The Nevada County picayune., 1918-05-09
|CANTEEN WORKERS CATER
 TO P0ILU'S APPETITE
 FOR OYSTERS AND SALADS
Eleanor Robson Belmont, Home From Europe, Tells of Her Unbounded Faith
 In the Red Cross.
By ELEANOR ROBSON BELMONT.

huts used for this purpose are nttle alleys marked Paris" "Dijon," or "Ly' ons' These little alleys are laid out with hunks filled with sleeping men. If poilu is going to Paris, he throws himself down in the Paris bunk, serene in the knowledge that he will be called in time for the Paris train.
 In some of the canteens the lights have to be dimmed on account of aero planes. Often the lights are covered with colored muslin shields which make rosy glow that is very home like. One of the canteens has been decorated by some of the best camou- flage artists in France, who have taken great delight in covering the walls and even the ceiling with their pictures. The canteens are open day and night for the benefit of the men at the big junction points.
 Do More Than Feed Men.
 The wocien in the canteens do more than feed the men, however, impor- tant as that is. Poilus leaving their families are naturally depressed and need sympathetic listeners Some one to admire his wife's picture, some one to laugh over the baby's latest sign of genius, some one to tell him that the oldest boy is the image of his handsome father-this is as real need in the poilu's life as salad or soup In fact the presence of these fine women is such an influence for good that officers say the morale Of the army is distinctly higher wherever the canteens are This causes great rivalry among the canteen workers Each one wants her canteen to be the best and most popular in the service.
 Besides this direct. personal service 10 the soldiers the Red Cross is doing q kind of John the Baptist work witla dispensa ries We have fifteen dispen saries scattered through districts where war has been or is likely to be. France had mobilized 1S,000 of her 24,000 physicians, leaving about 6,OO0 for the whole of civilian France Sometimes you will find one old doctor taking care of several villages with no means of transportation except oc- casionally an aged, overworked horse Here is a chance for the Red Cross to step in and help. There is syndicate of physicians to which the Red Cross applies to find out if a certain village has a medical adviser; if not we estAb- lish a center and operate in 8 given section around the center.
 Bathing a Luxury.
 A Red Cross doctor and nurse % out regularly to the villages in their section. Each village is informed when they are coming 70 that all who want medical advice or Urea atment can meet together in one spot and save unnecessary calls. Of course, if any one is too Ill te come to the doctor, the doctor goes to him. The nurses carry among other things shower baths for babies. In many re gions of France, owing to lack of facil' ities, bathing is luxury, so the super stition has grown up that 1t is dan gerous. Now since the mothers are convinced that their children will be neither killed nor injured, but on the contrary benefited by baths, how they do look forward to them
 After all this inspiring activity oi the Red Cross on the other side, TO mantle in spite of the drudgery and tragedy, expected the work here L. be an anti-clmax. 1 was amazed, then when returned to see what we werc accomplishing at home.