The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1916-11-30

! Great Britain has had tn take stock
; of it's woman power and its capabiiltH
; Of sustaining the needs Of the man
/ mower called 10 the front. 1t required
: the long drawing Out Of the contest TO
, prove that this power existed in the
social body, and that IL needed two
; things. organization and the abandon
mrnL of some nutwurn CrCcds.
, The first two o. three million males
called 70 serve in The new armies dld
! not materially affect the life of the
| community. Voluntary cnliSting
drained the mrn from a gdoh many
uCcunaiiOn$ which custom or inc dc
ration Of trades unions had reserved
for men. The prejudice against the
! employment Of women gave way hul
| slowly before the conviction that men
! could not worthily remain AT nome 40
ling women'S work when their country
! needed them in the growing armies
, Under the inSpira ton Of Lord kltch-
| rner the country recognized the neceS-
! sifv Of recruiting and training The male
community for military service: None
: of The legislators foresaw the like ne
: ceSsity Of numbering and taking STOCK
! of the women reserves. Such aSSocla.
lions. professions and trades as had
; trained women ready for service were
steadily discouraged. The V. y. p. or
ranizaiion had got itself ready, under
a scornful depreciation which would
! have witherpd anything but female
sclf-Sufliciency.
Women musicians and surgeons be-
sjeEed the doors of the war ONCE, Dull
mai sapient department had at first no
word for them. They went away from
: the War office 10 serve under france
land Servia actively laborlng TIL the
! day when the same department re-
! called them and found them READY lot
j the hour when their services would at
last be accepted -,
If the census Of tho population OF
! serviceah BILE age had had an eye TO the
! future civil Unemployment Of women for
replaCing the mon that were destined
for military service. the country wouid
! have understood sooner that only IN
niyersal service Of the whole people
can be found our salvation from state
/ of war.
That women from the time war was
declared we're found in organized
erouns of workers was due 10 those So
cieries who for more than half CEN
fury had urged the position ana claims
/ of the women citizens on their country
and necessarily demanded Tor lhcn the
pOSitiOn and RESPONSIVENESS III L!'0
women under a democratic cnnStltu-
ton.
In the face Of encouragement and
against the prejudices Of all dominant
castes, women had fitted themselves
for all the professions not absolutely
closed 10 them. Medicine yielded hNr
secrets 10 a sex peculiarly endowed
with the gifts of healing and nursing.
It was an uphill fight for the dauntless
pioneers. but as men ceased 10 burn
witches because their burning, did NOT
decrease the professors of black magic;
50 in modern times they discovered
that saving women were UNIT Tor the
learned professions did not prevent
duly qualified women from entering
these careers.
No n0bler work has been performed
during the war than by the military
HOSPITALS stated by women. ihey'
have worked in many OF the aimee
countries, they have saved the lives ol
civilians as we'll as soldiers. In the OK
ercise of their profession they nave,
gladly laid down their own lives. PROUD
10 have fitted themselves with the Cd