New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-06-11

,Itully MS shaking uAniS WehFo NlOst-fiiiS
little baskets. Some of them were open trays
for household knickknacks. Others were
worked out into true art shapes Of vases
I shan't forget him as he stood there, trem-
+, bling. the little reed baskets rocking i'm his
hands, but those baskets themselves revealing
not trace Of his infrmity. Only his nervous
system was broken. But his will to work, his
sweet enduring spirit, were the will and ~
heart Of France.
Tactful War Minister.
The War Minister, in whose hands rests
the health Of four million soldiers, IL as
painstaking, as tender, as a nurse. Fifteen
minutes he gave that man-ffteen Minutes
Of encouragement. The rest Of France walt
; ed while this one little twitching Representa-
/ tive Of his race received what was due from
the head Of the nation to the humblest suf-
ferer. Do ! need to say that the soldier was
bought out? Professor Mark Baldwin and
Mr.. Shoninger held an extempore auction
against each other. But one basket they
could not buy, and that was the tray the man
; had woven for his wife. He was proud 20
show it,, but money could not get it. And he
was thrifty man. at that. For "a soon as
he had received his handful Of lve-frane
notes he went to his room, where he sleeps
alone, so that his twittering will not disturb
the other men, and hid the money in his kit.
Something more for his wife, TO 90 with the
basket.
: Tactful War Minister
\ or course no offer of such magnitude as
that of the Mason Blanche. involving the
welfare Of France, could come out Of clear
sky. Il was the result Of thorough testing
Of American methods. 1t comes because
Americans had already given money to the
d american Committee for Training in Suit
able Trades the Manned Soldiers Of France
3. lin a space Of two months the people Of the
United States had sent in over $4,000 to-
Mrs. Baylies, the chairman), and because
that money had been effectively spent b. tho
committee In Paris In reeducating French
soldiers The offer of the Maison Blanche,
with its streams Of crpples, is the result OF
work already done. One is proud of the
American touch over here, wherever you
sight it. There Is a swftness, dexterity a.
dealing with facts as they are in the spirit
of things as they ought to be.
American Contributions At Work.
American money, not received till the mid
\ die of March, is already operating. | have
seen il at work | have told OF the Maison
Blanche and the opportunity that awaits Us
4 there But good work in a large way has
already been done for manned soldiers by
money raised in the United States, and sd-
ministered by Americans IN Paris. Up 70
the first of this month over 100000 francs
have been received here for saving crippled
soldiers The committee in Paris has dealt
with 235 cases. They have already placed
in positions thirty-four men.
The work is growing in Importance every
4 day The committee has taken the private
home-the Maison de Wendell-on the DUAL
m, .fafa fo1 oarfff 10
structure fitted for institutional work. The
rooms are large and admirably arranged for
4 trade training and the living requirements
of such a group Of sixty men. Something
must have prompted the hand Of the archi-
tect that designed this private home to make
il elastic enough for public uses. The house
itself is a loan during war time TO the com
mttee. Crippled soldiers will be living and
working here by the time this article sp-
pears.
The Grand Palais is known to all good
Americans who travel It's merit for war
time is that il contains a huge covered
space, the size of tie arena Of Madison
Square Garden. This space, so often hung
B.. with the exhibitions Of the "Beaux Arts" the
"Artistes Francois" and the other annual
salons. is now comfortably filled, but not
crowded, with 1900 wounded soldiers.
j Four Hundred Discharged Each Month";
Four hundred a month come in, and Sour.
hundred pass out. These fifteen hundred are
men who are susceptible OF being bettered.
the nerves Of the arms, the leg shoulder or
hand are shattered, but careful medical work
will restore them in 60 per cent OF the cases
Blu. the remaining 80 per cent must be dis
charged from active service, and )f these
number can be trained in trades. The French
e Arra
TO come 10 the Grand Palais, install .heir.
trade schools there and train these n'n
Within three weeks of the offer the trade
schools were in operation Il was this piece
of efficiency that led TO the still greater offer
Of the llaison Blanche.
That able young architect, Mr.. Carol
Greenough, who designed the American Am
bulance HOSPITAL at Neully-sur-Seine, WAS
called in on this emergency job. lie saw the
possibilities of the east and north wings OF
this vast building, and split up the space by
means of pine partitions, which are very
much on the order of the movable bookcase
/ # the carpentry school, for instance out
grows its present forty-metre space, which
gives room for a score of workers, me
clamped partitions that make il an inclosed
room can be pushed out in each direction
down the corridor and the room doubles is
space capacity in five minutes. l. another
trade proves less available 20 the needs %
the men, the room can shrink down 20 re
quirements with a couple of dollars Of ex-
pense.
/ No arrangement could be more neatly fit
ting in all its parts than the twofold use Of
the Grand Palais Here are the disabled nen
I in the same building with the schools tnoy
are fed, lodged and controlled by the Frcncf .
Government Every penny given goes for
training. SO the expense to American sup
porters is one quarter Of that sustained when
/ the men must be housed privately.
Trades for the Partially lncapacitated.
The questions TO be answered concerning q
disabled man are these: What did he dol
before the war? What kind Of work is he .
fitted 20 do? How much work is he able .
do? His preference is consulted, but 10 can