Verhovayak Lapja, 1945 (28. évfolyam, 1-52. szám)
1945 / Verhovay Journal
VOL. XXVIII. NOVEMBER 14, 1945 NO. 21. ORPHANS AT AUCTION ... 200,000 ORPHANS Death had a big harvest in Hungary. The flower of the nation has perished. Thousands upon thousands were pressed into service in Russia and used asi the rear-guard for the protection of the German armies ... Tens of thousands were killed in Hungary which became the battlefield on which, Russia and Germany met in the final action of the war... Thousands upon thousands were killed by guns ... by explosions... by collapsing buildings... by bombs dropped from Russian, German, British and American planes ... Entire villages were levelled... Cities wiped from the map... and Budapest, the Queen of the Danube, remains the black shadow of its former self... an empty shell of what was once one of the most beautiful cities of the world... Many months have passed since the guns had been silenced but the dead have not yet been counted... Since early spring the people of Budapest work from early to late, without adequate pay .. . cold and hungry ... but they work to dig out the dead from among the ruins . .. But there still are corpses that have not yet been reached ... and the newspapers still carry the long lists of advertisements in which wives seek their husbands, parents their children, offering rewards and begging for information ... Families, had been torn apart by the thousands ... It may take years for the living to find one another ... It seems to be a futile task to count the dead... And so the living are counted ... And now the American Hungarian Relief, Inc., reports that there'arc 200,000 orphans in Hungary ... The children are the future of the nation and the Hungarian government makes every attempt to provide homes for these children but that ft an almost impossible task in a country which has been 'obbed, burned, ruined. The population faces a horrible winter... Not more than onefourth of the fields had been tilled ... The mines were at a stand-still for many months ... Railways had been destroyed and equipment taken out of the country... If there were food and coal in sufficient quantities, it would be impossible to find transportation . . . The miners work day and night and the coalpiles are growing but the transportation problem is one that will take months and months to solve ... and in the meantime, the population will starve. More than half of all the buildings in Budapest have no windows . .. months' of bombardment have broken all glass and destroyed the roofs ... there is no protection against rain, wind and snow ... Orphanages had been robbed .. . But even if they would have been left intact, there would never be room enough for an additional 200,000 orphans. Yet, the government of Hungary succeeds in caring for 140,-000 of these war-orphans and that leaves 60,000 for whom no provisions could be made ... And the Government of Hungary, the welfare agencies and the churches appeal to America in behalf of these 60,000 war-orphans ... A CALL FOR VOLUNTEER FOSTER PARENTS! A call is issued by Hungary for volunteer foster-parents in America who would be willing to help saving the lives of 60,000 children... orphans who have lost, their fathers and mothers during the war ... Orphans who cannot be cared for by the government, nor by the welfare agencies all of which are overloaded with responsibilities . .. Sixty thousand innocent children who roam the streets... ragged children with the marks of t. b. on their thin faces... barefooted boys and girls who walk amidst the ruins in the endless search for a piece of bread . .. for a piece of cloth to cover their shivering nakedness . .. Little boys and girls who have no place to call their home ... Children from whom their parents had been tom away in hours of such terror that its memories will for ever haunt them... ORPHANS FOR SALE . . . ! Sixty thousand orphans for sale... If there will be buyers in sufficient number, they will be saved from starvation, from death by cold, malnutrition, tuberculosis ... which now has its mark upon 50% of all the children in Budapest... And so little is required of the volunteer foster-parents! One U. S. dollar was worth 5 pengoes before the war and now the price is 200,000 pengoes ... but it may be much more by the time this issue reaches the readers. Figure it out for yourself: IT COSTS ONLY $3.00 PER MONTH TO SAVE AN ORPHAN’S LIFE IN HUNGARY... AND FOR AN ADDITIONAL §3.00 YOU KEEP THAT CHILD IN SHOES FOR A FULL YEAR! That’s how much tlje dollar is Worth over there... Figure it out for yourself! How much does it cost you to feed, to house and to clothe your own child? Surely, ten times as much as $3.25 per month?! Why, the money our children spend for movies and candy, amounts to more than the entire cost of caring for a child in Hungary! Three dollars a piece! Ladies and gentlemen, the lives of the little boys and girls, 60,000 of them, are for sale... Death is the auctioneer.. . It’s really a special sale ... He let’s you have the little tots for 3 doUars a piece for a whole month ... And if you don’t want to buy their lives for that little ... why, he will just keep’em. .. and put them down into that endless mass-grave which already has swallowed the flower of the Hungarian nation ... It’s your cousins and nephews who are for sale... It’s you, the (I good people of America, and especially you, Americans of Hungarian descent... especially you, Verhovay fratemalists, who are supposed to be the SAVIORS OF THESE 60,000 ORPHANS... It’s either you or death... And the difference is only three dollars a piece! You want to save those three dollars? Would you ever hesitate to spend a mere three dollars a month for a little while if you knew that it means the difference between life and death for a human being?! FOSTER-PARENTS NEEDED! It takes a great number of foster-parehts to buy the lives of 60,000 orphans! Will you be one of them? Reports are coming in every day of American citizens of Hungarian descent “adopting” a child, some of them two and quite a few even more... After this story was published in the October 24th issue of the Hungarian Verhovay Journal, George Kemeny, the more than 70 year old, great American Hungarian poet wrote us a letter ... A heart-breaking poem was included ... and the letter said: “I earn only $10 a month ... but I am happy to give one-third of it to save the life of a Hungarian orphan...” Fraternal Associations again assume leadership. We read how branches of the Rakoczy Aid Association, of the American (Bridgeport) Sick Benefit Association, and others, ‘adopt” children ... We are happy to report that Verhovay branches, too, are ready to meet the challenge. George Jávor, manager of Branch 17, Lorain, O., reports that this branch has assumed foster-parentship for three children for one year, in the amount of $108. Branch 429, Dearborn, Mich., reports that plans are being made for the “adoption” of a Hungarian orphan. (See the “Ferret sez” column!) Joseph Szabó, manager of Branch 443, Detroit, Mich., writes that fellow-members Mr. and Mrs. Paul Papp have assumed foster-parentship for one child. Thus, three branches already made, an example for both, adoption by branches and by individual fellow-members. They don’t know their names, though they’ll probably will hear about them as soon as possible .. . But is the name important? Isn’t it sufficient for us to know that 60,000 orphans wait for Salvation and that they expect their salvation to come from America? AN' APPEAL TO OUR BRANCHES! There isn’t a Verhovay branch which couldn’t assume fosterparentship for at least one Hungarian orphan. Even a branch which has only 30 membersi, could heed this appeal for it would cost each and every member only 10 cents per month to save the life of an orphan... We must realize that in no other field (Continued on Page 2) The Verhovay Home of Branch 132, South Bend, led., A Monument of Creative Fraternalism The membership of Branch 132, South Bend, Ind., inspired by able and enthusiastic leaders, decided to realize a vision born of pride, ambition and a consciousness of creative ability. There are many branches whose members dream of a Home, but the membership of this branch wanted more than just a home. These Verhovay ans felt that American citizens of Hungarian descent have earned themselves a place of distinction in the United States and they strove to erect a building which would symbolize the contributions made by Americans of Hungarian origin to their adopted country, the abilities which the immigrants imported into this land and the appreciation of equality that means so much to adopted citizens. Their proud consciousness of the equality of all citizens gave them courage to assert their self-respect and to defy the tendency, characteristic of many immigrant groups, to be content with opportunities that have been left untouched by the old-stock American citizenry and to be reconciled to putting up a humble abode in some uncontested corner. The humble acquiescence to living on crumbs that have fallen from the rich table of America, “the home of the brave” does not typify the American spirit; it is rather the sign of an inferiority complex which characterizes the unwanted intruder who is burdened with the inheritance of servile consciousness. America was made by men and women who with the pride of free men claimed a birth right in this land for which they were willing to pay any price when it came to defending it against enemies of freedom. The membership of Branch 132 has built a Verhovay Home in the downtown section of South Bend, Ind. They erected a building which not only fits its surroundings but stands out with its beauty and dignity and, therefore, is considered an asset to the city, which is admired by residents and visitors alike. That building is a proof of what American citizens of Hungarian origin can do if they follow a vision and listen to the voice of ambition. That building is a symbol of American pride and a monument of creative fraternalism. We are proud of that building as American Hungarians and even more so as members of the Verhovay F. I. Association. But the membership of Branch 132 had more than just a vision. It is a great thing to make ambitious plans, but it is an entirely different matter to see them through and to carry out all obligations that arise in the course of such a program. It takes vision to make great plans but it takes courage, persistence, will-power and immense resources of resistance against, odds and difficulties, to make those plans come true. And therein, the members of Branch 132 have proved that they are true Americans who have once and for all adopted the American way of doing great things in a big way. The building of the Verhovay Home in downtown South Bend, Ind., was a costly pi-oject, so much so that the Verhovayans who had set their hearts on such a high goal, met doubt, indifference and even open criticism in mapy quarters. But they had the spirit of the pioneers . . . undaunted, they proceeded, fought, coaxed, persuaded, worked and insisted upon the feasibility of their plans and the results vindicated their unparalleled ambition. They turned to the Home Office for a $S9,000 loan . . . It was perhaps the highest amount ever asked for by any branch of this Association. It took a great deal of effort to succeed, but finally the lean was granted. That was in 1937. Today, the Verhovay Home in South Bend, Ind., is cleared of' all mortgage indebtedness: a heretofore unprecedented achievement! Including interests and the costs of redecorating the interior and exterior of the beautiful building, more than a 100,000 dollars had been spent and paid, down to the last nickel, by the creative fratemalists of Branch 132. Naturally, the burning of the mortgage was made the occasion for a great victory-celebration, in which the jubilant membership of Branch 132 was joined by many other branches of the Association. FRANK WUKOVITS, manager of Branch 132, local Organizer, wrote a fine report on the mortgage burning celebration and the translation of the story written by him appeares following this introduction which, we felt, should precede the report, as a tribute to creative fraternalism as demonstrated by the officers and members of Branch 132, South Bend, Ind. * # * A REPORT BY MANAGER FRANK WUKOVITS The beautifully decorated auditorium and all of the rooms of South Bend’s Verhovay Home were filled to capacity by guests and visitors on November 3, Saturday evening. The Mayor of South Bend, representatives of churches, societies, outstanding personalities of public life attended this significant celebration. (Continued on Page 2) T
