The National tribune., 1906-10-04

Of the President, presented to that Aux
iliary, will hold an honored place in
the Assembly Hall.
The Ladies' Auxiliar,eS to the United
Spanish War Veterans are comprised of
the wives, sisters, mothers, daughters,
and other blood relatives of United
Spanish War Veterans, together with the
en- actively engaged in relief work dur
| ing the war with Spain, both in Cuba
and the Philippines.
The Auxiliaries of Washington are
| largely composed of what is known as
Relief Women. During the war with
| Spain, Washington was the general
headquarters for recruiting and for
troops. 1t was surrounded by camps,
among them being Camp Alger, Fort
Washington. Fort Sheridan, Dun Loring,
to say nothing of the regular posts,
Fort Myer Washington Barracks and
the Nevy Yards. This filled the city
with volunteer soldiers. till one was
| reminded of old war days. uniform
on the streets of Washington is too
common a sight to awaken interest,
| however, and, strange as 1t may seem,
the general public did not give these
| $4,000 men a hearty welcome. Most
very ones which should not have been
open. 1t was a hot Summer, the re-
cruits were careless of sanitation, and
soon sickness appeared among the
| camps in distressing form. Then it was
that the patriotic women of the city
| focked to the rescue; they banded
themselves together in organizations to
cope with the situation. There was no
| hysteria, no contention, only plain
practical, hard, self-sacrificing work
| The soldiers who We're stationed in
Washington during that Summer recall
| each and all of these organizations with
! liveliest interest; for il is probable that
! three-fourths of the men stationed in
these camps received at some time from
| one of these organizations help and
| comfort such as only women know how
/ to give. There were the w. G. T. u
Lunch rooms on F street, where the
men always received, free, good
| homemade lunch. Maybe it wasn't
a blessing TO those men, who We're no,
accustomed to living on s13 a month
and maybe they didn't appreciate the
/ women who left their homes in charge
of servants, and spent their days in the
kitchens waiting on these hungry sol
diers. Then there was the Soldiers
Rest Rooms, at 1904 Pennsylvania Ave.
with its rocking chairs. cots, commo.
diouS wash rooms, its gentle-fingered
! nurses to bind up the arms swollen
from vaccination, and, best of ALL the
diet lunches which We're packed for the
convalescing fever patients going away
on u furlough. There was she Potomac
Track work, organized in the Pension
Office. These ladies opened rooms close
to the Maryland tracks, and met al
trains loaded with troops, while the!
waited here, serving them with ever!
} comfort in the way of food. Their,
} were the Red Cross workers; it IS need.
, less to speak of what they did; and the
/ hospital corps of the Daughters of the
American Revolution. To them we owe
, the advent of women nurses into tn,
Army. Authorized by the Surgeon
General. they did a wonderful work
and, best of all. the result of their WORK
remains, for where the army goes tn,
women nurses follow These are tn,
women who will extend a hand %
hearty welcome to the visiting soldier.
, and their families, for, be it remember
ed, it was these same Washington wo
; men who extended this organized ro
| lief work.
Washington is also the birthplace Of
the Auxiliaries the very first activ,
work in the National organization hav.
ing been done here. and it will be the
first time that the District Auxiliaric.
have had the opportunity Of welcom.
ing the co-workers of their organiza
ton. Mrs. Ida NJ. Galloway, Chairman
of the National Convention Committee