The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1918-05-02
DOING REFUGEE
WORK near PARIS
DIR. IDA M. ALEXANDER VERY
CLOSE TO EXPLOSION IN
MUNITION FACTORY.
FINDS SERVICE INTERESTING
RED CROSS DOING GREAT WORK
AMONG THE UNFORTUNATE
IN FRANCE.

My Dear Miss Davis: IT'S long
time since I've written letter. They
have now set me to work so I can
tell you that I shall not be far from
the so-called civilization-if Paris is
| civilized.
| i will stay in, or near here, for
they have put me at the Dispensary
work. That means ! have regular Of
flee hours and no night work. / can
stay at this, or another hotel or "pen-
sion" (latter word is French for
boarding house.) Well this is the
life! am Seeing things;" meeting
people who are doing things in the
Eworld; the people folks call famous"
T Last Sunday for instance, party
Iof doctors and a nurse, went to a
lplace north of Paris and saw one of
the Hospitals rim by the Scottish
women.
The Scottish Women's Hospitals
were organized in 1914; offered their
Services to England; were turned
down; offered their services to France
and were accepted. So, their patients
are all French soldiers. The staff are
all women; doctors, nurses, orderlies,
ckaufeurs, cooks, etc. There is a man
or two about, but we saw only the
patients.
An cid nunnerys the Abbey of Roya-
mount, was rented and turned into a
hospital; the walls are three feet
thick; interminable stairways, huge
rooms inside.
DR.. Ivens is a great surgeon, yet
she is as unassuming as any woman
you ever. met. Her assistants, like
wise.
IA corps of ten women doctors had
490s wounded men in their charge at
one time. They had operations day
and night for awhile. All their
paraphenalia is simple, cheap and not
especially convenient, yet they get
wonderful results.
DR.. Marie H. Formal is surgeon
from the Wonlan's Medical Hospital
of Philadelphia. DIR. Hunt specialist
in diseases of nose and throat; Findley
in obstetrics; Potwitski in pathology
and bacteriology and all women.
Then, of course, I've met dozens of
other women medico's, who are not
as well known and whom won't stop
| to mention.
i. MY particular job is in munition
town of $4,000 outside the PARIS
walls. (Do you know Paris is g
walled city?) There are two large
munition factories and houses as old
as the everlasting hills.
/ People get so used to the same old
house in the same old place-th
don't want a change. Pm glad / was
born in a new country dedicated to
change.
/ / have seen old churches, parchess,
sculpture, pictures and I'm willing 70
forego them-for every one-beautl-
/ full as it may be, is fetter that holds
us down to the conceptions and ideals
of the past. Statuary! Why even the
abattoiri has the statute of Texas
bull being conquered by man!
Their conception of sanitation is
very simple; anything that looks
clean is clean. They carry their
bread home under their arms eating
chunks of it. by the way.
| I know about 200 French words so
far. but not enough Cor speech, vet
my determination to learn has not yet
waned. Madam La Grange is still
teaching me, when I get home IN time
to take the lesson. There is too much
English spoken here at the Y. NJ. =.
A. for person ever to gam knowledge
of French by the "have to" ro'lee. l
carry my French dictionary IN my
right breast pocket and my money IN
/ the left.
The very day that was my first at
Ia Courneuve and I was st the 1ail-
road station, waiting for my train
there was a terrific noise. | Thought
the German bomb had struck the sta
ton. Perhaps I got white, ! couldn't
say-but I was not ready to run down
into the subway as did SO maly OF
the French-if death comes to lie
prefer to meet it in the opel.
at La Courneuve and DIR. Woodruff
and myself were out in Is minutes 60
Welt proven to be an 'xp' sion
ing direct to the factory nearest. We
helped them dress the wounds of those
who were cut by falling glass. Five
hundred seventy-eight wounded and
80 dead-the papers said, but we saw
only a few of them.
i The Red Cross ambulances were out
4 in very short time after the ex-
plosion ready to do anything human
| being could do. After the first two