Ripley County democrat., 1918-08-23
FEEDING REFUGEES
ON FRENCH train
American Red Cross In Paris
Quickly Answers Erner.
gency Call
HOMELESS LAUGH and Joke
No Bitterness, No Complaint. No Des-
pair Among People, Many Of
Whom Were Refugees for Sec
IN ond and Third Time.

--
Paris--s.A thousand refugees from
the east Of Amiens win pass through
Acheres at seven o'clock tonight.
They will not have had any supper;
some Of them MAY not have had any
lunch. There Is no food there and no
facilities for feeding them. Can you
help us7" +
That was the telephone message
from the French minister Of the In
terror which came to the American
Red Gross at noon one day during the
German drive on Amiens, 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 a score Of volunteers
rounded up. '"
They started at six o'clock the same
evening. One five-ton truck loaded
with timed beef and condensed milk,
figs, prunes, chocolate and heaps OF
huge iloaves 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, cin-
ders, fat-cars, passenger cars, sheds,
platforms, warehouses, cranes;
Acheres. It was the junction point,
where the thousands Of refugees we're
to stop for half an holi,
saluted With One Arm.
Lieutenant M--- met us there, So
luted stifliy with his one arm, and did
the honofs 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
cinders between the tracks, and pile
the food where 1t could conveniently
be passed into the train.
They unloaded bread, scraped
cheese, opened tins of 'bully beef,n
knocked the tops or the boxes OF f1gs
and prunes and made plans to feed a
thousand people In half an hour. But
somewhere OF Ia the silent country
the train, packed full of exiles. was
standing on side track. II was after
two In the morning when the long
train with Its 2s carriages flied with
refugees came into Acheres.
A few windows were opened; tired
faces looked out and voices asked. Iin-
interestedly, "Where are we7~ and
were surprised to be told that they
were near Parts. The train was on
lts way, they said to Tulle in the Cor
reze department, in the south Of
irrunce.
s.Will they treat us well thereY an
Old womnn asked and they, 10 the full.
ness of their ignorance, not daring to
say otherwise. answered "Yes."
It was short half hour. They
carried them bread, they filed the old
woman's apron with figs and prunes
they gave milk to the children, meat
TO the cid men. cheese to everybody
They absorbed cakes OF sweet choco'
late In rapid and mysterious man
ner. Some Of them were the much be.
petticoated women Of Pfcardy and
some We're grizzled old farmers. 9th.
ers were city folk. obviously not used
to third class travel. There were fam.
allies OF three generations huddled to.
gether on their way--somewhe
Some cmtched precious umbrellas
some carried bird cages, some alarm
clocks. Some Of them had dogs. some
had cats. But the, pathos Of 1t ali
was not on the surface. Some Of them
quietly told that they we're refugees
tor the second and third time and
laughed and joked when they woke up
There was no bitterness. no com.
| rlaint. no despair.
Z 'nread Pile Fell Away
The bulge pile Of bread fpil away
the fle boxes were emptfed, the tins
~ .1rr4u - =. .I.| sa4t