Bisbee daily review. [volume] (Bisbee, Ariz.) 1901-1971, 1918-02-10
CBy Review Leased wire)

| can women of wealth and refinement
are performing the most mental tasks
and undergoing severe hardships TO
make the lot OF the French soldier
easier. on the way 10 and from the
front. is told graphically in a series
of letters received here from Mrs
Belmont Tiffany. a New York society
woman and leader in Red Cross wOrS.
who organized a Red Cross canteen
at a French railway junction. She
wrote with no thought of publication,
but the letters-written TO relatives
and released for publication today by
the American Red CrOss-tell their
own story.
On October %. last. Mrs Tiffany
arrived at the railroad center. some
where" behind the French front Four
railroads converged there, she found.
and more than 30O0 men a day stop
ped over at the station for refresh
ments. which were procurable in
LIQUID form only. There were no other
facilities for their comfort.
4 wish you could see our little vii
lage. so tiny and primitive-One long
street winding up a hill with the big
junction railroad station at the bot
tom and the church at the top; and
stream, winding under a bridge hale
way up. a stream which allows the
inevitable laundry TO go on" Mrs. Tif-
fanny wrote II is picturesque. as all
French villages go, but rather too
poor for beauty, and there are no gar
dens at all, which is strange.
Less than a month later. NOvem-
. Ter 70, TO be exact. Mrs. Tiffany told
of the progress achieved in establish
ing the canteen A rough addition
had been added to the station. and
dOrmitOry and a recreation room had
been completed. while a reception
room to accommodate 1000 meC was
in course of construction.
We have red and white OilclOth
on the tables. red glass carafes and
turkey-red window curtains, and al
ways flowers on the counter of the
recreation ROOM Mrs. Tiffany wrote.
1T is the gsyest, brightest room you
ever saw. However, it only holds 12o
men. Our big room is to have a huge
kitchen and seats over 1000 men.
The dormitories are wonderful. l
never was so proud OF anything be-
fore. Two hundred canvas stretchers
for beds, We have a splendid fumi-
eating plant and an incineratOr and
the place is a model of cleanliness.
"All the men take of their wet and
dirty boots. and we have good felt
slippers for them. There are two brs
stoves in the room. two wooden blan-
kets for each man, and orderly who
wakes the men for their trains. good
shower baths and wash rooms Alto
gether. when the big room IS finished,
honestly think it viii be model of
what it should be.
Last year the men slept in the
road"
However. the speedy transfOrma-
ton was not effected without the eX-
penditure Of great effort. Mrs. Tiffany
summed it up by saying:
Everything is going awfully well
and the whole unit has been fine. No
one should come for this work who is
not as strong as a horse and indiffer-
ent to cold and fatigue II is terribly
hard. The good it does is enormous. /
however. and more than repays one.
You never saw anything like the ap-
probation and gratitude for the food
We give the men and the price we
charge. We give them a whole meal
for Is cents, soup. meat and vege- 1
tables. or meat and salad. bread and I
compete. It is really good. TOO. 4
thought | had a good many occupa- !
lions. as | wrote you before, but since
then | have been particularly proud .
of being a good cook" /
Mrs. Tiffany in another letter de
scribes in interesting detail the rOu-
tine Of the csnteen's might SHIFT
which she regards as more strenuous I
than the day relief
The station is always empty when f.
We arrive. but 10 minutes later il
fills up as if by magic Mrs Tiffany
says.
That crowd keeps on pretty con-
tinuOusly. II is never an OverpoweI-
ing rush, but a STEADY stream untu
about 2:30 and sometimes until 4:3O.
The men buy their tickets a. the first
window and then pass on 10 the coun-
ter where the food is served OF
course they are always in a tearing
hurry and push and shove each other
as II they were geing to get left il
they didn't. But there is no reason
for IL because they don't come in for
meals unless they have at least an
hour and usually they have a wait of
three hours But that makes no dir
ference. They act as if they had one
minute in which TO get and eat their
food- But all are good natured. and
II tie regular food gives out. they Will
cheeriUily accept any substitute
AT 1850 comes the biz platform
service. which lasts about an hour.
II was the one thing / dreaded before
coming. but far from dreadins it now.
! enjoy IT, It certainly is amusing
and though on a cold or windy night
u Il rather trying, you feel that you
are so much more use. Just because
1t so cold and disagreeable
We'll. this crowd keeps on till ait.
er TWO. when we have our second
platform service. but if the first train
in this case is late the cauteen is full
until $3.50. as the men won't trust
themselves 70 sleep in the dormitory
when they have only an hour or two
to wait
Then we get the dishes washed.