Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1941-10-13
Women Form Group
To Tell Country
About New Army
Mrs. Roosevelt Speaker
Before Unit Formed
To 'Humunize' Reports

Thirtv-one women, representing
10000 900 OF their sex all over the
country, were organized today by
the War Department into council
to tell the feminine half of the
country about the American Army.
The delegation, IMPLYING cross
section of national womens groups,
was told by Brig. Gen. A. D. Surles,
War Department public relations
director, that men ARE tradltlonally
clumsy in dealing with the fem
mime world
In addition, he said, the Army is
tradition ally uncommunicatlve.
Therefore. the Womens Interest
Section of the War Department,
headed by Mrs. William P. HOBBY,
plans to inform women on the
recreation. nutrition and spiritual
welfare of the soldiers, in Wnlch
women are most interested, through
members of their own sex.
Letters pouring into the war De
partment. Mrs Hobby told the
group. meeting throughout today at
the Munitions Building, have re-
vealed that women are not inter-
ested in a new ordnance plant at
Houston or a new bomber at San
Diego. Through the newspapers.
radio and the new advisory council
to the Women's Interest Section, sne
hopes to give the women human
lied information they want.
Army men know as little ABOUT
the outside world as the general
public knows about the Army, Mrs.
/ Roosevelt told the group at
/ luncheon meeting at the Ralelgh
! Hotel
/ Discussion and information CEN
tiers are needed in United Service
( ORGANIZATION buildings, so that
hundreds of inquiries on selectlVe
service and other defense problems
/ now pouring into Washington, may
be answered on the spot, she said.
Instead of asking some one IN
their own community" Mrs. Roose-
welt said. these people write to me-
A second contribution which the
new advisory council could make,
she said, is the lettering OF morale
in each local community.
Make people know it is worth de-
Tending the country in which they
live" she told the group. Such work
is not as dramatic as being an air
raid warden, she declared, yet 1t Will
bring about what Gen. Marshall
wants" aiding Army morale
She urged that a master list OF
all defense volunteers in the country
be kept in Washington.
Douglas Miller, author of You
Can't Do Business With Hitler" also
was to talk at the luncheon. Late
this afternoon the Council was to
hear from Brig. Gen. Frederick H.
Osborn, morale chief of the Army,
and Miss Mary I. Baker, food con-
sultant to the Secretary of War.
This morning. Gen. George c.
Marshall. chief of staff, in an off,
the-record talk, emphasized the in
f1uence of American women on their
men in the Army and asked for their
cooperation with the new Council,
The efficient organization of
Womens units in Great Britain was
described by Mrs. Dwight F. Davis,
director of volunteer special services
| for the American Red Cross, who
recently returned from England.
They did not seem all to want to
be generals" Mrs Davis said.
The advance training taken by
women in the Auxiliary Territorial
! Service, the Women's Royal Naval
Service and the Women's Auxiliary
Air Force, regular forces of the Brit
/ ish Army, have been responsible
for much of their success, she said.
Suggests Land Army"
The women students in agricul-
! tural colleges here, Mrs. Davis said,
might we'll be organized into a per-
manent women's land army like
the 1000 agricultural students who
have been recruited in England.
The Women's Voluntary Services
is Just as highly organized as the
paid groups. Mrs Davis added, run
ming mobile canteens, sewing on
soldiers buttons, providing hot
! drinks to bombed nelghDorhOooS ana
conducting salvage campaigns.
! Referring to estimates that house
hold salvage has already saved
Great Britain go shiploads OF paper
and enough metal waste to build
10000 tanks. Mrs. Davis declared
that she shuddered at the waste in
the United States. Such a salvage
campaign activity was recently pro-
NOTED in this country by the Office
of Production Management.
Among the Washington women
selected for the new council are DR..
Kathryn McHale, American Associa-
ton of University Women; Miss
Marion Britt, National Federation OF
Business and Professional Womens
Clubs; Mrs. Frank A. Linzel, Ma
tional Conference of Christians and
Jews. and Miss Vella Winner Gen.
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