The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1918-10-31
THE SECOND LINE
OF DEFENSE

From the Mississippi valley to the
flaming front in Flanders is not as far
today as the distance from Paris to
Berlin. The Atlantic ocean is not as
vide as the River Somme- The girl
the munition factory in the middle
West is very close to her brother In
he front-line trenches. If her work
faIters, 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 1T
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 cantOnment the number is null
dplied. These girls work long hours
and the work is hard and monotOnous.
Furthermore, they work at 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.
81 can't sleep at night because I'm
so afraid 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,
ST walk and walk, and never go the
same route twice until 1 have worn
out all the others, and yet 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. ST couldn't
stand it. Then the recreation leader
asked me if played basket ball, and
I told her was too old. I'm twenty
eight. She insisted that I just try
throwing the ball, and now Pm captain
| Of the basket ball team. I play tennis,
and can set up 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"
The war department had seen the
| need of occupations for Out-Of-work
hours If the employees were to work
at their greatest efficiency, and through
! the ordnance department asked the
Young WOmen's Christian Association
for recreation leaders, to line up the
girls and direct their free-time pleas
ures.
The government reminded the Z. W.
G. A. that as an organization it 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 up recreation buildings, but when
this was done it was as helpless as the
| father of a mOtherless girl. The gov
eminent is q composite man. He didn't
know what a girl should do when the
six o'clock factory whistle blew. He
only knew she needed looking after
and he called to the one woman's or
ganization that for half a century had
| oF 10 - IL
Vaguely, he had an idea that she
should be encouraged TO play, that
she needed wholesome recreation, and
some one, wise and sympathetic as a
careful mother, to guide her social &C
tivities.
The Blue Triangle sent its play lady
to salute and go to work. Workers are
asked for in recreation buildings of
all the % federal Industrial reserva-
lions or munition environments which
have been opened this summer In sew
eraI Of the states. These reservations
sprung up out of the very fields in a
few weeks. They are employing thou
sands of workers Many of these
women have come from far distant
homes. The government provided
dermitOries and mess barracks. In
some places it is putting up recreation
buildings. Where such a building is
not provided by the government, the Z.
W. G. A. will furnish it, using one al
ready standing when available, and
building when that is necessary. All
these buildings, whether government
or asSociation-owned, viii operate IN
der the sign Of the Blue Triangle. They
will have big living rooms, assembly
rooms for entertainments, club rooms,
and gymnasiums. The Blue Triangle
will furnish program OF service work,
educational classes, games and enter
tainments. Military and signal CORDS
drills viii be In charge Of soldiers.
In Washington, the members OF the
Business Women's council, a Blue Tri-
} angle league Of the z. W. c. A, made
up Of girl government employees, drill
twice a week under an army officer
and between FIVE and six o'clock on
these days long lines OF motorcars are
parked to watch the drill.
Wherever possible the recreation
equipment includes a field somewhere
FOR outdoor eT7orFu