The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1915-03-23
FOOD To
HUNGRY BELG|ANS
Elliott Personally Con-
Quoting Expedition By Use
Of Barge
lRy The Associs a! Ps

mas met with remarkable success in
getting provisions to starving Bel
glans IN the lighting zones OF Elan
oers- Personally conducting her ex-
pedlelon by barge, lowed through the
canals OF France and Flanders. she
penetrated that little corner whore
the Belgian standard still flies be
tween the guns Of the allied and Ger
man armies.
IL IS a miracle to have got here
said Miss Elliott to an Associatas
met her and two women COMPANIONS
IN the midst Of their work. II ie
against every rule for a woman TO be
al the actual front, and Miss Elliott
succeeded IN her project only after
weeks of "M~achiayellian scharninq
and slavery"
ii American actress enlisted her
eApeoltlon as a part of the services
O1 lne american Commission for re-
lleT III Belgium, but financed it large
~ herself. and personally
1t IN the hope OF reaching the desti-
tute in the country where the fight
ing sui RACES, for these receive little
OF no help from the big funds admin
lstered through Brussels.
We had on board $4,000 worth OF
1909 and a dozen enormous bales OF
clothing when our homely barge. the
Julia, left Calais" said Miss Elliott
Besides herself there were only three
members of the party with the ey-
ceptlon OF three Belgian soldiers who
looked after the barge. Two Of the
party, besides Miss Elliott were wo-
men, intimate friends of the actress
We set ont from Calais on Feb.
A." she said, latter overcoming in
Vulnerable petty a~nnoyances that one
canOt fOresce because in peace time
there is no precedent for them. For
instance, it was impossible far US to
buy mattresses in Calais. We had to
beg four OF the base commandment so
that the sailors would not have to
sleep on the floor.
W also succeeded in borrowing
from the army commissariat 10000
tins Of milk, two tons of potatoes,
500 barrels of sugar, and hoeshead
after hOgShead of salt pork TO sup
plement our cargo"
) The barge, Which the correspond
: ent wa" invited to inspect, was spick
and span from the %scrubbing which
+ Miss Elliott had given it. It's just
/ as comfy here as al H~artsbourne."
| she said, exc PIT we do all the man
2 ual labor ourselves. We scrub the
floors, do all the cooking, make the
beds, and work like cooks. house
E maids and odd men combined. We
have cooked for the soldiers and the
tug crew as Well, If you please, and
i w "AoP A'ANo - Co11A hiSIt, IAeIC
: ed out content.
S MY feet are done up in cotton
= wool, but one doesn't mind. 1 am
I going TO wear like the peas
4 ants after this, with wooden stock
1 ingS underneath. And my poor
= hands! Any cook in the world would
be ashamed to own them."
At DunNirk the party had it's bap-
: tisr Of fire. 81 saw a house blow tC
4 BIZ, so yards in front Of me-" said
Miss Elliott. None OF our party was
= hurt, but seven people were killed 6
little further on.
II must nav been mad not to have
brought a camera-for it has beer
thrillingly interesting country
through which We have passed. w
have seen Taubes flying overhead
and heard the boom OF cannon A
K Tar as the eye could see, trenches
trenches, trenches. There were funn.
little observation houses in the tree
q tops, wireless poles, barbed-Wire en
Ie ianglenlents and swarlns Of soldier
) living like half-droWned rats, poo
things, in a sea Of mud. They salut
ed our flag as we passed, and gaze
a in amazed wonder at the spectacl
- OF women in these forbidden places
y Near Adinkerque, a gunboat ful
OF English officers from Admire
ID Ayres' Squadron steamed down I
- meet US. They were over joyed t
enthusiastically. though we couldn'
f1atter ourselves there was anythiR
- personal in it. It was only becaus
- they hadn't spoken to q woman IL
- ever three months and they Wer
longing for news from home. Their
were several men l knew.
The biggest gunboat Of the squad
he ron was lifted clean out OF the waite
be last week by q shell bursting under
meath it. The warship topped bac
ba with an awful smash. but no daTnae
he done. except the breaking Of ever
: thing breakable."