El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1898-05-19

LETTER

war, WHT. VIEW Udt tuc "Ou IL
Are Dong. 'Scrapirg Lint" o It
of Date The ''Ministe in Angel
And the Ministel ing MOther.-H The
r Cross VOw.-SOns of Famous
Fathers.
WASHINGTON, May. 15.-''War" is
practically the only topic OF CONVERSE
ton here. We often start out on 9TH
err subjects but always get back to war
talk. Some of US are "Jingoes" of The
most pronounced type, and others
mostly Bird whose husband ave at
the frOnt-are for peace at any price,
and yet these brides are nightly
bands are the stro g ones who are
chosen to go forth to war. AS one
said, I'm awfuliy unhappy over my
husbands going q leased him to
stay at home, but don't x ow what 1
should have done If he had" A clev-
er Frenchwcm IN once said that she
hated war, that i, spoiled conve Sd
ton. So IA as one can observe its eff
fects here, Trey arc quite the con ra-
ry. Macy people who never bothered
themselves for q moment ever new
books, political questions, or any of
tt oroioary news topi q, and conse-
queu'l, had nothing TO say except a
lew personalities, now study the sra
tegic and p li,ical situation and the
maps closely, q, d are getting q good
hit Of education out of il. Girls who
never both. red before over anything
more weiHhty tn N the newest cut OF
Il ewes now cad the news page Of the
pal per and talk about it while they are
shopping One ov rnesrs them dis
cussing the evils of the Spaniards AID
the glories of the Americans every
where.
In the society columns of sour papers
are notices that such and such chapter
of the D. A. r. will me It on a certain
day to re y for the families of soldiers
who have gone TO the front, and the
fast ionsble girls are giving series of
IA lesux to raise funds for the Main e
sufferers. The Vasssr girls announce
tn at they are going to scrape lint for
the cause. This offer Of help has its
psthos, because Mt Is SO way out of
date. In these days of perfect ard
sterilization, no surgeon would use
the old time iin'. Our Knowledge of
the Omnipre ence, dexte 'ity, and
era iness of the bacillus, makes lint
SCI aped from ordinary cloth with q
knife, aud handled often, seem
fairly swarmlng with dangers. The
Vasssr girls, ha ing the right senti-
ment, will without doubt find other
o utleSs for their patriotic energies.
The desire to help is sweet and COM
menda BILE in the women but it led to
much foolish expendi ure of time,
and streug h in our last war,
and probably will azaio. 1t is hard
for the girls to realiz that forget-me-
not en- nroidered booknarks are not
.sired by tas soldier st IL front, and
that he infinitely prefers god pair
Of socks or q TN cup: and that hospital
nursing consists of doing more tn an
smoo hing aching prows, putt e i,e
to fevered lips, and r, a1ing TO the
sick ones. There were may girls in
1861 who wanted TO b. "ministering
aug IL" to the solGi rs, and W ho tilted
about the hospitals IN thei- wide op
skirts, aud prayed 10 be of use, but the
women who earoed the eternal bl. Sc
>iogs OF the.soldiers were not O ten of
this sort. IN ,ther" Bickerdyke, one
Of the true heroiDes of the war, follow
ed the men to the battle fields, washed
their shir's and sheets for them, scrub
bed tie floors sweei and clean, and
m ade great kettles of COFFEE to refresh
them. She usually wore army bots a. d
an old army hat, and had ter skirts
pinned alb out he hips. Sne oft-n weot