The sun., 1919-08-12
ARMY BRIDES, WON
ABROAD, APROBLEM
Red Cross Worker Draws Dark
Picture of Many Wives
Brought to u. s.
RULES CALLED TOO LAX
Some Girls Whom Soldiers Wed
Had Police Records, Others
Worse.

Miss Byrd McFali OF Tulsa. Okla. q
Red Gross worker, who has had charge
of shipping the foreign wives OF Amer
icaa-- soidiers. arrived yesterday by the
White Star liner Lapland with some
what pessimistic opinion of many OF
the marriages She is member Q,
the Chickasaw tribe OF Indians ana
was adopted by their chief. lshata.
when her Gather and mother died. She
Is well educated and before going 10
France was employed by the Govern
meat In Washington
She said she had cared for more than
LOO Of the brides In England ana
France. seeing that they were saiely
put aboard transports She said tnat
there seemed to be no rule by which
women who should not have been per-
mitted to sail could be kept back The
soldiers had married them and what
could the army authorities doG Con-
tinuing. Miss McFali painted dark
picture OF many of the women who had
captured doughboys or were captured
by THEM.
There were girls in that LOO that
had police records, girls of the street,
and they went away without necessary
medical examination. which II 1t had
been made would have prevented some
Of them at least from embarking for
America. Two of the white girls, to my
personal knowledge. started for the
United States with babies OF negro
fathers. There were four other cases
of the same sort that did not know Of
personally.
Army Authorities Warned.
Not until the latter part Of the Pc
Rod in which they were arriving In
America was there any attempt at medi-
cal supervision. and then only after II
repeatedly had been shown to the army
authorities that these women were not
ut to be a part OF Americas citizenship.
believe much Of the trouble was caused
by the fact that the army offered to send
to America without charge the girls mar
ried to soldiers. II the soldier had
known that he would have to pay
wife's passage at prevailing rates 1 be-
lieve that there would not have BEEN 90
many marriages contracted.
I'VE found the majority OF marriages
had been made on very short acQuaint-
ance, and some of the girls boasted that
they did not intend TO live with their
husbands after they arrived In the United
States They said they had married
merely to get here. I will not say that
All of the girls were like this but tners
were FAR too many We learned that on
one former American liner hve brides
were under lock- and key when they
reached New York because of their mis-
conduct on the trip. Several were ar
rested for theft.
Il established instruction classes IN the
concentration camps for the brides Few
had any knowledge of Aperica- Some
believed that they could step TO te'e-
phone booth and call to their husbands
| in Portland. Ore. to come down 10 ihe
ship to meet them They would nave
been In sore need IL II had not been foi
the work of the Red Cross. We have
done all we could. but II is pity tina,
Z! the Government could not have stepped
/ in and made careful examination TO de
termine who should and who should moi
be permitted to land in America
Film Made on Ship.
The Lapland called at Halifax on tn
wav hither and landed officers and sol
diers of the Canadian army and theii
wives. bringing ITS first cabin. 30 sec
ond cabin and one lonesome steerag'
messenger, accredited to the British Mn
istry OF Shipping, to this port pictur'
play company, of which Miss Eve How
lett OF New Zealand is this star an'
George Layton leading character
filmed a part of a yellow peril dram'
on the trip a { the Laplander pier; IN
p ctures were begun aboard the Whit
Star liner Olympic The plot Is based OF
an attempt OF the yellow races to over
run the white folks Of the world.
-Four clergymen, who have oeei
preaching among the soldiers for tn
last six months, came back by the Lap
Hand. They are the Rev. DR.. Charlie
Bayard Mitchell of St Paul. Bishop
the NJ. e. Church: the Rev. DR.. Harol
Paterson Of the Washington Height
Baptist Church, the Rev. DR.. A s. {
Clarke Of the Second Presbyterial
Church of Evanston. Ill. and the Rev
iDr. A. NJ. Brodie of the First Presns
lterian Church Of Wichita. who will, a
the head OF the commission appointe'
lby the President. present TO the Govern
ment a report entitled War and tn
Religious outlook" Dr. Brodie said h
had no fear for the spiritual welfar
of the soldiers who had fought on tn
battlehelds of France.
Other arrivals were Royal Dixor
writer of nature books; Brig.-Gen.
w. Battle. Assistant Surgeon-General o
the North Carolina National Guard
Carlos Aguirre. Capt X. c. Bancroft
Tokoturo Nagase, Japanese importer Q
; this city; Miss Anna Stewart. secretar
Of Bernard Baruch. and Marshall Mol
gan.