Evening star., 1943-04-04
Happier Children Will Mean Better World,
Aim of Mrs. Dougherty$ Tueless Efforts
Prominent MatrOn
Has Devoted Years
To Needs of Young
Bv Katharine Brooks

By Katharine Brooks
IF the world is ever going to
amount to anything better it will
be because of what we do for
the children" SAYS Mrs. John AL
Ian Dougherty. And, consider
ing those words, one realizes that
they apply to all races and all
times. Mrs. Dougherty for
many years has worked long, sys-
tematically and very effectively
for various charities having to
do with the betterment of chill
dren. Mrs. Dougherty came to
Washington after the death in
China of Capt. Dougherty, US. NJ.
and joined the group of attrac-
tive widows in the National
Capital.
That was during the Wilson
administration and she immedi-
ately took a leading part in
charity work here-always for
the undernourished and under
privileged babies and children.
Now she is deferring her going
North to her country home,
Little Cedars at Westport,
Conn.,, to do the WORK Of chair
man of the campaign for the
Save the Children Federation.
This group of Women-under
the local Craftsmanship of Mrs.
Irene Caldwell-are supplement-
ing the work of the Frontier
Nurses in supplying clothing, as
well as games, books, pencils and
paper for the little tots and
school boys and girls in the
mountains of Virginia, West Vir-
ginia, Tennessee and Kentucky
and the Brazos Valley of Texas,
the Ozark region of Missouri and
the Salt River Valley in Arizona.
Mrs. Dougherty tells Of the need
of clothing especially, for when
school closes for summer vaca-
tion the clothes are taken away
from the boys and girls and they
are obliged to be nude through
the summer so as to have clothes
to return to school in the au-
tumn.
The local group of the fedora
ton opened its drive for clothing
Thursday and will make an in
tensive effort through April IA
to collect enough to last these
future citizens for at least a year.
After the drive is overland the
fact that Mrs. Dougherty is
chairman means it will be very
successful-she will go to Little
Cedars to look after her garden,
both vegetable and flower. Last
fall she planted buskwheat, not
for cakes but to enrich the earth
for this spring it will be plowed
under. She feels that she will be
obliged to change the name Of
her place for since she acquired
it only a few years ago the cedars
are no longer little.
Mrs. Dougherty has many
outstanding accomplishments to
her credit, among them four in
augral balls. When President
Harding ruled the great ball after
the inaugural ceremonies out of
plans for his induction into the
office, Mrs. Dougherty took hold
and arranged ball, the proceeds
to be used for the care of the
young.
Another famous ball on her list
of accomplishments is the Po-
licemen's Ball That was given
for the opening of Wardman
Park Hotel and the late Mrs.
Thomas F. Walsh paid all the
expenses in connection with the
event giving the widows and or
phans of members of the Metro
politan Police the tidy sum of
$1,000. The ball was brilliant
affair with ranking Federal Of
ficials and diplomats in attend
ance as we'll as municipal Of
ficials and scores of civic mind
ed men and women of the Ma
tion's Capital.
There were many unusual hap
penings that evening, among
them the finding of the late Mrs.
Walshs necklace. She, of course,
was there and had guests with
her in her box, the chief Of po-
lice. the late Maj Raymond
Pullman among them. He stepped
out into the lobby as the chief
inspector came in from the out
side, where one of Washington's
good billiards was raging. The