The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1917-12-08

Inc answer 10 the 1ESI VI AhCSC
questions is the same that one would
give to the question, why do we have
Young Mems Christian Association
work for our boys.
A New Social Conscience.
We have q new social conscience
and we realize today as no previous
generation has done that we have an
obligation not only to make good
soldiers, but to keep them clean OF
body and strong of mind. We realize
also that we have an obligation to
our young women in war time to
conserve the standards and ideals
which we have been painfully striv-
ing toward for years past. Then
again in this war as in no other,
women are great factor that are re-
placing men in many lines OF work.
In your own city a bank which be-
fore the war employed five women is
today employing is. and expects to
have 25 before long.
Women are running elevators,
working in railroad yards and lum-
Der yards, and all these are indus
tries which were formerly almost
exclusively a field for men. Moreover
the special industry. such as NUM-
ton making, uniform making and the
many lines Of work which develop in
connection with our great canton
ments, such as laundry work, tele-
phone service, etc. These great in
dustries are being carried on largely
by women and girls.
Three Of the largest munition fac
tories in the country have said that
they expect to do their work with
20 per cent woman labor. All this
means that women are today truly
our second line Of defence, no less
necessary to the mobilizing OF the
forces OF this country for the war
than are the men,
1t means too. that hundreds and
thousands of them are today living
under conditions only a little less
abnormal than those OF the men in
camp. They are being brought by
the thousands into communities
where these industries are To-
often times wholly unprepared to
take care of them. They need places
to eat and sleep. wholesome recrea--
ton and friendship. Because of these
things there is need of an extensive
program of war work for young
women.
In answer to the question. why
should the Young Women's Christian
Association do this work, it can be
said, first, because the association
has had so years experience in work
ing with women. In that time it has
developed a trained leadership ex-
pert in the problem Of girlhood. 1t
has developed methods and a pro-
gram of work which has been tried
out and proven successful.
Second, because it is a national or
ganization, it has the machinery for
putting over a war work program
which no other organization in the
country working entirely among
women possesses. It is because Of
these things that individual people,
organizations, the Fosdick commits
sion, the army and the government
itself have appealed to the Young
Women's Christian Association to
meet the needs OF women today. The
program which the association is
putting over has been built, not out
of theory. but out Of the letters, tele-
grams and cablegrams that have
come to our New York Office in be-
wilderfng numbers. asking us to do
this thing. or to send someone to this
place or to give advice on this prob
lem.
Third, what are the lines Of work
which are included in the program
of association war work. First, there
Is the work for girls living in the
community near cantonments. The
government regulations have made il
possible for the army authorities to
deal pretty effectively with the COM
mercialized vice around the camps,
but the government is not able to
legislate for the young girls living
in the cantonment communities. The
little grade girls and high school
nrsvHIa wawf#nwsFawTw hnn1N1Ea Ahnxy ~
the ones who have most leisure and
whose heads are most easily turned
by khaki and brass buttons, are most
In danger. They are naturally in
terested in boys. and the boys in
these camps are young and they are
all better looking in uniform than in
their ordinary clothes. and just be-
cause the vast majority Of these
girls are innocent and ignorant they
do not realize how easy It is for their
instinct to give the soldier a good
time, to lead them into tragic results
for themselves and for the soldiers.
The 7. W. c. A. is putting expert
workers with girls into all these
near camps. These
workers organize girls clubs, open
club houses where's they promote a
program OF recreation and education
and direct the patriotic enthusiasm
of these young girls along safe and
lines. Since war was
declared In April, the association has
placed more than sixty-five Of these
expert workers with girls in forty
five different cities and towns near
our amy camps.
Second, work with girls In indus
try. While every association in the
Is facing new industrial
problems and adjusting itself 20 meet
new needs. the war work program IS
chiefly with handling cer-
tain specific situations. One exam
pie Of such a situation Is found In |
8. c. where the govern
ment has opened q uniform factory !
bringing in seven hundred girls from
the small towns and country dis
trictE Of Carolina 70 work in ft.
Just outside OF Charleston Ia a huge
army camp. and the moral situation |
for these inexperienced country girls
who are being paid higher wages |
than they ever had before in their
lives but for whom there IL no ade- |
quate place to i've In very serious. 4
In response to a telegram from the I
F'osdick commission the association /
sent two workers to Charleston, who |
took over the buildings Of a school |
for girls and used them Tor q doFmi- 1
tory for the summer months. They
also found places for some OF the /
girls 20 live in town and opened a |
club house Tor rest and recreation. I
Another instance Is that Of Army !
City. Kansas. This city has sprung 1
up out Of corn Hefd across from /
Camp Funston to meet the needs Of /
50. 900 men ia that camp. It Is a city
0f shops. restaurants and amuse- /
ment. but with no homes yet Into
this abnormal community hundreds