The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1918-04-03

] have had our biggest village, Es-
cial service SO / have arranged my
work with the doctors to come in a
clump at the end of the week and the
first half / spend IN Esnery. ! walk
over in the morning and carry milk;
sometimes ! catch a ride on a cart. l
make visits and gather statistics as to
children. soldiers, prisoners with the
Boches. in each family, look over beds.
hear the varying tales of woe tprac-
tically no complaints, always "C'est la
guerrc,) and make a list in my notes
of what the family most needs. They
are all delighted to be called, on, give
all information checrfully and truth
fully, and often speak for some neigh
Dor who is suffering more than they
! themselves are. For instance, one
woman who owns small farm Is living
with three children in a tiny shed with
only three sides She has spread piece
of old cannon flyed canvas from some
canton for a roof and a flap She
sleeps in room down the street with
several other people, the three children
In the bed with her Everyone agrees
that Nine. Besson is in hard luck and
needs help more than anyone in town.
I've been up for three days in the dew
asted regions motoring through such
CHASTITY destruction. The main reason
of my visit was of course to see the
Unit, and although I could spend only
from giy with 7 90,
away thanking the Lord for that little
glimmer of light in all the blackness.
Thousands of men destroyed the coun-
try and 1t Will take thousands to build
1t up, and there are only handfuls, a
score here, a dozen there! And then
besides there are all the problems of
material and transportation which
must be concentrated instead on the
army, to wind up the awful business
of the war SO reconstruction has to
! wait. But meantime the heartening of
the little remnant of women and
children and the desperate need of tenn
norary relief for their hand to- mouth
existence Is real work. a mission that
| | hope all the alumnae will get behind
and support. It's Il really splendid
thing the Unit is doing in an awfully
| evel-headed. cheerful sensible way,
and they're putting new heart into their
ncighbors. The children are beginning
to smile again and cut NJ like any
other bad little Youngsters and | wish
YOU could have seen the band that
came crowding around the Ford iitney
in one of the most spoiled" and for
gotten villages. They sang one of the
songs the girls had taug,., them-and
one small object showed off the quail
whistle he had learned from Miss
Lewis. The children are great to work
with, they all say. The doctors took
me to see some of their patients-they
have quite list--the central dispen-
sary Is being housed and stocked, the
shop, with ladies and kitchen utensils
shop, with ladies and kitchen utensils
of all sorts, hung on nails on the car
and hats and dry goods and all sorts
of frightfully desirable things, has long
since gone jangling over the roads like
any Yankee pcddler's cart. They sell
the things AT a discount but still they
sell them, which is what the authorities
want, as the people have money. or can
draw on their indemnity. / wish
could have gone around with Miss
VOLTS on a social service tour. I'll hav,
to 20 back I" that. | could write mucl
about our sprightly luncheon in one of
the portable houses; such good food
such amusing cock china under 1t, an,
such gay French oilcloth on the tables
They're n great lot, that Unit of ours
and stack up like a sturdy wall against
despair in the midst of dcsolation. u,
try to make their fellow Smithitc
! realize that they can't do anything NOR,
human than to help carry on the Units
work. 1t oughtnt to stop. Though
! : they are very modest and deprecatini
about their beginnings and says tina
they are only feeling their way, [ know
, from the evidence of my own eyes, al
well as from the various authorities
with whom I've discussed the situation
=, that they're on the right track. ant
that they're doing a big work. simpl,
: and naturally and imaginatively.