The Julesburg grit-advocate., 1918-11-07
the Blue TRIANGLE
OH BABEl'S TOWER

IL station platform bench as the solid
'!ue figure suddenly bent down over
her. ENcitsily she shook her head in
, answer To the question that she could
not understand. She searched through
her red plaid waist for the paper that
Tony had folded into a little square
and given to her. The writing on it,
in the English that Tony knew and She
did not. told the house where She lived
Tony had explained il all To her that
morning. He had told il to her again
mt the station. Then. waving his hat
he had disappeared into the train wi }
The rest Of the men, and Lucia had
been left standing ouesde the gate
There were crowds of women pushing
all about her. They were weeping.
So Lucia went, too.
Lucia had been betrothed to Tony
In the old country. Five years before,
with a long ticket for New York
niTGrd into his inside pocket. her lover
had left her lie wrote in every let.
Ter that he had made her home in
the new country. Her dowry money
had finally provided her own traHSpor-
iatiou. and for two months Tony and
she had been married. Then he had
drawn a ticket with a number ON it,
and this morning he had gone off To
war
To the policeman Lucia told all these
things in rapid iN,lian. But The po-
liceman only talked back to her as
rapidly in II language that was not
gu a IL.
headquarters. An hour later II WON
IN wearing American clothes gently
BEGAN talking 10 her in beautiful Ital.
Ian.
Italian Luc!a WAS only one Of thou
sands of forci.tn-horn women. Syrians.
italians, Armenians, Russians, Lithu-
anianS Polish. who when the draft
called their men folk Ia the American
colors. asked in helpless confusion
wha, II was all about, When Wuuid
their men be back? Wha, 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 th"rc 10 Oge
who could explain II all to them in
their own l;lnguage?
The Y. w. G. a. was ready to offer
assistance. but 1t would be of no value
to offer II In English Consequently
II had to supply n corps Of women who
could talk 10 the foreign-born woman
at her own nonr In the language that
she was used to hearing In the home
land. To teach her English was as
essential II factor in her Americnniza-
iion as 10 find her II job. Therefore
the war council of the Y. W. G. 4. SET
out to find her English.
4 year before the war began in Eu-
rope. the leaders of the Young Wom-
ans Christian association foresaw just
such II situation. AMI made ready to
meet II. They studied The needs nf
the immigrant. They trained skilled
American social workers To beconr fa.
mliar with the home habits and 10 1
speak the language nf the I."rt and the
Hungarian and the Greek and III. 9th (
"r foreign mothers who brought ba.
hics and bundles over from Ellis island +
10 Battery park
The organization into which this ex-
pertinent has developed was named .
by the Y. W, c. \. national board. ''Tho !
International Institute for Noung .
Women" In terms which these WON I
en- can understand, it is teaching the !
foroign-born how to sew and cook ana /
care for the baby.
To girls like Italian Lucia who con .
fuSrdly fingered ON the station plat .
forms when The drarr trains pulled ont. /
he W. y. g. \. is giving direct NJ. /
Si$tHuce. EGucatcd European women |
appointed to the regular staff Of wnrl. .
rrs at the camp Y. w c. \ Hostess
Houses are able to Talk TO the drafted [
men in their own lau-uag". assist them +
In writing letters home. and tu ar .
ranging furIoughs and little visits TO- .
the cHmD.
THE Home Tn1rmation S.lvic, for .
Foreign Families Of Enlisted Mem" Is
3o'EG practical relief work for rr. .
wives and mothers. The purna-r rr /.
thn board Is to help the womnu fulE /
left bchiud TO understand where th.fr /
boys are and how they are being rcnr- /
cd; how they need home support and /
cheer how Ia send them comforts. auf (
to keep pace themselves 10y lrarning F,
English and other things. So that when |
the boys come home they vii not Gal |
their women still very un-AmuricHn /
and out of sympathy with lhom
Food conservation bulletins hny" /
boon translated into Is or 10 languag.s. |
50 n raa,er'oS uu! n.a-'i E i,--..s
interpreters ar" available for the nom
English srooEiug women by whom the
real wHr Industries Of the country nra
rrin" IarsrIy rarriyd On. in - i'm
portant cities international Institute
Bureaus are training American and
foreign women for full time sorial
service work with Foreigners, Twenty
four trained women are employed on
The national and district field staT of
the Y. w. g. \ ON Juno u there wore
ib1 trained women working at Amer