NEW YORK—I am glad to find that branches of the American Association for the United Nations are doing something active in the spring of this year. United Nations Week, preceding United Nations Day, has become the climax for all educational activities of the association. But we on the board feel that it is a good idea to make an effort to draw people's attention to the U.N. and its activities in the spring, as well.

This year our Greater St. Louis branch will have its spring dinner on April 4 at the Congress Hotel. Special guest, who will address the dinner, is Mrs. Oswald B. Lord. Mrs. Lord is the U.S. representative on the Human Rights Commission and has been an alternate delegate to the U.S. General Assembly since 1953.

Mrs. Lord has just returned from a two-month trip in Southeast Asia, France and Spain and she must have many interesting impressions, gathered from her observations of people and situations on this trip, to impart to her audience.

Mrs. Lord will be introduced by Dr. Franc L. McCluer, president of Lindenwood College of St. Charles, Mo. We at the headquarters of the AAUN are hoping that this branch's meeting will be a great success.

I think this is a good time to mention the information which has come to me from the Christian Rural Overseas Program, known as CROP.

This organization receives gifts for the world's needy and says that, because of the landslides and extensive flooding in the wake of Europe's severest winter in 200 years, it expects larger shipments of food than was planned will be sent to Europe this spring.

The Church World Service ships and administers these supplies in the field, just as it administers the distribution of surplus food supplies released by the U.S. government and draws on CROP contributions to bear part of the handling costs for these surpluses.

This service also handles medicine and gifts of clothing for people made homeless from landslides along the Danube.

Winter wheat was almost wiped out in Italy, Germany and France. Italy also suffered extensive damage to her olive oil industry which, it is feared, will take 15 years to rehabilitate.

Originally CROP supplies were intended to go to school lunch programs, orphanages and refugees. But now these supplies have been diverted to the greater needs arising from Europe's severe winter.

Dairy products and rice in the amount of 4,500,000 pounds have been sent to Greece. No complete report has yet been received from Turkey, but 48,000 pounds of food are on their way to that nation. And these organizations fear that more needs will arise as spring advances.