Evening star., 1915-06-20
STORY Of A W0MAN'S
FIGHT AGAINST ODDS
Crippled by an Accident, Her Busi-
ness Ruined, She Strug-
giles On.
New Foothold Wiped Out by Present
War, Still She Is With
out Complaint.

out complaint.
A pathetic tale Of hardship in Wash
lngton. accompanied by accounts of self.
sacrifice which have stirred the sympathy
of those who have heard them, came te
light yesterday afternoon as the resul,
OF story of how the effects Of the great
war in Europe have been felt by a woman
teacher OF languages who resides at the
Princeton apartments, 143O V stree,
northwest
She Is Mrs. Marie Watson, the widow
of Robert G. Watson, who was at one
time real estate dealer in New York
city, and who was a veteran of the civil
war Mrs Watson at the time the pres.
ent war began was a teacher Of English
to students sent her by the japanese EN-.
bassy and Chinese legation. She had
fourteen or fifteen pupils, and from the
fees they paid she managed to maintain
herself in modest fashion and pay the
upkeep of offices on U street, in a quar-
ter where persons frequently passed who
might be able to see her signs and be
inspired by them to take up language
study.
Only One Student Left.
Since the outbreak of international diff
f1culties, however, Mrs. Watson's foreign
students have gone home to Japan. China
and Chosen, and today she has but one
pupil, a gentleman connected with a
private scientific laboratory in her neigh
borhood. who is studying German under
her tuition, and she has been obliged to
move into modest rooms.
The result has been a tale Of hardship
over which Mrs. Watson preferred to
draw the veil. in conversation had with
her last night by reporter for The Star.
whose attention was drawn to the human
interest of her circumstances by her Ger
man student Notwithstanding her own
hardships, however, Mrs. Watson, it was
learned, has during the past three years
assisted no less than forty-two women
equally as unfortunately placed as her
self, dividing the little she has had dur
ing the past year since the war has been
in progress with some OF them, and at
the present time trying to be of assist
ance in a humble way to woman whose
husband Is dead, and who has been home
less while seeking work.
Splendidly educated in the languages
and in the arts and crafts, Mrs Watson
has found it almost impossible of late
to make her way. She is a mistress of
English, German, French. Spanish, Per-
sian and Esperanto. and when she was
better circumstanced in days gone by, for
nine years she gave all of her time
without charge to lecturing on the
Bahai movement in the effort to bring
about real brotnerhood' of man and
woman. at which that movement aims
and in which the story of her life shows
her to be true believer.
Crippled by Accident.
Mrs Watson is a cripple She calls
herself. outspokenly, a "hunchback, as
the consequence of street car acci-
dent many years ago in which she was
injured. She spent eleven months in
Garfield Hospital as the result of that
tragedy and for three years did not
walk. When the accident happened
she had a fourishing school of Ian
guages, with eighty pupils, and some
savings. Those and all other assets
were swept away at the time. About
to leave a street car one day, a large
colored woman with basket of
clothes barred the vision of the car
he rang his bell for the
car to proceed, and Mrs. Watson, some
packages in her own arm. was thrown
to the street, with others Men stepped
on her ribs. breaking several, and her
spine was injured.
She has never recovered, and, al
though she can now walk, she Is to-
less than 100 pounds. ffty-four years
old. going down the other side of the
hill of life with sadly wrecked body,
but with a smile and with a keeniy
alert mind which shows no trace what
ever of bitterness toward the burdens
ner slight frame has borne
Mrs. Watson, who was born in New
York, the daughter of a French moth
er and German father, now has not a
single relative in the world, so far as
she knows, and. as she expressed it
asst night, only one friend, her Ger
nan pupil, except the derelicts and fell
ow sufferers whom she has tried to
help from the little she has had. Filled
With an abiding optimism and a devout
'aith in the mercy of Providence, she
struggles on. She was asked last night
Why she had not been able to collect
lamages from the street car company
On whose line she was injured, and
he answered that she had spent her
;avings in lawyers fees and costs in
IN effort to obtain some monetary re-
iress, but that her case had been
brown out of court because the COM
,any she sued had passed into the |
lands of another. larger street car
inc combination and she had not the
money to fight further.
Obtained Government Position.
But / got along, anyhow" she said. |
L obtained position in the seed di-
,ision of the Agricultural Department,
Ind 1 went to work on crutches until |
could re-establish the language
ichool."
This the war has now taken from her.
,ut despite her own wants she keeps
Ter eyes fixed In the direction of those
yhom she thinks need the aid of the
-reat city rushing past her, and to
hese she ministers in pity and charity.
:ot long ago she found a woman III on
n upper ss floor ,oaI Of the apartment house
n which she % nvss' deserted by a dis
biect of pity had had nothing to eat
or four days. Mrs. Watson aided her.
nj of her own scant store The sons
hanks. as soon as he left Occoouan.
yere to rob Mrs. Watson of an heir-
nom watch and the money she had
aved for her rent
"But l am not discouraged" she said.
The boy did not know what he was
VIZ. pnuQt hA1n oarh nSh>,