Coeur d'Alene evening press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1907-1929, 1909-02-20
" 6be F&T "
6Oomon'S h1nn1EY

I'VE are tired Of hearing you men
throw this up at us whenever we de-
mand the right Of suffrage. We wtII
DO military service. You assume that
we cannot endure military hardships.
We can do our part--that IL, the light
or part. Our arms and accouterments
may b. Of weight proportionate 10
our physique"
Such was the reply Of Mrs. Susan
Armstrong to the president, who In
his next message to congress transmit
ted the demand. An act was intro
duced creating a corps Of women 20
serve in such places as Mrs. Arm
strong had indicated. They were to be
enrolled 81 infantry, though the intro
Queer Of the bill dlsavowed any slnf
on the women from double meaning
Of the word. II they were found effec-
tive as foot soldiers q corps Of cavalry
aud one Of artillery were to be added
An amendment was introduced leav.
ing the selection Of the uniform with
the women enrolled.
The frst regiment OF (women's) In
KantRy was enrolled and instructed by
the secretary OF war to select it's uni.
form, after which its officers would be
appointed and It's equipment furnished
BY the government. Eight hundred
women met IN council. Mrs. Arm
strong was elected president, and the
meeting proceeded TO business. Miss
Owen moved that n committee be ap.
pointed to design q uniform. The mo-
tion was put and carried and the COM
mittee appointed by the chair. IL
was then announced that the work
had already been done, a uniform had
been selected and would be presented
to the meeting.
Miss Wrinkle, chairman Of the com.
mittee, read a description OF the uni
fern. II was to be Of blue cloth,
tailor made: jacket. faced with yell
low, skirt 70 fall three inches below
the knee, hat Of felt on wire frame
crown, inverted bell shaped, four
inches high, briIn one yard IN diane
ter. ostrich feathers Of suitable shades
10 match
When the description had been read
the president announced that the mat
ter Of its adoption was open to dis
cussion.
Miss Skinner--I should like TO ask
what sized hustle II 70 be used.
Miss Wrinkle-There viii be no bus.
tie The uniform Ii 10 be for service.
not ornamental.
Miss Skinner (sharplyl-Hm! With
no hustle perhaps some Of us may dis.
play figures by no means ornamental
AIRS. LatheFly--Will the chairman OF
che committee please inform us II
there IL TO be a uniform hip BREADTH
Miss Wrinkle The hips are to be the
natural siEe.
Mrs. LatheFly-Mrs. President. II the
hips are 10 be natural size | would
suggest enlisting only women with
average hips. How would the rear
rank look with
The President The lady Is out Of or.
der. Miss Blackmorel
Miss Blackmore- there 70 be
two battalions--o Of blends, the 9TH
or Of brunottesi Certainly the bFu-
nettea cannot be expected to wear
blue.
The President The members OF the
corps win wear the uniform as adopt.
ed.
Miss sklnner--T should like to know,
Mrs.. President. II we are to be permit
ted to make our figures respectable. or
are we TO be denied all pads3
Miss Wrinkle-The secretary Of war
has estimated that our regiment can
not be mustered IN to the military
service without q serviceable uniform.
With our accCntermentB there win be
no room for padding.
Miss Ferguson Does this deprive US
OF coFsetsI
Mrs Mathews-I wish to say right
now IL Il does desire my name strick-
en- or the rolls. demand a corset. and
q straight front corset.
Mrs. Kellogg--Afrs. President the
lady h talking nonsense How would
the straight front corset with rear pro-
tuberance look. should like to know1
Does the lady wish something to carry
= meas kit onR
Mrs. Mathewa-The vacant space un-
der the rear q the corset might be
used for cartridges. I'm not 80 Inn
practical a. the lady would suppose.
30 therel
Miss shipper (tltteringl With the
straight front correct our corps would |
look always In the position Of charge
bayonet."
For some time the wrath Of various
members had been gaining ground. !
and from this point there was q dou-
bic class divergence. The fat women
we're ranged against the lean ones and /
he bFunettes against the blonds The 4
meeting anaily broke up IN confusion
and has not since been called together
Meanwhile the secretary Of war ls
waiting 10 equip and muster IN the
coFpa.
This split IN the matter Of uniform
has greatly retarded the suffEagette
cause. which Il was hoped. the demon.
slration Of woman's ability to do mill
larry service would greatly assist.