Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-01-03
DIX INVADED /.
BY FEMININE ARMY
Fosdick Commission Calls
Upon Travellers Aid So
ciety for Help .'.
HU N d EDS ARRIVE
Presence of Sweethearts, "Bona-
fide" and Otherwise, Gives Con-
Germ to Officials. :. ...'
BY AI'LISS

The eternal feminine has responded
to the lure Of the uniform Mt Wrights-
town, n. j., with such gusto that the
Fosdick commission, appointed by the
Government to look after the social &C
tivities Of the military inside ana OUT
side of the eantonments, has called on
the Philadelphia branch Of the Travellers
Aid Society for help.
wrightstown. y. j.. as even the most
benighted reader knows by this time. IS
merely the civilian way OF saying camp
Dix. with. its thousands OF khakl.clad
drafted men.
Every day hundreds Of girls and
women-bonaiide sweethearts and un-
identified sweethearts. women whose pur-
pose Is not good and women with no
apparent purpose whatever-arc driting
into the cam They come by the rail-
road and they come by the flotiilas OF
jitneys, which ply regularly between
Trenton and the camp and Camden ana
the camp. :,
In the main each feminine visitor is
animated by the holy. or unholy, pur.
pose of Tightening the lonely hours OF
The soldier BOYS. Lack of acconmo-
dations in wrghtstown and the adjacent
country has been no deterrent to them.
A ,liscouraging reception on the part OF
the. Government has been futile in Keep
ing them away. Even Jack Frost, VINO
has been particularly successful the
last week in making nicely powdered
noses assume a repelling magnet'colored
tone couldn't freeze them out. Accord.
ing to Miss Selma March, in charge OF
the Philadelphia Office OF the Travellers
Aid, 1897 Arch street. the jitneys are
superimposing feminine population on
the little hamlet in entire disproportion
to it's size and creating thereby a situa-
ton which. If it were not so closely
watched. might be sensationally dan
gcrous.
"The Iosdlck commission. Miss
March said. asked us to send one of
our agents down to look after country
and upstate girls who, lured by the
! universal feminine admiration for uni.
forms, might get into all sorts Of trouble
II their purpose in coming is not care.
fully investigated"
Miss Hortense Rosen, the society's
agent. has been given office room In
the little triangular building which is
set up at the junction of all the roads
at wrightstown and which serves as
the office OF the t'osdick Commission
an admirable lookout for Investigators
She hasn't as many heads as Ger
beius--has Miss Rosen--nor as man,
/ eyes as AIkus, llOlll .tl.S NaUtdRt
point she will scrutinze every feminine
visitor who comes to see a soldier boy
Particularly will she have an eye fol
the giggling girl of the romantic age
who neglects to include in her night,
prayers the petition lead us not into
i temptation" IL necessary. Miss Roser
will be empowered with police authority
SO that she can send back or hold 70
investigation recalcitrant girls who's
tales OF brothers and cousins" II
camp will not bear the pure white lgh
of truth.
So great has been the influx of wome
to the captonment, that. according I
Miss March, the Fosdick Commissio
has experienced the greatest difficult
in keeping the recreation rooms Of I'll
Y. NJ. G. A. at the camp free. Of thos
"spooners'' whose affectionate activitit
border OH the disgusting and obnoxiou
The same trouble is being experience
at Allentown. too" Miss March SAT-
and we shlll work there also. W
also expect TO have an agent at Can
den to get at the trouble from one ,
its sources. The hostess house of Il
Y. W. c. A, however. which opened
Wrightstown recently. is expected TO q
much in clearing up the problem"
At the annual meeting of the societ
TO be held on Monday afternoon, Il
war problems that the Travellers Al
has automatically assumed will be di.
cussed The finding of suitable boardin
houses and homes for the thousands
l workmen who are pouring into the cit
TO accept jobs at Hog Island and otht
: places where big enterprises are on
one Of the mammoth tasks the societ
has patriotically set itself