Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1914-09-16
AN AMERICAN WOMAN
FLEES FROM PARIS

We have received from a reader of The
Outlook-an American woman travelling in
Europe-a letter giving an Interesting ac-
count of her experience with the Ameri-
can refugees who hurried to London from
Paris after the French declaration of war.
We wish space permitted us TO print it in
tull: but the following extracts. read in
connection with the account given by our
staff correspondent last week, present a
vivid picture of the perplexities. discom-
forts; and distress of mind and body
which European travellers suffered after
the outbreak of hostilities. The little
touches of humor and sympathy disclosed
IN .nls letter are a grateful offset to the
inevitably be the chief printed product of
the Wharf.-The Editors.
In the afternoon, at the Bon Marehe,
In the course of our purchasing. we
were asked in what shape we carried
our money. and when we showed a
!OO-franc note We're old with a grave
look that money was very scarce, and
mat giving too much change to us. in
silver. would be q greater evil than
losing the entire sale. In other words.
you simply couldn't buy - francs
worth OF stuff If Il 50-franc note was
ali you could offer in payment. Such
q dlfficulty is easily met by the femi-
nlne mind. at d counter of hand en-
broidery: and as cur purchases came
10 $500 francs. we were given change,
" winch we lttie STaSped the later
value to ourselves. In crippled French
we tried to understand from the book
Keeper what the trouble was, and
couldn't in the least grasp any salts
factory answer as to why Il war in
Ser ' should make Parisians hoard
their gold.
From the Bon Marche we crossed
the street to a chocolate shop. There,
peiore putting up Il candy, they
asked US If we had exactly two francs
70 pay Tor it. as they had no change
Whatever. That looked serious. We
Dought a paper and sat at a table
outside a restaurant and tried to make
out what and how serious the trouble
was.
All of this alarmed us sufficiently to
send us the next morning to cash
some money. II was on the next day
tnat the crowds hesieged the banks At
Coo the office was so crowded that
we casned money at the American t,x
press company after waiting in a long
me. Paper money and one or two
pieces OF silver were all we could get.
FROM the espresso office we went to
the consulate. where many anxious
Americans were waiting their turns,
and where we heard bits of their prob
lens. One oma had paid for a tour
ISL tricket to Switzerland, and back to
the coast to sail in about two weeks
time. and couldn't we'll afford to lose
the money she had paid for the ticket.
would 1t be wise for her to go ahead
with her plans? Two nurses had come.
having heard that there would be a
demand for expert nursing, but were
advised to return to America and
give up. the idea. One woman, a wild
ow. had a German name. and wanted
identification ana residential papers.
We were planning to go to Switzerland
ana wanted to know whether we had
better go at once. The consul advised
our waiting developments in Paris. Al
though all these people at the consul
ate seemed anxious, it was an anxiety
about a future some 10 DAYS or two
weeks OF; the immediate need OF ac-
tion seemed not to impress any.
I. There was an anxious time Of con-
eultatiOn. In the midst of which our
friends telephoned to a they were
possible. Money was by this time a
grave problem. We wanted to carry
4 sufficient amount of French money
to safeguard q possible overnight's de-
lay at Boulogne. On the other hand,
we didn't want French paper on our
money very carefully. and had about
400 francs in paper. 20 francs in gold.
and possibly 20 more in silver. The
gold was left over from that we had
brought from London on Tuesday.
WeAhurried back, to the hotel, and
to advice. we ate luncheon at the ho-
tel, so as to pay for 1t of our
naner money, of which our hotel bill. q
little over 200 francs. took our last
piece.
0culty In securing tAxicabs. but ours
wa ready a. we came out from lunch-
@arn nmA with our two trunks and two