Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-10-15
"Mary Jane
In Washington
h Ne1asle ]. Haskla

| I'm, ftere IL my Civil tpTVies aptDHfb
mentt' cried Mary Jane as the postmar
handed her long white envelope. Shs
turned a radiant fAoe to her companion.
II will be leaving for washington in q
| few days | do hope You all got your ap.
pointments soon, so we can be together. y
But the other two girls did moi respond
TO her enthusiasm. They said that they
had decided not TO accept appointments
| in Washington because Of the stories and
| rumors they had heard Of crowded rooms
| and expensive poor food.
| "Oh yes, I've heard all those things
too said Mary Jane. II probably will
have n hard time; il will be hard 20 get
| used to-b,it so are the trenches. This ~
| my big opportunity 10 do resl war work
and ! am not going TO turn IL down Just
because Of n few yumors or becane II ma y
mean sacrifice on my part"
| SO Mary Jane left her comfortable
| home in the Middle West and iourneyed
| TO Washington To take her place IN the
| war program. If her friends expected to
| be discouraged they were disappointed.
| Mary Jane did have troubles, but ~
turned out TO be a osse OF the tho last
| laugh being the best. tecnuse she found
| out that the hsrdships were only temporary
MORE NARY JAMES WANTED.
The United States Employment Ser
vice of the Department Of Labor Is looking
| for more Mary James to como To Washing
ton TO hll government positions as
stenographers. fyp,sts and clerks. II
would also like 10 tell Mary Jane and her
friends that through the Housing Bureau
Of the Department of Labor every effort
ia being made to provide sIitable ae-
commodat,ons for all women summoned
N aettrpsf,y, ff,r .rDyly Epylsy he
year sufficient accommodations will be
arranged SO that girls will find themselves
m as comfortable IN atmosphere a3
prevails in any city under war conditions
The first thing The war worker secs
when coming out of the Un,on Station
is group ~ unfinished hu,ldinys which
lie over to the guhs between the Capitol
and the Union Station To the left Of the
buildings and the station ~ q huge frame
structure which was built lest winter for
Billy Sundays campaign IN the capital
II now braYs the familiar triangular sign
of the Y NJ 6 A. Adjoining this enormous
hut is large and very reasonable cafe
.eris maintained by the Y W. G.. A for
the benefit of those who have come 20
Washington for war work but the new
conner VIII he more interested IN the un-
finished buildings She vill he informed
by the person who meets her, whether
friend, relative or n representative of the
Room Renting Bureau, that these syc the
residence halls which the government
~ erecting for her and her fellow workers
rvo THOUSAND ~ 4 LUnr.
Each residence hall will be built in
fourteen units and wil house two thon-
sand girls One Of the halls will - com
plcted and ready 70 he occupied BY De
cember
The residence halls will be open only
10 workers in The government departments
Application for rooms may be madt
through the heads of the departments
No individual applications will be received
by the Housing Bureau.
tTncle Sam does not propose to house
his girl workers in barracks. Neither
does he expect them 70 live IN dormitories
with all the restrictions that the word
implies OF course, the girls Wiil be chaper-
oned. Arrangements will be made for
house-nothcr or matron for each unit,
but this docs not mean that the girls
must be IN their yooms or put lights out
at !. certain hour. or that they will not be
allowed 70 entertain friends. The new
residence halls will be operated on the
plan ot an apartment hotel. fTo meals
dav will be served, breakfast and dinner
There will be diet kitchen IN each Unit
where girls coming in late at night may
prepare their own suppers. This will be of
special interest to those girls who are
assigned to night work
The rooms arc eight by ten. There will
be few double rooTns, but those who havr,
studied the problem have found that most
OF the war workers prefer 10 rooIn alone.
The furnishings will be simple, but every
thing is 10 be new and comfortable.
Not only has Uncle Sam turned
clearinghouse keeper, but he has also
turned MS attention 10 entertaining the
girls, or rather to giving them D chance
to entertain themselves. The government
knows that place to sleep and three
meals day, alone, are not sufficient 70
keep young girls satisfied. Each unit Of
the residence halls will have a large
auditorium and ball room, where moving
pictures, dances, lectures or some other
form Of amusement will be offered every
night When The Man from Home comes
10 see The Girl That Left Him Behind
they will not have far 20 go for entertain
ment.
CHANCE FOR STUDY roo.
Many of the girls who come 10 Washing
ton have gwen up their college work
They will be glad TO take advantage of
the evening classes held by the George
Washington University There are also
several other institutions giving evening
instruction Both the Congressional and
Public Libraries are open in the evening
The Housing Bureau is also looking
after the girls health. In a city as crowded
rs Washington this is an important
consideration. The hospitals are filled
In case of sickness the girl who shares
rooms With several others has no one
to attend her needs and is forced to mingle
with people continually This situation Is
dangerous for the patient and equally
so for her roommates
Arrangements have just been completed
for the establishment Of an emergencv
hospital for war workers A house in a
central location has been taken over
which viii serve until larger quarters can
be obtained
Washington offers an opportunity Tor
real service The girls who come here
must realize that this is war work and
they must be prepared 20 make the best
of unusual conditions. Living conditions
IN every var capital are difficult. Paris