Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1919-02-25

" about her work with such a
N happy light in her eyes, such
joyous smile on her lips,
that it brought a mist before my
eyes, lump in my throat When
l came into the office in the morning
she had said:
"I can't believe yet. Miss Morrison,
that. [ am really going to live in your
lovely home with you for a little
know-not a real honey home. 1t
seems like a beautiful dream. / am
almost afraid [ shall wake up and
find it is
L assured her it was no dream and
that | was as pleased as she. 1t
while" she never presumed in the
IeaSt.
The day passed quickly. L was so
Dusily engaged every moment that
time seemed fairly to melt away. AS
the days passed l found that women
the tremendous advantage the war
had given them, They were before
the world as never before-in the
spot light where their every move
ment could be shown to be for the
simply for themselves.
That men in America were growing
uneasy because of the eager capabil-
ity of women in the economic world,
a capability they could neither dis
regard nor ignore, was daily becom-
ing more obvious.
That the women Of America have
not in the past been the help eco
nomically that French women have
been is due in part to the lack of the
need, and in part to the customs OF
the country. In France the women
of the middle classes have been the
custodians Of the family finances;
have been one with the head of the
house" in earning power. l found
that most of the women who came to
me had the idea firmly imbedded in
their minds that they could not be
good wives and also good workers. I
constantly held up the French wom-
en- as an example for them; these
women who needed no war to make
them true helpmates to their hus-
bands, but who, when the war came,
cheerfully took on the added burdens
so capably that all France owns she
could have remained in the war but
a short time without them.
[ had two war brides among my
girls. They had married their soldier
lovers on the very eve OF their sail
ing. 1 talked to them of what they
would do when their soldier husbands
returned. Both of them declared
that the men wrote they were home
sick; that they looked forward to
Ait~ ms CliS'7N~ & a - 81 ~ SAhS 40 Sh'
and make that home a place of rest
for them. By cautious questioning,
l found that both these men were
small daily waee-earners, happy to
take their girls to the movies or
walk in the park with them. Also.
learned they had been overseas the
entire duration of the war.
1 tried to make Mary and Helen
realize that these men must have
grown in every way since they had
left them; that no one can look
death in the face so often and not
become acquainted with certain
spiritual requirements; that they
also must advance themselves if
they were to be happy together.
tried to make them understand that
the men had idealized them; had
taken it for granted most likely that
their growth had kept pace with
their own. But it was difficult to
impress the girls that their hus-
bands wanted anything different
when they returned than what they
had wanted when they went away.
Fortunately these two particular
boys were sent along with the army
of occupation, so that the two girls
they were little more-had time
to think over the things I tried to
tell them. Each was naturally
bright ad capable, yet neither could