The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1919-02-01

the right to wear q red cross, to
make seventy-two hours. That makes
one realize what 500 hours mean.
OF course, lot OF time was given to
knitting and scores Of women knitted
two or three hours every evening
While quota was on, but nobody
kept count of the time"
Mrs. Richard Schouten and herr
daughters, of 1902 High street, made
q record oas to the number Of gar
ments made. but like everyone else,
kept no record as to the time given.
Mrs. Schouten made ninety pairs Of
socks and thirty sweaters, one daugh-
ter made the same number, and an
other daughter made twelve sweaters
and thirty-five pairs Of socks.
They Were Not Counting Hours.
Mrs. Jacob Schouten was also one
of the faithful at-home Red Cross
workers and in speaking of 1t said:
II am sure l didn't put in 500
hours, but l did put in all the time
Il had. but didn't think of keeping
count Of hours"
ut might seem at first thought
that a great many women are ELI
gible to receive the womans service
badge Of the Red Cross" said Miss
Cornelia Meigs, head of the surgical
dressing department, today, ''but 500
hours means great deal Of time.
The Keokuk chapter was actively at
work on surgical dressings from
August 1917, to August 1918.
Not many women gave two full
days every week, without vacation,
during all that period, although the
industry and ,faithfulness of the
women has been wonderful" said
Miss Meigs.
Mrs. Joseph o'Brien who had
charge OF the sewing department.
said:
st would be hard matter to de-
termine Just the number of hours the
various women of the sewing depart
ment have put in since the sewing
department was established. A great
many women have come to the shop
one-half day every week for the year,
and many have come two half days,
but very few have come two full
days every week of the ffty-two. We
have kept no accurate record of the
time given"
What Eight Hundred Means.
L
refugee garment department. said:
"A great many people came and
went every day, and the sewing room
was always a busy place, but as for
actually working two full days every
week of the year, very few people
did it. Eight hundred hours is lot
of time when you come to consider
it. or course when the question
naires come and the women them
selves come to fill them out, the time
| can be computed and the question OF
eligibility settled
| m reply to the question as to
whether all the refugee work was
done at the shop as was the case in
| the surgical dressing department,
Mrs. Mcfarland said:
"Yes; most of it was done at the
shop, although few took work
thome."
! Mrs. J. l.. S. Scadding, chairman OF
the knitting department, said:
I'VE are quite at sea on the prob
lem. Practically all of the knitting
was done at home"
| Output Does Not Measure Time.
| The number of socks or sweaters
tells nothing about the time given,
because one woman can knit a pair
day, and another will put in two
weeks on a pair Of socks exactly the
same size. Some women worked like
mad for several months and are laid
up with neuritis as a result, SO their
work did not cover the full period of
year.
Some families have all worked
and have sent in dozens of garments.
but they kept no account of the time
given to it by the individuals.
Then there are some dear old
ladies whom the heads of the knit
ting deartmenpt have never seen,
who have worked at home faithfully
every day all unconscious Of reward
or of the fact that they were giving
their time.
Indeed, the only thought any of
the women had. was that they were
anxious to work for the soldiers and
! to do their share for the soldiers
comfort"
Mrs. Scadding's expression is
exactly the reason why the computing
Of time given to the Red Cross is a
problem because the women worked
all unconscious of the time they gave,
lit was said at headquarters.
FIR AIT.EY SCORES