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Show Liberty Belles of America Ringing the Death Knell of the Kaiser lip . Pholograph by H.rri. 4 Ewin, T, ' ' W ' " ijt Photojr.ph by H.rrU & E.inf "MAJOR BILLY" WELLBORN ill W ll ' ' ' M,f l MISS FRANCES H. BRADY Of the staff of Provost Marshal J V FY!! i - & ? K f 'Jf ' Assistant to the assistant to, the di- General Crowder: the "encyclo- K&-A fVi 4 , 1 s i !& jl!W'" I rector general of railroads of the made up of representatives of working j tfi! 'C'VV " sMl iLM Man" WaS selected t0 llead the women and employers. 17 'KV it ? - ' civilian workers' branch ot the army "Women," according to this chief of VX rtRAr-f i ' " ( ' ordnance department. There are from the women's industrial army, "should iWU" Vtif M l"Sk. ' i 1 Lfih Vl 4 5000 to . 7000 women working in the not be introduced into a new industry JZfr- ' 13 ordnanceofficesinWashington.DOC- without careful investigation to deter- WAV Li&J- 7 S3si- .tJlf tor Mann is organizing them, planning ventive work the work of keeping the girls well. You cannot make me '' believe that girls cannot be inspired to take care of their, health. The average norma! girl becomes very In-terejted In-terejted in her health if she finds diet and exercise improve her complexion and make her hair g!o?sy instead o? dry. Girls can be taught that real beauty is the beautiflcation of the body, not the ornamentation of dress " gewgaws here and there and thin silk waists with thn necks and prominent shoulder blades under theni. And the woman that is line of physique wit! develop an initiative that another can. not have." Patriotettes, Needed Doctor Mann came to wartime Washington from New York, where she was health director of the Department Depart-ment Store Association. She regards as her most important work the establishment estab-lishment of the Xew York health clinic for industrial women, which runs three evenings each week, and where any girl may have a physical examination for twenty-five cents and receive direction as to diet or proper gymnasium work, or, if ill, be sent to a specialist or clinic. "We don't want women in Washington Wash-ington who come here for a good time, for excitement and entertainment," says Doctor Mann. "We want women who come because their country needs their work, women like the five companies com-panies of telephone girls who have g'one over and who have contracted with the Government for the duration of the war." Miss Frances Hawthorne Brady, assistant as-sistant to the assistant to the director direc-tor general of the United States railroad rail-road administration, receives on the ninth floor of the Interstate Com-' Com-' merce Building. She has two brothers overseas, one a corporal, the other a lieutenant of engineers. When she isn't directing the railroads of the land, she is writing the boys. When they got Into khaki she felt that It was up to her to do her bit, and she's doing it valiantly. I asked Miss Brady to tell ms something about her work. "I'ma roustabout." said she. "I look after the movement of all private cars, issue all passes for use by the railroad rail-road administration; attend to the payroll ; do all executive work " Which was just about where I lost track and interrupted to ask where she had received her training as a railroad rail-road man. She laughed and informed me that she had never been inside an office of any description until August 21, 1917, when she went to work for' Oscar A. Price, w ho was directing the Libe;-ty4Loan. Her life from the time of her graduation from a fashionable seminary in Washington Washing-ton until then had been "just a good time." Miss Brady Executive In less than ten months of real work in a world of brainy men Miss Brady earned her present rank and title. She's just as natural an executive as she is a natural girl.. She presses her desk buzzers with determination, but when she opens the drawer of her big flat-top desk, one sees that it's pretty well filled with little stickers, two . service stars to each sticker, each star representing a brother. The assistant to the assistant to Director Di-rector General McAdoo has been running run-ning the offices of the railroad administration ad-ministration ever since Mr. McAdoo went West and Mrs. Price went wita him. She handles more than 600 employes. em-ployes. She finds time to do her share of Red Cross work, for she is th9 organizer of the director generai'i unit, which numbers 1S2 railroad administration ad-ministration girls. They-work at their homes and, each Wednesday, piie tholr work upon Miss Brady's desk. Miss Brady's hours run from 9 in the morning until 9:30. 10:30, or 11 o'clock at night, and she doesn't mind them. She believes if the girls fall down on their wartime jobs the Gov. ernment should draft them as-.itidcai its fighting men, and put' -them" la uniform. , "And if it comes to that," said she, "I'll be the first one in." MISS MARY VAN KLEECK Photograph by ClWin.t 1 Chief of the women in industry division, Department of Labor, -and only voiuan member of the national war labor policies board ! By A. R. Stanley Va&!iir!gton, Aug. 9-f'pHIS 9-f'pHIS is the day of the farmerette, conductorette, clerkette and woman rrjunition worker. Certain of the well-known well-known weaker ss:c over In Brooklyn j's tackling jobs as stevedores, or "dock wallopers." The "win-the-war" woman is as inevitable a bit of the daily news as It Is inevitable that the Yanks will keep on driving until Fritz Hun finds himself him-self with his back to tne last wall in Berlin. Everybody, by this time, realizes how well women are doing their bit in the ranks of the home army the army that makes the very necessary work of our 'boys "over there" possible. pos-sible. It would be well if everybody realized also that America has a few women Foches and Haigs and Per-ehlngs. Per-ehlngs. The most important of all Government Govern-ment appointments announced lately In this city of more appointments than disappointments was that of a woman, Miss Mary Van Kleeck, who rubbed her eyes one morning and read the news that she had become chief of the new women industry division of the United States Department of Labor." Being all that, which is equivalent to being generalissimo of all women who have their sleeves up for Uncle Sam, "General" Van Kleeck found also that she was the only woman with a seat on the national war labor policies poli-cies board. The "Belles" A woman. Miss W. Wellborn "Major Billy" Wellborn, of the provost marshal general's office dispenses more information regarding the operation opera-tion of the draft than any other individual indi-vidual in the country. No local or district draft board in any city tells so many men "where they're at" as the little "major." A woman who confesses that she had never seen the inside of an office before the Liberty Loan drive last August just now has full executive control of the offices of one W. G. McAdoo, director general of the United States railroad administration. Her name is Miss Frances Hawthorne Eraiiy, and her official title is assistant assist-ant to the assistant to the director general of the railroads of the United States. A woman physician, Dr. Kristine Mann, has become director of the civilian workers' branch of the army ordnance department, commander-in-chief, as it were, of the 7000 victory-hustling victory-hustling women who are working in the ordnance offices in Washington. I caught Miss Mary Van Kleeck, a very delightful and very keen general, at the end of her second day in command com-mand of her division of the Depart- . ment of Labor. She confessed quite readily that her "new job was tremendous," tremen-dous," but she smiled and declared that she wouldn't, be elsewhere in the world than in Washington these stirring stir-ring days. There isn't the shadow of a doubt in the minds of thinking persons that the big problem of the war for America Amer-ica at this critical moment is the problem prob-lem of women in industry. Uncle Sam's arras are stretching out and embracing more than a quarter of a million young men every thirty days. "Within the next few months there must be a tremendous increase in the number of women in war industries, and all other industries, indus-tries, as brothers don the khaki uniforms uni-forms that women make, shoulder rifles (many parts of the . guns made and inspected by women), do "squads right" in the camps and cantonments and make ready to go over to do the Job that has to be done if the world Is ever again to be a decent place for women to live in. It is to meet this situation that Uncle Sam has commissioned "General" "Gen-eral" Van Kleek. Her business from now on is production to see to it that women are used most effectively in the production of war materia, that their work is xmade to count to the nth power. Her standards, she told me, are those of equal pay fer equal work done h' women taking men's places; reasonable reason-able hours for employment; rest periods; proper sanitary conditions in sll plants and protection of women workers against dangerous processes. "General" Van Kleeck' And she can enforce her standards. When "Geners!" Van Kleeck recommends recom-mends that a manufacturer improve certain working conditions, it is safe to say that he will do so, for she has the co-operation ot those departments of the 'Government that place the seven-figure contracts for munitions of v. ar. On "General" Van Kleeck's recommendation, recom-mendation, the contracting department depart-ment army ordnance, navy, quartermaster, quarter-master, aircraft or shipping board, as the case may be will "strenuously advise" the offending plant to mind Miss Van Kleeck. Obviously, the contracting departments depart-ments have every right to "strenuously "strenuous-ly advise," fur they know what Miss U" Kleeck knows: that the health of workers is as vital to successful production H the tuccestfu! routing of ma'eria.!s through a plant. And L'ncle am has: no time today to fool with piants that cannot produce suc-reksf suc-reksf ully. "I find, and with to emphasis." said Miss Van Kleeck. "that the employers are anxious for advice with regard to wcrnen in industry. They realize fully that this ia a matter for co-operative dealing. " "General" Van Kleeck announcea that lie will organize an advisory com-ruHteis com-ruHteis for licr division of the Department Depart-ment of Labor thin commit tec to be Photograph by Harris & Ewing MISS FRANCES H. BRADY Assistant to the assistant to the director di-rector general of railroads of the Untied States Mann was selected to head the civilian workers' branch of the army ordnance department. There are from 5000 to 7000 women working in the ordnance offices in Washington. Doctor Doc-tor Mann is organizing them, planning in every conceivable way to cut down a clerical turnover that ran very close to 900 !n a recent month. It is estimated that there are approximately ap-proximately D0.OO0 women clerical workers doing their bit in Washington Washing-ton today. Some come when the war fever is on them, work excitedly for two or three weeks, feel that they aren't doing much toward winning the war, get homesick and leave. Often the leaving of a filing clerk throws a very important office into a chaotic state for several days. Doctor Mann tells me that she believes be-lieves in uniforms. She rather thinks that Washington, within the year, will have to enlist its women workers as Tommy "Waacs" are enlisted in England. "I am not pressing this," she said, "but I think our women should be regularly enlisted in the army, guaranteed guar-anteed their board, lodging and uniforms, uni-forms, and brought under military discipline. dis-cipline. I do not think any woman who is here for serious work would object, and such procedure would rid us of the sluggards. When England enlisted her women she found that she could release her men to fight." Doctor Mann is bringing a physical trainer from Boston to work with the girls of the ordnance. She is establishing estab-lishing a council with representatives from each of the eight divisions of the ordnance. She is originating- a news bulletin; central club rooms; a rooming room-ing agency; a mutual aid association to be of finanical assistance; and a lecture course on America's war aims. She wants every woman entering the ordnance to be physically examined. Doctor Mann Teacher Like Miss Van Kleeck, Doctor Mann is a Smith College graduate. She took her master's degree at Michigan. She studied at the University of Berlin, at Columbia University, and at Cornell, Cor-nell, where she received her M. D., in 1913. "I never wanted to doctor the sick," she told me. "I wanted to do pre- can hold down that job?' and I said. 'I can try,' so I tried, and I'm still tryin'." There's a group of very healthy and very carefully selected young women making the most of this summer up at Mount Holyoke College, at South Hadley, Massachusetts. They are in training to be health officers in the war'mills of the country. Their business busi-ness in life will be keeping the thousands thou-sands of women workers in munitions plants so healthy that their output of guns and powder and shells will be sufficient to blast civilization's road to Berlin a dozen times over if necessary. neces-sary. Dr. Kristin Mann, until recently health supervisor of the woman's branch of the army ordnance department, depart-ment, is the woman responsible for the recruiting of the health officers and the training they are receiving. All the women at Holyoke are college col-lege graduates, or women of equivalent equiva-lent technical education. Almost all have had experience in dealing with working women. The best-known authorities in the country on physiology physi-ology and hygiene, physical education, factory organization and labor are teaching them. The first requirement for adnussion to the Holyoke course was perfect health. The students at Holyoke were instructed to bring , plenty of "sport clothes" with them bathing suits, bloomers, tennis and gymnasium gymna-sium shoes and middy blouses. Doctor Doc-tor Mann intends that her health officers, of-ficers, when graduated, shall radiate health throughout the war olants of the land, and Inspire wholesome living so necessary to top production among the women of the munitions army. Having started the training course for health officers at Holyoke, Doctor Photograph by Harris & Ewing "MAJOR BILLY" WELLBORN Of the 6taff of Provost Marshal General Crowder: the "encyclopedia "encyclo-pedia of the draft" made up of representatives of working women and employers. "Women," according to this chief of the women's industrial army, "should not be introduced into a new industry without careful investigation to determine deter-mine whether the industry is a desirable desir-able industry for women and whether women will prove effective in the work to be done. "The experiences of one plant should be applied to another. Answers as to desirability of employment of women must be based on fact, not opinion. The-opinions of superintendents and foremen are often at variance with what their own records show. For example, it is frequently the case that shorter hours of work get better results re-sults the records show it, but that isn't the opinion of the superintendents and foremen." One of the first problems faced by "General" Van Kleeck indicates the importance of her work. Chemical industries, in a certain important locality", lo-cality", have asked for advice as to the employment of women. Many of their men have answered the call to the colors. The companies are doing important work for both army and navy. They are growing. They must have labor. The industries are hazardous. They involve poisons. The Labor Turnover A committee of experts is formed. It includes an industrial physician from the surgeon general's office, representatives rep-resentatives of the War and Navy Departments, a representative of the Department of Labor in the State in which the industries are located and Miss Mary Van Kleeck. These experts investigate . and decide hat's to be done. It is natural that shortage of labor should be most acute in the most dangerous dan-gerous and hazardous occupations, but such shortage is not considered a valid reason "for the employment of women, no matter how badly they may be needed. Miss Van Kleeck Is vitally concerned with the problem ot labor turnover, which interferes so "seriously with production, pro-duction, women as well as men leaving leav-ing one plant for another plant paying pay-ing equally good wages upon the slightest provocation and often upon the veriest whim. To cut down labor turnover she recommends rec-ommends an employment department for every plant, the department to be in charge of a woman employment manager, who hires all women, makes all discharges, selects wisely wonran suited for different jobs and studies the plant and v-orks out Its employment employ-ment policies. "There should also be consistent health work," says Miss Van Kleeck, "a physical examination for all women applying for employment, and the applicant ap-plicant should understand that the examination ex-amination is not for the purpose cf discovering defects to rule them out, but to discover defects in order that the defects may be remedied, health increase-'! and production increased. It is often as important to remedy conditions in the plant as lo remedy conditions in the Individual':-; health through exercise, dit and in:,l ruction in the care cf the body." Mi-s Van Kleeck went o cr to the Department of Lbor and the v. ar labor policies bcird from the army ordnance department, v hre she had been since early in January as chiuf of tho women's branch of the industrial indus-trial service section. She took with her from the ordnance Miss Mary An-dr::0!i, An-dr::0!i, one of the most remarkable women serving today in :i national executive department. Miss Anderson, in fact, is the first trade-union woman appointed to Federal administrative oiilce. For eighteen years Miss Anderson, who was born in Sweden, worked a3 a stitcher in boot and shoe factories. She is a member of the executive , board of the International Boot and Shoe Workers' Union, and for seven years has been organizer for the National Na-tional Women's Trade Union League, with headquarters in Chicago. She is also vice chairman of the Washirfgton committee of the National Women's Trade Union League. She believes that the peculiar problems surrounding surround-ing women in industry have never received enough attention, because the woman's point of view hs never been represented 'in the policy - making boards. She - believes that traditions are about to be broken up and that men are about to acquire the habit of placing women in administrative and consultative positions as readily and as 'frequently as they place men in such positions.. Miss Van Kleeck is a Smith College girl a .graduate in the class of 1904 and she is very proud indeed of the work the Smith girls are doing in .France. After leaving college she was identified with the College Settlements Association in New York, investigating overtime work by girls In factories. For the last ten years she served witli the Russell Sage Foundation as director di-rector of the division of industrial studies. While Mary Van Kleeck is concerned con-cerned with the most effective employment em-ployment of women replacing men in war industries, another woman "Major "Ma-jor Billy" Wellborn is busy, twelve hours a day, getting the men into khaki. She is the encyclopedia of the selective service draft. In the War Department telephone directory she is listed as "Wellborn, W. (Prov. M. G.)." The "Prov. M. G." is short for Provost Marshal General, but the "W" is a mystery. No one knows what that "W" means. "Major Billy" "It's a mystery," Miss Wellborn Informed In-formed me. "At home they have always called me Bill,' and-I'm satisfied satis-fied with tfte 'Major Billy,' my title here. General Crowder asks for Miss Wellborn, but he always says, 'Good morning. Major.' " "Major Billy." it is admitted, knows more about the draft thijn any other person, with the possible exception of General Crowder. She has the 250-page 250-page book on the original selective service regulations by heart. She knows all changes, and there are hundreds of there, that have been made in the regulations. She can rattle off. from cover to cover, the regulations governing the registration registra-tion and draft of the class of June, 1 3 1 S . She knows all physical regulations regula-tions and everything that there is to know ;ibout farmers' furloughs, deferred de-ferred classifications, inductions into eervir., appeals, and whatnot. A bis red book of telegram forms, prepared in nnwr lo draft puzzles. Is hers in tolp. Incldenbtlly. she knows probably prob-ably more than any recruiting officer concerning the man-power needs of all branches of the service, and the peculiar qualifications, for example, of aspirants for the signal, aviation, jas p. lid flame or tank corps. "Major Billy." born in Atlanta, Ga.. and educated in Washington, Informed mo that she "hadn't liked It a bit at first" in the Provost Marshal General's' office. But she likes it now. An ai'niy division couldn't tear her away from her work. She keeps five clerks and herself very busy. She has an average aver-age of a hundred telephone calls and a hundred callers a day. Often it's a case of handling 200 entirely different situations. And this does not include the scores of letters from all parts of the country that come addressed to "Major Billy." The young "Major" is responsible for having drawn literally, drawn more than 700.000 young men into service. It was she who, blindfolded, lifted the black order number pellets from the bowl when the class of June, 1918, had its great lottery. She picked 1190 of the 1200 pellets and every pellet meant many young men. The honor of drawing was awarded her by General Crowder in appreciation apprecia-tion of her services. The Draft "Got Her" In the few minutes that I talked with Major Wellborn her telephone interrupted six times, and she had five callers The interview was sandwiched sand-wiched in with talk of local boards and district boards, reopening and reconsideration re-consideration of cases, additional evidences evi-dences and the like. Her "incoming mail" tray was filled with letters from men of forty-five years, who wanted to know what they should do with dependent parents when they were called, and inquiries from children who thought that. "Major Billy." if any one, should know where "daddy" might be reached "daddy" evidently having sailed, since nothing had been heard from him for eight days. Miss Wellborn confessed that she had "led a more or less useless life" before the draft "got her." She expressed ex-pressed heartfelt thanks that she had not been graduated from normal school, as she once had hoped that she would, in 1913. Evidently the world lost a school teacher and gained an executive in her case. Her hours, she stated, were from 9 in the morning until 6:30 at night, Fourth of July included. "What troubles me is that there are too many women who want their bus-bands bus-bands put in Class 1," she stated. "That and the crying women. The crying women are hardest. T can't do anything with them except talk to them like a Dutch uncle. I hove only seen one man cry, a boy's father, and that broke me up more than any qC the women. They all cry. 1 never cry any more. It's cured me. ' T never think of shedding a far. This life keeps me busy apologizing to the cook for being late for dinner.- I told Miss Wellborn that it had been said she knew more about the draft than I he Provost Marshal Gen oral, and ar-ked her if it vers true. She laughed. "There's no tellm'." laid she. droning dron-ing the "g" with the true disregard for "g's" that is the characteristic of all Atlantans. How did Miss Wellborn earn her commission as "Major Billy"? $fie told me the story. "The colonel who had this work this Unison work between the l'rovost Marshal General and the public was away, and Genera Hugh S. Johnson, Deputy Provost Murshul. snid In a gruff voice, 'Miss Wellborn, think you, |