Salt Lake Telegram | 1916-07-02 | Page 22 | " Girl I Left behind Me"

r The Girl I 1 Left Behind Me MeA A woman fainted fainted and and the tIle band played on and the men in khaki marched away The woman was carried into the nearest drug store Presently she went home home to to fight it out alone without alone without any glor glory Our soldiers' soldiers wives have Ilave always had to fight it out that way Nevertheless their struggle was imposed upon them by the government government government govern govern- ment just as surely as their husbands joined the colors at the country's country's country's coun coun- try's call But the state has never recognized womans woman's share in mobilization tion The state makes no provision for rations for the wives and children of the soldiers who are left behind without means of support And the soldiers soldier's pay is altogether insufficient for an average family's family's family's fam fam- ilys ily's needs Fortunately so far in ill the nations nation's history state stale support of those dependent upon soldiers has been beeh unnecessary The elders ciders of families have always managed somehow to take care of their own In the civil war this was accepted as a patriotic duty and aud the same tradition was maintained in the Spanish war But the tremendous economical pressure of today which often makes the work of off two or three persons necessary for the support of one large family family has completely revolutionized former conditions European countries do some things better than titan we do In wartimes war wartimes times an allowance is made for mothers in proportion to the number number number num num- ber of their children by most nations It is not much much but but it is not charity which charity which is substantially what our own government nt compels thousands of American wives to accept That is what hurts The fight of the girl who is left behind is always in proportion to the tho degree of her pride However the present Mexican trouble shapes itself it is bound to b become a laboratory for the study of greater preparedness However congress may act in framing our military plans forthe forthe for forthe the future it must make some provision for the thc wives and children of the men at the front front or or we will never have c any such thi thing g as adequate preparedness