The Bourbon news., 1918-10-22
A WALLED CITY
OF WOMEN


side OF the city wall is long dorIni-
tory for single women. There are many
more of them than Of the families in
the drab little houses. The village is
fuil OF WOmen-Old, young, middle
aged-whose faces, hands and hair
slowly are turning yellow from the
powder whichit is said will eventually
affect their lungs. But most of them
are refugees and the fact that they
are giving up their good looks, their
health, and perhaps their lives in the
munition factory, is of little moment to
them. They have come into the walled
town from ruined villages and devas-
| tated farms with their frightened little
| children, their despairing old people,
| carrying all their earthly possessions
| In tiny bundles. In their individual
lives there is no future; in all their
| world there is no interest but the con-
quest Of the Hun.
No one comes into this little war
community that centers around the big
| new munitions plant but those who
work. Because Of the danger and the
| blighting yellow powder, the work is
highly paid and all the workers are
volunteers.
The women wear overalls or apron
dresses, some of black sateen, some
| nOndescript. The duh garb harmonizes
| with the yellowing faces and despair
ing eyes.
Into this modern walled city of de-
spair the Blue Triangle has flashed the
first message Of hope. The Y. w. c. A.
| foyer is the only recreational center
! within reach. The cars which find
cafes at the end of the line a mile
| away, stop running at seven o'clock to
| save fuel. The city is three miles
from the factory.
"My problem" writes the Y. w. G.
| A. secretary in charge, "is to keep the
women occupied in the evenings, to
give them good healthy amusement so
that they will forget their sorrows and
go to bed and sleep, physically tired
out from playing"
She goes on to tell Of some of the
women and girls who come to the
| foyer:
There is pretty little round, rosy
| checked girl here who is just beginning
to show the effects Of the powder. The
| roots of her hair and her forehead are
pale yellow. The palms of her hands
are deep burnt orange and her hands
and arms a bright yellow.
''There is an ex-professional dancer,
| an interesting girl who enjoys the
foyer and helps entertain the other
girls. There is professional pianist
who does her bit at the noon and eve
| ming hours. There is one rough-and-
ready girl who speaks English. whose
father was an innkeeper in northern
France. There is pretty little girl
who Is engaged to French soldier
who still Is rejoicing over the five min
| utes she had with him recently during
an air raid. His mother is the care
taker here and he is one Of six sons in
| the war. Two of them are German
military prisoners, two are civil priS-
| Oners In Germany and two are soldiers
| In the trenches. Her home in the
| north Of France was destroyed and She
escaped with a small bundle of such
things as she could carry In her hands.
There is a sweet-faced girl who
was ,lacemaker in Valenciennes, who
came direct to us from the German
| ridden section after hard experience
in getting away"
These are the women the Blue Tri-
angle is helping to forget-perhaps
| only for an hour at a time-the hOr-
rors that have blackened their hearth
| stones and darkened the world.
"My foyer" the secretary writes,
consists Of hall and two large rooms
with cement floors. One has q writing
| table and paper, pens and ink, sewing
machines, a cupboard with teacups in
zines, easy chairs and my desk. The
other room has a piano, more tables,
chairs, ironing boards and Victrola.
There are unframed French pictures
| and American and French war posters
around the room. The walls are paint
ed gray and white"
Saturday evenings they sing and
dance. First they have chorus"
writes the secretary, "such as lie Reve
Passe' or the 'Hymne des Amateurs or
something equally thrilling, and at the
final notes Of triumph voice at my
ears begs, 'Un polka, mees.' The polka
finished, there is q call for the Hymne
| American and we sing the Star
| Spangled Banner Le Drapeau Etoile)
in two languages"
These fOyers have been established
| in several munition centers in France.
| Each one has a cafeteria, a recreation
hall and rooms fitted up as rest
rooms. writing and sewing rooms. At
night these rooms are filed with
French girls learning English, book
keeping or stenography, that they may
| work In the offices Of the American
Expeditionary Forces. In connection
with each is large recreation field or
park.
At the request of the French minis