The Washington times., 1915-05-10
AMERICAN WOMEN
TO AID WAR BABIES
Mrs. william Alexander, Of Re.
lief Society, Says Children
Will Be Big Asset.

NEW YORK. May 1o.-Heads of tn.
war relief organizations here, In dts
cussing the great problem Of the army
OF war babies-a problem now agitatihl
even belligerent Europe-today an
nounced plans for lending assistance
Ia the big work Of caring for thousands
OF those little children soon to be borr
INTO the world.
Miss Theodosia M. Spring Rice. in de-
eoaring that the estimated number OF
these little ones was not exaggerated
announced an appeal to the women OF
the United States to help In this work
the women of Europe
In an interview with Mrs. William
Alexander. president Of the Special Re-
lief Society for convalescent soldiers
abroad and the unemployed at home.
number Of we'll known members of So
ciety, Mrs. Alexander said:
There are two great questions in
yo!ved in this problem of the war
prefer to deal with the practical at this
time: and leave the moral side of this
problem to those whose business r. is
to deal with such questions.
Hope For Stricken, Nations.
I'm the first place these little chill
dren, though born under the most try
Ing circumstances and within the roar
and din Of conflict will mean an enor-
nous asset to the belligerent nations.
Time alone will tell what a great asset
they i'll be to the countries so rapidly
being depopulated.
These small citizens will. perhaps.
fll vast need in the years to come
cause they viii become so important to
the future life of these countries, the
governments should endeavor to ar
range to provide some means for their
Many Of the war brides" who will
bear children this summer doubtless
would have been provided for by the
iethers OF these children had the gov
eminent not called them to arms.
AS these men have given their lives
TO their countries, these nations should
supply that which they have taken
,sway-ths means Of support for these
!uckiess little ones SO soon to be- born
Into world struggling in the grip of an
unprecedented calamity.
Question For Governments.
with each government, the question
should be. not What shall we do with
these childrenT but How much can we
afford to spend on each one whose faith
er has offered his life for the defense
of his country
These babies are to represent an
advantage of incalculable value to the
nations in question, and am sure this
VIII be appreciated by each Of them in
trying to solve the problem to the best
Of their ability-one Of the many veX-
world.
This is not time for hysteria, The
problem; az indeed. every other. should
De faced dispassionately. and the ma
terial welfare Of these little ones should
be considered with an open mind
BY THEODOSIA M. SPRING-RlCE.
President Of the United States Branch
OF Queen Mary's Needlework Guild and
cousin Of the British Ambassador. Sir
Cecil spring-Rice
Needlework Guild here 1 am sending
out tomorrow an urgent appeal to
the women Of this country to send
donations Of infants wear to the
Guild in time to be shipped to Queen
Mary for a birthday gift. Queen
Mary Is president Of the guild, and
May.
This seems to be practical way
or showing our sympathy for the
war babies: These articles will be
tribution. Queen Mary organized the
guild and has personally superin-
tended from st. James palace the
distribution OF clothing for incapaci-
tated soldiers, their families. refu-
gees and other deserving persons
suffering because of the present war.
In a recent letter. received in this
country from the head Of the guild a
special reference was made to the
need OF infants wear.
/ do not believe the reports Of the
large numbers OF these expected
babies can be greatly exaggerated.
as this war Is without precedent in
q ~ 81 ~
this has always been one of the 1e-
suits of warfare.
Those who do not care to send
infants garments ocan send us cash
we make use Of these for the pur-
pose of caring for these children.
The guild sends no money abroad,
making use of every cent in this
country and sending only supplies
My personal opinion Is that we
have no right to Judge OF the moral
SIDE or this question. as we are not
on the ground and on account OF the
diversity of problems involved
BY MARY A. KNOBLAUCH.
Mrs. Charles Knoblauch, active In
German and French relief work here
among women and children who have
been deprived of soldier husbands and
fathers support:
am glad to observe from cable
reports that war babies" have been
discovered outside the districts which
have been invaded by the German
armies.
For instance, recent reports now
INDICATE that thousands of war
babies will be born m London short
ly, neither Of whose parents have
even gazed upon a German soldier,
Like many other happenings of this
war. 1t Is so ridiculous to place the
blame upon the Germans alone.
They are not guilty Of all the crimes
committed In this ghastly disaster.
! greatly doubt many OF the tales
told of the tortured women in Bel
gium. In the first place, the Ger
mans must have been pretty well
occupied with fighting to have won
so much territory since the begin
ming and to have held 1t against
great odds.
In the second place, / don't believe
Germany Is anxious to breed a lot
of little enemies. although | have
heard 1t remarked that these inter-
marriages may do something toward
cementing the nations of Europe.
but l place little credence in such a
possibility.
The war babies will represent three
different classes-those of the war
brides women who wera