Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-07-18
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ity has thus been extended to include
the newest belligerent on the side OF
the allies.
Relief where and when relief is most
needed" is the guiding motto of the
members of the clearing house. They
seek accurate information before they
make a move and, which Is more to the
point, they get it in the best and quick
est way possible through the good Of
fees of the four allied committees.
This, roughly, sketches the manner OF
organizing which spells success for the
scheme. There remains to be told
what has been accomplished and is be-
ing accomplished by the clearing house
in Paris. Herein lies the marvel.
At the outset one imperative duty
faced the workers at the clearing
house. that Of cleaning up the vast ac-
emulation of misdirected. uncared-
for supplies on the docks at Havre and
Bordeaux. member of the commit
tee was dispatched forthwith to do the
job. 1t took him considerably over a
month; brother committeeman are still
year.
At Havre alone he was confronted
with several small mountain ranges of
bales and packing cases scattered about
stances. three tiers thick and rafter
high. In the aggregate the immense
agglomeration totaled weight Of
something near fifteen hundred tons.
l.
lations at Bordeaux and Brest
Il
Toiling all day and half the night
through the last weeks of 1914, the
committees representative. Mr. James
r. Barbour. at last completed his work
of asserting. arranging and tabulating
these piled-up stores of munitions In
oh
ment. He was obliged to inspect per-
sonally every case, note its intended
destination. prepare q declaration of
its contents for the customs and assist
the officers Of the port in their work
Of appraising.
His difficulties were enhanced by the
iact that among the thousands Of cases
there were hundreds upon which no
adequate indication either of destina-
ton or contents had been made These,
for two obvious reasons. he was
obliged to open and rummage through;
In the first place. the customs men de-
manded declaration of their contents
and. in the second, his committee re-
CURED knowledge OF what they con-
tanned in order to make possible their
intelligent re-shipment to war sur
ferers. But. making an opportunity o
every obstacle, he speedily brought
order to the disordered tons on the
quays and wound up his mission.
While Mr.. Barbour pursued his diff
ficult task OF disentanglement at the
docks other members of the clearing
house bent their efforts toward the
no less important proposition Of secur-
ing the cooperation of the French
government in the matters of customs
clearance and transshipment for distri-
button. Now. for the first time,
Officialdom in France was forcibly
awakened to the fact that on the very
shores of the country there lay be-
tween 1000 and 1000 tons of badly
wanted relief munitions ready to be
given away II the government would
but make the giving possible.
Ministerial conferences were held,
ways and means were promptly con-
sidered. a respectful ear was lent to
the suggestions of the clearing house
committees. and the upshot was that
France officially waived all customs
tariffs on American relief shipments
and offered the free use Of her rail-
roads for their distribution. She went
even farther. At ports of entry the
government agreed to furnish special
agents to undertake the receipt Of mu-
nitions and concluded to lend every
other possible facility for the arrange
ment Of details, even down to the mat
ter of drayage from wharf to railroad
station.
And, following the sweeping action Of
the government, the famous French
line Of transatlantic steamers offered