The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1898-05-19
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J If those who stand and wait are as truly
servants as the toilers who put their hands
| to the pillow or smite with the sword, Their
will there be a great army of useful
women, and men, too, for the matter Of
that, who will be doing yoeman service.
| Away back in the SOS women found quite
enough auxiliary war work to occupy Their
time and thoughts. There were fairs and
festivals, suppers and anniversaries, gala
days and gala nights, when deft fingers
and busy minds arranged and planned for
entertainments to raise money to defray
necessary expenses or to purchase mate
rails to make garments for the brave boys
who were fighting for the homes they held
so dear and the country that insured them
such a peaceful dwelling place.
One picture comes back with the utmost
distinctness. A great public hall. bright
with the sunshine of amidsummer day; a
long row of sewing machines. buzzing
through the seams, gussets and bands Of
great piles of red flannel shirts; bundles Of
old linen, gradually melting into lint. and
pieces of cheese cloth taking shape as
bandages. Girls and children ran errands
or threaded needles and picked out bast-
ings, while couple Of elderly, experienced
looking matrons presided at long table.
shears in hand, cutting out work which the
younger and less mature In judgment
basted under the instructions of compe-
tent superintendent. Business men drop
ped in to cheer or to- suggest, as the case
might be, and occasionally young man
or two made his appearance to lend his
stalwart strength to the more delicate arms
that were packing the boxes and doing UP
the bales. And who can tell of the boxes
of goodies that travelled by rail and pro-
peller to feed the hungry loved ones who
for months had subsisted on hard tack
and the plainest food? There were turkeys
and chickens, roast pigs and lambs, boiled
hams and sides of mutton, with appro-
pirate sauces. Baked beans by canfuls
and panfuls went into the packing cases,
while brown bread, doughnuts, crullers
and cakes of all sorts filled in the spaces
and added to the variety and interest of
the shipment.
Thousands of women, young and old,
made letter-writing part of their Christ
ian duty when they did not do It for pleas
ure. They wrote to the forlorn ones, sent
messages to those who seemed to have no
friends to write them cheering letters, pro-
vided good and entertaining reading mat
ter in abundance, and occasionally for
warded dainty or a remembrance that
was in many cases like soothing balm to
a lonely and desolate heart.
There are always letters for the good
fellows. always gifts and boxes and goodies
for popular boys, plenty of recognition for
the majority, for they have families and
friends. But there are always odd ones,
the worlds wellflowers, the unrecognized
and uncared-for contingent that has a
heart and a soul that is being eaten out
and destroyed by brooding and thinking
over and dwelling on its solitary and I'M
appreciated state. By and by 1t becomes
morbid and loses Its poise. 1t grows I'M
manageable and reckless, and sometimes
there is tragedy as a finish. An old gen.
eral once said: IF could have found half
seconded my efforts in the way of enter
tanning some of the wild boys in my COM
mand, could have prevented at least
three court martials and scores Of i'm
prisonments. I made every effort to oc-
cupy their time and amuse them; sometimes
they seemed to yield to my influence, but
after awhile they would break away and
become desperate. 1 noticed that they
were always worse after the mail arrived.
They heard their comrades talking over
the news in their letters and the incidents
that were transpiring at home and 1t
wrought upon them terribly. II could
have had an occasional letter from some
person in their town, some recital Of facts
and gossip to deliver to them, verify be-
lieve they could have been kept within
bounds. 1t will be well for all philan-
thropic men and women who have time 10
spare to devote portion of their leisure
hours to writing to such soldiers as they
can learn Of who have no friends to cheer
them by these missives."-New York
Ledger