Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1921-02-04
WISCONSIN BOY
TELLS OF WORK
IN NEAR EAST
Gives Graphic Description Of
Refugees Privations in
Letters Home.

man, recently took service with Near
East Relief, leaving Milwaukee in the
early fall, arriving on Nov. 10 IN Con.
stantinople. He has written an "al-
most diary" Of all that has happened
to him since he left. Under date OF
Nov. IS, he wrote to his mother, Mrs.
G. C. Van Toor, $50 Forty-ninth street,
Milwaukee, as follows:
"Constantipople is still filthy, dirty
and more crowded than ever. The
crowds on the sidewalks, overflowing
into the streets, are always interest
ing and osmopolitan-o officers, SOL
diers and sailors in English. Scotch,
French, Italian uniforms, Russians in
weird combinations of what is left of
their clothes and uniforms; women,
French or Russian, dolled up like
Paris; beggars, Greek priests, refugees
in rags, Turks with fezzes, Red Cross
nurses, Chinese, Singalese, Hindoos,
negroes, the lame. the halt and the
blind and the wealthy, the fashionable
and the arrogant; all mixed UP in one
grand hodge podge. Then, every little
while, some Greek or French or Indian
troops tramping by.
| 1.-The dinky street cars are running,
damned to the guards and street lights
are on, now and then, at night. Boys
sweep the streets, Italian, French and
British soldiers are traffic cops, and
any old time at night, we hear the cop
ON the beat pounding his stick along
the pavement, to warn burglars, sup
pose, and give 'em chance to get
away Then, the stores, shops, stalls
of all kinds, fruit stands, bazaars and
hawkers, all in a great variety of funny
places, and displays of goods (some
carry their stores on their heads or
backs). The hawkers with the weird
est and loudest cries in the world
/ (from a. m. to ! a. M, it seems)-
these are running in full blast. So, on
the whole, the town looks much buster
and normal than when l was here be-
| fore (while in service) though not
much cleaner. Trees are still green
and the sun is bright and warm during
the day. The water and views are
lovely as you come into the harbor or
sail up the Bosphorus.
/ constantinopIe Crowded.
when we arrived here on Saturday,
they told us we might go out on Mon.
day to the Caucasus, so we got busy
right away and spent the afternoon,
but no money, around the bazaars in
tStamboul, the old part of the city. 1t
was lots of fun.
Sunday morning followed crowd
into the old Russian embassy yard.
Here saw posters of sale Of refugee
goods, so kept on going. The crowd
went past the sale and up into the
chapel, where found myself with 'em
Between the incense, perfume and bum
| damned in-all stand for two hours),
was nearly asphyxiated, but stuck it
out. The music was great-just voices
beautifully trained, and no organ
Some of the people were fairly well
dressed Gall the women seemed to
have hung onto their earrings, some
very Handsomely, but many were in old
sweaters and coats, and the men, many
of 'em, wore old American army coats
donated by the United States, sup
pose. Among them seemed to be many
high class Russians. All claim to be
descended from grand dukes OF
princes, at least, / believe-but these
really did look very refined, and you
couldn't help feeling sorry for 'em. The
priest, with long, greasy hair and
beard, and in a gorgeous embroidered
robe and jeweled inter, evidently was
talking of their troubles, as nearly
everyone wept, even the assisting
priests, and often people dropped te
their knees on the floor, crossing them
selves times without number The poor
things all looked as though they hai
suffered and were still very sad.
Then, in the afternoon, our ganf
went out to Constantinople's college
an American girls school on the Bos
phorus, for tea.
'"The Constantinople headquarters
and transients, such as we, live il
three houses here, all of them two OF
three rooms wide and then up in the
air, six or seven stories, SO one mostly
climbs stairs The bedrooms are cell
like, but there is fairly decent living
room and dining room in ours. It's
fine to get American meals once more
EATS are very good. Armenian serv
ants; who talk English, do the work
It's nice way for those stationed here
to live, for hotels would be impossible
prices are fierce Most Of the Near
East Relief people are good scouts
too: not at all like the missionary type
we had pictured en- route.
BoHshevist Rumors Current.
i sJust now, things are much upset
i You probably have much more new.
than we, on WrangePs surrender. Thir
i ty-three thousand refugees were OF
our ships coming down here. though
they will probably be sent elsewhere
This place is fierce for gossip ant
there are all sorts Of wild tales o
the Bolshis, etc. Unless there's al
arnaistice between Russians, Arme
mans and Turks. we can't &C to tn