The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1917-08-11
WOMAN'S PART In
THE PRESENT WAR.
(PRINTED BY REQUEsT.)


land were throwing their strength so
Loyalty and completely into the service
of their countries, the women of Amer
lea have felt the most unqualified ad-
miration of their patriotism, at the
same time giving generously of their
services and means to support the hu-
manitarian work Of the Red Cross and
planning for work under war condi-
tions.
The origin of the Woman's Commit
tee, the need which existed for it, the
work which the government expects it
to do, and why women and women's
organizations everywhere should thus
join forces in defense of our safety and
our honor, and thus do our duty as
women and Americans is explained as
follows:
The nation is at war. Experience of
the countries earlier engaged in war
proved both the great value of women's
services, and the great loss of woman
power through lack, at first, of intelli-
gent coordination of women's organi-
cations with each other and with the
plans of THAR government.
When war was declared in this coun-
try the women of the United States in
their fervent desire to serve. fastened
to undertake all kinds of patriotic work
and to tender their services to the gov
ernment. These tenders, both from
old established organizations and from
those newly created for the express
purpose of war service, become at once
a great hope and serious embarrass-
ment to the government; a hope be-
cause of the unselfish service so will
lingly offered; an embarrassment, be-
cause of the useless duplication and
consequent waste of effort of the
women themselves, and the ifnpracti-
bility, even impossibility of the gov
ernment utilizing much of the help Of
fered in the form in which it was Of
fered. For instance. many women's
organizations seized upon the excellent
plan of taking nationwide registra-
tion of women willing to render emer-
gency service during the war. They
prepared registration cards.
The federal department of labor has
said that, to receive and tabulate for
use all this information collected by
different organizations, would be the
work of three years which means that
such registration would not be help
but a serious embarrassment-a situa-
ton which no woman and no women's
organization would knowingly produce.
Through lack of understanding of
real national needs, not few women's
organizations have committed them
selves to schemes of economy which
were fallacious and harmful, or to
arduous and unusual tasks on the part
of well-to-do women which in effect in
terfered with the labor opportunities
of wage earning women.
The unfruitfulness of such we'll
meant efforts is war loss which our
nation can i'll afford to sustain.
Our government, wishing to convert
this patriotic impulse into terms of ut
most value, has undertaken through
the Council of National Defense to or
ganize, the total womantpower of the
nation for defense work. A committee
of ten women (Dr. Anna Howard Shaw,
chairman; Mrs. Philip North Moore,
secretary;) has been appointed by the
Council of National Defense, to so or
ganize and coordinate the work of
women's organizations throughout the
country that each may render its best
service in cooperation with all other
organizations, without confusion, fric-
tion or overlapping, and consequent
waste Of effort.
This committee of ten women is Of
fetal and bears the same relation to
the Council of National Defense as the
Committee on Medical Defense, the
Railroad Transportation committee,
and other committees to which are
confded vital features of war prepar-
edness.
One thing is to be plainly UNDERSTOOD:
The Women's Committee undertakes
no coordination Of the work Of organi-
cations except such work as is of pa
triotic nature. With the other activi-
ties of the organizations it has nothing
whatever to do.
There seem to be three paramount
reasons why all women's state organi-
cations and their local branches should
respond to their urgent call.
First. Because the Woman's Com
mittee with its state divisions, is the
officially designated channel through
which the government conveys its re-
quests to the women of the country.
For example the call to conserve the
wheat supply by the regulation of the
handling Of bread by bakers and house
wives, and the use Of pledge cards
which Mr.. Hoover has asked the Wo-
mems Committee to circulate.