The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-09-03

Do you happen to know anything about that splendid organization which is one of Uncle sam's greatest assets-'eThe Girl Scouts?"
 Of course you know a great deal about the other-"The Boy soouts"- and all the fine, heroic. manly things that the members of this organization have done.
 But
 With "The Girl Scouts" 1t Is diff ferent, especially in the south, where the movement, in a measure, is quite new to us, and which has only recent 1y reached this section of the United States of America.
 Birmingham. always abreast with the times and progressive In all of its activities. Is particularly fortunate in having as an organizer and a promo ter of "The Girl Scouts" movement one of the most charming women who has ever graced society in the Magic City.
 May I introduce Mrs. John Shields Coleman7
 Mrs. Coleman, who has lived In Birmingham just year, possesses all the charms and qualifications which are needed to equip her as a leader in any movement.
 Mrs. Coleman-beautifu11 edu- cated, linguist of pronounced tal- ant and exquisite cultural discrimina- tfon--is Californian-fTom the Golden West-endowed with all the progre ssiveness and ambition for anything she undertakes that the people of that section of the country are famed for.
 Student nt oxford and the Sorbonne
 Mrs. Coleman became interested in saThe Girl Scout" movement in America largely through her friend ship with Mrs. Herbert c. Hoover, who, as everyone knows, has been largely responsible for the magnifi- cent success achieved by this institu- tfon.
 Mrs. Coleman and Mrs. Hoover are fraternity mates, Mrs. Coleman being a member of the chapter of the Kappa Kappa Gamma at the Univer- sity of California. of which she is 8 graduate, and Mrs. Hoover's frater- nifty membership being in the chapter at Stamford university.
 Mrs. Coleman had gone abroad, after her graduation at the University of California, and was taking a course at the famous old Oxford university-the seat of learning where for generations the greatest English scholars. authors and states men have taken their degrees.
 Mrs. Coleman's tutor was Miss Lodge, the sister of Sir Oliver Lodge, whom Mrs. Coleman knows very well. and while she was qualifying for her doctorate-making the Renaissance and the Pre- e-Renaissance" her thesis, Miss Lodge suggested to her that q Dante Special" had been inaugurated at Oxford, and knowing that Mrs. Coleman was a fluent Italian scholar, mentioned that she choose the "Di- vine Comedy" as her thesis, going to Italy to study.
 Mrs. Coleman acquiesced, and went to Italy. where the Dante atmosphere and the charm and exotic environ ment of that marvellous country sur rounded her with unusual advantages for her work.
 Then Came War
 Just at this juncture Mrs. Coleman's studies were interrupted by the out break of the great World war, which did away with practically all literary ambitions, and sent her with hun dfeds of other splendid noble minded women, into war work.
 sIn a colony of TOO Americans in Italy Mrs. Coleman said in telling me of her war work, i've established and maintained a hospital for three years for the soldiers.
 "Then the word come from France that our American boys were in need of sttention-this was in 1917, just after America entered the war and from headquarters in Paris a re- quest was sent to the Italian em- bassy for We to come at once to Paris and assist there.
 T was the only English speaking person who crossed the border at that time. The general headquarters real ized that center must be anal gamated and organized, and this was done with the result that over forty thousand men were taken care of by