The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1918-10-10
THE SECOND LINE
OF DEFENSE

Berlin. The Atlantic ocean is not as
wide as the River Somme. The girl
In the munition factory in the middle
West is very close to her brother in
! tho front-llne trenches. If her work
! falters, if one untrue torpedo passes
the careful scrutiny of the inspector,
the lives of American soldiers pay
| the price.
1t is as necessary to keep the girl
who makes the shells physically fit
| and high Of courage as the man who
| fires the gun.
The glory and excitement of war
are for the man in khaki. Grinding.
monotonous labor far away from the
! flying flags and martial music Is the
portion Of the girl who makes mum-
TONS
one and a half million women and
girls have marched into the service of
the United States government, to take
the places of the men who have been
called to the colors With every draft
and with the opening of every NUM-
ton environment the number is null
tiplied. These girls work long hours
and the work is hard and monotonous.
Furthermore, they work nj high nerv-
Gus tension. On the skill of their fin
gers and the accuracy of their eyes de
ponds the lives of many soldiers, the
winning or losing Of many battles.
~ can't sleep at night because I'm
so afraid I may have passed on some
thing that was not quite true said
! one young girl not yet in her twenties,
who Inspected hundreds of torpedoes
every day.
Unless something can make this girl
forget at night, and find some rest, her
hand will lose it's cunning.
Nights and Sundays" said another,
81 walk and walk, and / never 90 the
same route twice until I have worn
out all the others, and yet l can't for
get that perhaps some time, somehow,
during the day something may have
gone through that was not quite right"
81 was Just on the edge of going
back home" said another. 81 couldn't
stand it. Then the recreation leader
asked me if I played basket baU and
I told her was TOO old. I'm TWENTY
eight. She insisted that I just try
throwing the ball and now I'm captain
of the basket bali team. l play tennis,
and can set I'M and 'wig.wag.' and
they're going to make me forewoman
of the room. That would have fright
ened me to death once. But every
thing is different now. that we have
our War Service club"
Tho war donortr,o,+ had coon tho
peod NJ occ,notions for o,,+-or ,,orl,
hours # tho en,nIovooe wore 10 worly
NJ thair oreotas+ oaicioncv and tbrourh
tbe ordnance donortn,ent oe,,od tho
Youne (yoron,s Christian Association
for recreation LEADERS to line nm tbe
GIRLS and direct tbeir fraa.time nlaos-
urcs
The government romindod tbo w
q maj os nm orgonizo+iop n oluovs
had b,d an iptnrcet in tho riobt bore.
inc If Girls in tho ricbt fooding of
girls ana in the riobt ndueotion of
Urls and tbat tho intoIlicon+ coro %
tbasa Girls in tho munitions footor,os
vvoe ono of tho oseortio1s In +ho Win
nino of tho ,vor rho ,,orornmont
could house ord Good +,or, u oo,,1a
nut nm rocro,tion h,Itdtnrs brt ,,.ho,,
mic ,,,os do,,, ~ ,,.oe ~, I,oI,,Ios,, o,, .b,
r.tbor of a rnotI,or,oss q,,,1 mo co,,
ornooont IL = con,nosito man ia aidn,,
know v,bot q oirl ,horId do whom tho
civ o,clocl, ractor, ,.hi.tIo hIow Ia
univ lnovy Oh, noodod. 1ool,tr, of,or
and no called 70 tho oro ,yor,on,s or.
,ori7o+;on D,a+ 60, boIr q oo,,+,,.,, hod
nodo - otr1,. 30 Cha ,,oo1, 80 ,,,,I.
v,,,,olv 10 ma a, idoa tot eho
sl,n,,Id 10 o,,ll,,ro,,,d 80 ,,Ia,, n,o.
che noodod wholesome rocrootion and
eon,o oro v.,so o,d s,,n,no thotio nc a
corofrI r,ot,or 60 a,,,,da boz. dol 30
tiviuos
rho D,,,, r.;o,,.,, aa,,. ~. .,,a,.
60 SANTA and 49, - ,.an,. w. p,"S '"rS
osl,od Cow In roonaatio,, hn,Id,na, 90
all the % federal industrial reservo.
tions or munItion cantonmonts which
have been onened tbis summer I'm sev.
eral Of the states These reservations
sprung up out of the very fields in n
few weeks. They are emplovinr thou.
sands of workers. MANY of these
women have come from far distant
homes The government provided
flnwmifnrinC ql In