American Red Cross work among the French people . refugees —through the winter months, and to carry to the devastatedregions goods which will aid in the reestablishment of nor-mal living in what is now a desert. With that done, it willfeel that its civilian workers can leave France with theassurance that they have done their share on the secondline defense — a line where battles often have been onlyslightly less bitter and less agonizing than on that first linewhere all attention has been concentrated for four yearsand a half. As a result of the policy outlined above, the Departmentof General
American Red Cross work among the French people . refugees —through the winter months, and to carry to the devastatedregions goods which will aid in the reestablishment of nor-mal living in what is now a desert. With that done, it willfeel that its civilian workers can leave France with theassurance that they have done their share on the secondline defense — a line where battles often have been onlyslightly less bitter and less agonizing than on that first linewhere all attention has been concentrated for four yearsand a half. As a result of the policy outlined above, the Departmentof General Relief on January 1, 1919-, included: The Bureau of the Liberated Zone. The Bureau of Emergency Relief. The Bureau of War Orphans (Stars and Stripes Fund),while under the Medical and Surgical Department theactivities of the Childrens Bureau were continued untilApril 1st J and those of the Bureau of Tuberculosis untilMay 1st. It was planned to close the seven warehouses of the Lib-erated Zone by July 1, but it was expected that the distribu-. o ^ GOING BACK 171 tion of the Red Cross stock of supplies in the devastatedarea extending from the IvTorth Sea to Switzerland wouldgo on for at least two months more, the responsibility forsuch distribution being placed upon the Erench relief com-mittees. After the armistice the tide of refugees set all one who for obvious reasons could not do so before thistime began to move homeward. In many cases there wasabsolutely nothing for them to return to save the scarredland itself. There was no shelter for them nor any meansof earning a living, but in spite of the protest of theauthorities they insisted on going back. The farmers hadthe best prospects. There were always bits of ground onwhich crops could be raised, if seeds and a few agriculturalimplements could be had. The Germans had taken carenot to leave anything of the kind behind. What theyhad not taken away they had destroyed. Farming on anextensive scale was of course impo
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Keywords: ., boo, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, booksubjectworldwar19141918
