Weekly Caledonian. (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1919-1920, 1919-05-07
"DONT'S" FOR MOTHERS
OF RETURNING SOLDIERS

arc we going to do for thcm?" "Find
them good jobs" is the prompt ans
wcr of the practical economist. But
the problem of readjusting the young
soldier to social life will also be /;
pressing one, and it is natural that
il should be uppcrmost in the mind of
a woman and Il homc-makcr. So it is
il woman, Mabel Fonda Garcisscn,
writing to the New York Times from
the Y. M. C. A. Officers Club at Lii
mogcs, France, who tries to tell AM
crican mothers what changes they
must expect to see in their returning
soldier sons. and what they must do
for them-also what "Don'ts" they
must keep constantly in their minds.
Ono of Mrs. Garcissen'smo emphat-
ic "Don'ts" relates to certain forms
of American home cookery and vi
ands. She registers rigid fiat
against stews. Thus she says:
l am almost tempted to have q
list of "Don'ts" printed for the Amer
lean women to hang in the hallway so
the boys will be sure the instant they
enter the home door that certain
dishes will never again be inflicted
upon them. Let them know at once
that stows arc abolished forever. So
many "stews'' they hvac been forced
to cat their name forit is "slum." The
very thought of "slum" contracts
their stomachs. Canned salmon
(alas goldfsh), and corned beef
(alias monkey meat, corn Willy, red
horse and bully beef) are equally
nauseating, as are hash, oatmeal, and
beans. Bread pudding is another de-
spiscd dish. The artillcrymcn call it
"artillerypudding." Theysay after the
X. P. cleans the mess kitchen the
cook uses anything and everything
for the mixture that the X. P. has
gathered up. They have turned
against carrots and rice, too, with
good reason. | went with Il colonel
not long ago to the Havland facto-
RIGS to help him select some china for
his wife. As we looked about, l
spicd pretty and unusual dish. The
colonel admired it too, so asked Mr..
Haviland what it was for. The ans
wcr came, at is rice dish" The
colonel turned quickly, actually maui
seated, rs he said: "If my wife ever
serves nc rice, I'll leave home" The
thought came to me, if colonies feel
so, how must buck privatcs feel?
At the request of many of the boys
with whom she has been in contact,
Mrs. Garcissen explains, she is try
ing to give American mothers q !.
talk which may help
TO prevent MISUNDERSTANDING and
situations. So she
continues:
The boys agree with nc that for
several weeks after they get home
you will spoil them out1gcously.
Then you will begin to wonder, and,
having been so far away from the
Trightful scene, your wonder will in
crease.
Your sons arc changed. They arc
going home, after these few but in
.cnsc months, with an entirely differ
mt outlook on life. They came to
France upsophisticatcd. They arc
'cturning the most worldly-wisc men
If the earth. They have seen the
nations, America included, as they
lrc, not as they thought they were.
Nations as individuals show their
cal characters only under trcmcnd-
'us pressure). War has failed to bru-
alize our American boys. They are
Is gentle and aifcctionate as when
hey left home--certainly they arc
more simple and unassuming. There
S not much of the egotistical ego
eft. But there are other ways in
which they arc changed, less import
mt perhaps, yet not trif1ing.
These modest, unassuming boys of
'urs, who dashed into the accused
1erman machine-gun nests as fear
cssly as they would step out into the
have told me tales so har-
owing l have turned faint and dizzy.
lust not these ugly experiences have
eft a lasting mental influence?
| am sure you are prepared for a
hange in your sons, but they are
norc changed than their manner in
icates. OF necessity they have
earned to be pretty good actors.
herein lies danger. All the stir
ing events of this great adventure
ave compelled our boys to think as
hey never thought before. They see
fc stript of its veneer. They sec
onditons as they arc, and they arc
ot as they thought they were. And
rtcr the first burst of excitement at
America, and the joy of re-
MON with loved ones, reaction will
ct in.
Jack may make fool of himself
Of the time being, while John may
ct like u man of Is. Don't fret and
'orry, thinking that war has ruined
ack. 1t hasn't. Be particularly.
emile and considerable, making no
on the latcncss of the hour
c comes in. Don't even ask him
here he is spending his time; in
hort, don't ask single embarrassing
ucstion. Bide your time. Instead
{ wondering, use your ingenuity in
ccing wherein you can make home
lore attractive and comfortable.
,ccp flowers artistically arranged
Gre and there, and study the best
nd lntcst rook hook and Sn,vc tho