New Britain herald., 1918-03-08

self in relation to society. She was becoming arGculate, feeling the need of self-eXpression, and so the world was also becoming aware of woman We said it was woman's age, the time when woman long held down would come to flower.
 And then the war came.
 We were suddenly shocked back into ancient days and ancient ways when men met to die. And in the mind of most of us there arose the conviction that this dawning Self consciousness of woman, this opening up of the world to make a. place for woman, had suddenly ended because 1t was war and war was mans busi- less, and in it there was no place for woman. This was the attitude of mind which showed itself first in all the European countries. War-and woman must go back to her secure place at home. The women after the first shock of realization showed somewhat the effect of those years of dawning sef-consciousness They could not quite take the place that had been laid out for woman in other wars. the place of silent suffering. They felt themselves too keenlv one with the world and with the men who were going to do something. One Of the first things they did in Eng land was, you may remember, the English women organized and euuip- ped a complete hospital unit They did this with their own money They furnished verything-doctors, nurses ambulances, Red Cross supplies-alI that 1t takes to make a complete hos pltal unlt-and offered it to their government. And do you know what the English government did? Do YOU know what those Eng1ishmen said? They said, "No, thank you ladies We don't care for any help from yo11 War is mans job and we will do it. You must go back and keep the home prepared for our return" The same thing happened in the agricultural world. AS more and more men went away to the front. the women at home realized that the croys were suffering, that the fields were not be- ing tended, so they offered them selves. They said, Here we are, we are strong, let us go out and tend the fields!' But again the govern ment said, No, thank you ladies' We don't care for any help from you. This is war and war is mars job and we will do it alone'' Of course, in those days no one in the world fore saw that the war would go on to such terrible lengths, through such seas of blood and such horrors of suffering. We all believed that it would soon be fought and won and | ended, but slowly the knowledge crept in that it was going to be a long l war and terrible war, longer and rnore terrible than anyone thought possible. And one of the first effects | l. resources of all the countries were ! going to have to be used. This means that woman was to come in for her l share of the work.
 1 Woman's Work in Europe.
 Let us run over a few of the de-
 tails of that record of woman's work ! in Europe. Take England. In Eng land there are today over 1000, 00Q l women at work in the intuition fac tories. There are over 100000 work ing in the fields. They have been ' called upon to build fattleships One
 of the biggest battleships in the world
 is to be built entirely by women ! Women have built airships. Five l thousand of them work in the dock
 yards in Glasgow, and without them
 the English ships could not go out l InSy Have LdhSu over bOO11y all OI 1 the civic duties, postmen, conductors
 mOtormen, dray7nen-all these places
 are now filled by women. And think
 ing back over that hospital unit WI hich l was declined by the English govern
 anent, it is gratifying to learn that
 one of the greatest hospitals now in ! use by the allied armies is a hospital
 manned entirely by women. The only 1 men in any way connected with that
 hospital are the patients. And it is . not second class work that the women
 of England are doing in all the vari-
 ous fields. They are doing their work
 faithfully and well, proving them
 selves amazingly efficient.
 ''In France the same thing is true
 Think of what the French women l have had to suffer. Their country in- l vaded, all that they owned taken } from them even their bodies put to
 such service as it fills us with horror ) to think of, and pray God it will never 3 be the American woman's part to
 suffer! These women have given themselves, their all. They say, We 2 did it for France, for our country thai - we love. We have given all else, l take even our lives
 ] 'In Italy women have been taken ! from the kitchen, from the most 8 1nenia1 labor, and set to the most del } icate of tasks, and they have proved l themselves fit and capable,
 NtSince the war began and up tc ) these bIajckest days in Russia it has ) been the peasant women who have kept the war going
 'Trhere is in fact no more sp1endid 2 work in all history than that whlcf . 1 may be set down by the names of tht = women of Europe today.
 g And now, what of the women 0. = America?
 f Although the war has not faller