The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1917-06-26
CHILDREN OF FRANCE
PAYING PRICE OF WAR
STARTLING PICTURE OF saw
ACERY AND HUMAN HORRORS
LEFT BY GERMANS.
ALLIES ARE CARING FOR
THE STARVED AND MANNED

Life and Death Horrors, Human and
lnhuman, Revealed in Terrible
Guises. Mere Shadows Of Child.
hood. Never Be Normal Again.
BEHIND THE BRITISH LINES
IN FRANCE. Correspondent Of
the Associated Press. THE French
found in the valleys of Northern
France evacuated by the Germans
under the pressure of the British and
French offensive present a picture
of the savagery of modern warfare
as characteristic as the Somme for
est, shattered and broken by months
of she'll fire.
Many Wounded.
Many of the children are orphans
without homes or relatives. Many
have been seriously wounded Most
of them suffer from a peculiar spe-
cies of shell shock which affiicts then
generally with sort of tremor not
unlike ST. Vitus dance.
They have had life and death, hor-
rors, human and inhuman, revealed
to them in guises so terrible that
they will never be quite normal
again. All are underfed aud frail
from confinement in cellars. Cut OFF
suddenly from relatives and friends
perhaps two years ago, they have
continued to live within a few hun
dred yards of the front lines, listen
ing always to the thunder of shells
and the crash of explosives until
their idea of heaven is ga place that
is very quiet"
Children Cared For.
The condition of peasant men and
women who have been listening un-
der the shadow of the invaders
through these long months and years
has been bad enough, but the con-
dition of half-starved, mentally de-
ranged little children has been far
worse. All the children wers col
lected and shepherded by first en-
tente troops into the newly occupied
areas.
Everything that can be done to
cure and care for them is being done.
constituting one of the most impor
tant tasks of the French companies
on reconstruction. The first step was
to remove them well behind the front
areas. Those who were orphans were
taken far away beyond sound OF
shells, many of them to the south OF
France. The mildest cases were then
put under the care of farm mothers.
The more serious cases must also be
kept under close medical supervision
in special Instructions.
Suffer Brain Fever.
One French organization has 4OO
children, all under IL years old.
Most of them are wounded. some
have lost legs or arms, Others their
sight, Others are suffering from brain
fever.
They are the victims of ruthless
ness of modern warfare" said the
head of the hospital. 'There is no
better argument against war than to
see these mutilated little victims who
will never play or enjoy life again.
They are mere shadows of childhood.
1t is difficult to make them talk. and
they tremble and start at any noise.
Women are always gentle with chill
dren, but with these children we need
a special gentleness as if we were
handling somthing more fragile than
the most delicate china"
Rendered Dumb.
One of the patients, five-year-old
boy, who had been rendered dumb
from shell shock, showed no i'm
provement until after he had been IN
the hospital seven weeks. Then one
day he opened his eyes after a long
sleep and said with a twisted smile
to the nurse: at is very quiet here
Il like il"
Gases like that encourage the
nurses, but there are many sadder
cases--child patients whose wounds
must inevitably prove fatal, patients
who despite every effort grow stead
lily weaker, patients who are grad
ually losing their reason and WHORE
nothing can save.
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