The Washington herald., 1921-04-16
URGES AMERICAN TOYS
FOR AMERICAN CHILDREN

FOR AMERICAN CHILDREN
!, american made toys for Ameri-
can boys and girls is urged by Mrs.
Martha Pattee Ridge, of Chicago,
humanitarian worker. writer and
society woman, who is stopping at
the New willard while in attend
ance at the Pen Women's Conven-
tion as President Of the Illinois
auxiliary.
Mrs. Ridge. who brought with her
an exhibit Of the Jessie Raleigh Nc
cutcheon dolls for the Book Fair,
depiores the fact that American toy
factories. q product Of the war W hen
German made toys were taboo, are
rapidly shutting down because of
resumption OF trade with foreign
toy manufacturers.
How can We expect American
children TO grow up into patriots
when in the very nursery we give
them toys of foyeign manufacture,
forcing our own makers to close
their plants? Give your chiidren n
American made toys--it is a practi-
cal apd natural way OF inculating
American principles" says Mrs.
Ridge.
With Mrs. Ridge this plea for
use of American made toys is no
hobby. neither is 1t dictated by
practical considerations. During the
war she was here in Washington,
on the reception committee of the
American. Red Cross. She has tray,
eled widely. written a great deal,
but as size puts IL. ..I have lived
volumes, where I have written only
chapters"
As a worker for prison reform,
she. became interested in the Raleigh
dolls. especially the Good Fairy
creation, which Judge Ben Lindsey,
Of Denver. always has upon his desk
and which is used in prisons. Then,
living in Chicago. where an i'm
portant toy manufacturing industry
was built up during the war, Mrs.
Ridge noticed the falling Off in
American patronage as soon as the
German industry began to show
signs of revival.
SOCIETY GIRL BEFORE
TAKING UP SOCIAL WORK.
Before / became interested in
prisons / was Just a society GIRL
Mrs. Ridge explains by way of in
PRODUCTION to the manner in which
she learned the pleasure of being
Of service to humanity. }.
TT was in Tangiers that / was
first struck with the sad lot of those
who, unfortunately for them, must
be shut away from the rest of the
world. for the good of society. Then,
again. while in Cordova, Spain.
visited some of the prisons there.
and when I returned to the United
States I saw the great field of op-
portunity here for one who would
interest herself in the ameliJration
of prison conditions"
For several years before the war
Mrs. Ridge served on the Board of
Charities and Corrections of the
State of Montana, where she did
noble work.
Women can be of great service
to the community in work of that
sort" she pointed out. "Humani-
tartan work. teaching. working for
civic and social betterment, all Of
these phases of life fall peculiarly
within woman's sphere"
After all. II Is what we give In
life that really counts" Mrs. Ridge
says. This is part of her creed, and
she infuses 1t into her life and
writings.
During the war while in Wash
ington Mrs. Ridge collected an
abundance of material for later lit
erary endeavors.
Il have written about Washing
ton before the war and during the
war" Mrs. Ridge observed, Now Il
shall carry away with me the i'm
pressions of the Capital after the
war"
Just Inside the Door is one or
Mrs. Ridges books. which was well
received. lit she treats of Wash:
ington in war time, giving many lit
tie intimate Impressions of those
hurly-burly days when women and
girls were working day and night
to keep the men at the front.
Another side of Mrs. Ridges writ
ing is shown in The Battle of Coro-
nado." written in ;he gay glitter Of
a summer beside the blue waters of
Coronado. 1t Is a delicious satire on
the army and navy officers who
faced the powder Of the ball room
at this California beach. ..~
F.. w. G.