The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-04-08
MAXINE ELLIOTT IS { DOING GREAT WORK | FOR THE BELG|ANS Reaches Those Starving Be-
 tween Fighting Fronts.
 Talks to Correspondent l AMERICANS DID NOT
 RESPOND TO APPEAL Only English Sent Aid-People Are Stuffed Like Sardines in Barns. Cannon Boom Accompani- Y ment to Church Bells

Dunkirk, France, March 25-(Correspon- dence of the Associated Press.)-Still viz orously pushing her relief work close to the battle lines in Flanders, Maxine FL liott reports finding the Belgian refugees
 stuffed like sardines in the barns, even in the pig stys and hen houses-in fact, any place that has roof"
 T have still not been able to find any shelter for my ambulance within a radius of 10 miles," she said to an Associated Press correspondent who found her on that vehicle ankle deep in mud and drip ping with rain.
 \ T stuff the ambulance full daily with food and clothing she continued "and make the pitiful round of as many cases as l can.
 T recently wrote an open letter to My Own Countrywomen in England for aid. but only English people responded It was a great surprise to me, for l thought might get help from America and little or nothing from England, but as usual the unexpected happened. From England l got little over 5000 in cash and be- tween $S0,00o and s35.o00 worth of stuff for the barge"
 k The barge is the Julia" which the American actress herself conducted through the canals from Calais to the re- note corners of West Flanders, to reach the starving refugees between the fight ing fronts
 T can hardly describe to you the pitt fui condition of these poor refugees she continued. "Only today we have clothed F families from top to toe, from 10 to If people in each family. Ii is i'm possible for them to find shelter, and they are stuffed like sardines in the barns, \ even in the pig stys and hen houses; in fact, in any place that has a roof.
 'In house close by so soldiers sleep on the ground floor, and in a tiny room adjoining are fragments of several fam lilies. 15 people in all. Two of the children are down with typhoid, one on the floor and one in an old bisbuit box, and this is the sort of thing we encounter daily, but we have managed to make a great nn- proyement in conditions though it is quite impossible to house them any better There is not enough room for the army, and as many civilians as possible are 7 sent away continually, but still they come on-shelled out of their homes and buff feted about from one wretched place to another.
 'I have arranged with a bakery close by to bake several hundred loaves of bread day, and yesterday a bomb dropped in front of the door. killing d man and three horses. It tore a hole through one corner of the roof and broke every pane of glass in the bakery, and all the yeast and bread for the days supply l. had to be thrown await was full of glass splinters. Several other bombs were thrown a little further on, killing eight people in all. It seems such a senseless sort of warfare, for no one but little chil- dren and harmless civilians are the suf- ferers.
 What horror, horror, eyerywhere the glorious thing called war brings in it's train. We see nothing but sad sights and yet the people themselves are not sad It is surprising what people can live through. There is family of five iv- ing in a hand cart close by and have been there five monthsi They have roofed the top over with sacking and strip of canvas, and there they tuck themselves away and the soldiers feed them. Of course, the military authorities say the refugees are gone now because they don't see them with their little bundles crying by the roadside, but poor things, they have crowded into every available cor ner, and cling to the idea. that they may be able to creep back to their homes when the bombarding ceases. By that time there won't be much left of their poor lit- tie homes, I fear.
 ' Tt seemed so incongruous the other Sunday to hear the church bells chiming all day and the cannons keeping dread ful hccompaniment. In the evening a sol der brought us some German souvenirs taken from one of those killed the day beIOre E1In 1llt OOtt TUT hOenlg und Faderland' on the helmet and 'Gott Nit Uns' on the belt.
 To relieve the pressure on my barge l have had to establish another depot at Dumoch near La Panne and have taken in the wife of a commandant there Mime. Le Favre. to help, as we'll as the wife of another officer, and I issue tickets for the people to present and obtain their supplies. l also give tickets on the local bakeries as well as at La Panna and Buscamp and have still another little depot at the bur golnasters. It is astounding to see the amount of relief the old Julia is able to provide. and I am so thankful It is all organized now quite perfectly. so that there is no waste, and every bit of food and clothing goes where it Is intended I see to that myself. Committees wait on me for miles and miles around, represent ing their own suffering little commune. and up to now have been able to keep them all in some measure if not alto- gether. t
 "One could not dream there was so much misery in the whole world. Babies apparently arrive every minute and from the wonderful cargo have managed to