The Elk Mountain pilot., 1919-04-24

great aim in life: They want TO get back
to their lnnds and they nre willing to suner
privation in order to get re-established In 'heir
broken-up homes. They numerous. Numbering
than two million. have and talked to
hundreds In the devastated country around Sos-
sons. where scorex of towns are wiped on the map
and found not single soul starting life over again
with crouch.
There is doubt that much needless suffering
caused by the eagerness of the peasants to
get back to their homes before the French gov
ernment had fully organized its relief machinery.
Each peasant. however knew that the 1919 grow
Ing season. in order to be productive of fair re-
suits must begin with the spring plowng in Febru-
ary with the disappearance of the SHOWS so
each family head made great effort to get back to
his land in the bitter weather Of January and early
February in order to get some kind of n shelter
ready in which he could sleep and eat before
his days given to work on the land
and the production of food.
Most of the refugees were the very old very
young. During the early weeks of the peace con-
ference there very few soldiers returning to
the land. Eighty per cent of the French army
consisted of men from the farms ana the demObi-
lZation rate was comparatively slow.
AT Soissons American organization. with
French name, was rendering valuable assistance
to the people. This committee. which was known
the Comite Amercain pour les Regions De
vustees de In France with Mrs. A. NJ. Dixie Of
Baltimore rs president and Miss Anne Morgah of
New York as vice president Ind branches in 20
surrounding villages where supplies were being
either given away or sold depending on the fnan-
cial condition of the farmers. If the returning
man woman had money with which to buy
goods. charge OF "cost plus 10 per cent was
mnde The 10 per cent profit went 10 the French
woman running the store. Funds to
duct the organization came from America and
We're rnised by popular subscription.
cutry, Typical Village.
Not far from SOissons, which is peppered with
machine gun fire and shattered by big shell explo
sions. is the little hillside town of Cutry, typical
destroyed village, with only about 10 per cent of
the houses remaining hnbtable. The American
women of the committee peddle supplies in Cutry
once twice week. Twice week u woman
doctor from the committee visits the plnce. In
look on life. Twelve of them sleep in big cave
in the cdve entrance to keep out the wind. inside
fairly warm.
One old woman one of the happiest creatures in
the world apparently. living alone In one sec
tiOn of the cavern. Adjoining her temporary home
was an improvised stable where she kept her
donkey and four chickens and n two-wheeled cart.
She had fled before the advancing German army
with the donkey and cart and four chickens; had
kept them for four years in the south Of France.
and on returning Cutry rode back in style in the
donkey cart.
Down the street In house that had suffered
severely from shell fire, were Nine. and NJ.
B,anchsrd Old Blanchard. veteran of the
Crlmenn war, wns bent md feeble. His eighty
venrs of life on a small French farm had left him
sluost doubled up with the intirmities of age. His