St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1943-12-10

ave Deen accustomed 10 saying
time) in training. The visit to
I Fort Des Moines was made possible
for me on my return from Kansas
City where 1 had been to attend a
church conference.
About 1920 a. m. on Tuesday,
Rev. E. M. Whaley, pastor of the
Burns Methodist Church, Des
Moines, drove me out to Fort Des
Moines. We went to the Public
Relations office where we were met
by a very courteous white officer II
regret that 1 have forgotten her
name) who introduced US to 1t.
Catherine Godfrey who was our
very pleasant and capable guide
for our visit.
Gracious and very efficient, 1t.
Godfrey is graduate of Tuskegee
Institute and was on the staff Of
the Birmingham World before join
ing the WAC. It was her expert
ence as a newspaper woman that
gave her the opportunity of being
placed in the Public Relations
office. 1 believe that there is one
other Negro, a photographer, in
this office.
After stopping for a minute to
speak to the chief of chaplains on
the post we were escorted to the
receiving room. AS T write this
story I am not sure that the place
is called the receiving room, but it
is the place where the new recruits
are brought to first, assigned to a
company and sent to the mess hall.
The officer in charge told US that
the mess hall is kept open twenty
four hours on the days that they
receive new girls, because usually
when they come they are hungryl
Our next visit was at the store
room or "wearhouse." 1t. Evelyn
Smith, charming former Oklahoma
school teacher, took US around in
this large building, where the girls
are QUILTED. I believe that every
new recruit is given five shirts,
four pair of hosiery 1.-TWO pair are
cotton and two are rayon), four
handerkerchiefs, four different
kinds of caps and hat, pajamas,
skirts, overcoat, shoes, overshoes
and other necessary items of dress.
We were shown the largest and
smallest shoes worn by the WACs.
A cute little 2hA was setting in a
1874 sized shoe in the shoe de-
partment.
Feet Grow
1t. Smith told US that usually all
of the girls feet get bigger after
coming to camp and that she is
wearing a larger shoe now. There
is one WAC who wears a size three
shoe and possibly one that wears a
size IL on the post. While this
matter of clothing is being men,
toned I must say that the girls
look smart in their uniforms. They
walk erect and salute with snap
and a smile that makes one take
notice! 1t is a fact that the WACs
smile whenever they salute. This
woman's army is a smiling and
courteous, as well as efficient one.
It is an efficient one. I was told
that the WACs are in great de-
mand and that there are more de-
mands than can be filled. Many
post commanders in the regular
Army prefer women to men in
many capacities, even to the driv-
ing of the big trucks.
Women Do Better Job
In talking to Captain Frances
Alexander, she expressed the
opinion that the women do a better
job than the men for at least two
reasons. First, all of the women in
the WAC have volunteered, while
most of the men have been drafted,
and in the second place, the women
realize that they must do a job bet
ter on the average than the men to
be accepted. I said I guess it is
something like Negro-white rela-
tionships. The Negro must do his
job better to hold it. I think an
other reason for the superiority Of
the WACs in many respects is the
fact that the educational require
ments for the Woman's Auxiliary
Corps are higher than those for the
Army. 1t. Smith, who is a grad
uate of the Illinois Normal College
at Bloomington, H., told me that
she had joined the WACs to hasten
the end of the war so that she
could then establish her home and
that she did not intend to remain
in the military after the duration.
Her remark made me realize that
women will probably make a career
in the regular Army in the post war
world. This is not a very pleasant
thought to one who has conscien-
tious objections to war.
Sees Dorothy Martin
We met Chaplain Reddick, the
Negro chaplain on the post. He Is
a Baptist minister from Georgia,
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