The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-02-02
MRS. ROOSEVELT, JR.,|
TELLS OF WAR WORK.
American Women Are Needed
More Than Ever in France,
She Says.
HELP TO TROOPS SHOWN
NaSsar Alumne Hear How
"Leave Areas" Solved
Army Problems.

we need women moro than ever to
work in France now" Mrs. Theodore
Roosevelt Jr., told 500 VassAr alumne
at the annual luncheon OF their organi-
cation at the Hotel Blitmcre yesterday.
Il know women have rather lost their
Interest in war work since the signing
OF the armistice. but there is sttil a great
deal for them to do
We want girls over there who have
been brought up with brothers. don't
mean a girl must have brothers OF her
own, but she ought to know other girls
brothers and be accustomed TO their
ways And the women who go to France
should be adaptable they should be able
to adapt themselves TO hardship wo-
men OF that kind are stlll much needed
in France.
slender and blond and girlsh in her
light blue Y. VI. c. \. uniform. Mra
Roosevelt, didn't look like one who had
done hard service among our army boys
for many months. but she stood up like
a little soldier herself and told quaint
stories OF her experiences In simple
and most captivating way. The army
authorities che said. were decidedly at
a loss to know what to do with men on
leave. For the French and English It
vas easy--their men could 60 home
but our boys, 30 far from home and
most of them not speaking French. were
a problem TO Gen. Pershing. He solved
Il by asking the 7. NJ. c. A to estab-
lish leave areas"
Work mt Leave Area"
Mrs. Roosevelt was at the "leave area"
at AK les Balns. In the Department OF
Savoie near the Lake OF Bourget The
Y. NJ c. A. was ordered TO have leave
area ready In two weeks from the time
OF notification, and did It b. taking the
Casino--bedrooms. bar with marble
topped tables and all the rest The day
Il was opened a trainload OF Yanks ar
rived.
And every single one Of them had n
CROUCH" said Mrs. Roosevelt They
took one look at the place and they
named II Aches and Pains. and wanted
20 go back. You see they had been or
dered out OF the trenches at O'Clock
and told to take the train al g. and
they were wet and muddy UP to ther
waists, and they didn't know where thcy
were being brought--and they wero
most awtully erouchy. Fifty OF them
told us right away that they had no
money. 40 arrangements were made to
take them back: but frs; We showed
them around the hotel a bit. And whe"
they'd finished tae inspection ali out
six Of the ffty found they had money
TO stay after all. A; first the men paid
their own expenses on leave.
THE rooms we're very nice. One
dou9hboy came running down and told
US srinning: Say. I'm IN Queen We
,oria's apartment" Another told him :
You've sot nothing on me-lm In the
King o. Greece's suite"
Picnic for Soldiers.
Al the f,rst picnic arranged for the
men preparations we're made for so,
and $50 came. We " workers went
without food AZ that picnic Mrs Roose-
Welt said The men wanted us to be
served first and kept bringing us thing
but told them oh, we never eat at
this time Of the day
Dances were r difficulty A. first. for
here would be 1900 men and only about
20 or 80 girls. 50 we lLvented Il system Of
,ass---each man would wear baggage
tag in one OF the seven primary eoiors
on his back and flags in the different
colors were flown in rotation. When the
blue flag waved the blue tag men rushed
forward and claimed partners, and so
on through the Rainbow And We were
very careful to collect those tags when
the men left.
The toughest group of men we had
were Regulars from .he artillery. and Il
was strange. but they didn't care about
vaudeville. and they loved to play chill
dren's games. ring around rosy and
blind mans bun and 30 on. One game
popular with them was when we tied
| something heavy, pair OF shoes gener-
ally. to pole by string and swung Il
around the circle. The thing was to
keen from being hit"
Miss Euth Crippen OF Rochester, MEM
her OF the Vassar unit that went over
for war work. talked about her ex-
periences working in Mrs. Edith War
toms d!spensary IN Paris sra added
that she wasn't sure whether women
workers ought to 90 over now, but that
| undoubtedly the reconstruction Of France
| would proceed faster 10 Americans had
n hand in Il. I'VE are more efioient
than they are" she said. "a French
| woman said TO me, France will build my
village again. yes, but II Americans stay
10 do 1t it will be finished in two years,
here the French VIII take I'VE
Other speakers were Or Henry Mac
! Cracken, president ~ Faessr; Mrs, Nina
puryea. who urged great need Of Amer
leans to keep on working in and for
| France. and complained that whereas in
| 1914 she saw many women knitting in
opera boxes now hardly anybody seemed
| Interested in relief work Tor the victims
Of tho war. and Miss Nancy c. McClel-
| land Only one individual at the guest
Ia bic did not make a speech. He was a
| Belgian police dos who sat wisely look
| ing on from under the table, his head
pecking out with on air that seemed 10
say he could tell marvellous things II
| only Mrs. Mary Charles Halsey, the
| chairman, would call on him.
The annual business meeting preceded
the luncheon. Reports indicated delcit
| d"s partly TO the FIRE that destroyed a
| wing OF the main building lasr year
| partly 10 tha shrinksge OF the dollar
| However. the Vassarites took this cheer
fully explaining that college without
a deficit would be az hard to md now
"as a 1--we lchthy osaurus."