The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1918-10-08
The BLUE TRIANGLE
At RUSSIA'S FRONT

PetrOSra0 were IN haif shallow. .
few scattered candles flung CLEANS q
persistent and as vague us Russia
hope of liberty. A hundred Russia
girls and six young men were guest
of the first Young Women's Christia
| association In all Russia. II was
gala afternoon tea but it was dar
because the winter days end at tire
o'clock and there Is restriction OF
the use OF candles and kerosene n
we'll as Of electricity.
Tho girls were making merry evel
in the gloom Of winter, the twilight
and the tragedy of war. One slende
white-faced girl with purple>hadowe'
eyes was merrier than all the rest
Her wit and ringing laugh We're con
tagiOus.
"SOnya is wonderful tonight one
girl whispered to another as she
stirred gently into her tea the ont
lump Of sugar doled out carefully fol
the party. The Y. W. {. 4. secre
taries had been saving the sugar FOL
months--putting aside at each mea
one Of the two humps served with the
coffee in the restaurant. that there
might he a bit of sweet for this first
party. There was n" bread.
'Sonya Is not drinking her tea
her pale little admirer went on, yet
she tainted this morning al the fac
tory and the fnrewoman said She was
hungry
Were AL hungry" was the mo-
notonouS reply. 1T wasn't that"
Something stopped the laughter ard
talk Suddenly hu, the hush That fell
in the dlnly lit room was as joyous as
the gaiety. One Of RuSsia's creates,
singers stood by the piano and lifted
up her glorious voice filled with the
tears and heartbreak that people at
peace call thrills.
They went away early when the
music was done-these sad-eyed, half
starved little guests of the Eue Tri
nngle-fOr danger turks in the dark
of Petrograd streets, rObberieA and
mnrders-sharp little by-products of
a nations chaos and world at war
Sonya fingered after the others
were gone. She was standing close
by rhe secretary-hostess' chair when
she turned from saying goodnight 10
The last one of the other girls. The
laughter had died out of the girls
eyes and the gaiety from her voice.
'Wil you give me a note to the
factory superintendent" she asked,
"relling him I'm attending classes
here at nightT' She spoke in French.
for she knew no English, and the sec
rotary, no Russian.
Yes, if it will help YOU The Sec
rotary was glad to give her such a
note but she was curious. 'Tell me
why"
''lf he knows the girls are going to
night classes he won't put US on the
night Shift. He will let us work days
so we can come. Yesterday l asked
for the night shift. Today l have
changed my mind"
The secretary wondered. SOnya
had not been in any of the classes
Had the bright little party given hi pr
an interest in the work of the associa-
ton? Had the friend.iness Of the
American secretaries reached her?
Was II the music that had given her
an impetus to study toward something
beyond Il factory!
"What is it that interests you:' the
Secretary asked her. You are not in
any of the classes now. are YOU? What
Is ii You want to take up"
"Th;S morning I looked out the fac
tory window" and SOnya's voice re-
minded the secretary Of the call Of :,
night bird before II storm. "DOwn in
the courtyard was a crowd and three
Meu We're killed. Killed by the po-
lice-1he bOlShevik police, while I
stood there and watched. They said
they were anarchists. One was my
brother. Another was my sweetheart
cannot forget. Always I will rpmpm-
her. | want nothing now but to car
ry on their work. and to do that must
study and Learnt must learn English
in all the classes. If the foreman al
the factory knows do that. lie will
help. He will let me work days"
In the dark, the hunger. the cold.
~ nd ~ Dnfr Il
Triangle is sending out it's shining In
vitatiOn to the bewildered women and
young girls Of Russia II is Offering
little oasis In the midst of the
chaos where they may come and rest
and relax. play games. listen to
music, study English. French. stenoy-
raphy. bookkeeping. or music, and as
one tired girl expressed it. forget for
the moment that they are in Peiro-
grad. Most Of the girls who gather
at the sign of the Blue Triangle are
bookkeepers and stenographers. but
scattered among them are factory
girls. domestics. and girls who never
have worked.
I'm PetrOgrad and elsewhere in
Russia" says Miss Clarissa Spencer,
world secretary Of the Y. W. c. A.
who started the work in Russia, girls
formerly employed in government Of
fees come to us who have struck
against the bolshevists. They're out
Of jobs. They're hungry. One girl
told me she couldn't take gymnasium
work. 1t gave her such an appetite.