The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1918-11-07

women arose as a unit and demanded OPP
portunities for service Their record to
date is fine one and the country is just
ly proud OF them. If they are not able
to rise TO the heights OF the European
women or Of the American women during
the Civil war it is because no such burden
has been placed upon them. They have
sufficiently proved, however, that, given
the same conditions, they would prove as
equal to the demand.
Therefore, is another class of women
all the moce contemplate by contrast. Even
before the war it was patent to any stu
dent of the country that our women
might be roughly divided into two
classes, those that thought and those
that did not, those that cultivated their
brains and those that remained, either
from disabilities imposed by nature, or
from choice, the silliest, most thought
less, and most selfish in the world Rich
or poor, their standard was self indul-
gence, they lived for what they could
get out" of life, and they cultivated a
sickly sentimentality. The primary
fault lies in our system Of education. A
sound, thorough, severe education win
drill some sense into the most brainless
and Undue them with a sense of respon-
sibility But vast number of our WON
en- do not go to college, do not even finish
school, do not make the most even of
their slender opportunities. Only those
Of good natural parts, to quote an old
phrase, rise above their conditions, edu-
cate themselves when they are old
enough to realize what they have missed,
and learn the great lessons of life.
IL is from this inferior brand of Amer
lean women that this country is suffering
in peculiar and sinister way at the
present moment. They are the cause of
a great additional expense to the govern
ment, and OF severe punishment and NOR
tifcation TO many needless young men.
am not at liberty to give figures, but
a great number of soldiers during the
past year have oyefstayed leave, missed
their transport, been reduced in rank.
kept in the guard house with pay held
up until there are $50 of them, when
they are shipped off to France and give
the military authorities endless trouble
before their regiments can be located.
The blame is laid chiefly on the class Of
women with which this country is cursed.
If the women who tempted ,the youns
men were outcasts there would be no
comment to make, for the soldiers, know
ing them for what they are, would alone
be TO blame But ii is the wives and
sweethearts and sisters, in few cases
the mothers, women whom the soldiers
heartily respect, who weep when the
hour to return to duty approaches, who
beg them to take the risk for the sake
of few more hours, wall that they may
never see them again, protest that day
more or less cannot matter, hang on their
necks, possibly faint in the good old
style.
Nor Is it only the women who play
upon the heart strings that indulge in
this criminal foolishness. An officer told
me that he was sitting in the train not
long since and overheard conversation
between plain unattraetive middle
aged woman and a soldier returning to
camp, They had just struck up an ae.
quaintance and when the woman learned
that the young man was returning to
camp on Saturday instead Of Sunday
night she began to condole with him.
What shame not to give the poor boy
another day. Now, | do think that is
meant They ought to give you boys who
are going over to save democracy and
probably to be killed, all the fun YOU can
get over here" She soon had the boy so
sorry for himself that the officer was
forced TO interfere, and tell the woman
what he thought of her. The woman
was astonished that her natural sym
patty" should be construed as treason.
OF course she was plain fool and no
doubt is still nursing a grievance.
1t is quite true that we are not a mill
tary nation, that for two generations
we have been unaccustomed to any but
the laxest Of discipline No wonder these
boys, for the most part uneducated are
easily tempted, and that women, natural
" foolish and selfish, should be the I'M
conscious tools of Germany. If there
were a few more Of them we should not
have two million men in France to-day.
As it is they not only have affected the
morale and bright hopes of more of our
soldiers than we like to consider but they
have forced the government to appoint a
board known as the military morale,
which sits constantly on these cases, and,
with the building, staff and large incidep-
tai service necessary, runs up into cost
Of many thousand dollars month, paid
for by the long-sufTering public.
Although, as the war goes on, more
and more women who have led useless
lives are absorbing common sense and
patriotism, doing any work that comes
their way, and improving daily in con-
sequences, still is there this hopeless resid-
uum imperilling the success of our arms
1t is quite useless to appeal TO them per-
sonally, for their conceit is on a par with
their Stiffness, and they are quite sure
that whatever they do-and want is
right; but at least we can appeal to 10y
al women to watch and report all women
of their acquaintance whom they suspect
of this particular form of treason. And
there is no reason whatever why their
punishment whether mother, wife,
sweetheart. or sister should not be as
excessive as any inflicted upon the boys,
who at least are prepared to do their
duty when they are actually at the front
These women have no intention of being
of the slightest service to their country
or of regarding the war in any light but
that Of personal ANNOYANCE