Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1918-09-12
FRENCH CHILDREN
LIVE NEAR FRONT
Many Of Them Know Of No
Other Than War Tines
Condition Pitiable.
BY MISS GLADYS MCINTYRE.
Salvation Army Douehsirl in France.
Written for The united Press.

"''seeU vor n Onited HreSS.
With the American Boys at the
Front, tby mail.)--This is hardly a
'doughboy' or "doushgirl" story.
though we all do figure in it a little
DIT. It's a story about the little tots
belonging TO French families who live
IN the ruined villages near the firing
lines.
~ lot of these French families have
ilVed under commandment since the be-
ginning of the war. just behind the
erehches. The French nave not evac-
uated these folks. because they beg.
geo to be allowed thier homes. They
nave nothing else. So the Americans
cannot send them off very we'll, though
1t Is no place for civilians.
The o pathetic part of it is the
llock OF little children belonging to
these poor families. They play around
in the dirt, and are always unclean
and have lice on them. They cannot
remember when there wasn't war. n
most OF them never have been in
school. 1t is awful for them.
some of the boys in the village we
We're in were plying them. and said
.hey wanted to do something to help
the dirty little youngsters out. So I
pegan some social service work with
them, and MI. Charles Sinkler. the Red
Cross man in our village.
we went to all the families, and in
spected their homes. They We're al
most unspeakable. Then we invited all
the Youngsters to our hut one day, and
promised to measure them for clothes
and shoes. The boys promised to raise
some money. and Mr.. Sinkler would do
the rest. and Irene mi I would clean
inc Riddles n do what we could to
clotlle them.
They, turned out, every last young
stay ahO11f On ~, oil lN~O
them. Then with what little French
we knew we told them how to kill the
lice on their bodies, how they ought
10 bathe and promised them some clean
clothes and possibly shoes If they
would clean themselves up.
They We're all delighted and prom
Used to wash. They did that. most
of them. They reported with their
hands and faces washed. but the rest
of their bodies We're still filthy. Dirt
calsed behind their ears and in their
hair. We hardly knew what to do,
for they would not battle and apparent
ly never had done SO in their lives.
Irene n undertook to battle a
couple OF little girls who had been
working for us, and whom we knew
better than the others. 1t was about
the worst job we ever undertook. We
were exhausted completely when we
We're through. We never could bring
ourselves to undertake he bathing OF
the rest t them and probably could
not have done it. if we had attempted.
for we incurred The wrath Of the par
ents of the two we did battle.
However. we did send back 10 the
nearest city and buy some little
clothes, just ordinary ones, but SO
much better than the rags these chill
dren had been wearing, that they all
looked dressed up for a holiday eXer-
else. The Youngsters wara 1o1iphfo6
with the clothes, and the ribbons we
gave them for their hair. But they had
no idea of how to keep clean. and
though WE improved their looks some,
the rest of them and probably could
of social service work at the front.