Monroe City Democrat. (Monroe City, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1918-10-18
THE SECOND LINE
OF DEFENSE

naming front III flanOerS is not as Iaf
today as the distance from Paris to
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
the front-line trenches. II her work
falters, If one untrue torpedo passes
the careful scrutiny of the inspector,
the lives Of American soldiers pay
the price.
It 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 NUM-
lions.
One and 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 mt 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.
! "f 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 its cunning.
Nights and Sundays" said another,
81 walk and walk, and never go the
same route twice until I have worn
out all the others, and vet ! can't for
get that perhaps some time, someho",
during the day something may have
gone through that was not quite right"
81 was just on the edge of g0.r"
back home" said another. 81 cOuidNf
stand it. Then the recreation ieHh""
asked me if ! played basket bail. anh
l told her was roo old. I'm twenty
eight. She insisted that just Try
throwing the hall. and now Tn cnptnin
or the basket bali team. play tennis
AMI can set up and 'wiS-wag,' and
they're going To wake me fnrewCm?n
&C 'he room. That would have fright
Cnvd me tn death once. But every
thing is different now, that we have
our War Service club"
The war department had seen til"
need Of occupations for Out-Of-wOrl;
hours If the employees We're to wor'i
At their greatest efficiency, and throu"h
the ordnance department asked tn"
Young Wompn'S Christian AsSOciatiun
for recreation leaders, To line up the
girls and direct their free-time pleas
ureS.
The government reminded the Y. W.
G. A. that as an organization ii always
had had an interest in the right hOus-
ing of girls. in the right feeding of
girls. and in the right education of
girls, and that the intelligent care of
these girls in the munitions factories
was one of the essentials in the win
ming of the war The government
could house and feed them. IT could
put ny recreation buildings. hut when
This WAS done il was as helpless as thy
fnth"r of Il mntherlcSs girl. The gov.
C"NlCNr is composite man. He didn't
l.N"w what girl should do when the
six O'Clock factory whistle blew. H
a"'y knew she needed looking aftri
and he called to the on wOman'S Or
g"ni"H'ion That fer half Il century he'd
n'nhr y study of the needs of girls
N":,Ur'y. he had an idea that she
should hr encouraged 10 play, that
she needed whr'eSome recreation. AM
some one. wise and sympathetic as 4
careful mother, TO guide her social &C
tiyiticS.
I'll Glue Triangle sent its play lady
to salute and go to work. Workers arc
asked for in recreation buildings of
all the 90 federal industrial reServa
, tons or muntiOn environments which
have been opened this summer in sew
. ernl of the states. These reservations
sprung up out of the very fields in :
few weeks. They are employing thou
sands of workers. Many of these
women have come from far distant
homes. The government provided
dormitorieS and mess barracks. II
some places it is putting up recreation
buildings. Where such Il building 4
/. nor nrOVidp1 bV the government thp Y