Emmons County record., 1918-10-10
A WALLED CITY
OF WOMEN

j =
A little sunny village has gown up
inside n high wall In france within the
las, yenr. Its squire flal houses stand
In straight even rows aud nlong one
side Of the city wall Is long tOrInl.
| tory for single asOmen. There are many
more Of them than of the families In
| the drab little houses. The vIllnge 10
full Of womcn-old, young. mlddle-
| n.ed-wliose faces. hands ana hair
slowly arc turning yellow from the
powder which II Is snid will eventually
| effect 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 ,he5
/ munitiOn fnctory, Is Of little moment to-
them. They have come into the walled
town from ruined Villages and devns-
tntcd farms with their frightened little
children. tlleir dcspniring 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-
guest of the Hun.
community that centers around the big,
new munitions plnnt but those who
work. Because of the danger and the
blighting yellow powder, the work fsF
highly paid and all the workers are.
volunteers.
The women wear over,ilis or apron:
dresses. some of black sateen. some;
nOndescript. The dull 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. VIC. A.
foyer Is the only recreational center
within reach. The cars which find
cafes ut ..the end Of the line 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. O.
A. secretary in charge, lis 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:
4 There is n 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
ure deep burnt orange and her hands
and arms bright yellow.
"Thcrp Is an ex-professionul dancer,
an interesting girl who enjoys. the
foyer and helps entertain the other
girls. There is Il professional pianist
who does her bit ut the noon and eve
ming hours. There is one rough-and-
ready girl who speaks English. whose
futher was an innkecper In northern
France. There is Il pretty little girl
who is engaged to French Soldier
=wliO still is rejoicing over the five +nin-
utes she had with him recently during
an air raid. His mother is the care
the 5wnr. Two of them are German
military prisoners. two are civil 'p-is.
oners in Germany and two are soldiers
in the trenches. Her home in the
north of France was destroyed and she
escaped with Il, small bundle Of such
things as she could carry In her hands.
i. There is a swect-fnceQ girl who
was 81 .lacemakcr in Vnlenciennes. who
came direct. to us from the Gerflan-
ridden section after hard experience
in getting away"
These are the women the Blue, ,Trl-
angle is helping to forget-perhaps
only for an hour at n unc-t,ie lior-
rors that have blacliened their hearth
stones a,,tl darkened the world.
My foyer" ,thes secretary writes.
? Consists of aTiraIi and two large rooms
Al with ccment. .Gqors. sone has Il writing
table and liarcr pens and ink. sewing
machines, Il cupboard with teacnps in
it. n large table With papers and lla:n.
zines. caS..' chairs and my desk. The
other room has n piano. more tables
chairs, ironing boards and Il Fic.rola;
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. "Flrst they have chorus"
writes the secretary. 'such as lie Reve
Pnssc' or the 'Hymne des Aviateurs' ol
, something equally thrilling. and at tlie
Gnal notes of triumph voice at my
ears begs. TIN polka. mees.s The polk:
, finished. there Is call for the 'Hymnt
Anericain' and we sing the Star
Spanglc,l Ranner.' Gle Drapeau Etoile,
, in two languages"
, These foyers have been established
r In several munitiOn cenrers in France
, Each one has cafeteria, recreation
, hall and rooms fitted up as res
/ rooms. writing and sewing rooms. a
; night these rooms are filed witt
French girl, learning English. book
keeping or stenography, that they ma!
work in the offices OF tiie American
fsSpediionary Forces. In connection
5 Will, each is a large recreation field O.
, park.