Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1915-03-23
MAXINE ELLIOTT
ANGEL Of MERCY
IN WAR REGION
Famous American Actress
Personally Conducts Expe-
.dition to Get Provisions to
Starving BelgianS.

Calais March 10.-Maxine Elliott
has met with remarkable success in
Getting provisions to starving Belgians
IN the fighting zones OF Flanders Per-
sonally conducting her expedition by
barge. lowed through the canals of
France and FLANDERS, between the
GINS 0f the allies and German armies.
1T is a miracle 10 have got here, -
said Miss Elliott TO an Associated
press correspondent who recently met
her and two women companions in
the midst of their work. IT IS against
every rule for a woman to be at the
actual front, and Miss Elliott succeed :
ed in her project only after weeks of
"Machlavellian scheming and slav-
cry.
The American actress enlisted her
expedition as part of the services of
the American commission for relief
in Belgium, but financed it largely
herself, and personally conducted il
in the hope of reaching the destitute
in the country where the fighting still
RACES. for these receive little or no
help from the big funds administered
through Brussels
Four Members of Party.
I'VE had on board $4,000 worth of
food and a dozen enormous bales Of
clothing when our homely barge, the
Julia left Calais" said Miss Elliott.
Besides herself there We're only three
members of the party, with the ex-
ception Of three Belgian soldiers who
looked after the barge. Two of the
party, besides Miss Elliott were wom-
en-, intimate friends of the actress.
We set out from Calais on Febru-
airy A. she said, after overcoming
mnUmerable petty annoyances that
one cannot foresee because in peace
For instance, il was impossible for
US to buy mattress in Calais. We had
to beg four Of the base commandaut
so that the sailors would not have To
sleep on the floor.
I'VE also succeeded in borrowing
from the army commissariat 10000
tins of milk, two tons of potatoes, 500
barrels of sugar, and hogshead after
hogshead Of salt pork to supplement
our cargo"
The barge, which the correspondent
was invited to inspect. was spick and
span from the scrubbing which Miss
Elliott had given IT, Its just as
comfy here as at Hartsbourne, she
said, except we do all the manual
labor ourselves. We scrub the floors,
do all the cooking, make the beds and
work like cooks, housemaids and odd
men combined. We have cooked for
the soldiers and the tug crew as well,
III you please, and We drop into he'd
each night, exhausted but content.
Clad Like a Peasant.
my feet are done up in cotton
WOOL but one doesn't mind. | am go
Ing to wear sabots like the peasants
after this, with wooden stockings un-
derneath. And my poor hands! Any
cook in the world would be ashamed
to own them
At Dunkirk the party had its bap-
tsm of fire. Il saw a house blown
to bits fifty yards in front Of me,
said Miss Elliott. None of our party
was hurt; but seven people were killed
a little further on.
Il must have been mad not to have
brought a camera-fOr 1t has been
thrllingly interesting country through
which we have passed. We have seen
Taubes flying overhead, and heard the
boom of cannon. AS far as the eye
could see, trenches, trenches. trenches.
There were funny little observation
houses in the tree-tops, wireless poles
barbed wire entanglements, and
swarms of soldiers living like half
drowned rats, poor things, In sea OF
mud They saiuted our flag as we
passed, and gazed in amazed wonder
at the spectacle of women in these
forbidden places.
Greeted nv English Officers.
Near Adinkerque a gunboat fun
Ct English officers from Admiral
Ayres squadron steamed down 10
meet us They were oyer-joyed to see
us. It was nice to be greeted so en-
Enthusiastically, though We eouldn
flat;er ourselves there was anything
personal in it. 1t was only because
they hadn't spoken TO a woman Tor
over three months and they were
longing for news from home. There
were several men | knew.
The biggest gunboat Of the squad
ron was lifted clean out of the water
last week by a shell bursting under
meath it, The warship flo6ged PACK
again with an awful smash, but no
damage done, except the breaking oil
everything breakable