Evening star., 1919-05-11
MANY YANKS CONTRIBUTORS
TO THE MOTHERS BOOK"
Mrs. Ballineton Booth of Y. NJ. C. A.
Brings Home Close to Sons
Serving With A. EFF.

The book Of the mothers Of Ameri-
can soldiers has been brought back
home.
1t is a book without pageSget the
story that was written on thou
sands of leaves told OF the secret of
American victory. It was story of
the love Of sons for their mothers.
American doughboys wrote 1t, under
the stark trees OF conquered grounds.
In the mud Of the trenches and amid
the desolation of battleflelds. 1t was
just a series Of brief messages to
patient women at home. waiting for
their boys to come back
The Mothers Book" has returned
with tho American woman who car
ried It out Of shell-shattered Verdun,
oehind attacking waves Of khaki, un-
til the wake of the advance halted.
long after the armistice. at the banks
OF the Rhine. Her name is Maud Bal
her uniform, through all the long
mother-pilgrimage, she wore the red
triangle of the Y. NJ. c. A.
Book Solution Of Problem.
Mrs. Ballington Booth made 1t her
mission to bring the presence Of the
mothers of the A. E. F. close to their
sons. How to do 1t. among boys 5000
miles away from home, was her prob
lem. And THE Mothers Book" was
the solution.
1t is black leather loose leaf blank
book OF octave size. Imprinted in
gold upon its cover is the title.
Leather bands have been sewed about
IT, ending In two leather handles, so
that 1t may be more easily carried
So Mrs. Booth had it made when,
turning from the prison work to
which she has devoted years, she en-
listed with the Y. NJ. c. A. army of
civilians and prepared to go over
seas.
'She carried 1t across the ocean, like
a symbol Of all the mother-love of
America. Inside it were hundreds of
loose leaves. blue ruled; each leaf per-
forated that it might be divided into
TOUR parts; each part just big enough
for one doughboy to write his mes
sage of love and reinsurance to
mother" Thousands of additional
leaves went with the bearer of the
book, SO that 1t would always be full
while there were American sons to
write in 1t.
First to Reach Verdun.
And so The Mothers Book" and Mrs
Ballington Booth came to Verdun
while the battle still stormed at the
front and long before other war work
service had begun in the ruined city
The Y. NJ. c. A. entertainers were
with Mrs. Booth in Verdun. One was
Aubrey Peters. a tenor, of Boston. who
had worked for f1ve months at Eagle
Hut in New York city before he went
overseas; the other Edwin Parmenter
an tmpersonator, of Swathmore. Pa
The three used Verdun as their head
quarters and went out together every
night to entertain the boys. Where
ever they found them. And with them
always went 1.-The Mothers Book"
One night they went to Beveaux
Five hundred men were stationed
here. Beveaux has no facilities for
giving an entertainment. Rain was
falling-rain fell almost all the time.
Mrs. Booth said-yet If the entertain
ment was to be given at all it must
be given outdoors.
A makeshift stage was set up and
a piece of canvas stretched above it.
Candles were ranged along the edge
Of the platform as footlights. For
spots there were two motor cycle
lamps. And on the stage. for the ac-
compartment to the singer. was set a