Douglas Island news., 1918-05-31
MEN KNITTING
 SAME AS WOMEN
Men Call at Headquarters for Yarn and Conductors Knit Between
 Stations

olauOnA
 That English or German or Italian or French woman-wc remember ul- ways Madame Dcfarge and her
 friends In Dickens "Tale of Two Cities" knitting mcnacingly thru Che French revolution should take Go this most domestic Of activities seems natural enough but Chat the volatile American woman should
 dedicate herself SO enthusiastically
 to Che ancient and honorable game of thc needles must be an cXQuisi!cly soothing sight Co thc harassed men of thc country who SO consistently expected Che worst of their women- kind. Once more tho American woman. mgallautly styled Che "Am- cricau Peril" by Mir. Michael Mon ahan. has proven her we'll earned |uuc Co adaptoblity.
 uu, oC course while subscribing to che basic laws of the art of knit ! |urr. the American woman puts her ! own cachct on her work. She knits afcr her own fashion and with her national impcriosity She knits with am cclat. a fcryor. a publicity, which
 we believe Co be without parallel u Che history of an time That feminine energy translated into terms or knitting, means millions literally of useful garments for our soldiers and sailors.
 American social leaders may be seen almost anywhere. ot any hour of Che day or night purling or rib- . bling or casting on or on. Young people. to whom hand knitting was ] a tradition Of pioneer days have taken Co tho art like the proverbial duck Co water and promenade the streets weighted down with onor- mously and gayly colored work bags containing embryonic knitted gar mcuts for Che comfort Of Che boys |ot Che front.
 Hitherto severe and unyicldiug |high-church clergy reconcile war land Christianity by sanctionmg knitting during Che sermon. and the Thank Of yarn and long bone needles |uow ro dccorously Co service. Even |thc subducd light Of the movies" IoHcrs no obstacle to the expert
 weaver Of socks. and while fascin- lated eyes follow thc chaotic for James of screen stars, nimblc fingers continue arilely Co manipulate the white needles fcstoonod with loops of gray yarn.
 10 is indeed obvious that knitting | has its own potent, it uneXciting destinations Women arc continually telling you plaintIyely that, once started on a piece Of work. they
 "cant put it down" And history
 teaches us that it is not only wo- men who experience the thraldom of Che art Of knitting Man has. from time Co time, shown himself royctous Of womau's theoretically exclusive prcrogativc Of welding | Che rccdlcs.
 In some juvenile book whose title
 now escapes me. but whose delight- ul content stu fingers faithfully in my memory, ! recall a picture which never failed to arouse my |chudlsh wonder and interest. It was Iof a vulainous-looking. black-beard- rd old sca-dog. whose one fierce eye ! the artist had now tactfully sunused with sentiment and upon whose once cruel mouth now played a smile of exquisite sweetness. peacefully and |laboriously knitting. Under the pictures was the legend: The Re-
 formed Pirate Knits Tidies.
 Little did l dream In those days of seeing men stroll into Red Cross headquarters and demand a quota of yarn from which to evolve a sweater during long evenings at home. or gazing upon athletic rail- road conductors capably and unos- tauously knitting between stations. Yet such sights are not rare these
 art- n.f..t ,,f Nrfotrs