The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1917-08-10
BEST WAY TO AID
NATIONAL DEFENSE
NOW ---- WORK IN
THE CANNERIES!
pr- Mrs. Austin Gallagher, Chairman
carroll County Women's Section,
MARYLAND Council of Defense.

N3TIldnu NOuANll VI DCAChoO'
within a few weeks the eyes of the
thinking people of this country will be
t,,rnnd with anxiety toward the results
having in the so-called canning coun-
tries of the United States.
And we'll they may!
Why?
because of the uncontrovertible
-ruth of the statement that this is
LARGELY a food war. Therefore, that be-
inc the case-and it being also true
that great portion of this fOod-thls
demonstrating element-must, for
preservation and assured transporta-
tfon he put into cans-is it not almost
naraIvZing to realize how little we,
rE,. ueople. who are to be SO intimately
involved in the final results, are con-
r4rniug ourselves with the physical
end OF this problem of canning?
because the heads of these factories,
from Main to Georgia, are not frantic
.Iv waving their arms and crying
fjnoIy murder unless aided does not
r.rrlcc public obligation toward graV-
inv nf the canning labor conditions
which they may sOOn-and we later
lace.
THE Gamers throughout the country
are acting with bravery when they, IN
the first place, stimulate greater pro-
G.rtiDn than ever before, and follow 1t
r. Hv attempting conservation on a
larger scale than ever Let us be
rrnYI minded then and, even at the
risk of giving credit in some quarters
whore none is due, call 1t by its true
,..rur-- Patriotism; for the risk OF loss
Yin hv every single man of them is not
T.. lie ignored: and, finally, the success
nf these enterprises las we'll as that
4, the munition plant only spells sue
,.-4 for cur nation.
>0 We must right now grasp the
leaning of this situation, which is
that the putting into cans during the
weeks between August Is and OctO-
beer / Of the products of the helds OF
this country, is Of far greater lmpOr-
lance than is the charging OF shells
Win nowHcr. or even the filling OF our
American transports with men during
this period.
one reason Germany holds out
.ggfu~t tWo-thirds of the world is be-
cause she knows that soldiers with
cnuty st0machs are about as useful
a. guns without bullets.
What. then, should be our first step?
Publicity obviously. The arOusing Of
ID nationwide interest in the situation.
This might be begun in churches.
These uuqucstiOnabIy best dissemina-
ting centres Of information Cbarring
the newspapers in regard to prac-
u.u living needs have been gagged
long enough; but. thank Providence
they are now finding themselves
end are becoming factors in the
worlds work. materially as we'll as
spiritually.
Let preachers eXhOrt their people
NH cooperate with the canning indus
tries OF their communities, while, or
course. the State Councils Of Defense
and all 2rOups, whether public or
private. Joined together for war re
lrf-s should organize toward that end,
even becoming, if need be, the active
agent between canning recruit and
factory manager. And in the last an
alr>i@ -=hy should not each individ-
Hal WHO loves the flag Of Uncle Sam
become q self-constituted labor bur
rau. provided he or she cannot be
that still better thing-an actual can
uur-vhether beginner or other
wise.
Canning seems. quite naturally. to
.n WOlnurI WOrk-thOuEh mems too,
Uf course But is it not more distinct
Is our Nori; than three-fOurthS of that
into which we are rushing. almost
|r"maturtly. it would SEEM We read
ri women in machine shops, at the
drill, of see women employed by one
railroad alone. Of women lOngShOre-
men. stcvcdcTes, and now as soldiers
in the German and Russian armies
Surely. peciing tomatoes, stringln2
cans and even husking corn is a
more feminine occupation than any
nj these. And then, too, it has the
virtue of being Of greater utility just
row than amy other war service open
r3 women
II is said that the capacity Of one
woman canning in a factory, due to
organization and the use Of modern
machinery, is almost incOmparablY
greater than that OF the same woman
canning in her own kitchen. And
hen, too, the percentage of cans lost
through spelling is reduced to a min
nnum in the factory by scientific
methods. All of which creates a
roady-made argument in favor Of the
COMMON sense OF a stampede to the
CannerieS in this our time of great
est food need For, in spite of every
thing We can do, say or write, it is
now known that not only we in our
homes but our sons and brothers ac-
ross seas, who will fight the battles to
save these homes. face a great pos
sibility of shortage of ratiOns for next
winter.
Then may there not perhaps be
some women who never dreamed OF
entering a cannery but who might be
doing SO this season, not only serve
her country, but also develop her own
character in a way that would sur
prise even herself? Over in England
during these two strenuous years we
hear of ladies of title being none too
proud to do this very thing. Are there
any among us real, true American
women too delicately reared to do as
much to help save our country, in case
1t should be found necessary to draft
that unaccustomed land hence some
what dubiOus) class of labor?
Why could not the girls Of Carroll,
Kent and Hartford, for instance, get
up canning clubs of IS, % or 40 mem
berS work in factories, each obligat-
ing herself to be promptly on hand
every other day, perhaps-in case ev-
cry day were impracticable-o pos
s1bly found to be too strenuous for
muscles not used to such work? In