The Washington times., 1919-01-23
DENY YANKS WILL
G0BACK TOMARRY

NEW YORK, Jan. 23.-Are Ameri.
can men VINO have been overseas GO
ing back to marry French girls?
NO is the answer of fourteen out
OF fifteen returned officers, according
to Y. w: {. A. representative here
VINO has been interviewing return
ing officers on this subject.
The consensus of opinion of those
interviewed gives the reason thus:
The French girl is not what American
men call a pal. She knows how to
cook, TO sew, to make love. She can
be sweetheart. She is not a pal.
Her horizon too often is limited to
the home. Her life is lived within
doors. She can never replace the
American girl for all around intelli-
gence. activities and ambitions. Most
OF all the American men miss in her
the playfellow they have known at
home-the girl with the tennis rae
quet. the girl who loves to hike long
miles and TO swim and ride.
Parisian Life Sole Lure.
Wlll the men go back to France"
absolutely" say returned Ameri-
cans. But that is because OF the
call Of Paris, the carefree life in the
critics over there, the thrill and the
romance Of the atmosphere of France.
In fact, most of the men are coming
pack TO marry the girls they left be-
hind, and then they probably will try
to return to France and take their
American girl wives with them to see
the world"
But 1t may not be i'll advised for
the American girl to say to the re-
turning men, You'd better hurry"
For the Y. w. c. A. is trying to help
the French girl catch up" with her
american sister in outdoor activities
This organization is sending women
over all the time to teach outdoor
sports of every SORT and even now
many French girls have discarded the
much slandered French heel. In fact
there is a whole island in the Loire
river given over to outdoor life and
physical training.
over 1l5 secretaries are in France
doing after-war work. The Red Cross
nurses huts were built and equipped
by the Red Cross. They were tlen
turned over to the Y. w. c. A. as
cooperating organization, and the
latter has furnished the workers for
the huts and maintained the upkeep
or them. About fifty of the secre-
taries now across are engaged in
this work. With the return to this
country of the nurses, the Y. w. c. A.
secretaries thus engaged probably
will be transferred to work OF other
kinds.
Mostly College Graduates.
None but highly trained women are
being sent over by the Y. w. c. A.
Almost all who have gone, or are
going over are college graduates All
have had experience along some par
ticular line of work. Many are in
dustrial experts.
Some have been professors in lead =
ing colleges. Miss Margaret Morris,
formerly professor OF history at Mt.
Holyoke College, Mass, is at the
head of the nurses work. Miss Mary
Mcdowell. known as Aunt Mary of
the Stockyards, of Chicago, perhaps
more familiar with the twists and
kinks in the woman's industrial world
than almost any other American wom-
an, is in France, doing a special piece
of work for the association
Miss Mary Dingman, of New York
city ana Paterson, n. j., who went
over when America went into the
fray. and who has supervised building
and maintaining OF the sixteen foyers,
is now in this country and expects
to return to France very soon to di-
rect The industrial work.
II seems probable that if the Y W.
c. A. is able to complete the program
started III France, French women will
be able to meet American freedom
with new but intensely real French
freedom.