Evening star., 1942-09-10
Mrs. Marsha all
Urges Service
Wives to Work
1t WW Ease Agony
OF Waiting, She Tells
Club Leaders
By Lisbeh SoIHne,
Star staff Correspondent.

BALTIMORE, Md, Sept. 1o.--Re-
lieve the mental agony of waiting
for your men in the armed services
by work, was the advice given to
American womanhood yesterday by
Mrs. George C. Marshall, wife of
the Army chief of staff.
There is not a more difficult
word in the English language than
waiting" she said. II know of no
panacea except work. This the
Army wives have found by long
experience and that is why they
work wherever they are throughout
the country"
Mrs. Marshall addressed approx
imately 100 women club leaders
from the Sd Army Service Com
mand territory, including Virginia,
Maryland, Pennsylvania and the
District of Columbia, which recently
was made an independent service
command
The luncheon session at which
Mrs. Marshall spoke was part OF an
all-day conference sponsored by the
women's interests section OF the
War Department Bureau of Public
Relations and intended to acquaint
club leaders with the various
branches of the Army in which
women are most concerned. Mrs.
Emily Newell Blair, chief of the
women's interests section, was in
charge.
Regarding Army wives in Wash
ington, and am one of them" Mrs.
Marshall continued, II must say
that our husbands might as we'll be
in London, for all we see of them.
MY suggestion to women who go
to different parts of the country
or travel overseas, accompanying
their husbands in the armed serv-
ices, is this: Do not carry your
home town along with you. When
in Rome, do as the Romans do
Do not ever be critical of local Gus
toms. You will find that there is
usually very good reason behind
such customs"
"And to you who are rooted In
the place where you live today, I
have this to say: Make the stranger
within your midst feel that she is
wanted" Mrs. Marshall said.
'I wish to say to those who really
want to do something personal and
valuable for the soldiers-write to
them. To any one who has seen
such large concentrations of men
as Army posts are. there is nothing
more moving than to watch the
men when mail is distributed. If
you had ever seen the face of
soldier when he receives letter
from home, you would know what I
talk about" she told her hearers.
Urging the women to maintain
high civilian morale, Mrs. Mar
shall concluded by saying: "You
women are what the soldiers think
Of, what they dream OF coming back
to. You symbolic what they fight
for-their home, their family, their
country. Do not fail them!"
In Australia today even middle
aged and old women work In heavy
munitions factories because Of man.
power shortage, 1t. Col. Frederick
G. Sutton, chief Of the Australian
Military Mission to this country,
told the group.
"The tasks performed in NUM-
tions factories by middle-aged and
old women are arduous and dim
cult" he said, "but they do 1t as
their contribution to Australia's ma
tional defense.
1t. Col. Sutton also spoke OF
women's anguish of waiting"
ever since September, 1899,
when Australia entered the war,
our women have had their men
taken away from them and sent to
distant parts of the world" he said.
To-day the dreadfulness Of war has
come to our very shores. Our Aus
tralian women have for long time
known the anguish of waiting"
Col. Oveta Culp Hobby, director
of the WAACS, also spoke, explain
ing the development of the organi-
zation she heads
Others from Washington at the
speakers table were Mrs. Archibald
MacLeish, American Red Cross, di-
rector of volunteer services; Capt.
Stewart Beach, Bureau of Public
Relations of the War Department.;
Mrs. George Patton, wife of Maj.
Gen Patton, and Col. Ernest Dupuy,
Bureau of Public Relations, War De-
partnent.
Representing the Sd Service Com
mand were Col. George w. Easter
day, director of personnel, and 1t.
Col. Paul j. McGahan, assistant
public relations officer.