The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1918-09-14

Ithey call it there. But all she Thoughts
of was her war work and her mass
meeting.
Authoress Hoarded Food.
There are not many such women in
Great Britain. but every once in a
while they are caught and fined
Marie Correlli, the novelist, an ardent
! patriot on the surface, was heavily
| hned for food boarding. At a time
i when food was terribly scarce in
England, when even the rich went
without meat, butter or sugar, and
the poor ate dry bread and canned
salmon. Miss Correlli's secret larder
was found to be stocked with hams,
bacon, butter, sugar, tea, and all
manner of delicacies to last for near
lly year.
/ 1 remember another woman of
prominence who had II Persian cats
for whom she managed somehow to
| buy cream. When she was arraign-
ed she pleaded in extenuation that
| the cats were used to cream, and that
she gave three days every week to
canteen work at one of the railroad
stations. The f1inty-hearted judge
fined her nevertheless and threatened
| her with a prison sentence unless the
cats diet was placed on war foot
ling. .t.
These instances are mentioned in
order to illustrate a condition Of
| things to which we here in the Uni
| ted States are not altogether strang-
ers. L was in Europe ten months out
of the first year of~our participation
in the war, and when / returned in
May was naturally delighted to find
signs that the country was, thorough
~ awakened, and to learn that al
most every woman I knew was up
to her eyes in war work.
What Wins Friendship.
I knew already that American
women generally were aiding food
conservation; saving meat, wheat
and sugar for the allies, for what the
| United States had voluntarily sacri-
| feed to feed Europe has done more to
! earn the friendship and gratitude of
our allies than anything else we could
have done. It is placed on a par
| with our war loans OF money. 1t
has redeemed us from the reputa-
| ton of being dollar worshipers.
! There is no question Of our zeal
| and our generosity. There may be
a question of our efficiency as war
workers. It is not enough to con-
serve food. We must conserve efforts
as well. There is no reason why we
should repeat the mistakes made by
our allies in the beginning of the
war. Just as we are benefiting from
their experiences in fighting Ger
mans in the trenches, we should
| take advantage of their experience
in war service behind the lines.
Their experience has convinced
them that it is better to have a few
large organizations at work than to
have many small ones. It is better
for various reasons. One reason is
that every community has people
! like Mrs. Rothschild and the lady
with the II Persian cats. They give
with one hand and waste with the
other. ...G
Four Agencies Enough.
Another reason why it is better to
support the Red Cross and the Y. NJ.
c.. A. than, for example, to form a
society for furnishing enlisted men
with special comforts, is that many
such societies mean a duplication Of
effort. There are four, large .organiza-
tons working officially, in the war
zone. Besides the two just mention
ed the Salvation Army and the
Knights of Columbus are doing ex-
tcellent work. 4 Among the four our
soldiers get about all the little food
luxuries they need.
Soldiers are omnivorous candy
eaters. and they deserve all the candy
they. want But ship space is pre-
cious. 1t is so precious that the war
department had to deprive us of the
nP i'm 1lr cr6c .
to- our sons. Only essentials. asked
for by the soldiers and approved by
their officers, can be shipped now.
The Y. M. c. "A. has to work hard
to keep its ,canteens supplied, for
not only is shipping space limited.
but the railroads all over France are
eongested with freight The Red
Cross uses its own motor tracks ex-
cepting for long hauls. So it seems
a real duty to ship as little AS pos
sible overseas. and to distribute as
much as possible through one Of the
four official organizations. ~
Part Played BY "Wacka."
That Is the economical way, and
the only way in which the cost of
distribution can be kept down. Ev-
cry separate society means more
overhead charges.
But what becomes Of individual
effort? it is suggested. We want to
do something more than give money
We want to give personal service.
OF course, should like to see wom-
en- in the United States in the same
close personal touch with the gov
eminent and with the army and
navy, as the women of England are.
] should like to see over here an or
ganization of women like the British