"This request came from too noble a sentiment not to be granted,
especially as in this way we are certain that our pupils will see to the
discipline of the workshops, being the first concerned that no one shall
shirk."
He adds:
"I wish to cite an incident. One of the pupils of the group of
shoemakers, having been obliged to remain over a month in the hospital,
had his share fall to nothing. His comrades got together and raised
among themselves a sum equal to their earnings, so that his enforced
absence would not cause him to suffer any loss. These are features one
is happy to note, because they reveal qualities of heart in our pupils,
much to be appreciated in those who have suffered, and because they show
that our efforts have contributed to keep around them an atmosphere
where these qualities can develop."
The war has been ingenious in devising cruel hurts, robbing the painter
of his hand, the musician of his arm, the horseman of his leg. It has
taken the peasant from his farm, and the mason from his building. Their
suffering has enriched them with the very quality that will make them
useful citizens, if they can be set to work, if only some one will show
them what to do. For each of these men there is an answer for his
wrecked life, and the answer is found in these workshops where disabled
soldiers can learn the new trade fitted to their crippled condition.
It costs only four to five francs a day to support the man during his
period of education. The length of time of his tuition depends on the
man and his trade--sometimes three months, sometimes six months. One
hundred dollars will meet the average of all cases. The Americans in
Paris raised $20,000 immediately on learning of this need. In our
country we are starting the "American Committee for Training in Suitable
Trades the Maimed Soldiers of France." Mrs. Edmund Lincoln Baylies is
chairman for the United States. Her address is Room B, Plaza Hotel, New
York.
We have been owing France through a hundred years for that little
matter of first aid in our American Revolution. Here is an admirable
chance to show we are still warmed by the love and succor she rendered
us then.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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