New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-06-22
a AIRS. BENJAMIN G. La

/ IV THROP is perhaps the only
dollar a year" woman who
has seven service stripes on her
sleeve, and has been on the job with
| out interruption since 1914. Nearly
4 three years before we went into thu.
war the American Fund for the
French Wounded was at the front
speaking in most practical way
! to France of our sympathy. Now
the last fine gesture of this organi-
cation is to give to Rheims a hos
pital of one hundred beds for women
and children in memory of the
American men "who lie row on row
in France"
News comes now that the Legion
of Honor has been conferred on Mrs.
Lathrop for her signal services to
France.
Mrs. Lathrop is just back in New
York from a trip across the CONT
nent to speak to cities and towns
/ which gave their sons to france in
behalf of this proposed tribute to
their own fallen and to the needs Of
our ally. A wound stripe might
have been added on this trip, as she
made most of it on crut..hes, but the
message had to be carried. The
fund turned over $15N,00O for the
\ building of memorial hospital, and
it only remains for one hundred
beds to be endowed. Six thousand
dollars endows bed in perpetuity,
and already fifty-eight have been
given by municipalities ana indi-
viduals.
With five years of work in
France as a background, and with
vivid appreciation of what the Amer
lean boys did, Mrs. Lathrop issues
note of warning on the prevalent
though superficial "grouch" that
both fighters and workers from over
seas are spreading on their return.
The doughboys died cheerfully, but
grouched consistently over trif1es.
Now that the big thing is done, and
magnificently done, Mrs. Lathrop
found in her travels certain danger
signs that only the crouch might
remain.
Nothing is more contagious than
I'grouching," says Mrs. Lathrop, "and
it is up to the American women who
backed the war and sacrificed for it
to fight this tendency.
The American women who STAYED
at home were one of the most won
derful phases of the war to mel
said Mrs. Lathrop. eve who could
be on the ground and take part were
privileged persons. But our sacri
flee was nothing compared to the
American women who sent their
men and stayed at home and worked
and backed it all. I have never ap-
pealed to the American women at
home for help in my work that / did
not receive from them five times as
much as asked for.
lit is the women's legitimate work
to combat this establishment of our
men, the natural reaction from the
tremendous effort, a common result
of getting so close to a thing that
you cant see the woods for the
trees Only by getting the petty
irritations and disagreements of
temperament and custom into their
real perspective can we give them
back the vision of what they fought
for"
Stories are circulated concerning
the slight injury to Rheims, the small
section of France affected, and her
resources; but those who, like Mrs.
Lathrop, have been close to France
for a long time know that she is
stricken, indeed, financially and
physically-sapped by the long re-
sistance of those four years, at once
logged and elated through which
she reiterated, "They shall not pass"
even when all reasonable hope had
gone.
II don't know what is the matter
with the Pacific Coast" Mrs. La
throp continued; "men and women
alike sit around and complain of
France. They seem to have lost in
/ terest in doing anything to help
France. Some of them resent the
fact that few. people on the east
ern coast of the United States even
consider that anything more should
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