The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-10-04
TOPEKA srArD JOURNAL
!, INFORM ALTON
BUREAU
FREDERIC J. HAsKIN. Director.
washington. D. c.
SOCIETY AT WORK.

turesque order known as the leisure
class. Recent investigation has shown
it to be in the last stages of dissolu-
ton. For one thing, leisure heads the
list of essentials, and hence has
become the subject for apology, igno-
miny, even suspicion. The presidents
work-or-fight sedict practically abol-
ished the wealthy male dilettante; but
American femininity. as q variety OF
ornament, went out of fashion with
the nations declaration of war.
In the hospitals. on the farms. in
munition plants, in community kitch-
ems and in the local Red Cross chap
ters. women who formerly pursued
nothing more important than the gos-
samers of their own imaginations, are
now relentlessly pursuing war work.
Some have even contributed their own
homes to the cause. One of the most
interesting of these is the home of
Mrs Frank p. Walsh of this city, re-
puted to be one of the wealthiest wom-
en- in the United States, who has
turned the whole first floor of her
residence into a dressmaking estab-
lishment for the war refugees.
The Walsh house Is one of the most
pretentious homes in Washington. For
a long time Mrs. Walsh has been of
the opinion that it was much too large
for Just herself and servants, and she
determined to utilize its space for war
work. Accordingly, she had several
knitting machines installed in her re-
ception room. Her saloon she con-
verted into a garment factory, where
she and her friends make clothes for
the children of devastated Europe. Her
music room, with an immense pipe
organ for one of its walls, is Uttered
with feminine apparel in various
stages of repair, with stacks of wooden
pieces coaxed from tailors with rows
of kid-lined vests for aviators, and
with piles and piles of scraps. Her
dining room is now a quilt manufac-
tory. "A huge highly-polished table.
capable of seating forty-four guests.
is used as the cutting table, while
about the walls are shelves of soft
colored materials which are used to
| make borders for the quilts.
For a woman with millions, Mrs.
Walsh is a surprisingly good dress
| maker. She designs and cuts out most
of the garments made in her work
| rooms, which is by no means an easy
task when the materials consist of
scraps-of old shirts, neckties and silk
stockings. For this is a conservation
project. few new materials are
bought, but the great majority of
| pieces are contributed by local mer-
chants, tailors and citizens. who send
| in liberal supplies of leftovers.
About the city there are many
posters asking people to send their
old clothes, especially old shirts, silk
| stockings and gloves, to No. 1920
Massa chusetts avenue, and this request
| has been answered, not only by Wash
| ingtonians. but by citizens of other
cities. But there is still need for ma
| terial. Thus, if you have any old
| stockings that you would like to see
| turned into a Jacket or pair of bloom
ers for a little European refugee, send
| them to this address. They will be
| more than welcome.
A bewildering variety Of things, it
| seems, can be made out of Women's
silk stocking, and mems, too, for
that matter. From three pairs of
stockings a silk jacket can be made
which is large enough to fit a stout
| woman. Boys stockings-the thick,
ribbed kind that are made to with
| stand the vicissitudes of school life
make warm, clinging skirts and lovely.
! soft shawls for women. A child's
skirt can be made out of two and
half pairs of stockings, and out of one
and a half pairs of womens silk stock
ings a silk sweater can be made to fit
| a, child 5 or 6 years old. Many of
these little silk sweaters are displayed
in Mrs. Walsh's workrooms Great
care has been taken in planning them,
and they are really artistic little gar
ments, with their bright-colored little
sailor collars and pockets. Some are
| taupe color, trimmed with American
beauty; some are black, lined with a
| soft shade of blue, and others are
brown and blue, with silk figured col
lars and pockets made from mems
| neckties.
| When the bundles of stockings
| gloves and materials are first received
they are sorted, rolled into different
bundles and taken down in the base
ment to be Numbered. Here Mrs.
Walsh has also set up dyeing estab-
lishment. where, with the help of her
maid, she dyes old yellow stockings
and gloves to bright blues and Grim
sons. No attempt is made to dye the
| mems shirts, for these are most often
! of figured madras and striped ma
teria1. They are Numbered and sent
upstairs at once, where few days
later they emerge in the form of
women's tailored shirtwaists or chill
dren's dresses. The front of the shirt.
with its buttons and buttonholes be-
comes the front of the dress, while
the back of the shirt is turned into a
killed skirt.
Besides these dresses for small chill
dren, garments for older girls are
made from larger materials. There
are flowered .retonne dresses, trimmed
with collars, cuffs and pockets of plain
harmoniz.ng colors; dainty lawns and
dimities, and thick, wooden dresses
with bloomers attached. The ma
terial for the latter was contributed
by an old lady who pointed out that
a heavy dress and an equally heavy
pair of boomers would be sufficient
to keep a child warm and thus elimi-
nate the necessity of a-coat. In this
same pile are three plaid dresses
large enough to fit girls eleven or
twelve years old that have been made
out of fancy dress costume sent in
by one of Mrs. Walsh's friends. In
its original state it was a Scottish kilt
And in dark contrast to this gay red
material is a pile of black sateen
aprons to be sent to the small boys OF
devastated France and Belgium, who
are trying to support themselves in
workshops hastily erected by the
rescuing parties.
On a high-backed. 1inen-covere6
sofa in front of the fireplace in Mrs
walsh's saloon Is her hood collection