The Meeker herald., 1918-10-26
THE BLUE TRIANGLE
ON BABEL'S TOWER


not understand. She searched through
her red plnld waist for the paper that
Tony had folded Into II little square
and given to her. The writing on 1t.
in the English TINT Tony knew and she
did not. told the house where she lived.
Tony had explained 1t NIL to her TINT
morning. He Ind told II to her agnin
nt the station. Then, waving his Int
he Ind disappeared into the train VIII
the rest OF the men. md Lucia hnd
been LETT standing Oueside the gnte.
There were crowds OF women pushing
MI about her. They were weeping.
So Lucia wept, too.
LucIn had been betrothed to Tony
In the old country. Five years before.
with a long ticket for New York
pinned into his Inside pocket. her lover
hnd left her. He wrote In every let
ter that he had made her n home In
the new country. Her dOwry money
had finally provided her own trnnsp"r'
tation. and for two months Tony md
she had been married. Then he had
drawn ticket with number on II.
and this morning he Ind gone on to
wnr.
To the policeman Lucia told NIL these
things In rapid Itniinn. But the po-
liccman only talked bnck to her NJ
rapidly In II language that was not
Itallnn. She followed him dumbly To
headquarters. An hour later n WON
an wearing American clothes gently
began talking to her In beautiful ltnl.
ian.
Italian Lucia wns only one Of thou
sands Of foreign-bOrn women, Syrinns.
Italians. Armenians. Russians. Liihu'
anians. Polish. who. when the draft
called their men folk to the American
colors. asked In helpless confusion
what 1t was nll nbout. When would
their men be hack? What did people
mean when they told them they would
receive money through the mail?
Where could they find work that they
knew how to do? Was there no one
who could explain It NIL to them In
their own language?
The Y. W. c. a. was ready to offer
assistance. hut II would he Of no vnluc
10 offer II In English. Consequently
II hnd tn supply n corps Of women VIII"
could tnlk to the fnrcign-born woman
nj her own door In the language that
she was used to hearing In the home
land. To teach her English was NJ
essential II fnctor In her Amcricnnlzn-
,ion ms to find her n job. Therefore
the war council Of the Y. W. c. A. sef
out to find her English.
A year before the wnr hegnn In Eu'
rope. the leaders Of the Young Wom'
ms Christian association forcsnw Just
such II situation. and mn'lc rendy to
meet II. They studied the needs of
the Immigrant. They trimmed skilled
American socInI workers to become In
mllnr with the home habits md to
speak the language Of the Lett and the
Hungarian md the Greek md the 9th
or foreign mothers who brought In.
bIcs and bundles over from Ellis lslnnd
to Battery park.
The organization Into which this eS-
pertinent has developed was nnmoh
by the Y. W. G. A. national bonrd. 1.-THE
International Institute for Young
Women" In terms which these won.
on can understand. II II teaching the
forcign-born how to sew and cook and
care for the bnhy.
T." girls like Italian Lucia. who con.
ruscdiy fingered on the station pint
forms when the draft trains pulled out.
The W. Y. G. A. Is giving direct ns-
sistnnce. Educated European women.
appointed to the rcgnlnr staff Of work
crs Mt the camp y. ". G. A. Hostess
Houses are able to talk to the drafted
men In their own language. assist them
IN writing letters home. and In mr.
ranging furioughs and little visits to
the camp.
THE Home Information Service for
Foreign Families OF Enlisted Men" IL
doing practical relief work for the
wives and mothers. The purpose "f
the hoard Is to help the women folk
left behind to understand where their
boys are and how they nre being trent.
ed; how they need home support ind
cheer. how to send them comforts. md
to keep pncc themselves by learning
English md other things. so TINT when
the boys come home they will not find
their women still very un.Amcricnn
and out Of sympathy with them.
Food conservation bulletins have
been translated into 1s or 10 languages.
Al the factories and munItIon plants
interpreters nrc available for the non.
English speaking women by whom the
real war Industries Of the country are
being largely carried on. In % I'm
portant cities international institute"
Rurcnus nrc trimming American and
foreign women for full time socinI
service work with foreigners. Twenty
four trained women nrc employed on
the national md district field stnff Of
the Y. W. c. a. On June II there were
lO5 trained women working nj Amcrl-
cnnizntion.
When more thnn 5000 Chicago men
filled out their blue cards for the Sep