The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-07-05
WOMEN AND The WAR
rHE TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
INFORMATION BUREAU
By Frederic j. Haskin. Dtrectcr
yYashInxtou D. O.
II-rhe National Woman,s Committee

residential districts, not lar from the
British embassy, is tall aristocratic
stone building known as THE Play
house" AT least that was it's name un-
til a short time ago. 1t was built
by Preston Gibson, playwright, who
set out to write for the proletariat
but became discouraged and sought an
audience among those of high social
position.
Here Mr.. Gibson presented his
plays, and here Washington society
frolicked and fox-trotted and cult
waited the drama. There was very
good imitation of a stage, with foot
lights and several sets of scenery, and
there was a little room in the front
hall. with a little round window for
ticket transactions that did very we'll
as a box office. There We're many
such Broadway touches, and every
body-especially the younger set-had
perfectly ripping" times. The trouble
was they took the whole neighbour
hood into their confidence-sometim
at o'clock in the morning, and after
standing it patiently for several years.
the neighborhood finally got out an
injunction and had the Playhouse
closed.
Today the Playhouse has an al
together different personality. Its
bathrooms, dressing rooms and audi
forum are furnished with shiny oak
desks and chairs; the musicians gall
"
the space that was formerly occupied
by pseudo dramatists is now taken
over by soberly busy women. There
is a constant click of knitting needles
instead of caStanets, a whir of sew
ing machines in the place of dancing
feet, and a low murmur of voices in
stead of the eloquent monologues. This
is the headquarters of the woman's
committee of the Council of National
Defense.
The council of national defense, 1t
may be recalled, is composed of the
secretaries of war, navy, interior,
agriculture, commerce and labor. At
ter going over the war situation, the
members of the council realized that
| a great deal of the civilian preparation
| for war must necessarily lie in the
hands of the nations women. BY that
time there were women's patriotic as
sociationS and committees galore
Many American women had organized
committees at the beginning of the
war for the purpose of sending assist
ance to stricken Europe. In New
York and other large cities thousands
of women have knitted, sewed and
bought provisions for European sol
diers for the past three years. Some
even went abroad and offered their
services.
/ But, what was perhaps more i'm
portant, they kept the sacrifice of war
stantly before people. In spite of
Americas prosperity, her fairness and
| her comfort, she was not permitted
to forget that the world was in
mourning
AS fer back as last January, when
| 1t became apparent that the United
! States should have to enter the war,
! these many women who had been toll
ing for Europe Immediately announced
| thru the Red Cross that all their eff
' 60
| half of that organizat ton.
The Red Cross had base hospitals to
| establish, equipped with beds, linen
surgical dressings, cooking utensils,
ambulance corps to organize and COM
| fort committees to establish The
lively, and each separate organization
in addition to many Independent COM
mittees, offered their services to the
Red Cross.
With the best of executive ability
and the best of intentions, there was
! a very great lack of system. People
| became confused as to their particular
| activities; there were more leaders
| than subordinates, and the situation,
| when the actual declaration of war
came, resembled a jig-saw puzzle with
all the pieces scattered in different di-
rect1ons. 1t remained for the Wo-
mans committee of the council of
national defense TO put them together
On May 2, ten women met in Wash
ington at the invitation of the coun-
Gil of national defense and organized
the first national woman's committee.
They were all women of prominence
and ability. DR.. Anna Howard Shaw
was elected chairman. Mrs. Philip
| NJ. Moore, Mrs. Joseph E. Cowles Miss
| Maude Wetmore, Mrs. Carrie Chap
man Gait, Mrs. Antoinette Funk, Mrs
Stanley Mccormick, Mrs. Joseph L.
Lamar. Miss Ida NJ. Tarbell and Miss
Agnes Nestor make up the rest of the
committee.
These women held a four days ses-
sion and discussed the ways and
means of collaborating the scattered
efforts of patriotic women all over the
country. Their first idea was to hold
nationwide registration of women;
the second was to appoint temporary
chairmen in eacn state to call the rep
rcSentatives of all women's clubs and
i societies together When the women
met they We're to elect a permanent
chairman-not necessarily the one APP
pointed by the national committee
who was to be the executive in charge
of the patriotic activities of her state
She was to establish various depart
ments. with an executive at the head
of each, and this executive in TURF
was to appoint woman in every
town and village to look after the in
terests of her department.
The departments were to be divided
under the following heads: Foot
production, food conservation anC
home economics; women in industry
child welfare, maintenance of existing
social agencies-namely settlements
: public health work, philanthropies
t Gay nurseries, hospitals, general so
. cial service: and finally the safeguard
ing of moral and spiritual forces. Thi
was the original plan of the nationa
committee. and it is the plan which il
now being carried out.
The country has responded yer.
we'll. Disputes over leadership hav,
q subsidized. and the women have pu
S themselves cheerfully under the order
of the rational committee. Gradual
, ". duplication of activities and over