Daily Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1918-191?, 1918-07-10
HOMELESS LAUGH and Joke
No Bitterness, No Complaint. No Dec
pair Among People. Many Of
Whom Were Refugees for Sec
ond and Third Time.

help usT'
That was the telephone message
from the French minister Of the in
terror which came to the American
Red Cross Mt noon one day during the
German drive on Amlens. and the an
swer was "Yes. Emergency mes
sages are no surprise TO us these days"
The food was ordered out OF the
warehouses and n score OF volunteers
rounded up.
They started at six O'Clock the same
evening. One hve-ton truck loaded
with timed beef and condensed milk.
hgs, prunes. chocolate and heaps OF
huge ioaves Of war bread; two car
loads OF midnight volunteers. stenog-
raphers. bureau chiefs. drivers and
canteen workers set out on their way
to bring help TO the homeless refu-
gees.
They rolled out through the resi-
Dental district OF Paris. out past the
Notifications. bumped through grimy
factory suburbs and on Into the open
country where the level plains stretch
OF Into infinite distance. broken only
by intermlnable rows Of slim pop
lars.
Then suddenly without warning.
there emerged from the forest into a
black smudge OF railway tracks. Gin
ders. fiat-ears. passenger cars. sheds.
platforms. warehouses. cranes
Acheres. II was the junction point.
where the thousands OF refugees were
to stop for half an hour.
saluted With One Arm.
Lieutenant NJ met us there, sa-
iuted stiniy with his one arm. and did
the honors OF the station. A group Of
weary. muddy 'permissionaires," most
OF them over forty. Just back from
the Champagne front. were routed out
to help us establish our tables on the
elnders between the tracks. and pile
the food where II could conveniently
be passed into the train.
They unloaded bread. scrapce
cheese. opened tins Of "bully beef"
Knocked the tops on the boxes Of flgs
and prunes and made plans 20 feed q
thousand people In half an hour. But
somewhere on in the silent country
the train. packed full OF exlles. was
standing on a side track. II was after
two In the morning when the long
train with its 2S carriages filed with
refugees came into Acheres.
A few windows were opened; tired
faces looked out and voices asked, un.
lnterestedly. "where are weT and
were surprised 60 be told that they
were near Paris. The train was on
its way, they said 10 Tulle In the Cor
reze department. In the south OF
France.
swan they treat us well therer' an
old woman asked and they. In the full.
ness Of their Ignorance. not daring &c
say otherwise. answered "Yes."
Il was a short half hour. They
carried them bread. they filled the old
woman's apron with figs and prunes
they gave milk 70 the children. meat
60 the old men, cheese 10 everybody
They absorbed cakes OF sweet choco
late IN a rapid and mysterious man
ner. Some OF them were the much be
pettlcoated women OF Picardy ane
some were grizzled old farmers. 9th
ers were city folk, obviously not uset
10 third class travel. There were fam
allies OF three generations huddled to
gether ON their way-somewhere
Some clutched precious umbrellas
some carried bird cages. some alarn
clocks. Some Of them had dogs. SOM
had cats. But the pathos OF II al
was not on the surface. Some Of then
quietly told that they were refugee
for the second and third time ant
laughed and joked when they woke ~
There was no bitterness. no com
plant. no despair.
Bread Pile Fell Away.
The huge pile OF bread fell away
the fig boxes were empued, the tim
were all handed Into the trains. Tn,
engine shrleked shrill Wrench whis
tie aud the train pulled away, Tn
rescuers were IA the silence OF tn
night. One OF many thousands Of ref
ugees had had one dreary mldnigh
meal far from home--one lonely mea
out Of hundreds. perhaps thousands
before them.
A train load OF wounded from th'
front joggled IN ten minutes later. Th'
men nurses carried water through thu
carriages swiftly and silently. Thei
the Americans handed out the rem
nants Of their stores Of ngs aud thu
train slipped away again. Behind then
could be heard the duh booming Of ths
barrnge guns about Paris. aud the Wis
itors knew that another air raid wai
on. They waited until the barrags
stopped. then they headed bach
through the defrases OF the capital
There was faint light ss they rode
back through the forest. They could
s.a rIllfnna Of xoIIox dafIoIII4 u(IeF :.