The Rotary Balita no. 747 (June 10, 1954)

Puerto Rico Rotario, a quarterly publication of a Rotary district of Puerto Rico, publishes a letter addressed to its Director Nelson Ramirez by our distinguished fellow Rotarian and Past Governor, Ted Hall. The letter which is a very interesting do cument reflecting the happenings of several years between two Rotary conventions separated by the second World War, was given prominent display in the publication of the Puerto Rico Rotary. We are pleased to reproduce in full the letter of Ted Hall which reads as follows: Dear Nelson: It is quite a coincidence that on my return from the Rotary Convention in Paris I should find a letter from you, whom I met at the Rotary Convention in Denver in 1941. Since I last saw you, I have, as you said, "gone through many things, in and out of Rotary," You may remember that I was the "black crow" at the International Assembly, who went about quacking "War is coming." How right I was! I returned to Manila on Oct. 8, 1941, just two months before Manila was bombed. I was interned, together with my wife, in the Santo Tomas Internment Camp for thirty-seven months. We almost starved to death, however, we were lucky. Many of our friends and companions succumbed to starvation and others were killed by gun fire, when the Japanese shelled our camp, after the American forces had rescued us." We watched the bombing of the Japanese installations in Manila and then the total destruction of the major portion of Manila by the Japanese Army, as they retreated. We never doubted the Allied Forces would return, but it seemed such a long time. Rotary was quick to recover. Dagupan, where General MacArthur landed, was the first club reorganized, followed closely by Manila.. As I was the District Governor when Manila was captured, Rotary International asked me to act as the Dis trict Governor for the 1945-46 term. Little is known of the help that was extended to Rotarians in the Philippines by Rotary International. Almost as soon as it was possible, after liberation, R. I. placed a considerable sum of money in my hands for the relief of destitute Rotarians. Strange as it may seem, it was not the American Rotarians who had been interned, but the Filipino Rotarians, especially those with large families, who had lost their means of livelihood when the Japanese interrupted the commercial life of the nation, who needed the help the most. Rising prices and depreciating currency made it almost impossible to secure enough food, clothing or a place to sleep and the conditions amongst the civilian population was appaling. The funds raised by R. I. were used to purchase medicine, clothes, shoes, and blankets and at a time when they were the most needed, right. after liberation and before the wheels of industry hand had a chance to start running again. Rotary in the Philippines seems to have benefited by the invasion and its aftermath. When the war started we had only eight clubs, now there are twenty-eight. Personally, I did my bit toward the rehabilitation of the telephone system throughout the Philippines and a little over two years ago I retired and a younger man took over the responsibilities that had been mine. This made it possible for me to attend the Paris Convention, and I enjoyed every moment of it, as well as the pre-Convention tour on that wonderful ship the Nieuw Amsterdam of the Holland American Line. Thank you for remembering me, after all these years, and with warmest personal regards, I am, Yours sincerely, TED (THEODORE L. HALL)