The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1919-04-12
Boys Make Furniture
For French Refugees

war-devastated parts of France.
Through the American Red Cross,
10000 chairs and 10000 tables will
be built by the school boys and
shipped to the poverty-stricken
French refugees, who otherwise
would be unable to put even these
barest necessities in their homes
Plans already made contemplate
the participation of 100000 boys of
the Junior Red Cross in this de
monstration of the eagerness of
American children to help the un-
fortunate of France.
To each chair and table there
will be attached an envelope con-
tanning a message of greeting and
encouragement from the school in
which it is manufactured to the
refugee who will receive it. This
message, written in French, will
be accompanied by card SO adj
dressed that the recipient of the
article may acknowledge receipt
of it. In this way the bonds of
fraternity between the people of
France and this country will be
measurably strengthened, for the
furniture will go into at least 49,
600 homes where it is most urgent
ly needed.
Work of manufacturing the Ia
bles and chairs will begin in the
manual training shops connected
With schools throughout the Unit
ed States without delay and first
deliveries will be made May l. 1t
is planned to have the entire job
completed by the end of the school
year.
The need of this assistance to the
French refugees could hardly be
oyer-estimated. Thousands upon
thousands of these families are
pouring back into the liberated re-
gions before adequate provision
can be made for their housing, in
tent on but one thing-returning to
the place they call home even
though it be nothing more than a
pile of charred timber and broken
masonry. All are practically pen
niless and even though they had
money with which to furnish the
houses that are being erected as
rapidly as possible for them there
is not enough furniture to go
around because of the scarcity of
materials. This condition also, of
course, makes it impossible for the
refugees to manufacture their own
furniture. Accordingly, they must
look to the outside world and par
ticularly America, for instance
The re-establishment of homes
for the hundreds of thousands of
refugees is one of the most serious
problems with which France is con-
fronted. Some parts of the coun-
try were under the heel of the in
vader for more than four years and
how thoroughly and systematically
the Huns carried out a program of
wilfull destruction of property is
only too well know to the world.
Battle damage, of course, was ire
mendous but devastation did not
end here. With a fiendishness
that was not thought possible in
civilized times the baffled Germans
laid waste the whole countryside
as they were forced toward their
own border Where dwellings,
were not burned or blown up the
furniture was reduced to kindling
Crops and orchards too felt the
Teuton rage. And to make replace
ment of homes by the victims
themselves all but impossible man.
ufacturing plants were stripped of
vital machinery.
That is why the resources of
France are not sufficient to provide
the refugees with even the necessi-
ties of life and why the American
Red Cross is giving it's assistance
in relieving the refugees plight.
This work is growing in volume
and with the spring the tide of
refugees flowing back to their old
homes will be even greater and the
necessity Of quick relief cores
pondingly larger.
The contribution of chairs and
tables to the repatriated French
families is not the only reason the
refugees will have to remember
the generosity Of the young folks
of America. A Gift of 800. 900