THE "DROP OF COFFEE CLUB"

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 86, 4 January 1918, Page 3

THE "DROP OF COFFEE CLUB"

SPLENDID WAR WORK IN FRANCE. -The "Drop of Coffee Club" is the novel name for a Parisian restaurant for soldiers on leave, or "permissiouaires,,: as they are simply called in France. An English writer says: "A splendid work is the Goutte de Cafei and its canteens, numbering sixtythree, are all over France, and have been in working ardor- l'or more than two years. The canteen near Paris is at the big military railway station of Le liourgct, through which thousands and thousands of men pass daily. The men come down from an attack to be rc-equipped; the men go up io the attack after they have, been newly equipped; and the men on leavo come down and go hack by Le Bourcet, for it is one of the stations by whidi the great' French Army must pass as it goes and comes.

Jiotwcen live thousand and six thousand cups of coffee are given out every day, and a great number of cups of good soup, with broad, as well as an evening meal of meat from which the soup has been made. Eight English ladies are now working in the canteen, but thcro was a moment when the staff was as low as two, and at that time one of thorn served eleven thousand cups of coffee in one day, so heavy was the traffic. There is'a. big recreation room with Mmes and gramophones, there is a shelter where the men can place their kit while they eat, and there is the canteen itself, with its great stew-pots filled", with fragrant coffee and soup. Then, beside the canteen is a little room for the workers, which is partly store-room, partly sitting-room, and hero the English gift for making any spot on earth, no matter how miserable, look like home, is extraordinarily evident. Screened off from the big dressing-cup-board' and the store-cupboard is a tiny room which looks like a sitting-room in a country cottage in England; callandercd chintz curtains and chair covers, cosy corners (home-made by tho ladies), a little writing-table, and of courso a tea table. There is nothing bf any value in the furniture, but the room looks home like, dainty, ancl restful by its arrangement and coverings,- and, set in the midst of that grey, smoky, utterly utilitarian station, whioh in the rain and cold is conducive to melancholy, it is like an oasis in the desert, just as the canteen is to the men. The story of an incident which they say has been sent throughout the entire French Army, and whioh will go down to posterity as a proof of Englishwomen's devotion, is that of the arrival of the apache regiment, known now as "Les Joyeux." These men are among the most terrifying specimens of humanity, counting among them criminals of all sorts; but they have fought well for France, and have earned their proud title as soldiers. When they arrived at Le Bourget several of them complained of sore feet, and asked in one case for a dressing to' bo done. The others took courage, and the first-aid ladies were soon busy washing the feet of the "Joyeux," pedicuring them and dressing sore heols and toes. The next day several men in the station told the ladies that the whole Army was petrified with admiration, and "Les Joyeux" will never forget.

These canteens aro entirely kept up by money from home, but chiefly by tho ladies who are working in them. The cost is very high, as the wants of the men are unlimited, covering every kind of thing, from socks to food and writing paper, to say nothing of games and the daily needs of tho canteen. The Government allows them the coffee' and tho sugar, with lolb. of meat a day; but the ladies pay for bread, vegetables, cigarettes, coal, light, and the services of two orderlies to do the heavy cleaning and lifting. Mrs. Raymond Murray, who is now directing the work at Le Bourget, is indefatigable in her efforts, and never leaves it, uifless to 4o sonic important work in Paris for its betterment. Mrs. Cobb, whose husband is the general inspector of tho work in all France, comes out to .help whenever needed, and the regular workers live near, so as to be on the spot as early and aslute as possible. \Vhat it means to live in a spot like Le Bourget, 110 one can know till they have tried it, yet the workers are all entluisinstio and happy, for the good they do is apparent in the appreciation of the soldiers of Franco. . 1

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