The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1917-02-28
AMERICAN WOMAN
REBUILDING VILLAGE
RUINED BY GERMANS
Mrs. VIM. Croker of San Francisco Has
Taken Vitrimont in Lorraine Under
Her Especial Care, Having
First Disarmed Suspicion
of the Residents
of the Residents.

Vitrimont, near Luneville, France, Feb
| 2s.-American sympathy with the civil
ian sufferers from the war has been Civ
ell more concrete expression in this little
village than in any other part of the dew
astated country Immediately behind the
French fighting lines.
When Mrs William Croker of San
Francisco chose Vitrimont in which to
carry out her idea of reconstructing
with her own means one of the villages
destroyed by the German troops in their
first rush into France, she met with
much doubt and suspicion. The people
of Lorraine are practical and hard head
ed, and also object to partaking OF any
thing given in the form of charity 1t
was, therefore, necessary to make the
proposition a purely business-like one
before laying it before the villagers.
All the men of fighting age are at the
front with their regiments. One of the
villagers while in the trenches one day
received from his wife a letter giving
details of reconstruction. He immediate
ly replied: Don't waste ink in telling
me fairy tales. You are ready to swal
low any yarn told you. Just make up
your mind ais l have done that we have
lost everything, and don't dream that
good fairies are going to restore all to
u.s."
In order TO convince this man and
many of his village neighbors serving in
the same corps that somebody was real
ly taking interest in them and they
would not merely have to be content
with the government indemnity of so
per cent. of their losses, Miss Daisy Polk,
also Californian and now administrator
of the plan. gave printed plans and de-
tails of the scheme to the wives left
behind. These were forwarded at once
to the men at the front, who could be
assured only by documentary evidence
Of this kind of the good fortune to be |
conferred on them and their dependents.
Miss Polk, who since the beginning of |
the war has been occupied in relief work |
Of various kinds, was chosen by Mrs.
Croker to administer her benevolent |
scheme. She decided at once to live |
among the people so as to become better
acquainted with them and to learn their
needs. Every house, without exception,
lad been either shelled or burnt. She,
however, was able to find one roomed
'ottage which could be repaired, and here
rom her single room Miss Polk directs
III the work. She interviews there the
the builders, the departmental
'fficials and government functionaries,
nd only recently received Ambassador
William G. Sharp, who had come to lay
he corner stone of the first new house
Of the 20 houses composing the viii
age, "a were shelled and the remaining
6 burned. The government itself de-
ided to repair the bombarded houses,
which were not so badly damaged as
hose which had been set afire. The re-
obstruction of these latter was under
aiken by Mrs. Croker.
No attempt was made by the authors
{ the scheme to force American ideas
own the Threats of the conservative
orrainers. Very little change had tax
n place in the village since the 18th CEN
ury, and the style of architecture was
cry uniform, usually taking the shape
one or two-story cottages, with grange
DOR entrances and attached at the back
be granaries and cattlesheds The only
hanges insisted on by the promoters of
ne scheme. as well as by the French
overnment. were the introduction of
anitary arrangements, which hitherto ,
ad been nonresident, the provision of
in the rooms and the separa.
on by an intervening courtyard of the
lttlesheds and the human habitations.
1t was with difficulty that the peas.
nts could be induced to accept some of I
lese changes, but at length reason pre- |
siled and the plans were finally drawn 8
p.
The new village is to have wider [
reefs and the main road through it is a
be planted with trees, while the town [
III and school are now to occupy prom /
ent and spacious positions in the CEN a
r of the village, instead of being hidden !,
before the war in narrow lanes with
1t any air space.