Arizona republican., 1919-04-20

denial and thrift But above all they have learned that the world is not bounded by the home, the particular social set in which one moves, or even by the city or state in which one lives.
 It would seem that there was noth- ing more for our women to do. Well, then, let us look into our backwards, as it were Every social worker, every suffrage worker, knows that it was next to impossible to interest many women in any movement for commu- nifty welfare. he society woman was too busy with bridge or golf or both to care. he majority of so-called club women were too busy with self-im- provement and uplift work, amateur music, amateur art and amateur dra- matics to notice the slums, alleys and vice haunts
 If it is q good thing, and no one 1 disputes the question, to provide wholesome and liberal entertainment | for the soldier in cantonments and even behind the front lines, how can it be less of a good thing to provide wholesome and plentiful public recre- | ation? It is not a hard matter to transfer ones enthusiasm from "soldier cities to ones own city. Why not start at once to plan for adequate parks, well equipped playgrounds, ball parks, swimming pools, community centers. and even municipal theaters There is no good reason in the world why some of these things should not become immediately available in every city. town and hamlet in the United States. Wherever there is one school house we can soon have a community center. We can have lectures, enter tainments, even moving pictures. We can have pleasant place where the people of the community can congre- gate for mutual enjoyment and inter- course.
 While on the subject of the school house let us take up another possibility from this source. If schools and class es were @ good thing for the man while a soldier, why not continue them when he returns to civilian life and make the job thorough by admitting his wife
 sister, mother, sweetheart2 In short every school house in the United States should have evening schools for the
 benefit of those who cannot attend in the day time and wish to avail them selves of further opportunities. Some may want industrial and vocatIona
 training, some cultural, some commer- cial, women may want any of these or perhaps a newly married matron or shortly-to- be married glri, who has never learned to cook or sew and knows
 nothing of home management, house,
 hold decoration, etc, etc, will want in
 struction in these lines. Foreign borr
 men and women will welcome an op- portunity to learn English and some thing about our customs and govern ment. Certain evenings should be de- voted to instruction and others tc
 wholesome recreation.
 Again, it is not such a long step iron
 our interest in safeguarding our sol
 diers from social vices to transfer tha
 interest in continued safeguarding 0
 him when we return him to the hom,
 circle, only We will kill two birds witt
 one stone this time for we will be safe
 guarding our small boys and incident
 ally our small girls who are still in tn
 nursery.
 From an interest in the housing an,
 clothing and feeding of the soldier it |
 but short step to continue that in
 terest back to his home life among us If it is good for the soldier to hav
 sanitary quarters when he is off anC
 away from us at camp and cantonmen |. 1t is doubly good that he should havt
 sanitary housing when he lives anon. us. Just as a chain is no stronger thai it's weakest link, just so a communit,
 is no healthier or cleaner than it's dirt
 jest alley. It does not matter that cer
 tain residence sections have homes tha range from comfortable bungalows t veritable palaces, with green lawns an, perfect driveways, the city is judged for it's civic conscience by the housin, conditions of the poor and moderatel, off workers. If housing means health
 and it is generally agreed that it does then to safeguard community health let us get rid of slums, tenements, al leys and unfit houses.
 If it is a good thing for the soldie to be guarded from exploitation an, profiteering by the wise provision O the canteen system, where he can sup ply his needs at practically cost, wh, is it not equally %ise to look forwar, to his return when he shall of hi awakened knowledge expect to fin these same conditions I am suggest ing municipal or public markets wher the profit system is eliminated for tn benefit of all
 All these things are surely coming, fo \ it must follow as the night the day that the men who have made this vic tory possible, the men whose live stood between us and dstruction, wi demand and receive just and adequat living conditions. Then why not giv fA fa,fr .i- { |.