Evening star., 1915-01-11
MRS. MARYE VISITS
RUSSIAN FRONT
Wife of American Ambassador
Within Short Distance
of Firing Lines.
DISTRIBUTED CIGARETTES
TO WOUNDED IN HOSPITAL
Watches Maneuver of Troops From
Trenches Where Men Off Duty
Sang Around Fires.

PETROGRAD, via London. January
IL, 4:05 a.m.-During a recent visit to
Warsaw by George T. Marye, the Amer
lean ambassador to Russia, and party
from the embassy, Mrs. Marye and
Secretary Raymond Baker took occa-
sion to make trip near the battle line
in Poland. They We're escorted by a
director of the Red Cross hospital to
within three miles of the firing line.
Mr.. Baker in recounting details of the
experience. said
THE ambassadress enjoyed the trip
across the battlefield tremendously, and
although we were almost in the CEN
ter of things, with every road and field
black with massing troops, and the
continuous booming of big guns was
always in our ears. Mrs. Marye showed
no apprehension, but only the keenest
interest in what was going on.
AT one point we were close enough
to hear the intermittent splitting of
the machine guns Here we came upon
the line OF secondary trenches and were
invited to enter. In the marvelously
constructed underground rooms we saw
the soldiers then off duty gathered
around small fires and singing. BY
peering through chinks between the
SanupagS lying on top of the trenches
we could see the curious vista of the
country between us and the fighting.
IT was slightly rolling down here
and there and with patches of wood
land not unlike the middle west, but
SO covered with moving troops that
one got the impression that the coun-
try itself was in motion.
Saw Many Refugees.
our route lay through a road close
to within three miles of Sochaczew.
The roads We're soft and unfrozen in
this region, making automobile travel
dlfilcult. and We had trouble threading
our way through the double line of in
coming and outgoing transports. The
features which most impressed Mrs.
Marye were the utter devastation of
the country, everywhere Scared by
pattie. and the stream of homeless and
hopeless refugees. scantily clad and
shlVerlng without the slightest idea
whittier they were bound
our objective was the field hospital.
to which the wounded were being
brought in autos and wagons Mrs
Marye spent some time here and Wis
ited every one of the wounded, to whom
she distributed cigarettes
The eagerneSS and appreciatjop of
the soldiers were very touching. In
this hospital were wounded of all de-
Srees. Some, only trivially hurt, stood
up and bowed to the ambassadress:
others lay between life and death The
hardness and endurance of these Rus
sian soldiers struck us as marvellous.
some had survived wounds that would
have killed other races. While in the
hospital We heard the continuous roar
of battle going on not far in the dis
tance.
Hospitals at Warsaw.
o ''Returuing TO Warsaw NfrS Marya
visited other hospitals, one of which
contained 1000 beds and where the
patients are looked after by fifty sur
geons and 400 nurses, the latter being
volunteers from the best families of
Russia and Poland"
A letter from Edward Fl. Egbert.
chief American Red Cross surgeon in
charge of the Kiev Hospital, states
that $40 patients have been admitted
since December 5, of whom 1872 have
recovered and only one has died. There
have been fifty surgical operations and
$500 redressings performed since that.
time.
Brave, appreciative and always doing
everything in their power to cooper
ate with US, the Russian soldiers make
ideal patients" DIR. Egbert writes ITO
day, Russian Christmas, all who We're
able to walk or well enough to be car
ried, gathered in a large empty ward,
where they ywere entertained by profess
sional English comedians out of a job.
We had Christmas tree and pres
entsh including war sweaters and
cigarettes. were given to each patient.
The American surgeons and nurses gave
d watch as Il present to each of sew
enty members of the sanitary squad A
regular American Christmas dinner was
served to all patients who were able to
eat one.
II am now attempting to arrange to
have our party sent to some point
where we can be of more use and sec
more active service"