Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1944-03-31
By KATHLEEN NORRIS


thousands of women after the
war, and for that reason it de-
serves a serious answer. A
wiser, older wife than Ann
wouldn't need any answer, but
most of today's service wives
are neither old nor wise, and
perhaps little heroic advice
may be of use to them.
Heroic, yes. AIMS situation
demands real heroism, for these
are the circumstances. She met
her Philip year ago; a captain
in the army. They were married
three months later in all the
glory of uniforms, decorations,
crossed swords. Three months
of young welded bliss followed,
then Phil went off to service in
Italy. Last week news came
that he is being sent home, the
same strong vigorous Phil, but
with one eye gone, and his left
foot amputated.
Poor Ann Elizabeth! She is only
20; she was so proud of her soldier
husband! Now to know that through
all their lives he will be lame, that
there will be no more dancing, ten
mis-, hikes; that he will not enjoy
football games, movies, shows-that
he may even have trouble getting
job that will adequately take care
of them-well, it's too much for
Ann, and since the cablegram came
she has sunk into tears, sulks, RACES.
Her mother writes me about it.
No Way Out, Only Through.
"How can any one of us be cruel
enough to condemn this joyous child
of mine to what will be a life of
slavery and poverty?" says her let
ter. "And on the other hand, how
can we meet poor Phil with the
announcement that he ought to free
Ann Elizabeth for happier and
more normal destiny? 1t seems to
be a dreadful impasse? What's the
right way out?"
My answer to AIMS mother is:
My dear good woman, it isn't an
impasse at all, and there's no way
out The only way is THROUGH.
If every wife, sister, daughter,
mother of an injured man is going to
sneak out of her sacred responsible
ties after this war, We'll have a
world full of suicides on the one
hand, and detached, selfish, shallow
no, not women, on the other hand.
I'll not call them women. YAM
pires, moral irresponsibles, heart
less shrews-anything you like, but
not women.
Real women, scores of them, have
already faced this crisis, in Eng
land, yes, and in America, too. They
have met the returning soldiers with
courage and confidence. They have
had plans made; this has been pos
sible, that has been arranged, ev-
erything is going to be all right.
One of our most popular movie stars
has a wooden leg; one of our great
singers a wooden arm; engineers,
inventors, scientists are often physi-
cally handicapped men, world-fa-
nous statesmen have been cripples;
lIlCl1 oAtSh oSSlll
a spur not only to worldly success,
but to infinitely more valuable
growth in character and soul.
as Ann Elizabeth to sacrifice the
best years of her life to the care of
man she did not even know a
year ago?" demands her agonized
mother. The answer is another
question. What did Phil sacrifice
to protect everything that makes
Ann Elizabeth's life safe and good?
If Ann is a real woman she will
welcome her husband home to all
the love and comfort of which he
has been dreaming. She will find
out what he CAN do, instead of
brooding upon what he can't, and
so lay her plans that Phil will mar
vel at the joy, the completeness Of