El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-11-24

z vidinz farm implements. bringing in
seed, restocking the barry ard ana
provisioning the family When half
a. dozen families are reiustared IN
their homes plans for restoring other
houses are furnished and some ma %
terials also Then other families are
located and brought back as their
homes are ready and their neighhors
help the new corners 10 begin life
Quakers Giving Help.
The Society OF American Friends
the Quakers, are doing splendid work
{ in the restoration Of French villages
and they are connected with the
American Red Cross through special
bureau so that all the Red Cross or
Eanizarion is at the disposal OF the
Friends and the funds and workers
which the Friends have sent are able
to go forward more speedily and ef-
fectiveIv with their plans
OF course. all the thoUSan ds Of
ruined French villages. towns and
cities are not OF the type above de-
scribed- But they do fall into four
general types Those evacuated by
the Germans after occupation since
the summer Of 1919 those on the line
of defence which have been bombed
to powder by the German guns tof
this type Nerduu Is an example
ruin as complete as that OF FOmpeIi-
vet no German has entered the town q,
scene Of fluctuatinE battle line. now
held by one or the other Of the op-
posing foes, and. finally. those VII
lagos not far from Paris from which
the Germans were forced after the
Marine. These latter villages snow
fewer signs OF the wreck OF the war
storm than others. though frequently
the Germans even in their nasry re-
treat took time TO burn and bomb and
plumber as they hurried away
some Restored Villages.
With few exec ptions the villages
destroyed in 1919 have been re-
stored. at least partially But back
of these villages are hundreds Of
desolate towns Some are mere heaps
Of ruins. Restora ton viii be a waste
villages may be rebuilt And the urE-
ent need for the restoration Of these
villoEeS-the need that has put the
American Red Cross into the work
with enerEy-is the fact that the
former inhabitants Of these villages.
nearly two million people. from Bel
GUM and France. are living abnormal
lives in other peoples homes. unable
70 find work. and they are rapidly
becoming used 10 the life OF refugees I
Aside from the economic burden they
have become. they have created a Sc
fathers and brothers and husbands in
the war. the whole unnatural situa-
ton demands a wholesome change
Hitherto Unknown Problem
Probably never before in the would
has humanity faced the problem
y hich France Is facing this winter
with this refugee population One
seventh of the area OF France IS in
vaded- And that one seventh Of geo
graphical area pays one third Of the
taxes and furnishes more than one
third of the annual increase I'm tho
.E a--
These people who have been the
mainstay OF France ordinarily are
now in Two classes Thosa WHO are .
too old or too infirm to work. They
are being shipped back TO France az
the rate OF 1000 q DAY through Ger .
feed; and the other class who have .
been held captive and in slavery in i
Germany. and az fast as they break T
down from undertaking. overEOrlS ?
and poor housing. they too are being .
loaded into cattle cars by the Ger
-nans and sent through Switzerland TOT
France So that those thrifty French 4
people known as the Yankees Of Z
trance. who do so much more than
heir share to create the wealth OF.
France. now are creating the burden
y Franco
Social and Economic Problem.
In addition to this population and
The Beigians who flocked to Paris by
he hundred thousands three years
ago. France has also great idle.
poverty stricken industrial population
hat has come from the Industrial
,enters Of northern France which the
Germans destroyed in their retreat
rom the Marine. The shops and fac
.oT1es and mills wherein these people
worked are scrap iron. France has no
2apitsl 20 restore these industries
The men and women who worked in
.nese shops and factories know no
1ther trades than those that engaged
hem before the war. And besides
hese are not enough shops and fac
.ories in all France to employ these
'efuEees- So they are huddled in lofts