The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1919-09-06
WOMEN DEMAND
WARS SHALL END
Peace League Means More to
Them Than 1t Can Mean
gA to Men.
DR.. SHAW'S STIRRING PLEA.
(By the Late Dr.. Anna Howard Shaw

(By the Late Dr.. Anna Howard Shaw.)
Seven million one hundred thousand
men who had laid down their lives in
the great war. Think of 1t! Seven
million, one hundred thousand young
men had died on the field of battle!
What does that mean to the ONE
Of the world2 1t means that seven
one hundred thousand women
walked day by day with their faces
toward an open grave that they might
give life to a son. 1t means that
sever million n hundred thousand
little children lay In the arm of a
mother whose love had made them
face even the terrors of death that
they might become the mothers of
men.
1t means that year after year these
women had put up their lives into the
ed them to be e For what? In
the hope that these sons of theirs could
give to the world the things for which
women dream, the things for which
women hope and pray and long. These
were the things that the women had
In their hearts when they gave birth
to their sons.
But who car estimate the value of
seven million one hundred thousand
dead sons of the women of the world?
Who can estimate the price which the
women have paid for this war; what
it has cost them, not only In the death
of their sons, because that is a phase
of our war to which we look.
The Courage of Women.
We hear our orators tell US of the
across the sea. Very few of them re-
MEMBER to tell us of the courage of
our women, who also went across the
sea of the women who died nursing
the sick and wounded; the women
who died in the hospitals, where the
terrible bombs came and drove them
almost to madness. They tell us
nothing of the forty thousand English
women who went to work back Of the
trenches in France.
They tell us nothing of the thou
sands upon thousands upon thousands
of women who not only toiled and
worked and shaved In order that the
wal might be successful, but we do
not hear Of the thousands of womeE,
not alone In Armenia, not alone In
Montenegro, not alone In Serbia, but
In Flanders, in Belgium, in Rumania,
in Russia-the thousands of women
who lie In graves today, murdered,
so horribly murdered that men dare
not speak of 1t.
And yet we women are asked what
we know about the League of Ma
lions asked what we can understand
about a League Of Nations. Oh men
the horrible deaths; the horrible live:
Of thousands upon thousands Of wo
men today In all these nations, whe
must live, and who must look In the
faces of children u~nwelcomed, unde
sired-of little children-and know
that these are the result Of war.
And then ask women why the.
should be interested In a league o
peace2
Women Suffer Most From War.
III there is any body Of citizens Ii
the world who ought to be intereste'
!, In a league to ultimately bring to tn
world peace IL Is the mothers Of mel
and the women who suffered as onl
women can suffer In the war and |
devastated countries.
And we call upon them, we wome
( Of the world call upon the men VIII
' have been fighting all these battles G
! the years, the men who have lie
! armies, and led armies close to the
deaths.
We are 10Y calling upon the me
of the world to In some way or al
other find q passage out of the sea (
death. We are asking them to for
a league which will bring hope to tn
y women of the future. If women al
to bear sons only that they may di
il women may not have hoI
= and aspirations for their childrei
IL women may not dream the dream
!, that have In them the hope Of ii
highest Civilizations, the highest NOR
. and spiritual life Of the people-if W
men may not have these In the
hearts as the mothers of men, the
women will cease to desire to be Il
d mothers Of men. And why shou
/: they mott Why should they not7