Show Kathleen Norris Says Stop Criticizing Women omen Bell Ben Syn Syndicate Features 7 1 r T t cr A Certain idle women do drift t about to afternoon bars and lounges lounge accumulating U whisky h blotches but the percentage is very lery low Probably they are useless anyway By KATHLEEN NORRIS T SEEMS to me manifestly IT unfair in Congresswoman Clare Luce to say that millions millions millions mil mil- lions of American women have done little ar Gt nothing to help the war effort e except pt perhaps to keep their skins lily w white te and soft for some G. G GI to touch when I he comes home And manifestly unfair in Damon Runyon to quote this in a syndicated article and add on his own account account account ac ac- count that keeping skin white is better better better bet bet- ter than to let it become covered with whiskey blotches Mr Runyon blames what he calls the failure of women to respond to the war effort upon the remissness of the leaders leaders leaders lead lead- ers of their sex in showing the way If some of the prominent women of the day he goes on to say had lunged forward it would have been an inspiring example to the rank and file He suggests that such leaders might have big parades of females into defense plants He goes on to say in contrast that hundreds of thousands of prominent prominent prominent nent men have offered their services to the wartime effort industrial chieftains famous actors and journalists journalists journalists jour jour- doctors movie directors and producers and members of Mrs Luces Luce's own house of representatives ti tives v I Men Are Drafted This sort of talk makes me indignant indignant indignant in in- I I it seems to me unworthy of one of our top journalists In the first place men are drafted and drafted with them is all the glory of uniforms uniforms uniforms uni uni- forms marching flags music the excitement and change so dear to youth Just how large our armies and navies would be if they were composed only of male volunteers isa is isa isa a question you question you know and I know many a stalwart lad who is safely doing something here at home when he might well be in the ranks The notable lack of enthusiasm in Canadas Canada's men for overseas service is causing that government grave concern It is not entirely of their own volition that our fighting men have been flung to all the danger spots of the world It is the fashion now to speak slightingly of our nurses to lament I publicly that more of them do donot donot donot not volunteer for army and navy service The strange thing about this is that when a call was sent out for nurses little littlemore littlemore littlemore more than a year ago volunteered volunteered volunteered volun volun- and were actually ac ac- There has been no call since until now and because response to it is somewhat slow the whole profession profession profession pro pro- suffers disrepute The real and obvious answer to such critics and Mrs Luce and Mr Runyon is of course that women are not never have been and never will be as free as men to follow Collow I I their desires in war or in peace There are close to 40 million homes in America less than third one-third of 1 per cent of these homes homes about about 1 in is managed without a wom wom- an Women cook wash clean raise children teach in schools children are ore their supreme responsibility husbands and homes and children need them War Var is the abnormal the extraneous thing wifehood motherhood homes are the indispensable indispensable indispensable indis indis- essentials of all To be sure certain idle women do drift dr t about to afternoon bars and lounges accumulating the aforementioned aforementioned aforementioned afore afore- mentioned whiskey blotches But the percentage of these women is very low perhaps they are mental- mental 1 1 Their supreme responsibility HOMEMAKING COMES COtIES FIRST By the natural organization of life women are arc the ers It is foolish to prate about home front morale and then expect women in great numbers to leave their homes and children children children chil chil- dren and join the tire or get into factories True millions o of f women have responded to the call of national duty without any compulsion and have enlisted enlisted enlisted en en- listed in the auxiliary services nurses' nurses corps or have gone into war plants plant Most women however cannot desert their first responsibility the care of their children They cannot go to war or to work worl without without with with- out t neglecting the welfare o of f the next generation As Miss Norris points out they are doing a far greater service to the nation by quietly taking care of their homes than titan they could in some form o of f war tear war work Many mothers are giving giving giving ing every spare moment to the Red Cross or some other service as it is There are arc few slackers among A American merican women even though they do not wear uniforms uniforms uni uni- f forms and carry arms ly physically spiritually of a type that would make them practically useless anyway Highest Standard Ever The great mass of our women maintains a higher standard than women have ever maintained jn n the world before It is a standard of decency decency decency de de- de- de honesty devotion to home and husband and children eagerness eagerness eagerness eager eager- ness to serve them to prepare endless endless endless end end- less meals wash inexhaustible dishes gather small pencils and rubbers rubbers rubbers rub rub- bers telephone teachers push a perambulator perambulator perambulator per per- to market decide anxiously anxiously anxiously between lessening stores of fruits fruits' and meat go home hot and weary to put the lunch potatoes in into into into to bake to sterilize the baby's bottles bottles bottles bot bot- to mop up the front hallway to carry a tray upstairs to a sickroom and and to go on with it day after day early morning until late at night These things must be done and it is women who must do them and women who do do them A man may lock his office for a week a month he may close it for a whole year and be off overseas Nobody suffers except perhaps himself in his pocket Buta But a woman may not lock two small babies in a perfectly safe room for an hour without deadly risk She may not neglect the dish dishpan dishpan dishpan pan pan for one day There are arc items according to recent calculations calculations that she must see supplied refreshed refreshed re re- re- re refrigerated heated dusted dusted dusted dust dust- ed smoothed washed ironed and starched every day of her life Her husband will not wear rumpled shirts to the office her children must not go about in wet shoes her soup must be skimmed for government fats her tin cans washed and flattened her Red RedCross RedCross RedCross Cross dues paid the six o'clock baths for Betty and Junior their supper supper supper sup sup- per the table-setting table the get dinner ting the five minutes attention to her own appearance may not be neglected not one single day When any mans man's work is as vital as that of the humblest wife and mother then it will be time to talk of the remissness of women in war service |