The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1914-11-12
SOUTH AMERICAN LETTER
Written by Margaret Belle Corson

OcIl1S UOOh ci DIdZiI q year oSO, oiAO
sed on the information found
there. Thus 4 give you all a chance
to verify my statement. (By the way,
SOD the very book displayed in a
ok store down town for 10000
md how it took me back to the
mental pictures had formed OF Brazil
before I left my native shores! When
| feel reckless enough to consider buy
ing three dollar books l shall feel
tempted to get that for believe it is
the best book published on this coun-
try.) To 60 back to the Italian prob
lem, and Miss Garabaldi-She came
here both to study conditions and to
try to find market for Italian lace.
The society of which she is member
encourages the peasant women In
their native industry of lace making
by drawing them designs COPIED from
beautiful antiques) and by under
taking to sell the work. Miss Carl
baldi has small trunk full of the low
Hest laces, on which she had to pay
ruinous customs charges, of course,
and which she cannot get rid of be-
cause so many of the people who in
good times would be generous patrons
are financially embarrassed. This lace
selling is. something that was thrust
upon her by her society at the time
she planned to come here, and that is
turning out to be veritable white ell
ephant. never saw such beautiful
work or such exquisite patterns as
are shown in that lace, but of course
it represents too much work to be
bought cheaply, and, bearing the extra
burden of the tariff; reaches a price
that is practically prohibitive to peo-
pie of modest means.
Miss Garibaldi herself is very in
teresting. In 1905, '06, and '07 she
attended Goucher College in Balti-
more, US. So of course she talks Eng
lish. We do not see her often for she
has many invitations and is often
away from the hotel for meals. Her
table is just behind ours, however, so
that when she is here we always see
her to talk to. A most modest, I'M
assuming person she is! Her father
and two brothers fought on the side of
Greece in the Balkan war, and she,
with five other Italian girls, went with
them as Red Cross nurses. They
marched with the troops, in the CEN
ter of the column as it was not safe,
on account of the Turks, to have them
march in the rear, or to remain behind
in a village which the army was
leaving. Each nurse carried revol-
yer, not so much for self-defense (be-
cause if attacked at all the odds would
be overpoweringly against herr as
for having prompt means for ending
her life if captured. It sounds grim,
and so were the facts. When she
heard of the impending European War
she said, "That means my father and
brothers have to fight" She cabled
her mother to ask whether she should
return home Immediately, and re-
ceived the answer, "Wait." When
Henry saw her in the corridor this
morning he told her that word had
come that Italy had declared neutral
ity. She expressed great relief and
said that explained her mothers ans
wer.
Monday, August 3.
At this distance from the effected
territory it is impossible to know
whether the cable news appearing in
the newspapers is correct, especially
as a report circulated one day is de-
MED the next. The newest story to-
day is that England has captured a
German coal ship, which is causing
much excitement among the Germans
and English here.
There is no direct cable line from
North America to South America so
that all cable news from the States
has to come by way of Europe, dur
ing which detour it dwindles to very
meager amount. We are very anxious
to know how the present situation is
effecting North America, but we can
get very little reliable information.
In the paper this morning there was
just one small paragraph from Wash
ington, D. c., and that was to the
effect that the government was con-
sidering the advisability of providing
ship for bringing home all such
Americans as wish to leave Europe.
Americans here will probably read
such a paragraph with wry smile,
and some comment on the significant
verb "considering"-that our home
government, in any crisis affecting the
safety Of its citizens abroad, is likely
to go on considering" until it is too
late to do anything.
At the Consulate Saturday Henry
and / met an American who is con-
nected with factory that makes ice
making machinery. The factory is a
French concern, and this American
said that they had been obliged, in &C
cordance with cable instructions from
France, to discharge six hundred and
forty men. So much for the far
reaching effects Of even rumors of
war, in countries geographically rem
dered non-combatant.
OF course. by the time you are read
inc fhyc fhA xvh~1~