Emmons County record., 1918-10-10

THE BIZ lUE IRtA hGEE
ON BABEL'' s TOWER
: Lucia pulled heis shawl. FARTHER
across her face and shrank Gown on
the stntion platfor1i bcnciknE tile solid,
2blne figure suddenly bcnt down oytr
her. Excitedly she shook lher liead IN
answer to tho question fhat she fconld
not ,nnderstnnd. SHE searched through
hersred plaid waist for the paper that.
Tony, Ind folded into 4 llttles square
and given to her 4 The wrlfiug on II,
in the Englisli.tiat Tony knewt tnd .sl,e
did not. told the house where she lived.
Tony had explnined It NIL to her that
morning. He had toldsit TO her ngninl
at the station. Then, waving his hat. !.
he Ind disappeared inte the trainiwI.f
the rest of the Nnen. nd Lucia hnd
been left sstsndns speside t& gntA
There were crowds s6f women pushing
nh about her. They were weeping
So Lucia went. too.
. Lucia had been betrothed to Tony
In the old country. Five yenrs before.
with a long ticket for New York
pinned into his inside pocket, her lover
Ind left her. He wrote in every let
ter. that he bad made her home in
the new country. Her dowry money
{ had finally provided her own transpor-
tati0n. and fur two months Tony md
she had been mnrried. Then he hnd
!, drawn a ticket with number ON It,
! md this morning he had gone of to
war. ~,
s.. TO the policeman I1ncia. told alIs these
things in rapid italian. But the po-
.liceman only talked hack to her as
rapidly in 'lnngunge that was not
italian. She followed shin dnnbly to
headquarters. An hour later wom-
an wearing American clothes gently
began talking to her in beautiful Ital-
ian.
italian Lucin was only one Of thou
sands OF foreign-born women, Syrinns.
Italians,. Armenians, Russians, Lthn-
aniNns. Polish, who, when the draft
called their men folk to the American
colors, asked in helpless confusion
what 1t was MI about. When would
their men he back? What did people
mean when they told them they would
receive money through the mali?
Where could they find work that they
knew how to do? Was there no one
who could explain 1t oil to them In
their own language?
The Y. w. C. A. was ready to offer
assistance. but 1t would be of no value
toSoffer 1t in English Consequently
1t had to supply a corps Of women who
could talk to the. forelgn-born, woman
Mt her own door In the lnnguage that
slle was used to hearing in the home.
land. sTo teach her English was as
essential n fnctor In her AmericnniZa-
tion as to find her iobg Therefore
the WAY council OF the Wv. C. A. set
ont to find her English.
"A year before the war began in Eu-
rnpe. the leaders of the Young Won.
ans Christian association foresaw just
such situation, and made ready to
inject 1t. They studied the needs Of
;the Immigrant. They triined skilled
liAmevfcln social workers To become III
miliar with the home habits and to
speak the language of the Lett and the
Hungarian and the Greek and the 9th
or foreign mothers who brought ba
hies and bundles over. from Ellis islund
| to Battery Park.
. ~.
ssThe organization into which this ex
| pertinent has developed was nnmed
by the Y. W. C. A. national board. "'rhe
! International Institute for Young
1 Women" In terms Which these wom
on can ,aderatand. It Is teaching the
forcign-born how to sew and cook ant
care for the baby.
| To girls like Italian Lucia, who con
| f;.scd!y fingered on the station pat
(" forms when the draft trains pulled ont
the VI. Y. c. A. Is giving direct rs
sistancc Educated European women
appointed to tlr regular staff of work
/ crs Mt the ca,np y. W. G. A. Hostess
! Houses. allie to .:.ik-ta- the drafted
| men in their own language. assist then
4 in whiting Letters home. and IN, aT
| ranging fur!oughs and little visits tt
! the camp.
"Thc Homo Information Service fo
! Foreign Families of Enlisted Men |!
] doing practical relief. work for th'
(, wives ard mothers. The purpose. o.
] the board Is to hep the women foil
left behind to understand where the'
hoys are and how they are being treat
| ed: how they -noed home s'ii':nrt art
/, cheer. how to send them comforts, ant
to keep ,,:cc themselves by learnin,
English and other things. so that wlel
i the boys conc home they VIII not fin'
their women still very un-AMerical
and out Of sympathy with them.
Food conservation bulletins hav
been translated into 19 ov 10 languages
At the factories and muni,ion plant
Interpreters are available for the MOI,
English speaking women by whom tn
reai war industries OF the country az
being largely carried on. In % ii
portant cities International InstItut
Bureaus are training American an
foreign women for full time soeia
service work with foreigners. Twenty