The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1917-08-27
women
RUSH TO SERVE
IN Their ARMY
Difficulty is to Find Houses
for Female Workers Who
Have Gone to France.

HEADQUARTERS OF WOMEN'S
AUXILIARY CORPS, BEHIND BRIT
ISH LINES IN FRANCE, Aug. 81
Pdess.)-When it was decided to en-
ploy women with the British Army in
France the main difficulty that arose
lay in the question OF housing. Ac-
commodauon in France had been pre-
pared solely in accordance with the
requirements of male troops. and mod
ifications and adaptations for the use
of women required careful considera-
| ton.
The camps and hostels for the wom-
! en- workers had to be fully equipped.
within reasonable distance from the
places OF employment, and on a some
what higher standard Of comfort than
was required then for the men.
With the cooperation of the mill
tary authorities, preliminary arrange
ments were so rapidly carried out that
within a month after the decision TO
send women to France, everything
was ready for the first groups of work
ers. These crossed the Channel at
the end OF April this year. At present
the women's quarters are principally
In hutted camps. and in hostels taken
over by the Corps at some of the
bases. These camps accommodate
from % to 500 women each. Their to-
tai accommodation has reached a fig
ure over 1000.
! Each camp, however small, Is under
the charge of a women administrator
responsible for the comfort and we'll
being Of it's occupants and for their
discipline outside office hours.
The question is often asked, is the
discipline of the women workers very
strict? The question of discipline was
a subject Of careful consideration. The
women of the Auxiliary Corps cannot
be treated as children: they are care
fully chosen in the first instance and
are doing responsible work. For this
reason a great deal OF liberty is given
them and the rules and regulations
| are not stringent.
Members of the Corps must wear
| their uniforms on all occasions; there
are certain restrictions regarding adj
mission to cafes and estaminets in
France. There are occasional roll
calls at the hostels, but out of office
hours the women are allowed a great
| deal Of liberty. The administrator
may sanction invitations to men to
| the public recreation rooms of the hos
| tel.
| The idea in enforcing discipline
among the women workers is that they
| should be led not driven and that
much depends on the administrator
twho acts as leader still more on the
manner in which the individual mem
| bers respond to the trust reposed in
them to keep up the personal credit
and the honor Of the Corps. 1t speaks
we'll for the success of the system that
after an experience Of three months
in Frar only three girls have been
+! returned 20 England and they for an
! act which showed more stupidity than
dliberate indiscipline.
| The administrators are carefully
| chosen, being in many cases teachers
in girls schools or housekeepers in
schools or large institution. Other are
women trained in welfare work or uni
verify women who have had expert
ence in similar work. To fit them for
their special work in France, all WON.
en- chosen for administrators receive
/ instruction before being sent out to
|
Recruits for the Women's Army are
very carefully selected in England.
Each candidate must furnish two ref
erences. which are carefully consulted
Then the candidate is sent before a Sc
| lection board and medical board
both of whom have set fairly high
| standard. Approved candidates are
called up" to a receiving depot after
a short time allowed them for making
preparations. On arriving at the re-
ceiving hostels the candidates are
solemnly enrolled and required to sign
their formal agreements before a mill
| tary officer They stay at the receiv-
| ing hostel about three weeks, during
| which time they are inoculated and
vaccinated, fitted with uniforms and
| taught some elementary marching
| drill. They also attend lectures on
the work before them. These three
| weeks are very valuable; the women
make friends among their future as
sociates and begin to get a little of
that valuable esprit de corps, pride
in their work and understanding of it's
value and importance.
When the first batch of recruits
F.! came to take possession Of the big re-
ceiving hostel in London they were
told that the beds had not yet arrived
and that they would have to sleep on
straw filled mattresses stretched over
pIanks. No a protest was made, al
though vaccination and incubation
soon gave aches and pains to several
, of them; on the contrary they rejoiced
in the temporary discomfort as part
of the game
| Plans are under consideration for
! the erection of an electric lighting
| ,1ant eanahlo of nroyidipe < 900 pri-