of the German Roman-Catholic Central Association. He knew how to strike responsive chords in the hearts of his listeners. Mr. Girten was the only speaker of the evening who spoke in German, and this use of their mother tongue was enough to win the hearts of his audience.

"If we have done our duty toward our Government and have sacrificed everything to have our blood brothers in the old country killed, why not give 8now to put a good and noble people back on its feet? This people can not, it must not perish."

His words made a profound impression, as could be seen by the tension of the audience and by the applause which followed. Generous contributions were made at the conclusion of the meeting, and much of the success must be attributed to Mr. Girten's appeal.