The Red Cloud chief., 1918-10-17
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has examined nearly 10000 | saw $50 little chill.
dren examined. They ranged In age from three to
twelve years and of them all there were barely
more than 30 per cent whom he could pass as be-
Ing even fairly we'll nourishcd.
"They have been fed mostly turnips and
black bread for MONTHS" he explained, land with
each convoy there are more undernOurished ones
and more like this little fellow" He indicated
thin wisp of boy-he was ten years of age-it
tuberculosis.
This explains, furthermore, why the American
Red Cross hospital, part of Its burden,
has been obliged to extend its work into the foun-
dation and maintenance of homes, here, there and
everywhere throughout France, for these unfor-
tunates whom Germany is sending back by the
hundreds Of thousands. For they are unable to
work. unable to make their own E;;mes and the
civilian population OF France, bent double with
the pack Of its own problems, has been increas-
ingly poweress to cope with this, Germany's In
sidiOuS effort to break the morale of France
1t was all new to me when went up to Evian
from Paris to see the repatriates come In. had
heard of how Germany had begun sending them
back In 1916, and how, as the numbers OF them In
creased the American Red Cross stepped in and
undertook to look out for the sick children, finally
extending It's work to caring for the hundreds
of tuhercuous women whom Germany returned to
France. But had heard, Also of how the repa
triates, sent through Switzerland by the Germans
arrived nj Evian singing, kneeling down and kiss
Ing the soil of France and gladly taking up their
share of their cOuntry's work In factories and on
farms. | had looked for a scene of joy at the
station there In Evian, for cheers and hearthrills
ut the casino. Here was n people being returned
to the country that It belonged to ; here were ban
ners of welcome, here were hands and hearts open
to 1t. But had seen something entirely different,
and when l inquired It was explained to me. 1T
is plainly" was told, part of the German plan
Of breaking down French morale, of destroying the
fIi,.,1 of Dad
learned is doing such large part In the work of
handling repatrlates.
AT the same time that Germany is hurting her
big shells into Paris by day and Dir raidlng II by
night ut the same time that she is driving refu-
gees by the thousands from their homes in towns
along the line of her proposed advance; Mt the
same time she is filling the hospitals with wounded
French and American soldiers, taxing the equip
ment Of the American Red Cross to the limit, as
she believes, she has tried new trick during this
offensive.
III this Is not so, how can It be accounted for
that each succeeding trainload of repatrlates Is
larger contains more sick and completely used up
individuals than the previous one? How can you
account for the lnrge number of young women
with babies born in Germany since they were
taken thcre-babies whose fathers may be Ger
man, but whose identity will ever remain mys-
tery--which are unloaded on us every dayf'
Even mt that ii seemed rather difficult task.
These people who We're coming I'M saw several
trainloadS OF them-seemed such hopeless things.
What could be done with them? What burden
they would be on the French! How little result
there would be from anything done for them OF
with them.
"That is far from being the case" / was told
"They respond in an incredibly short time to all
we do for them. Their health improves, their
minds clear From being liabilities they soon be-
come assets. Germany sends these people In,
wrecks, cowed, so starved that they can scarce
ly tell where they have been, what has happened
TO them in the years of fher slavery In the Mines
the mile the fields of their captor country Tuber-
culosIs seems to have firm grip many OF them,
and the children are filed with the germs OF con.
tagious diseases. But either by happy ability of
the French to rise under difficulties, the Joy OF
finding themselves back In their land, the
rapidlty with which they rally, the quickness with
which their minds clear, is remarkable"
A French woman. In charge of the casino
taire ut Evlan, where clothing Is found for these
unfortunates, said: "rhe more they send, the
better we like 1t. We can care for all, with the
help Of our friends. the Americans. And the faster
they send them back, though their coming so fast
unQuestionably taxes our resources to the utmost.
the more quickly will France get back her own
people"