Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1915-05-21

|
! Serbian gunners on the frontier
gun which they were serving.
-~e~~~~~~o>o~~~ ~
opinion that out of this war may. per
haps In the not too distant future
arise United States of Europe
THAT Is what we need, that Is what
we should have" he continued. What
is at the bottom of this war? / am
leaving out all considerations OF neu'
trality, Of diplomatic bungling, ETC.
It's the tariff.
Blames the Tariff.
Each country tried to build tariff
wall around itself, and to that you can
trace all our troubles. Instead Of
manufacturing everything in one coun'
try, we should let each country spe.
cialize in those goods which it can
best and most cheaply supply. In
these United States of Europe mark
well, economically speaking, France
might be left to supply all the silks
for the combined countries, Austria
glass, England cloth and ships, and
Germany machinery and chemicals;
America, for her part, might specialize
in supplying the cotton Of the world.
But then, terrible as this war is, 1t
will have its beneficial results as we'll.
People In Europe were beginning to
live too easily, too well; we were be-
ginning to be threatened with stagna-
ton. A man who has eaten his MI
is no longer creative. He wants to
sleep, not work. And after the war?
Well, we'll all have to live together
again. We all need one another, SO
what is the use of nursing this spirit
of hatred and rancor?"
Mobilization of the kitchen" Since
the crown princess coined this express
sion the term has become regular
German watchword.
At my first coming to Berlin ! no.
ticed at once the almost entire alb
sence Of ladies-using the term here
in its narrower social sense-in public
places. Every afternoon, for instance,
Berlin used to take tea at the various
large NOTES.-THE Kaiserhof, the Ad-
lon, the Esplanade, etc.
| Woman's Work In War.
l was having. tea one afternoon at
the Kaiserhof with a captain on the
| war ofEce staff. l asked him: "Will
you tell me where all your ladies are?
I mean, where is society,""
| He looked at me surprised-almost
hurt.
why" he answered, don't you
know that all our women, our real
German women, are modified, as we'll
as our men? These are the days when
the girls who: have had practical
'hausfrau' education are having their
innings. We need the housekeeper
and the nurse nowadays, not the
fraeulein professor, doctor, advocate. OF
j what not" +"@-
He was absolutely right, as found
out later. At the outbreak Of the wa,
a great many women and girls with
university degrees, stenographers
bookkeepers, etc, working in offices
thought that at last their turn had
come. They were going to show that
they could replace the men at the
heads OF departments, or at whatever
responsible duty might have to be per
formed, Most of them were sadly dis
appointed. In the larger offices, the
heads of flrms-if they were not called
to the colors-replaced their own
managers, working double time; the
STATS were cut down to half, and SO
were the salaries.
i Helping the Musicians.
| A number Of women's clubs have
been organized for the purpose OF
helping those employed in the musical
profession, which is suffering greatly
through the war. A large hall in the
reichstag building has been placed al
the disposal Of these clubs, and there
they meet and hear concerts, some.
times two or three Of them in the
same day. The woman members pay
q contribution Of something like $3.50
a month and, of course, donations are
gladly accepted. s.- E,-S~| r. 3d.,
Some Of the concerts take place at
private houses, and the rule has been
made that absolutely no refreshments
shall be served on such occasions, ex.
cept to the artists. The women sit
from three till six, knitting, talking, or
listening to the music. For anyone
who knows Germany and the German
woman slove for her ''kaffeeklatsch, "
which used to be unthinkable without
cake and coffee, this is one Of the most
remarkable effects Of the war.
| AT whatever small entertainments
| are given, war poetry and "feldpost'
briefe" (letters from the 'front.' are the
most popular items on the program
The war has Matched an entire new
brood Of poets and writer's. sssS y,
went to dinner one night At the
notes containing an account Of the
Creation O. told by one OF the new