The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1914-10-17
GERMAN HEROINES'
WARTIME TASKS
Brave Sacrifices Made by Wo-
men of All Ranks.
VOLUNTEERS EXCEED DEMAND
Aristocrats and Socialists Are Working
Side by Side In Relief Work and
Hospital and Field Nursins-Hospi-
tally of the Wealthy to Educated
People In Desperate Financial Straits.

Hospital and Field Nursins-Hospi-
tally of the Wealthy to Educated
People In Desperate Financial Straits.
AS promptly as the men Of Germany |
were ready to serve with the colors, |
the women of the fatherland came |
forward to do their share In caring for |
the wounded and the sick. Mrs. Max
Toeplitz of 275 Central Park West, |
New York, who has returned from Ger |
many, was able to observe the organi- |
Zation of thousands of women. volun- |
teers into effective trained units to
work in the hospitals and at stations
where trainloads of wounded soldiers,
Germans and prisoners, en- route to
hospitals, might receive some measure
of treatment and refreshment.
THE German army was In readiness
at the first signal. and the army OF
German women was ready as prompt
ly to do its share" said Mrs. Toeplitz.
| Naturally the Red Cross society was
the first to act, and throngs of women
volunteering their services besieged
the offices. Courses for nursing the
! sick and the wounded were esta bliSh-
ed by eminent physicians and sur
| geonS and We're soon overcrowded.
| Trained nurses. particularly those ex-
| perlenced in surgical work, We're pre-
| ferred, but soon there was sure to be
/ sore need for assistants, to work on
! the thousand painful tasks connected
with hospital duties on the battlefield
or at home. The volunteers, however,
soon exceeded all demands. Every
day one could witness rows of fash
ionably attired ladies and working
/ women waiting side by side to be ad-
mitted to the Samaritan work.
Undaunted by Hardships.
| The doctors made careful selec-
lions. They drew harsh pictures for
/ the dainty women, who were eager to
| help, but did not realize the horrors
connected with their prospective tasks.
However, many an aristocrat, reared
| in an atmosphere of culture and re-
finement, bravely undertook the low
est mental duties.
Women of high rank and wealth
are working side by side with the
wives of the most ardent Socialists.
The Duchess of Schleswig- II olstein-
SOnderburg recently passed her exami,
nation as surgical snurse and has been
installed as one of the. staff nurses.
Besides the Red Cross, many other
organizations managed by women have
sprung up There is the Matchmaker
Frauendienst national women's serv-
ice). with committees Including wo-
men university graduates. Empty
apartments We're opened as day nurs-
cries or fitted with furniture for the
homeless fugitives from the frontiers.
The VaterIandische Frauenverein
the National Women's society took
up the task of caring for the families
of soldiers in the field. There are the
working girls clubs. whose leaders do
their utmost to procure work for the
; unemployed. Factories are closed. and
department stores have discharged
, their clerks, but there Is need for an
army of workers to make caps. bags.
cartridge belts-in fact, every kind of
military equipment is in constant de-
mand.
Multiplicity of Activities.
"At first German women were eager
~ SC1Io SOLIlc VI lhGlt u" Ii IdhdlN VI II
, to the front, but they soon realized
| that it was wiser to donate the mate
rial and pay for the work, thus aiding
the unemployed. One hears the rattle
= and click of knitting needles in almost
every German home. Wooden stock
= lngs and wristbands worsted bandages
: and caps are being turned out by the
i thousands through home industry.
Women are taking mems places in pub
lie and private offices and factories.
On the street cars the people are get
II ting used to paying their fares to wo
/ man with IL cap and pouch.
n Public restaurants. soup kitchens
S and eating places, from which meals
, may be taken home for inconceiyably
d small sums or in exchange for mea
o tickets. have been largely in the hands
S of practical female organizers Food
l. has hardly risen in price since the out
t break of the war, stores are plentifully
e stocked, and there is a large number
/ of the peoples kitchens. From the
:, homes of the wealthy have been ISSUED
IL invitations to participate regularly IL
} the dinner or luncheon of the family t
o educated women out of positions anC
# to artists of song or brush.
d The bearing of the German woman
II in these terrible days has been splen
did. Women of the officers families
Y seeing father, husband, sons and broth
n ers taken from them. bore the ordea
a with hardly tear in public. Youn
+. brides. who experienced a hasty wa
lie wedding ceremony in place of a nup
l. tial feast, gave smiling farewell t
1t their lovers. Wives and mothers o
T. those not of the military class bore u
le as proudly
lie King Albert Kind to His Men.
a King Albert saw one of his soldier