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Show in 4000 Unable to Visit Grarss in Franca Soma Refusal Tragic Othairs Humorous y RODNEY DUTCH! ft WASHINGTON Thirteen thousand thou-sand mothers and widows of American Amer-ican war vlctlma burled In Franca ara entitled to maka tha pilgrimage' ts tha graves of their loved ones at tha govarnmant'a axpanaa. About 4000 aald they couldn't go. They will hava four year! In which ts change their minds and withdraw with-draw their refusals. But most of them will never cross tha ocean. Poor health la tha moat common reason which keeps Oold Biar mothera and widows at home. Other reasons equally pathetic, and soma rather humorous, hava been given. Among thousands of letters received, re-ceived, not one objected to the project proj-ect voted by congress. They all wanted to go. Only hard luck and combinations of circumstance! held back tha 4000. OMI DON'T EVEN KNOW "I can't leave my atock and chlck-ena chlck-ena and milk cow," wrote a soldier's widow at Laredo. O. "Can't get no ona to-ras care of them. T want to" go but can't, that'a all. I truly thank you from my whol heart." Boms Oold 8tar mothers, unable to read English, may never know thst they had tha opportunity. But a Spanish woman In Peralta, N. M, finally got the postmaster to translate trans-late hara. And tha postmaster wrote to tha cemetrrial division of th quartermasters' corps, which supervises super-vises tha pilgrimage: "Mr la 70 years old. a weak, sickly woman: has a father 10 yeara old. who haa been In bed two yeara and cannot live nor -die; haa a daughter 40 years old. single and aick wlih epilepsy, and unsbls a I'm mmmmnmm XI r. . cannot accept tha invitation." in-vitation." Hundreds of women wrote pitiful lettera asking for money to aid them In their blackest poverty. Thera la no provision for compensating anyone any-one who cannot go to Europe, although al-though many mothers and widows point out that their Inability to g saves tha government mifch aspen as-pen aa. "I eent you a letter declining the trip to Europe becauae I' hava na way to buy my things to go In." wrote a Columbus, C womsn. "I am not refusing because t don't want to go, but because all I hava la my $?0 compensation and I hav to pay board with that." Such a letter is given by the cemeterlal division to tha American War Mothers, with the Idea that eligible eli-gible women ahould not ba held back merely by poverty. But nothing could bo done about several demanda for kosher food on tha trip: It waa pointed out that tha soldier boys sll ata the aama food during tha war. And the woman who demanded a Chrlatlan Science practitioner on board ahip muat sUy home If aha Insists on It: tha government at least, can't provld one. Ona woman wrote that shs objected ob-jected to Sunday travel. At last reports re-ports aha hadn't made up her mind whether to go or not. Another eligible aald ahe would prefer to stay homo If aha waa going go-ing to ba kept awake by other o-men o-men snoring In her cabin every night. Still another wanted assurance assur-ance that ah wouldn't bo cabined with anyone who smoked pr played rarda.NEA). 1 1 ii b i ib i i m 111 1 1 111 as urn . |