Bisbee daily review., 1918-07-14
Y. M. c. 4. War Work

When the war department under took to get the country's men ready for war, 1t made it's plans without thought for the women. The conse- quence was that the war department was a bit surprised to observe the steady stream of women who began to ccme to the cantonments as soon as the cantonments became the home oS their men.
 So the war department asked for help, and it asked for help from the Young Women's Christian Association.
 The hostess house was the answer.
 Now there are eightyfive of these centers of hospitality in army camps. either in actual operation or in the course of construction. No one of them has been undertaken until the commandant of the camp requests it.. Mrs. Edward M. Townsend, of Oyster Pay, is chairman of the Hostess House Committee.
 The architects are women. Miss Jul ia Morgan of the Pacific Coast and Miss Katherine Budd of New York City.
 The general plan of construction is the same, adapted to local conditions. A large room, plentifully provided with big chairs and roomy divans. has a huge open fire place in the center. Gay curtains on the windows and pretty chintzes on the chairs, give a piece of color that is most welcome to the eye after the khaki monotony of the rest of the camp.
 Half the big room is living room, that is truly lived in. The other half is a cafeteria, often the only place in camp where visiting civilians can pro- cure meals.
 In many of the houses there is a nursery, shut off in quiet corner oi the house, where babies meet their sol dier fathers for the first time, and oth. CT babies are put ito nap"
 There are always one or two spare cots in the house kept for the emergen. cy times when a storm holds women at the camp all night, or for the time when the mother of sick soldier waits anxiously for the crisis. The hostess house is manned by five women; the hostess director in gener al charge; the social hostess. respon sible for the reception of visitors; the emergency hostess who looks after the outside cases which come to the at ! tention of the hostess house; the cafe i teria hostess, who is a trained diete i tian, and the business hostess. who keeps the accounts and does the buy i ing.
 Cclored hostess houses are being es { tablished at camps where there arf colored troops. Such houses are iT operation at Camp Upton and CamI Dix Other camps to have theirs soon
 Originally $1O.OO0 was enough tC build and equip a hostess house, bu the cost here, as in everything else has gone up. Lumber, wages, furnit ure has increased in price. TransDor tation for material is unbelievably de layed. Put the houses must be built A house today costs in the neighbor hood of $27.OOO.
 Hostess houses have only one justi ficaticn-what they accomplish.
 A woman came hurrying into thu hostess house at Camp Meade las MCChs NO NiAO hAAOSNOA she had come on a surprise visit tr her son, had only a short time to stay but wasn't able to locate him.
 The director took her in the hostess car They discovered the sons bar rack after a good deal of searching with the help of a sergeant and wer, told that the son had been discharget dishonorably a month before.
 The sons name was James Smith The sergeant said he had found anotf CT James Smith in the same barrack but this wasn't the soldier they wer, hunting.
 The mother was almost overcom with disappointment. After the part returned sadly to the hostess house the sergeant 'phoned that he was sen, ing the other James Smith anyway, al