The Czech Refugees The report which Sir Harry Twyfoid has
issued showing the present position of the fund for the relief of Czech refugees which he opened in October when he was Lord Mayor of London, is a reminder of the magnitude of the task with which private charity, unaided by any Government grant, has had to cope. Of the i360,000 which was subscribed within a few weeks £350,350 has been used for the relief of refugees, and of this the largest single item was the £260,000 which went to the Prague Committee for the relief of the destitute and homeless. Other grants include £80,000 to the British Committee for refugees from Czecho-Slovakia, and £5,000 each to the British Red Cross and the Save the Children Fund. The total expenses of administering the fund were £2,511, or 0.7 per cent. of the sum raised. An epidemic of diphtheria in a refugee camp was arrested with the aid of a grant made by the Prague Committee to the Czech Red Cross, and two sums of £3,000 each have been earmarked for destitute journalists and • school children. Relief is being granted irrespective of political opinions or religious beliefs, but the fact remains that these people are suffering now because they held the views that are held by the majority of people in this country. They believed in democracy and they hated dictatorship, and because of their beliefs they are homeless and penniless today. Munich, which averted war from us, spelt flight and exile for them. For that reason the Government, as well as private charity, has responsibilities towards them.
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