The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-07-04

was established at Esternay. Here
and In the villages round about there
had been much damage by fire and
pillage. Other centres were soon To-
Gated at Chalons-sur-Marne. Fere
Champenoise. Vitry-le-Francois. Ser
maize, Fontenelle, in the region south
Of Scissors, where a headquarters Is
established at Beugneux, SCISSORS it.
self being too near the fighting line
to be considered safe for reconstruc-
ton purposes. and in many other
places. But the advance Is continue
ally eastward.
The society was Immediately given
the freedom OF the custom house, and
offices for the receipt OF money n
supplies have been located at l03
Avenue P%armentier. Paris. and at
Ethelburga House, 81 Bishopsgate. Z.
c.. London.
One Of the officials interviewed for
THE SUNDAY Sun spoke with much
feeling Of the beautiful little villages,
formerly so picturesque a part Of this
part of the country. now absolutely
destroyed, In some cases merely heaps
Of stones, bits of twisted iron. an angle
Of a broken wall remaining as the sole
evidence that once life had been there
life and happiness.
Our method of work." he explained,
us this. Workshops are established
in various places. consultations take
place with the local authorities and
where IT is possible the local carpen-
ters and masons are employed to help
the workmen brought from England.
II takes six men about twenty hours
to erect a two roomed house and in
some instances these finished prod
ucts are conveyed by motor truck to
their destination and put up.
I'm the beginning we tried TO re-
pair and rebuild. Substantial walls
had been left which could be used. A
roof only was needed here and there.
We found hat a one story building
could be made by roofing in and adapt
ing existing bits OF masonry. Occa-
sionaliy even a leanto building could
be erected against an outer wall. But
as we have advanced e~astward-we
are now near N~ancy-the destruction
is so complete tht We have decided TO
build outright.
The French Government eener-
ously supplies timber and the local au-
thorities give what they can. With
this assistance we can erect a small
bungalow or, as the English call It,
hut for twenty-five dollars ts25).
This is. Of course. only the shell. Then
comes the question OF furnishing. Of
clothes, OF o for the villagers. who
have fled TO ~neighboring towns. or, re-
naming because they could no; Z
away. are in even more pit.able a
state.
Take for example Sermaize' A few
months & II was a prosperous little
town of about 1000 inhabitants. II
had a sugar factory. a health resort
hotel and II contained those artistic
little homes with which We are all
so familiar-and which we regret so
much from a purely aesthetic stand
point. When we Went there we found
only broken bricks and twisted iron,
the fountain in the Place 10y some
strange coincidence being left intact.
Here and there a coil of smoke led to
a ruined cellar-precious as a dwell
ing-and when We or pit down a stair
case and CROPPED along a black passage
we found all that was left of the
home Of a poor family. The then
derelict hotel housed some of the r5fu-
gees.
In the villages Of Glannes and
Huron we found only a stack Of
chimneys left. The Mayer OF Glannes
has already entered into possession
OF the four roomed wooden house built
for him. and more than twenty houses
in this place are ready for occupancy.
in Gerbevillers we found a state
q complete decentralization. Here fifty
civilians had been massacred and one
man buried alive. The enemy had