The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1917-03-16
SPIRIT OF DEFENSE
IMBUES WOMEN
Emulate Sisters in Europe in
Preparing to Serve
Country.

Preparedness Is IN the air. Every
body's talking Il. Few as yet are
doing It. But it's in the air.
American women have never been
behindhand in wanting to do their
bit in whatever crisis came along.
and, Judging from Appearances they
don't intend that their European sis
tiers shall have anything on them in
the way OF serving their country in
case of war.
Probably the biggest and most am
bilious attempt to mobilize the WON
an power Of the nation Il that repre-
scented by the National League for
woman's Service, which came into
being here January ~, at the, Con-
gress for Constructive Patriotism. Its
objects - announced then were, first
to develop a clearing house Of In
formation about women'B constructive
patriotic organizations; second, to
coordinate these organizations and
get a standardized program Of ac-
tivities; third, to recommend to the
proper governmental agency a reg
istry Of the woman power of the ma
ton, and also a woman's bureau IN
der the Federal Government to deal
with women's work and women's well
fare. This was the big and splendid
plan laid down, but even as II was
adopted by the 500 representative
women gathered from all sections OF
the country came the word:
Take Up Emergency Program.
1.-THE United States has broken off
diplomatic relations with Germany
and the 500 women, convinced that
war might be imminent, put aside for
the time their great project of a ma
tional woman's bureau, woman's reg
istry, etc, and set themselves to
make an emergency program, dealing
with the formation Of groups of wom-
en- classified and ready to perform
various kinds Of work in the national
crisis.
The League for women's Service
isn't telling how big II Is, claiming
that 1t Is SO busy organizing that II
doesn't know its own size. But at
headquarters the women who see you
and tell you what Is being done by
Miss Anne Morgan and Miss Maude
wetmore and Mrs. william Cumming
Story and Miss Grace Parker, of New
York, and Mrs. F. v. Hammer, of Mis-
souri,, and Mrs. Z. r. Hewitt, of New
Jersey, and Mrs. George Headley, OF
Ohio, and Mrs. George H Isham, Of
Illinois, and Mrs. Willis Martin, of
Pennsylvania, and Mrs. Thomas Owen,
of Alabama, and Mrs. Lindsay Pat
terson, OF North Carolina, and Mrs.
William W. Sale, OF Virginia, and
Mrs. c. A. Severance, of Minnesota,
and Mrs. Hugh L. Scott, OF the Dis
trict, and Mrs. Lewis StiTwell, Of New
Jersey, and Mrs. Barrett Wendell, of
Observation-Disclosures being, the or
committeeman, Mrs. Van
Rensselaer, talks In terms of thou
sands, and the stacks of letter from
women anxious to line up for Uncle
Sam bear out her talk
Thousands of Women Organize.
Well, all these thousands of wom-
en- are being or will be asked through
everywhere to state on
and registration blanks
sent out broadcast what they can
do that will help Uncle Sam and
which one of the eleven national d.
visions Of the league they would like
to join
They can Join the home economics
or the social and welfare or the
health or the civics or the agricul-
tural or the Industrial or the medi-
cal and nursing or the motor driving
OF the signalling and map reading or
the general service or the camps. Ana
between these divisions, which they
can reach through local groups called
they will surely be able
10 learn something II they don't
know It already which will be of use
10 the country II that war comes.