The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1919-05-31

customary governmental red tape delay must be
endured. And in the meantime the soldier had
to sleep on bed of straw in the severest part OK
winter with only his overcoat for a covering. he
had no money to buy food
One Of the American committee women took
care of the discharged fighter He was given the
barest necessities and just enough food to Keep
going, and he was saved from lot of hardship ana
suffering.
The soldiers experience was typical of the CON-
mlttees work. 1t is for cases like this one that
American aid from the Red Cross warehouses Will
be godsend.
Red Cross Work.
Six big warehouses are being established IN
France by the Red Cross, and two in Belgium
For French relief work these storehOuses are 10
Gated at Lille Amiens LaOn, ChalOns, Verdun.
Mezieres. And the Belgian stations are at Adm
kerke and Courtrai. Here the supplies brought to
France originally for use of the American army
are to be gathered and distributed In cooperation
with the French government. There Is vast sup
ply OF stuff available There are many motor
trucks and hospital supplies no longer needed by
the American Expeditionary forces. And they VIII
assist the French people in their tremendous job
of reconstruction.
Aiding in reconstruction here In France, as
viewed by majority Of the Americans who are
trying to help 10 proposition OF giving drst AID
supplying a smG1l iron stove and some bedding
and a little food-and not taking on the actual re-
pair of destroyed houses, except to furnish when
ever possible such items as a few yards or Oued
paper to patch up a few windows In order TO give
the French family room that can be warmed
during the cold weather.
Stovessfor instance, are very difficult to obtain
A small sheet-iron heater that would cost about
s. in America possibly less, costs $15 to $50 at
fine usual French supply house. 1t is an made
ouate stove at best 1t gives out very little heat
II barely takes the chill off ordinary sized room.
Yet 1t is an expensive item because the French ana
English factories not producing at full ca
pacty yet and because when the stove has been
manufactured 1t Is difficult to transport It,
Seventeen per cent of the personnel Of the
French railroad system was modified and has not
vet been nut back to work. Consequently there is
the snectacle of hundreds Of trainlOads OF vital
necessities sidetracked and delayed indefinitely
The relief committees use their powerful influ-
ence to get hold Of the stoves that can be found
nv hook or crook in France. They endeavor to get
the stoves donated. pay for them at cost prices.
and are then able to either sell or give the stove
70 the peasant at fairly low figure. Ten dollars
is considered a fair price when sale is made.
throughout the work of Miss Anne Morgans
committee an effort Is made to refrain from pau
nerizing the peasant which is difficult, because the
neasant is inherently thrifty and as general rule
is very anxious to be pauperized. Pauperization.
when viewed from the standpoint OF peasant
who is a war sufferer and whose money is always
earned at great expenditure Of labor. IL not az
uply word, or an undesirable condition.
In fact. NJ and Nine. Peasant by the hundreds
will bring terrible tales Of privatOn to the COM
mittee workers in the hope that intensive pauperi-
cation will set in at once. And the committee has
To 90 to some trouble to ascertain whether or 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
women rely on the judgment of the French officials
70 n 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 50 villages between Vic-sur-
Aisne and scissors, because they have been work
ins in this section a couple Of years.