New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1917-07-27
WORK OF WOMAN'S
AUXILIARY FOR
SUNSHINE STATE
NEW MEXICO'S WOMEN
WERE ORGANIZED AND AT
WORK BEFORE NATIONAL
COUNCIL MADE A START;
DOING MUCH GOOD WORK

What is the Auxiliary dOlng! is
it doing anything useful?" These are
questions the people are asking, not
through idle curiosity, or a desire to
criticise, but because it is the peo-
pies war and there is every reason
that they should be informed. To
answer these, and other questions,
there is submitted the following
statement of the ends and aims Of
this active branch of the service:
l.. First of all, the Auxiliary is
helping to spread the doctrine of food
conservation. This includes the pro-
gram Of increased production, and
better methods Of distribution. The
army must be fed, and the public
behind the army must be fed; and
our Allies must be fed. This last
will be impossible if present condi-
tons of waste and carelessnes3 con-
tinue.
Organizing The Women
2. 1t is modifying a vast army of
women workers. This war cannot be
fought without women. In France
and England this economic fact is
recognized, and we are not waiting
for actual need before taking count
of our 1T is for that rea-
son that we are now registering all
able-bodied and mentally alert wo-
men for volunteered or paid serv-
ice. This represents a clearing
house, SUCH as England only put
into effect sometime after the war,
to her great cost that she. had not
done so before, and to her great
benefit then.
8. 1t centralizes all relief effort,
home and foreign, providing chan
nels through which assistance may
be rendered to any fund.
4. 1t is furthering the governments
plans for the safeguarding of the
moral and spiritual forces of the ma
ton, by assisting the Commission OF
Training Camp Activities appointed
by the Secretary of War.
5. On the economic and social side,
it is an instrument for the protec-
ton of women in industry, for child
welfare, for the maintenance of ex-
isting social agencies, and for the
promotion Of education.
E.. And, it has already given strong
proof of its effectiveness in the aid
rendered to the government in con-
nection with the Liberty Loa.., and
stands ready to do as much again.
This is certainly a full slate, but
every member Of the committee re-
cognizes that the work has only
barely begun.
New Mexico Ahead
The organization of the Woman's
Auxiliary of the Council of Defense
of New Mexico is slightly different
from the organization of other state
divisions of the Woman's Committee
of the Council of National Defense.
The reason for this is that New
Mexico was ahead of the schedule
on organization and when the Wo-
mans Committee of the National
Council took up the question of a
state Division for New Mexico they
found the Woman's Auxiliary ap-
pointed by the State Council of De-
tense, already organized and active
Another reason why the East should
worry about the Westi
Instead of having chairmen of va
riOuS departments 1Or the State, the
Auxiliary is composed of county
units, each duplicating the state or
g%anization, and the county units in
turn subdivided into district units,
according to the school districts in
each county. For a state as sparsely
populated and as difficult on the
score of transportation, this form of
organization is much better than the
one adopted in eastern states. Each
county chairman is responsible to her
unit for all departments, and there
are no separate department heads.
The New Mexico Division is, more
over, a part of the Council of Defense
of New Mexico, was created by that
body and thus has the benefit of
their avtive cooperation. The Coun-
Gil of Defense appointed women
from the various counties of New
Mexico as temporary chairmen of
those counties, who selected the per-
manent officers and members of the
Woman's Auxiliary.-A. c. H.