The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-01-19


 today Is there room to tell what is happening to the refugee children who have been orhpaned by the thou sand? How are they being cared for, by relatives, by friends, or by socie- ties? Mrs. Ernest P. Bicknen, who went to Europe after her husband, di- rector of the Civilian Relief of the American Red Cross, had gone as a member of the Rockefeller War Re lief Commission, has returned and now of some of the work she saw in France for refugee children.
 The most spectacular work with children in Paris,'' writes Mrs. Bick- nell, Eis that at St. Sulp1ice where lit tie refugees and orphans are received by the hundreds and afterwards turn ed over to other agencies or placed in homes and colonies.
 Happy at Their Meals.
 'tIt is a stirring experience to see a, thousand or more little ones come rushing into the great dining room at St. Sulplice when the hour for the evening meal arrives. They come in groups of two and threes, the older leading the younger, sometimes a lit tie boy of three, carefully guiding his sister of two, but all happy, for warm, wholesome 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 pickes him up and tucks him in. There is much laughter and happy chatter the soup is serv- ed. Each child begins to eat soon as his plate is filled. Look at that dear baby at the end of the bench. She ibrave1y tries to fill her spoon, but it will tip over and all the soup is spill ed, before it reaches her mouth. She smiles. 1icks the spoon and tries again. HI1 r-1fa I-Av +a11 cI1 the baby when the children are all served. >
 s''The policemen of Paris feel that the work at St. Su1plice is peculiarly their own. They started and support ed it until it grew so large that outside help was required.
 Another organization in Paris Is called the National Association for Orphans of the War. Originally it took motherIess children whose fath- CTS who had gone to the front. More recently it has also cared for those whose. fathers have died on the bat tlehe1d. The society now. has 2,O00 children which it maintains in var ious parts of France in colonies of from 10 toe S12( each group cared for by a war-widow who often has one or two of her own little ones in the The government partially supports this work by means of a small subsidy.
 Children of the Frontier.
 s.The work. however, which per haps makes the strongest appeal it that for the Flemish, French and AL satian children of the frontier whose parents have been killed or driven into exile, whose homes have been destroyed and who, though they may not all be the children of soldier he- roes, are the innocent victims caught l by that dreadful tide of battle con- tinua11y advancing and receding along the French, and Belgian border.
 The F'ranco-American Committee for the Protection of Children of the Frontier is carried on almost wholly by group of devoted Americans in Paris who are reaching forth a. help ing hand to these friendIess children, l who are not looked after by any other organization and who are not pro vided with aid by any government. Mrs. Cooper Hewitt is honorary pres dent; August Jaccaci,S president; l Mrs. Robert Woods Bliss, wife of the i of the American Embassy in Paris, president, and Frederic | R. Coudert, of Coudert Brothers. New ork. treasurer. The executive com 1 mittee- consists of MT. Jaccaci, Mrs. 5el, formerly Miss Ripley. of America, | Mrs. William H. Hill and Mrs. Fran | ses G. Shaw of Boston.
 The first charges of the Commit | ,ee were some two hundred children rom Be1fort who had been made | homeless by the bombardment of that own. MT. Coudert secured the loan 1f a seminary situated in Yvetot, Nor where the children were given shelter. Later when this was need sd for a hospital the children were re- moved to the Chateau Grosfys, not far rom Yvetot. The work thus inau- gurated by MT. Coudert was taken ,ver by the Committee which then anne into existence.
 Demands on Committee.
 Many demands soon began coming o the committee from reief agents vho were responsible for the placing if orphaned and evacuated children rom the invaded districts. Among he requests was one from the woman r. vho acted as mayor of Soissons dur ng the German occupation. She ask ,d the committee to take eight chill lren whose mother had been killed in heir presence by the bursting~~of a heI1 in the cellar ofstheir home.
 Through the cooperation of the Order of St. Vincent de Paul. many of ts Paris institutions were opened to he committee as temporary shelters Jpon their arrival, after perhaps 24 lours of travel, the children are in l. vretched condition They are taken tt once to one of these receiving sta ions where they are thoroughly wash d, their clothing cleansed and each ,hiId supplied with absolute necessa- .ies. Then they are taken to the ;olonies where they are under the are of Flemish or French sisters ac- ,ording as the children are Flemish ,r French. The committee now has bout one thousand children and ap- oIications are received every day.
 At5Versai1les we visited the colony | ,f Les Clarisses'' where twenty 1it- le girls are living in part of an old | convent which faces a wonderful gar len. The children were at d1nnerif put arose as we entered and sang Tip oerary for us in English and also a Flemish anthem. They probably did ,nt Understand what tha vrnrds of |