The Arizona copper camp., 1918-12-28

to serve the army as clerks, stenogra-
piers, ETC., will need to be carefully
organized in order to fit into the army
| scheme
To release men for active service by
the employment of women wherever
| they may be substituted for men
1t is also suggested that the corps be
organized with chief controller at
the head to represent the corps to the
Army and General Staff and to be the
final authority in matters of admins
tration. Under the chief controller
would be a deputy chief and two as
sistant chiefs and a corps council,
while the field organizations would be
under area controllers situated at the
various army department headquart-
ers. 10
With the war ended there is less and
| less need to train women for overseas
work but there. is still great need for
! them at cantonments and military
camps not only to release returning
soldiers for industrial use but to per-
form tasks for which they are better
fitted than men.
During the period of Rehabilitation
covering several months the camps
will be in full use so the proposed
corps would have abundant opportun-
| ity to justify its formation.
A recent survey Of fifty-four mill
tary areas employing women where
| the Commission on Training Camp ac-
tivities has a'fixed post worker showed
ployes in these areas alone. Five
months before survey had been made
of 80 of these camps. In that five
months period there had been an in
crease of 3019 women employees, an
increase of 1886 per cent. These
women serve as cooks, clerks, librar
ians, telephone and telegraph opera
tors, nurses, mattresses, dietitians,
laundresses, seamstresses, chemists,
and bacteriologists. Also in each
camp there are women representatives
Of the Red Cross, the Y. M. G. A., the
Y. w. G. A., or the War Camp Com
munity Service. While the average
number of women employed in the
camps is 236, one camp has. 1925, one
has only 25.'
England since 1915 has had def
mite government policy regarding the
employment of women in such capa-
cities, but in this country, Mr.. Fos
dicks report says, employment has
been largely accidental, dependent on
local conditions. In England early in
1915, for instance, it was discovered
that the withdrawal of army cooks TO
serve as fighters brought about a
great waste of food by the inexperi-
enced men who succeeded them. The
Woman's Legion to supply cooks re-
suited The scheme worked and ex-
tended and the women employed by
the Legion became the nucleus of the
Waacs. By June of this year there
were 100000 women enrolled in the
w. "A. A c., performing functions from
cook to vulcanizer, gardener and
groom. Women were recruited for the
corps through the official employment
agencies and were enlisted only after
thorough investigation .as to charac-
ter and qualifications.
This comprehensive English system
met the same sort of difficulties which
have been encountered in our own
country in utilization of women work
ers in military areas. Nurses every
where were supplied by the Red Cross,
| telephone operators by the various
telephone companies. Often a personal
interview or letter of recommendation
obtained position and in no case was
there physical or mental examination.
There has also been complete
LACK of uniformity. as to housing con-
ditions and there have been scant
facilities for recreation in any of the
military areas. By following Mr.. Fos
dicks suggested plan Women's Army
{ Auxiliary CORPS could and would do,