The Julesburg grit-advocate., 1917-12-20
Y.W!C. A. IS DOING
A GREAT MORAL
WORK IN CAMPS
SAFEGUARDING WELFARE
OF WOMEN LEFT BEHIND
ShOuidering the Responsibility
of Safeguarding Moral COndi-
tiOns In and Near Training
Camps and CantOnments.

Since the oSaning of the war the Y
W. c. a. has faced the necessity OF
taking an active part. Now, among
other things, it is shouldering the re-
sponsib'lity of safeguarding moral
conditions in and near the training
camps and cantcnments, as well as
providing for the welfare of an army
of women drafted to take up the work
laid down by men who have gone t,
the front.
Thousands of girls are flocking int
towns from the country round about
because of the opportunity to earn
large wages, and because they are
needed. They must have friends, they
must have living Accommodations and
guidance i. in ignorance, they are not
led astray.
1t may seem strange that Just at
this time when all the world seems
thinking of men the Y. NJ. c. A. sh0ulc
como forward with program of work
for girls and women, but all the SOL!
diers do not wear khaki.
The task undertaken by the Y. w
c. A. is difficult and urgent, for over
two million women and girls are al
ready taking up the work laid down by
men. They are largely from country
homes and there is no zone of safety
for them.
The program of the association in
cludes the sister of every man, the
daughter of the American and the
daughter of the foreign born citizen;
it knows neither race nor creed, its one
great object being to help the soldier
through its service to girls and wo-
men, for, as a well known business
man said: "The manhood of the camp
and community can never rise higher
than its womanhood."
The question is not alone American
girls who have been drafted but thou
sands of young women who have come
to America since the war, some for
safety, some to earn money in order
to help the destitute ones at home and
pave the way for them to come over
when the war is done, if any are left.
All this has been assumed by the Y. w.
C. A.
During the drive in Denver 4 moth
er said she wanted to give all she had
to the Y. M. C. A. as she had boy
Unframed at one of the camps, who
would soon go across. She wanted
him to come back to her "as clean as
he went," so she said. All mothers
must remember that to do this the
girls must be kept clean, they must do
as general Funston urged Respect
not only the uniform of the soldier
but help the soldier respect his own
uniform"
The Y. w. C. A, and the Y. M. G. A.
are tied in an attempt to keep up the
morale of the American fighting
force. The great army of girls and
women are the responsibility of the
Y. M. c. A. the men that of the Y. W.
c. A. They, the men and the women,
are all soldiers.
For their war work program the Y.
w. c. A. is asking four million dol
lars, of which amount one hundred
thousand is going to be raised in the
states of Colorado, Utah and Wyom-
ing. Not only will the comfort and
safety this big fund will make possible
be extended to American women, but
to the women Of France, England and
Russia, who are crying for help.
It will build huts for American nur.
ses, providing comfort for these tor.
tured, nerve racked heroes. Every
penny of the fund will be used in war
work at home and abroad, for women
in the industries, and those taking the
place of men who have gone to the
front.
They are all war workers.
Less than half year ago the bud
get adopted by the Y. W. C. A. Coun.
Gil totalled one million dollars. On
October ninth the Council voted tc
raise its estimate of what would be
needed to the four million dollars in
order to cover the proposed program
With the comparatively meagel
fund at its disposal the association has
already erected twenty-eigM hostess
houses, meeting places for soldiers
and their women relatives and friends
and link with home.