Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-01-15
HOW WAR ORPHANS
| ARE GIVEN SHELTER
Americans at Head of This
Great Charitable Work
in France.
HAPPY AT THEIR MEALS
DESPITE LIFE'S TRAGEDY

Many Probably Would Have Per-
ished of Privation, But for
Timely Assistance.
How the war orphans of France are
being cared for is described in an arti-
Gle Just sent out by the Survey press
service. Ii is related by Mrs. Ernest
r. Bicknell, who went to Europe after
her husband. director of civilian relief
of the American Red Cross. had gone
as member of the Rockefeller war
relief commission.
THE most spectacular work with
children in Paris writes Mrs. Bicknell
''is that at st. Sulpice, where little
refugees and orphans are received by
the hundreds and afterward turned
over to other agencies or placed in
homes and colonies.
Happy at Their Meals.
ut is stirring experience TO see
thousand or more little ones come rush
ing into the great dining room at st.
Sulpice when the hour for the evening
meal arrives. They come in groups OF
twos and threes. the older leading the
Younger, sometimes little boy of
three carefully guiding his sister of
two. but all happy, for warm, whole
some food is at hand.
Finally they are all seated at the
tables No. there comes a little boy
crying because he can find no place
The big policeman picks him up and
tucks him in. There is much laughter
and happy chatter AS the soup IS
served. Each child begins to eat as
soon as his plate is nlled. Look at that
dear baby at the end of the bench She
bravely tries to fill her spoon, but IT
will tip over and all the soup is spilled
before it reaches her mouth. she
smiles, ticks the spoon and tries again
The caretaker tells me she Will feed
the baby when the children are all
served.
THE policemen of Paris feel that the
work at st. Sulpice is peculiarly their
own They started and supported 1t
until it grew so large that outside help
was required.
Another organization in Paris is
called the National Association for Or
phans of the War. Originally Ii took
motherless children whose fathers had
gone to the front. More recently lt
has also cared for those whose fathers
have died on the battlefield. The so
ciety now has 1000 children which
it maintains in various parts of France
in colonies of from ten TO Twelve.
each group cared for by war WIDOW
who often has one or two OF her own
little ones in the colony. The govern
ment partially supports this work by
means of a small subsidy.
Children of the Frontier.
1.-The work. however. which perhaps
makes the strongest appeal is that Tor
the Flemish. French and Alsatian chill
dren of the frontier whose parents
have been killed or driven into exile.
whose homes have been destroyed ana
who. though they may not all be the
children of soldier heroes. are the m
nocent victims caught by that drcad-
full tide of. battle continually adVancinS
and receding along the French and Bel
gian border.
o.srhe Franco American committee for
the protection of children of the IRON
tier is carried on almost Wholly by
group of devoted Americans In fa1S
who are reaching forth a helping hand
to these friendless children, who are
not looked after by any other organ
ization and who are not provided Win
aid by any government Mrs Cooper
Hewitt is honorary president. August
Jaccaci. president; Mrs. Robert Woods
Bliss wife of the secretary OF Inc
American embassy in Paris. vice presi-
dent, and Frederic r. Coudert OF New
York, treasurer. The executive com
Bliss, the Countess Pierre deNiel Cas-
tel. formerly Miss Ripley of America:
Mrs. William II. Hill and Mrs. Frances
G.. Shaw of Boston.
1.-The first charges of the committee
were some 200 children from Beifort
who had been made homeless by the
bombardment of that town. Mr. Cou-
dert obtained the loan of a seminary
situated in Yvetot. Normandy. where
the children. were given shelter. Later
hi
the children were removed TO the
Chateau Grosfys, not far from fvetot-
The work thus inaugurated by Mr..
Coudert was taken over by the COM
mittee which then came into existence.
Demands on Committee.
"Many demands soon began coming
to the committee from relief agents
who were responsible for the placing
of orphaned and evacuated children
from the invaded districts. Among me
requests was one from the woman VINO
acted as mayor of scissors during the
German occupation. She asked the com
mittee to take eight chilpren whose
mother had been killed in their pres
ence by the bursting OF Il shell In the
cellar of their home.
Through the cooperation OF the
Order of st. Vincent de Paul. many OF
It's Paris institutions were opened 10
the committee as temporary sheieeis'
Upon their arrival, after perhaps TWEEN
ty-four hours of travel. the children
are in wretched condition. They are
taken at once to one of these receiv-
ing stations. where they are thorough
" washed their clothing cleansed ana
each child supplied with absolute nee
essaries Then they are taken TO the
colonies, where they are under the care
of Flemish or French sisters accord
ing as the children are Flemish or
French. The committee now has about
/ 900 children, and applications are re-
ceived every day.
..At Versailles we visited the colony
of Les C!arisses where twenty little
girls are living in part of AN old con-
vent, which faces a wonderful garden.
The children were at dinner. but arose
as we entered and sang Tipperary for
us in English and also Flemish an
them. They probably did not under.
stand what the words of DTlpperary