Help on Wheels

The assortment of freight cars making their way across the nation last week was obviously on no ordinary mission. When the cars left Manhattan, they had been blessed by a cardinal, a rabbi and an Episcopal bishop, had pulled out to a chorus of God Bless America. They carried boxes and crates of supplies ranging from drugs and machinery to pencils. Destination of the cargo: Korea.

Sponsored by the American-Korean

Foundation, the "train" is one of several that are proceeding by different routes to the West Coast. At each large city, trains will stop, collect more boxes and cars. By journey's end at San Francisco, the foundation hopes to have 600 carloads of goods. For the schools of Korea, the most important part of the cargo is the boxes marked especially for them--each filled by the schools of the U.S.

The boxes are the beginnings of a long-range school-assistance program. Over the years, the foundation hopes to have millions of U.S. pupils collecting not only pencils, paper, laboratory equipment, games and musical instruments, but also news about themselves. In return, the Korean schools will be asked to make up exhibits, send them back to the U.S. pupils from whom the gifts came. Meanwhile, the tragic plight of Korea's schools remains. Items:

P: Of a prewar total of some 37,000 schools, 10,000 have been completely destroyed and 8,000 more half destroyed.

P: At least 5% of the schools are conducted out of doors, and 900 classes meet in tents.

P: Eight out of ten schools were looted by the Communists. Books were burned, equipment stolen, swings and seesaws melted down for scrap.

P: Because of the shortage of buildings, some 800,000 children are unable to go to school at all. But whether they go or not, one in every eight is suffering from TB.

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