River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1918-08-08

THANK you for your kind letter."
wrote an English girl to woman who
had just sent a letter condoling with
her on the death of the last of three
brothers. "We find the country a lit
tie dreary now and we are returning
to town the last of the month. We
shall be at home Sunday evenings. Be
sure to come to US often. We want
to see all our friends and hear what
they have been doing in the last three
months Mother and father look for
ward with special pleasure to meeting
you all again. Please bring any sol
der friends; we will try to make it
gay for Them.
"What news do you get from Fred
erick," friend of mine asked Of the
mother of Frederick, a beautiful mid
dle-aged English woman who was
making a great success Of a dance.
given for some convalescent Tommies.
"Oh, you haven't heard, have you," the
mother Of Frederick answered. He
was killed two months ago." And she
turned to answer with her ready SYM
pathetic smile the inquiries of a group
of Tommies gathered about her.
Fight Same as Men.
But that is not all. In manner of
speaking, the women of Europe are
fighting the war just as the men are.
They have not, except in the case of
the famous Battalion of Death, died
in battle; and yet a half to three
quarters of a million women have been
killed as the direct result of war ac-
tivities. More women have been kill
ed in this war than men on both the
Northern and Southern sides in our
Civil war. That nearly three-quarters
of a million includes the women mas
sacred by the Turks in Armenia, by
the Austrians in Serbia, by the Ger
mans in Belgium and northern, France |;
it includes army nurses and women
munition makers; it includes civilian
women killed by shells in the war
zone or near it, women killed by Yep
pelin and airplane raids and by sub
marines.
What can the women OF America
do to equal all this service and all
this suffering?
For three years, the French and
English, and for two years, the Ital-
ianS, have stood between us and the
death Of our democracy. What can
we do to make up for that long, hest
tating neutral inaction Of ours? The
men of our nation have responded gal
lantly. We have real army in France
now. AS Lloyd George said in parlia-
ment to a listening empire, ''The Amer
leans are in" We are in and of
course we are in to stay, in for a
century if need be, until the safety Of
the world democracy is assured. The
men of America are doing their part
doing it with suffering and death.
What can the women do?
What Women Can Do.
It is the geographical misfortune Of
us women of America that we cannot
possibly give the personal service that
the women of Europe have given.
They are near and we are far. They,
SO to speak, are in the front trenches
and we have not entered the war zone.
Only a very few of us, in proportion
to our numbers, can work in the hos
| pitfalls or canteens there. Only few
more in proportion to our numbers can
do Red Cross work or Y. NJ. @. A.
work here. There are, however, two
things we can do all the time and
with all the strength that is in us.
One is to conserve food. The other
| is to buy Liberty bonds. We can help
the government by buying bonds. Yet
again we have an advantage; it is our
peculiar misfortune that most Of us
can help the government only by help
ing ourselves. For the purchase Of
Liberty bonds at the generous rate Of
interest which the government grants
is not self-denial but in line with self
interest-legitimate of course, but still
Self-interest.
Women of America, wake up! Pour
all your savings into Uncle Sans lap.
Then save more, and pour them into
his lap. Keep on saving and pouring,
| pouring and saving, until the world
| is free. You have given generously
| of the sinewS of war in those mag
nificent boys you have sent to France.
| Give as generously in the money which
will keep them well and happy there.