The Washington herald., 1922-03-05
"Stay-at- Homes Patriotic.

4, To the Editor, The Washington Herald:
Anent the soldier bonus, here arc
some vital statistics" on the stay
at-homes which the average former
/ soldier is not familiar with, or does
not take into consideration, wheh
he thinks of his own hard luck
and what is due him.
The District Of Columbia may be
taken as an average community III
the United. States during the war
period Tin many ways 1t was really
in worse shape because negiected)
The average father and mother mere
were working people living on =
small salary: but they were as pa
| triotic as the average parent l..
|, ,ihcr commun ties-their children
equally SO. (Some of the speakers
, N presenting their statements be-
tore the Senate and House com'ni.
tee IN favor of District suffrage sarI
,he District citizens were the most
patriotic in the United states. As
| they bought more bonds, gave more
! tc war charity and sent more Doys
/ 10 war than any community OF equal
| population in the country. Well
comparisons are odious-and -lor'aI
rride will have Its fling.
The boys being drafted, the gov
,rninent ordered that only war es-
sentials be manufactured. Transpor
| tation service was greatly curtatlcj
on order from the President. A hro-
rie.s day established. Farm produc:
became scarce. store stocks depicted.
/ Building operations. except for wax
prrposes, prohibited. Food prices
soar ed sky high. Houses and -oom-
almost unobtainable, and then only
= a. exorbitant rates. Help, e1ic. en-
store clerks, restaurant workers
domestic servants. delivery was,
drivers, street car. men, all ba liE
! needed, were not to be had at any
,rice. Confusion ieikned. business
vas disorganIzcd, and c0nfrsiou
wors. confounded seemed the ordos
tf the day.
Then, like a mushroom boom
town in a Western country. came
more than 100000 war workers.
brought to Washington with nc
special provision made to care Tor
them. These war workers equaled
ne-third of the city's population
Girls, by the thousands. strangers
, to the city. were crowded three and
four or. Ave and six in a room
strangers to each other. under So
cial and sanitary conditions worse
! than in most recruit camps. and al
the mercy Of profiteering landladies
Most of these profiteeriuG land
lords were foreigners to Washing
ton-men and women who had the
business foresight. to come tc
| Washington before the local citi.
! zens had grasped the significance OF
! the war.
Salaries remained almost station
! ary. Living costs scared amazing.
ly. The natives and the war work
er were equally hard hit. The
usual leaders in civic organtza-
tions were employed elsewhere in
war work. The salaried person was
! between the two extremes OF wal
service. mangled and forgotten. OF
at least. neglected. (True all over
the country
when the housing conditions had
reached the high limit OF sardine
racking-and everything except
/ discomfort and self-denial scarce
the Coldest winter ever expert
enced here visited the city-no heir
no coal-no food. As " that were
not ero"-h. the "fu" arrived.
The "Hu" epide-uic swept down o.
the city like an invading army with
death and destruction In its wake
The city was helpless. Most of the
doctors nurses. dentists and drug
rists were of to war. Drug stores
short OF competent clerks. Dru~
stocks depleted with no hope of
rettir~ sunniies--for the slogan
was 'the soldier boys first"
Thousands upon thousands we're
soon DOWN with the "hu." They
died like rats-men. women. girls.
boys. children. Frequently there
were two dead In one room. In
MANY cases three were sick or
dying in single room. No doctor.
no nurse. no medicine. And so
many of them strangers to the city
-voune hoys and girls away from
horne. helping here at the call OF
Uncle Sam. In that epidenic Of
ts1S-1s19 winter. 2.41s died of ('hu''
alone: pneumonia carried off many
an unlucky person: deaths from
other causes were Ear bevond the
average Of years precedinr the
war. Nearly 10000 died In Wash
in~ton in 1918.
Bodies were carted to graveyards
bv WAGON loads at n'sht-boys and
~i~!s. s.-aneers In the city. with
o.. r-fe-S- s~-e. war Eorkers. most
a