The Elk Mountain pilot., 1919-04-24

customary governmental red tape delay must be
endured. And in the meantime the soldier had
to sleep bed OF straw in the severest part OF
winter, with only his overcOat for a covering He
had no money to buy food.
One of the American committee women took
of the discharged fighter. He wns given the
bnrest necessities and just enough food to keep
going. and he saved from a lot Of hardship and
suffering.
The. soldiers experience was typical Of the CON-
mittee's work. 1t is for cases like this one that
American aid from the Red Cross warehouses will
be godsend.
a., r. -. Red cress Work. .,..t. =, Z
Six big warehouses being established In
France by the Red Cross and two in Belgium.
For French relief work these stOrehouses are 10,
cated at Lille. Amiens. Laon. Chalons. Verdun.
Mexieres And the Belgian stations nre at Adm
kerke and Courtrai Here the supplies brought to
France originally for use OF the American army
nre to be gathered and distributed In cooperation
with the French government. There is a vast sup
ply OF stun available. There are many motor
trucks and hospital supplies no Logger needed by
the American ExpedtiOnary forces. And they will
assist the French people In their tremendous Job
of reconstruction.
Aiding in reconstruction here in France, as
viewed by n majority of the Americans who are
trying to help is proposition OF giving first aid
supplying small Iron stove and some bedding
and little foOd-and not taking on the actual re-
pair of destroyed houses. except to furnish when
ever possible such items few yards of oiled
paper to patch up a Few windows In order to give
the French family room that can be warmed
during the cold weather.
Stoves for instance. are very difficult to obtain.
A small sheetirOn heater that would cost about
So in America, possibly less, costs S1j to $40 at
the usual French supply house. 1t is inade-
quate stove at best. 1t gives out very little Neat
barely takes the chill Off ordinary sized ROOM
Yet it is expensive item because the French and
English factories not producing Mt full ca
pccity yet. and because when the stove has been
10 tn vnr,rtt
Seventeen per cent of the personnel of the
French railroad system was mobilized and has not
vet been put back to work. Consequently there Is
the spectacle of hundreds of trainoads of vital
necessities sldetracked and delayed indefinitely.
The relief committees use their powerful infu-
ence to get hold of the stoves that can be found
by hook crook In France. They endeavor to get
the stoves donated, pay for them at cost prices
and Ahen able to either sell or give the stove
to the peasant at fairly low figure. Ten dollars
is considered fair price when a sale is made.
Throughout the work of Miss Anne Morgan's
committee an effort Is made to refrain from pau
perzing the peasant which Is difficult. because the
peasant is inherently thrifty, and general rule
is very anxious to be pauperlzed. Pauperization
when viewed from the standpoint OF peasant
who is a war sufferer, and whose money is always
earned at great expenditure of labor. is not an
ugly word. undesirable condition.
In fact. NJ. and Nine. Peasant by the hundreds
will bring terrible tales of privatiOn to the COM
mttee workers in the hope that intensive pauper-
zation will set in at once. And the committee has
to go to some trouble to ascertain whether not
the tale of horrible misfortune is true. Usually
the mayor of the village some Of the thoroughly
reliable Inhabitants know perfectly well what
should be done in the matter. And the committee
rely on the judgment of the French officials
to large extent. They also have pretty fair
knowledge of the status of hundreds of families
in their section of France. which. roughly speak.
ing. Is group Of IS villages between vic-sur.
Aisne and Sossons, because they have been work
ing in this section couple Of years