World War, 1914-1918 -- Atrocities; World War, 1914-1918 -- Hospitals; World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal narratives
At the request of the Belgian Government Mrs. Wharton has founded the
"Children of Flanders Rescue Committee." The bombardment of Furnes,
Ypres, Poperinghe and the villages along the Yser drove the inhabitants
south. The Belgian Government asked Mrs. Wharton if she could receive
60 children at 48 hours' notice. The answer was "yes," and a home
established. Soon after, the Belgian Government asked Mrs. Wharton to
receive five or six hundred children. Houses were at once established,
and these houses are under the management of the Flemish Sisters who
brought the children from the cellars of village-homes, from lonely
farmhouses, in two cases from the arms of the father, killed by a
fragment of shell. Lace-schools, sewing and dress-making classes,
agriculture and gardening are carried on. Seven hundred and thirty-five
children are cared for. The monthly expense is 8,000 francs.
One of the most important charities in which Mrs. Wharton, Mrs.
Edward Tuck, and Judge Walter Berry are interested, is that for
"French Tuberculous War Victims," in direct connection with the Health
Department of the French Ministry of War. Nearly 100,000 tuberculous
soldiers have already been sent back from the French front. They must
be shown how to get well and receive the chance to get well. One
hospital is already in operation, and three large sanatoria are nearing
completion, with 100 beds each. The object is not only to cure the
sufferers, but to teach them a trade enabling them to earn their living
in the country. Tuberculous soldiers are coming daily to the offices
of this charity in ever-increasing numbers asking to be taken in. The
answer will depend on American generosity.
A group of Americans, headed by Mrs. Robert Woods Bliss, whose
husband is First Secretary of the American Embassy in Paris, have
instituted and carried on a "Distributing Service" in France. The name
of the organization is "Service de Distribution Américaine." It was
established on its present basis in December, 1914, and grew out of
personal work done by Mrs. Bliss since the beginning of the war. The
purpose has been to supply hospitals throughout France with whatever
they need. By the end of 1916, the results were these:
Number of towns visited 1,290
Number of hospitals inspected and supplied 3,026
Number of articles distributed 4,839,902
The Director of the organization is Russell Greeley, the secretary of
Geoffrey Dodge. The service has a garage outside the gates of Paris
with ten cars and a lorry. All the staff, except the stenographers and
packers, are volunteers.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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