The Semi-weekly leader., 1919-08-30
THOSE FOREIGN SOLDIER
MARRIAGES.
Tragedies are Seen In Them-W What
a Worker Among Foreign
Fields Forecasts.

4
| of the American soldiers to English
and French girls will prove dismal
failures; that many of the girls, who
welded soldiers had police records in
their own localities, and that she ask
ed in vain for medical supervision
for the wives before they were al
lowed to embark for this country,
but without result, were some of the
facts stated by Miss Byrd McFan, of
Tulsa, Okla, Red Cross worker who
returned on board the White Star
Line steamship Lapland, and who
had charge Of the dispatch of more
than 100 of the wives to quarters
aboard homeward bound American
troop ships.
Miss McFall has been abroad for
fourteen months working under the
S. o. s. and since the beginning Of
the sending to the United States of
the soldiers wives has been station
ed in France and in England, says
the New York Telegram. She is a
member of the Chickasaw tribe of
Indians, and when her father and
mother died was adopted by Chief
Ishata of the Chickasaws.
Resourceful and well educated,
Miss MaFall regrets that America
has had to receive the majority of
the women who have arrived here as
soldiers wives. For two years be-
fore going to France she worked for
the government in Washington.
II have had the care of more than
| 100 of these women in England and
France, seeing that they were safely
put on board the transports to which
they were allotted" she began.
1T is a shame that many of them
were allowed to leave either France
or England, but the. soldiers had
married them and what were the ar
my authorities to do. There SEEM
ed to be no rule that could keep
them back, and even when investiga-
tion showed that many of them
should not be landed in America
there was too much red tape to be
cut to stop them from going. There
were girls that had police records,
girls of the street, and then went a.
way without a necessary medical ex-
animation, which, If made, would
have prevented some of them at
least from embarking for America.
Two of the white girls, to my per-
sonal knowledge, started for the Uni
ted States with negro babies. saw
them. And there were four other
cases of the same sort that came to
my attention.
Not until the latter part Of their
arrival in America was there any at
tempt at medical supervision, and
then only after 1t had been repeat
edly shown to the army authorities
that these women were not fit to be
part OF Americas citizenship. i
believe nearly all OF the trouble was
caused by the fact that the army Of
fered to send back without charge
the girls married to soldiers. 1t the
soldier had known that he would
have to pay wife's passage at pre-
vailing rates I think that there
would have been far less marriages
contracted. The majority of the mar
riages we found had been made on
very short acquaintance, and some
Of the girls boasted that they did
not intend to live with their hus-
bands after their arrival in the Uni
ted States.
They said that they married only
to get to the United States. / will
not say that all Of the girls were
like this, but there wer far too
many. We received reports in the
concentration camps of the behavior
Of the brides on board the transports
on which they were sent to the Uni
ted States, and from one well-known
former American passenger steam
ship we received word that ave of
the brides were under lock and key
when they reached New York be-
cause Of their actions during the
voyage. Several were arrested for
theft, having stolen everything that
they found within reach that was
Of value.
i established instruction classes:
in the concentration camps for the
brides, for the majority had not the
slightest knowledge of America. The.
value Of money and small amount
of the geography OF the United
States were taught them. Some OF
the girls believed sthat they could
step to telephone and call to their
husbands in Portland, Ore, to come
down to the ship after them. The
girls would have been in sore need
|if 1t hadn't been for the work Of the
Red Cross. We have done all we
could but It is pity that the gov
ernment could not have stepped in
and made careful examinations in or
der to determine whom the soldier
had married and for his sake stop
some q them FROM landing n Amegi-
|ea.y