Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1918-12-20
Y,M.C.A. WOMEN CARRIED LOAD SQLl![Rl 50! ID! ]! BOYS
Mrs. Vincent Astor Tells of Women's Part in Keep ing Up the Morale of American Soldiers.

women in France helped to tighten the cares of American soldiers, feed- ing With sweets, cooking for them aanclng with them, meanwhile wash ing dishes and scrubbing floors, was told today by Mrs. Vincent Astor. Af- ter eighteen months service in can teen and welfare work, while her hus. Dand was serving with the overseas naval forces. Mrs. Astor has just re- turned from Bordeaux where she was Tn charge of a division Y. M. c. A. women, one of her fellow workers was Mrs. Henry Russell, formerly Ethel Borden Hartman, who was married in France.
 American women have filled such an enormous place in the war that it would be difficult to imagine now what would have been done without their help," she said "The thousands or women who got to the other side gave themselves. Up completely to working for the soldiers, both the sick and the we'll and they never spared themselves in any way. They worked all the day and often danced long hours in the evening, sometimes ''ASAA - AAuAANA OW R0A LACl t-
 Tn the cantonment at Bordeaux. where was stationed, there were elght American women and we never asked the French maids to do any thing that we would not do ourselves; and not only did we do all this man. ual work at first but later, when it was necessary we would take hand at broom or at frying eggs or wash ing dishes. One time Mrs. Russell and I unloaded and stored truck load of sugar into the basement
 The soldiers over there showed the most complete gratitude and courtesy to every American woman that it made it intensely pleasant to doing things for them. Every few nights we gave dance, We would send out call for American women and all those who volunteered were brought in by army machines. There were usually about twenty and they would have to divide their time be- tween several hundred men. Once we had eight women and 2,OOO sailors.
 "To even things up I borrowed a 'bOsum's whistle and gave a signal every two minutes to change partners AAS AVouAL W QS lACtt cNGIy COuDlG would have possibly twenty men fol- : lowing after them waiting for the next dance. No distinction Was made be- tween officers and men at such danc- es but at the ones given out at the camps part of the evening was devoted to the officers and part of the men,
 Tn the cafeteria we began by serv- ing about fifty men "a day and soor 1t was thousands. They all wanted eggs and dOughouts and 1cre cream. We had one person flying eggs all the time and one making ice cream.
 We had canteen, which means strictly tobacco and candy place where the men bought at cost; ant three nights week we gave picture shows and entertainments. There would often be as many as five or SIX thousand men trying to get into the entertainment hall
 "When the conveys of wounded firs1 commenced arriving at Bordeaux, the stretchers bearing the wounded mel would be put out on the station plat form and we would go among then distributing coffee and cigarettes. Later this work was taken over by the Red Cross.
 Mrs. Henry Russell and I were near St. Mihiel when the Americans made their drive last September and we appealed so hard that they sent us up to the front for emergency work We went past the captured German lines up to within two miles of the actual fighting and helped distribute candy and cigarettes to the Fifth ana Sixth Marines when they were reliev- ed. They came out of the battle laugh ing and happy and with no more looks of wear and tear than if they had been in football game"