Gunnison news-champion., 1918-10-11
Paris, May 29th, 1918.

Paris, May 29th, 1918.
Dear Frances
Everything takes so long to do here
in war times that it is hardly possible
10 be under way with our work yet,
but | am going to try and describe
something of what we have done since
our arrival.
We have taken over all the money
and applications sent to Mrs. Pinto
and Mr. Blount and have assigned
children to all the Godparents. So
We are in a position now to handle as
many requests as you can secure.
Miss jerome has investigated every
case and written 10 each Godparent
herself telling the history of the child.
Mrs. Pinto has so many miserable pit
iful cases that need immediate help,
that ! am going to send the stories
and photos of as many as possible to
you to try and get Marines for them.
So that all payments to either Mr..
BlOunt or Mrs. Pinto can now be sent
TO US.
The hospital unit is practically
broken up. Mr.. Moody is, or seems
TO be, quite well again and still has
five nurses in LaPanne, but as the sit
uation there is so serious Ia bomb fell
thru the house where Mrs. Snowden
and Miss Craig were and went from
the roof through to the cellar, just
missing the foot of their bed by n
few inches) we have decided to dis
continue the unit as a formation and
withdraw the unit from Belgium.
have written to the nlrses that after
July first we shall not need their SER
f.-t, .l ,uL ka, - nf. ;o,v, LaI
Red Cross or TO let US know at once
about arranging for their passage
home. The auxiliaries, we have plac-
ed in other hospitals and other organ
izations. | am going to use Alice
Moffitt and Margaret Erhart here.
As for the other workers, l do not
consider it at all wise for any one to
come here just at present. The city
is bombarded every day by cannon and
nearly every night by the aeroplanes.
One really cannot sleep and so feels
very tired during the day. Also,
there are parts of the city that are
not safe to be in at all and the govern
ment has sent away the children from
these parts. ] think that unless we
cannot possibly carry on our work
without workers from the States that
they had better not come here. Life
is very difficult even in summer and
this winter, without sufficient coal,
1T is going to be most serious. Prices
have gone up $50 per cent since was
here last December. The volunteers
used to be able to live on a hundred a
month, but now it would take double
that as Miss Jerome has found
There are hundreds and hundreds
of people evacuated at this new drive
that are pouring in. Last night, at
the station where Mrs. Pinto has her
vestiaire, there were train loads just
cattle trains crowded with half-crazed
men and women and children and lit
tie babies. They only had ten
minutes in which to leave their homes
Il won't tell you the name of the town
as my letter nay not pass the Censor)
and as the train pulled out of the sta
ton the Germans bombed them again
and again as they rushed toward
Paris Many persons were injured,
and-it makes me sick to even write
|it-but little boy and his sister were
crowded in a corner with their mother
holding them both close to her. One
shell fell in that part of the train.
The mothers head was blown of!
The little girl died before reaching
Paris, and this poor, miserable fright
ened little fellow was brought to the
vestiaire, his clothing and body just
soaked with thick, sticky blood, it
had not even dried when he was taken
from the train, bits of his mothers
clothing and flesh still clinging to
him. He was not hurt; it was his
mothers blood that drenched the
child, but, oh, the horror Of it! The
hate one feels for those devils. I
trembled with rage, really. They
must be punished-America must
hurry.
And these things happen every day,
every hour. over here. And they fight
on. these people, with such determine
ton and will, and their families con-
tinue to deprive themselves more and
more as the prices are raised, SO that
nvery few have meat more than once
| n wee and the bread allowance ia mt