The times., 1899-01-15
Three American Women

| this matter.
Three American Women.
The proposal that Miss Clara Barton,
Miss Helen Gould and Miss Annie Wheeler
shall receive the thanks of Congress and
| that each shall be presented with a gold
medal seems to be meeting with general
| approval, and there is every reason why
| it should. These three noble women did
much for their country during the late
war, and this is the only way in which
! they can be given any tangible reward.
! When it became apparent nearly year
| ago that war was likely to be the result
! of the strained relations between the
United States and Spain there was no less
patriotism on the part of the women of
America than on that of the men. 1t has
| been jestingly said since the war that
the reason why there We're so many mar
riages and betrothals just before the vol
path 10 marriage was by way of the re-
cruiting station and the camp. There is
probably a little truth in that. The war was
a sort of tOuchstone and the unpatriotic
youth whose soul was in his pocketbook
was very much out of favor. OF the women
to whom the war was a matter of imme-
/ diate personal importance the women who
sent their husbands and lovers and sons
and brothers to fight the battles of the
nation. one can only speak with reverence.
Such sacrifices. even more than the hero
ism Of the soldier himself. prove the in
nate nobility of the human soul. Not
woman among those who waited in heart
breaking suspense for news from the front
but would have followed the troops if she
could. And therefore the women. as well
as the men Of America, will heartily ap-
prove this reward for the three women
who did what many of their sisters were
longing to do. Whatever was lacking in
The hospital service whatever careless
ness there may have been in the commits
sary department these three women help
ed to supply. They we're the Sanitary
Commission Of This war.
1t is not a new thing for Clara Barton
to receive the gratitude Of a nation. She
is veteran on battlefield and in places
of death and disease. She has spent her
life in relieving suffering. and, soldier
needed. whether in her own country or
elsewhere. Compared with other battle
fields which she mas seen those of the
Cuban war ware Of small account But all
the same. if il had not been for the work
of the Red Cross Society and its efficient
director the results of some of those bat
ties might have been different, and the
Spanish-American war was a thing of i'm
mense Importance to this nation. though it
was not long or costly
The ether two women to whom the
thanks OF the nation are due were unfa-
miliar with the conditions OF warfare They
were in much the same position as the
women who carried help and comfort to
the soldiers of the Civil War Miss Gould
has proved. once for all that rich wo-
man can make her wealth a source of un-
told blessing. She spared neither herself
nor her money in doing the work which an
inefficient War Department could not or
would not do When governments fail
disinterested patriotism must come TO the
rescue. and this time II was a woman's
patriotism which rescued the wounded and
starving soldiers who had risked their
lives for their country and their Govern
ment. She came into the field without
authority, without office, without hope of
reward; she had only her money. her
sympathy and her practical wisdom There
was no red tape about her benevolence,
and il was consequently effective.
Miss Wheeler went into the hospitals ex-
actly as her father went into the army
because she could not do otherwise The
enthusiastic patriotism and forgetfuness
Of self which kept General Wheeler in the
front rank at Santiago. despite illness and
exhaustion, carried his daughter into the
hospitals and made her The untfring com
forter Of men who needed all that she
could do for them There are women who
take up hospital work from scientific mo-
| tiyes, and there are others who take il
up for the sake of earning a living. and
there are still others who are born nurses
and find their place in such an emergency
as this by sort of inspiration Miss
Wheeler made her way to the front with
determination which cut red tape and
| made those who might haze hindered her
| change their minds and help her.
These three women. of such widely dif-
ferent types, are all typical American
women. They cannot be promoted or given
office; let them therefore receive the
thanks Of the nation.