Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-03-12
WOMEN URGED
TO ASSIST STATE
Speaker Asserts That Club
women Really in Earnest
Can Get Anything

why doesn't Harrisburg have Il
police matron when the money is
provided for that purpose and why
are children kept for weeks and
weeks in the Detention Home when
that should be only a sitting place
| for the police court?" were burning
questions asked yesterday by local
women following Mrs. Jane Deeter
! Rippin's talk on The Delinquent
before the College Club and it's
guests. in the Civic Club.
Mrs. Rippin urged the women to
get behind every movement doing
constructive work for young girls
| the Y. w. c. A., Girl Scouts and
| Camp Fire Girls. for. said she "just
at this time when hero worship for
! the soldiers returning looms so large
/ in the minds of girls and young wo-
men, every safeguard should be
I thround them and active and ag-
| gressive interests should be given
them TO combat the evil sure to
arise -.
! Compulsory education laws. rigidly
enforced, vocational training in the
public schools, ommunitX restritions
/ for the ant!soiat child and State rea
sponsibility with ustodial restrictions
| for girls were Some of the principles
advocated by the speaker for the de-
crease of delinquency.
PENNSYLVANIA leads all the states
of the Union in the extent of profess
sional prostitution and the deline
! quency of men and women, boys and
girls is a costly thing to the city.
county and State jns arrests, court
trials and institutional care" said
Mrs. Rippin.
I'm this country we spend over 81
per capita for public buildings but
only nine cents per capita on public
health"
Pcrshing's Care of His Men
This country is making a fight
against the spread of veneral dis
ease and the last divisions of our
men that went over ,toEFrance had
among them; Il much smaller pro-
portion of men suffering whit active
forms of this disease than the first
men that went over When the
French government offered the
British the privilege of their regis
tered houses of prostitution, the
offer was accepted. But when this
same offer was made to General
Pershing he refused it. though in
so doing he brought about situa-
ton that had to be handled with
the greatest diplomatic delicacy.
beHeIdl 1eTSnlnS. argued. InaL
every man equipped and. prepared
for fighting cost the government
$40, 900. If he became infected with
disease, he added to that cost $4,000
and was at the same time not in
condition for lighting. Not only was
the soldier thus disabled unable to
trenches. but he was occupying the
bed in the hospital needed for a
wounded man.
An average of ten days was re-
quired to heal Il wounded man and
reprepare him for service, While
ven ereal disease kept men unfit for
work from nine to eighteen months.
General Pershing was so positive in
his orders on this matter that
guards were commandered to shoot
any man seen going into one of the
French houses of prostitution"
Mrs. Rippin said that the: Civic
Club, College Club and kindred or
ganizations have unlimited power
for civic movements and that of the
women are really in earnest in back
ing these movements for bettermen
that they must come true in time.
After the talk and discussion of ques-
tions asked. tea was served, in the
dining room with Mrs. George b.
Kunkel and Miss Alice A. Eaton
pouring with members of the col
lege club assisting