The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1918-12-19
MRS. ASTOR TELLS
Of WOMENS WORK
TO HELP SOLDIERS

NEW YORK. Dec. l9.-How Ameri-
can women in France helped TO tighten
cares of American soldiers, feeding
them with sweets, cooking for them,
danctng with them, meanwhile washing
dishes and ~scrubbing floors, was told
today by Mrs. Vincent Aston. After Is
months service in canteen n welfare
work, while her husband was serving
with the overseas naval forces, Mrs.
Astor has Just returned from Bordeaux,
where she was in charge Of a division
Or \. N, c. A women. One OF her lei
low workers was Mrs. Henry Russell,
formerly Ethel Borden Hartman, who
was married in France,
American women have filled such an
enoromus place in the war that 1t would
be difficult to imagine now what would
have been done without their help,
she said. The thousands of women
who got to the other side gave them
selves up completely to working for
the soldiers, both the sick and the well,
and they never spared themselves In
any way. They worked all the day,
and often danced long hours in the
evening, sometimes with a hundred
partners,
In the cantonment at Bordeaux,
where l was stationed, there we're eight
American wonfen and we never asked
the French maids to do anything that
we would not do ourselves, Not only
did we do all this manual work at first,
but later, when 1t was necessary we
would take a hand at a broom or at
time Mrs. Russell and I unloaded and
stored a truck load Of sugar into the
basement.
The soldiers over there showed the
most complete gratitude and courtesy
10 every American roman that 1t made
It intensely pleasant to be doing things
for them. Every few nights we rave a
dance. We would send out a call for
American women and all those who
volunteered were brought in by army
machines. There were usually about 20
and they would have TO divide their
time between several hundred men,
Once We had eight women and 1000
sailors.
'bosun's' whistle, and ave a signal
every two minutes to change partners.
The result was that every couple would
have possibly 20 men following after
them waiting for the next dance, No
distinction was made between officers
and men at such dances, but at the
ones given out at the camps part of
the evening was devoted to the officers
and part to the men,
"In the cafeteria we began by serv-
ing about 50 men a day, and soon 1t was
thousands. They all wanted eggs and
d%oughnutS and ice cream. We had one
person frying eggs all the time and
one making Ice cream.
1--WE had a canteen. which means
strictly a tobacco and candy place,
where the mel bought at cost; and
three nights a 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 first
commenced arriving at Bordeaux, the
stretchers hearing the wounded men
would be put out on the station plat
form and we would go among them
distributing coffee and cigarettes. Later
this work was taken over by the Red
Cross.
Mrs, Henry Russell and l were near
st. Mihiel when the Americans made
their drive last September, and we APP
pealed so hard hat they sent us UP
to the front for emergency work. We
went past the captured German lines
up to within two miles Of the actua,
fighting, and helped distribute cand,
and cigarettes to the Fifth and Sixth
marines when they were relieved. They
came out Of the battle laughing and
happy n with no more looks OF veal
and tear than If they had been in q
football game"