THE SUNDAY OREGOXIAX. PORTLAND, 3IARCIT 10, 1918.
Newspaper Trench Candles Save Lives of Soldiers and City Poor
Remarkable Industry 'Started in Small Way by New York Woman Has A tiained International Importance.
Boys at Front Write They Would Sooner Have Them Than Candy Made of Newspapers and Paraffin
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UIm 31. Cecilia Caf fay. Founder and Trrsidcnt of 'Ameflean Newspaper
Trench Candle Association.
1 T
T MAT TTTIJCrCSOV MOUNT.
m,IEir ! onr !!." wrote a
oIdlr ia aa Amrricaa trvoch
lhr wr all w bad to far-
rnTh Ilcht and ht and dry our clothe,
tr atr a trr)b!o atorm that drenched
n la our tranches."
Tona of thoBaande of aowapapor
krtnek eandlra wro hastily taken oat
f tho Rd Croas rtMtra, In Nw
or k. and diatrlbatod tr tho Charity
Tranliatloa Sortaty among tho poor
a tho Kaat Sldo. fly thalr Uaht. and
with only tho hat th.y anpplicd, ba
bloa earao lata tho world, and tho aama
kindly boat wnrmvd tho milk that
oavod tho llr.a of oldor babloa tho
Jotsaia of Eaat tilda poTcrty In tho tan
oanta What woaid hare boromo of thon
aaada of aatortanatra during tho r
coat aovaro cold, whaa fuol and Ilcht
wore Karca In man y placo. bad no
aowspapar caadlva como to tho rucoa?
Tho oturiy. stubby candlo. made of
rolls of old aewapapora. baa sudd.nl
lifted op Its canul Ilcht above a boat
of bamoa wove and p how n a way to
ward aulerlatlnc snaay of them.
aTooiaoVe' of ladootry.
Tito story of the newspaper trench
Mill aa a Ufa saver lad me to seek
tho woman who bad started the work
of aaaklnc thm for our soldiers abroad.
aha la Miss M. Cecilia riarraer, found. r
ad preaidnt of tho Woman's Wilson
btarshall Lo. that did so much to
ward elvctlas; President Wilson to hi
aecoad Itrm. Pfio Is also president of
tho International Residence Associa
tion, the laaciiier of Oneida and offi
cer la a Bum ever of other orranlsetions.
I foand Mlsa Caffnejr's residence, on
fashionable corner of tho apper West
fldo la New Tork. virtually civea over
to trench candlo work. I tnt a stately
old snaa cllmbine? out of his automo
bile and bo and ble chauffeur followed
sne to Mlsa Oaffn.Vs door, bran loaded
wttk a-reat bundles of trench candles.
Tho dnor opened and a noted artist
stepped oat and went to hta waltlnc
car. lie bad Just deposited a con
that bo had rolled from old newspapers
sicnment of several thousand candles
darln his leisure time.
Mlsa Gaffn-y met as with her rnt!e
mile, an did not look a bit like a
womaa about whom tho wholo I'nlted
ftateo wsa lnaulrtnc durtnr the fuel
ehortaare la aero weather. Kind blue
eras look out from a faco of cental
basnor. and a particularly we I:-formed
hand alv a - that belles tho Im
pression produced by Its mall stia
That hand has rolled 1040 newspaper
randies In one day and ZS.OOO sines Its
owner bes-an her work of helping auf
ferlnr humanity la this way.
Back of Miss Gaffney stood a bis;
parklnsT-bos marked Indiana. In which
reposed thousands of trench candles.
Tho Red Crosa relies upon Miss Gaff
ney to examine all the candles sent
to New Tork. In order that no Imper
fect ones shall encumber tho consign
ments for France. Indeed, nearly all
the orranUatlona that have be (run to
make the can (lira ship their work to
Mi's Gaffney to be paraffined.
"I don't ret time to roll randlea any
shore." declared the originator of the
work. "I spend my wholo day paraffin
InaT them. Hellevue Hospital haa bad
me teach Its crippled children and Its
wo-nea prisoners bow to make the can'
d'ea. and all are sent to mo to he par
affined. It la the moat pathetic slrht
In the -world to sea those little crip
pled children lylnsr on their backs and
rollinsr candles with their whole Inter
est absorbed In tha work. And the
women prisoners hava become so much
mora cheerful dolna somethlr.r that
they knew would prove such a blessinc
to other. Hellevue Is one of tho few
pieces that sends us paraffin with Its
candles
"A relative of A Standard Ofl official
secured a tares donation for tha hospi
tal and we are relieved of tha neces
sity of purchasing paraffin for Belle-
vna. o bavo to buy It for nearly all
our consignments, aa few people send
any. And then, aa la tha case of this
boa of JO.eoo candles, tha work of par
affining has been badly done and we
must do It over again. W hava found
It necessary to boil tha randlea for
three-quarters of an hour In paraffin.
They need only simmer over tho stove,
hut tho original wsy of boiling for a
fear moments and then letting them
soak In the paraffin for three-quarters
of aa hour or more has proved Inadvis
able. We get better resulta from the
boiling. When the candles aro ready
we lift out tho bundle by means af
It encircling string, separate the can-
d and let them cool. Even the
strings around the bundlea and around
Individual randlea aro now u til I led.
Soldiers roll them In a ball and hang
them before their tent, where they
burn for a long time, nervine for both
beat and light.
Just to show you bow much the
soldiers want the candles." remarked
Mlsa Gaffney. "when they were offered
a consignment of randy, the wrote:
nd us trench randlea, for we need,
A 'candle bee1 frronp at work in their
headquarters. They are rolled out of
newspapers and then boiled for
three-quarters of an hour in paraffin-
They burn for a Ion; time,
aervine; both for light and heat.
light. T, prefer tha candZsa to tHo
eanay.-
Wylcosaed la Casaaa.
"As their name Indicates," explained
tha trench candle originator, "we are
making tha candlea for 'our men In
the trenches abroad, but wa hava had
to send thousands of them to our
homo camps. Our first donation to
homo camp- waa merely by way of
a little surprise. Wa sent 600 to
friends tn I'lattsburg. On their
rival a terrific storm occurred and
tha boys wrote us that our candles
saved their lives, as they furnished
all tha heat they had by which to
dry their drenched clothing and warm
themselves, and all the light obtain
able In those storm-swept trenches.
At Camp Union tho men heat their
shaving water by our newspaper can
dles, and In all the camps where con
slgnmenta have been sent the can
dies serve for bivouac cooking, some'
times for warmth and light and beat.
"It waa also accidental that so many
thousands, of the poor have been
helped during the sever aero spells
of weather tBat New York sustained.
My sister and I took 7000 candles to
tha Charity Organisation society when
w learned that the poor were auirer
Ing for want of heat and light. To
that lot wo added tens of thousands
that were in the Red Croat warehouse,
awaiting shipment to France. The tales
of suffering alleviated through these
newspaper candles have, been touching.
They have supplied all the heat and
light that East Side mothers had on'.tho
arrival of bablea into the world; they
were used to heat the milk for other
tiny bablea; to warm the alrk; to light
the homes of tha poor, and to supply as
much heat as could be secured from
the number at hand. Trained nurses
tell us that no one can estimate the
number of lives saved by means of
theae newspaper candlea
'As you see. Miss Gaffney picked
op a little candle, "they are only the
height of a newspaper column width.
Kach column ia cut evenly along Its
black line, and the first two laid to
gether and rolled tightly. This fur
nishes a wick, so to speak, and over it
are rolled, one at a time, very evenly
ll
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mm
mm
si
The Bureau of Statistics makes tha
following statement of statistics tor
tha year 1915:
Marriages. 447,170. Thla la 7571
fewer than during- the previous year.
Divorces, 60,206. This Is 78 less than
the previous year.
Births, 1,824,888; 9S1.443 were males
and 893,446 were females. These fiss
ures are 6598 fewer males and 67
fewer females than the previous year.
There .were 101.301 cases of miscar
rlage of births recorded.
Ieatl)S, 1.107,237, of - whom M4.0SS
were males. 543,178 females and four
sex not defined. The total aecreaso
of deaths as compared to the previous
year was 8533.
Abandoned children, SS6; a decrease
of 90 from 1914. Missing' persons 692.
a decrease of 1840.
In commenting upon tho results of
the investigations of hta department.
Mr. UBhizuka, chief of the Bureau of
Statistics -Xold the Asahl that the ad
vance announcement was but a sum
mary of the complete statistics to ha
published.
He said that In 190 S the rate of mar
riages was highest. It fell In 1913.
rose again In 1914, and In 1915 It fell
again. The rise in 1914 was due to tha
fact that the family registration law
was revised and marriage registrations
were made at once.
"The decrease of the number of di
vorces attests to the advancement of
civilization in a way. Compared with.
the number of marriages, divorces
were 134.6 .In 1000. The ratio was
higher compared with 1914 by 22.2 per
cent so that no optimism Is admitted." .
As to the birth rate, Mr. Ushizuka
aid: "Since 1907 the birth rate has
steadily gone upward at 33 per cent
annually, until in 1911 It showed tho
highest increase, 34 per cent. But in
1912 it suddenly fell to an increase of
only 0.67 per cent. In 1913 It also fell,
and in 1914 it showed a sign of re
covery. But in 1915 It again fell to
0.64 per cent.
"This fact was noticeable most
prominently in cities. It cannot be
looked at merely as a natural change.
It is fraught with grave problems lor
the future of the nation."
As for the death rate. Mr. Ushizuka
says that the ratio between males and
females was 103.5 males to luu lemaies.
Compared with .the previous year tha
number was an increase of 0.4. This
rvv-vW-i
9M
5
long enough time !n wlitch to let ths
paraffin boil over a gentle fire. The
candles are then ready to lift out and
cool. The work Is very simple and
easy, but it is necessary to do It cor
rectly or tha candles prove failures
and are mors trouble than relief to
and tightly, tha remaining columns of I their recipients. The rolling must
on sheet of a newspaper. v e use
eight columns to a candle. When they
ar rolled they are quit firm, and we
tie a string around the middle to hold
the paper together. Then we atand
10 or more closely together, aa you
see sticks of atovewood arranged on
end. and we tie a string around the
bunch. Just as you see wood tied. This
I me re I v for convenience In handling.
The bundle N then stood upright In a
receptacle filled with melted paraffin.
Around the bundle wa atand as
many candles aa the receptacle will
hold, but always on end. Three-quarters
of an hour has been found a
he tight and even and the paraffining
thorough. That all that Is neces
sary, and some colleges like Bryn
Mawr and Wlnlhrop College and Co
lumbia University are supervising the
work and having It all done at the
colleges so that we are not obliged to
look over it.
"Every soldier's kit . contains
trench candle, and we send them over
as f.ist as they can be shipped.
"The work has outgrown my home!"
exclaimed Miss Gaffney, looking about
at the heaps of candles just brought
In and the boxes about to be shipped
out. "Teachers' College, Horaoe Mann,
BRITISH PEOPLE EXIST ON "INSTEADIBLES"
AND POTATOES FORM MAIN STAFF OF LIFE
Each Tenon Carries Allowance of Sugar and Adda Sweetening to Suit Taste When Dish Is Served, aa None Ia
Used ia Cooking Week's Ration Consista of One-Half round of Sugar.
RT EDITIJ K. LAXTOV.
SOMEWHERE IX ENGLAND. Feb.
1. My patients seemed glad lose
m again, and relieved to find that
I had Bet deserted thena and gone back
te th Naval Hospital. They said they
aad missed their Red Cross nurse.
There ar a good many new patients
evhom I do not know, and a few good
ud stand-bra. who ar ever with ua
It gUJdeas my heart to find a
oldler or two amongst the, new
patients, not that t wish them to be
til. but that I Ilk to see them. They
seem to feavea th whole.
I have a very nice soldier boy. who
cau(.fct bts hand la th bread machine
aad cut a slic off Just a thin, genteel
lie, and k I rapidly growing an
other slic to replac it. Nurses Very
eftea slic off the tip of their flncers
catting bread la a hurry with a bread
machine. I have dressed many a
bread-machine wound before.
t e have th usual assortment of
mischievous small bovs who rather
cherish a cut finger, because they can
come aad kav it dressd instead of
going to school On of them wa ac
compamed by a Jevote.l but muddy
little e( in etn.r morning ana in
dog anfortunatelv took a great fancy
ta the Red Cross aura and I ft muddy
footprints all up aad dowa bar Ua
maculate aprva.
t slMrrs Call "OaJelT."
A poor, dear Iittl girl who ha to
kav five abscess dressed always
caUa out -T'ad.lT. daddy, dad dr." whilst
sh is being dona. I'oor chicks, they
much more oftea seem to cry for
"daddy" tftaa for "mammy." Iaddy
mast be th on who spoils them. A
child often proudly Informs m that
daddy is away killing German
I sever spent a busier morning than
I did yesterday. After doing a good
many dressings. I ae-1 my lunch, which
coasisted of a cup f tea and some dry
bread, a w bad a.lther butter, mar
gerta sor Jam. I waa hungry. Ihousrb.
aad It laste-1 quit acceptabl. Thea
J went to get th tksater ready for an
paratloa.
Ova xyUUa:- prepare aad. the
patients oa th table when three bad
accidents cam In all at once, and the
operation had to b postponed, and all
hands helped with th accident cases.
My sterilised Instruments, boiled rub
ber gloves, lotions, etc were all bor
rowed and rushed away la one direc
tion or another.
Fatleatla PrrasedL
I tried to cheer th deserted patient.
who was waiting to hav a finger am
putated. II was secretly rather pleased.
I found, to postpone th evil moment.
On of my lady patients confided to me
yesterday that sh waa glad to say her
husband had been sent to Jail for six
months . and so sh'd "hav a bit o'
pear."
I know her well enough to feel a cer
tain amount of congratulation might be
given to th man oa being away from
bum for half a year. A present of a
caa of soap might b useful to th
Udy.
"1'ot-q-maln" poisoning (pronounced
Just aa 1 hav written It) la ralber a
favortt complaint tn th town. Any
pain In th tammy can b called by
that nam aad so glv Importance to
tta owner.
Anything wrong with an out-patient
now. from a broken leg to a burned
elbow. Is always put down to "that
ther war bread." An abscess In th
shoulder was dtasnosed by Its owner
yesterday aa due to war flour.
I mildly suggested that If sh thought
that caused It. wby not try eating
whol meal bread but sh "couldn't
abide brown bread." so I gav no mora
ad vie, but put a hot fomentation on
th abscess.
laatradlbke rad !fw.
W ar said not to exist on "edibles,"
but "Instead-lbles" now. I feel aura
tbat this happy word "Instead-lbles"
must hav been coined la America and
la probably a cheatnut la Fortland. but
I lik It so much that I must us It
and tak that cbanc.
w Den i was a iitti gin ana reaa
lt of fairy stories. I used to think
that If a kind fairy aver offered m
thrs wishes. I should wish, for on, to
bo tall aad this. X was over a plump.
child. I am fairly tall, and now I
really see hopes of being thin la the
near future. "Instead-lbles" do not
add to embonpoint.
But th fairy who Is granting ray
wish must b a German fairy. How
kind.
Tha nurses at th Infirmary ach
hav their half pound ration of sugar
given out to them every week and
carry It around with them In a little
round box In their apron pockets. They
put enough tn this box to last them for
th day.
Each swerlras Own Diet.
Nothing Is sweetened In th cook
ing and each nurse adds what sugar she
wants. If sh has things too sweet
early In the week she gets no sugar
at all In her tea and puddings towards
the end of the week. Then the spend
thrift grasshopper begs from the
thrifty ant. I am lucky enough to pra
ter my tea unsweetened.
laiaing of sugar reminds an of a
funny thing that happened at another
noepuai.
My ward was very-short of sugar
when I waa on night duty and It was
hp to me to "find" soma before break
fast time.
With this laudabl deslro I started
out with an electric torch to look all
over th hospital and other wards to
se If I could find some alone and un
protected.
At last, about I A. M, I discovered
a covered stone Jar on the table In the
big hospital kitchen, a place where I
had absolutely no right whatever to set
ths sole of my foot.
To my Joy, this contained sugar, the
sweet plunder, and I returned to my
ward triumphant.
So pleased with myself was I that
when my orderly, a good soul who often
oiind'' milk for me If I was short.
came on duty at 6 A. M. I must needs
confide to him my success as a thief
In the night.
He listened and smiled.
I said: "Look ; I've got plenty for
th poor boys for their burgoo por
ridge). Isn't It amusing, orderly?"
'Yea, nurse." he said. "It's really fun
nier than you think, because thaf sugar
In th Jar was th ration for th or-
derllea"
Uur ataXf of Ilfo at present la pota
toes. "We get a ration of half a pound
of meat each for the week and pad It
out by the harmless necessary potato
In every shape and form. I call It the
true "hidden hand."
tJod bless the potato!
We never lack that excellent ssuce,
"appetite," with our meals nowadays.
It Is wonderful how Jolly good fresh
herrings can taste for Sunday dinner.
Meatless days become more and more
fashionable and the woman who owns a
whole pound of butter Is tha envy of
her neiKhborhood.
We have Just discovered a most eco
nomical and tasty dish called potted
herrings. Unfortunately It is an appe
tizer and "de-appetizers" are more In
demand at present. Ths herrings are
merely boned and baked In the oven,
then skinned, beaten up In a mortar,
highly seasoned and tightly packed In
little Jars. I present tha recipe to
Portland hoping that cooks there hava
plenty of filling food to follow, on.
Note well that no potato is added In
any shape or form whatever. I do be
Ueve I shall be ashamed to look a
potato In the eye when this war ia over.
I have had a good many letters from
our fighting men lately. The Big Sol
dier evidently has not yet reached there
and Is not allowed to divulge his ad
dress. Hs has not been torpedoed, that
Is one comfort.
Letter Is Itetmaea.
Only yesterday a letter that X had
written to my friend tha Sergeant
Gunner came back to me from the
dead letter office with "killed In action"
written across it in red letters.
We feel so sad to think of those
brave American lads torpedoed and
drowned In the Irish Sea. How glad
we were this morning to hear that 60
more of them had been saved.
I had a letter a few days ago from
an Oregon boy in France. He reported
splendid voyage over and no slims
of submarines. He tells me that the
American boys are most heartily wel
comed, but that soldiers of each nation
lead - them aside and tell them confl
dentally that the Army those parti
cular men belong to fights the best and
is the finest Army. The Belgians swear
by the Belgian army and the French
man by that of France, which is as It
should be. (I wrote by return to tell
him not to believe them because the
British army was really the best.)
My sailor boy haa passed all his
exams with flying colors. Got 2S1
marks out of a possible 300 in the
three exams and was personally con
gratulated by his Captain as "very good
Indeed. Now he will qualify as s
leading-torpedo man. Surely a graU-
ful patient to ho proud, of.
and the publlo schools of New Tork,
are all teaching ths art of making
paper candles, and some of the big
organizations engaged are the Na
tional Defense League, the Patriotic
Service League, St. Agnes' School, the
Pen and Brush Club oh, I can't enu
merate them all!" she exclaimed. "But
one of the lovely things about trench
candle making Is the sympathy that
has been engendered through the work.
."Hotels have taken it up, and new
guests continually enroll themselves in
the work, creating a social atmosphere
that has been found very pleasant.
Men's organizations, too, are working
at candle-making, and men make beau
tiful candles.- The firemen of Muncle,
InL. sent me 18,000 to boll In paraffin,
and one of my most Interested contrlb
utors Is an old gentleman se years o
age who loads up a lot of his hand!
work Into his automobile every now
and then and brings them here to be
paraffined. We put Christmas seals on
all those we sent to France, and often
rolled a picture or verse on the outside
of a candle before paraffining It. The
printing Is quite legible and has given
a great deal of pleasure abroad. This
suggested an idea to some enterprising
manufacturer, who has Just sent us
20,000 candles with his advertisement
in fancy red Ink on the outside. We
wrote him that we could not do any
thing with the candles, as no paraffin
accompanied the consignment. We shall
not mind circulating the advertisement
in this manner If he provides the par
affin but we do not feel that we
ought otherwise.
"It only requires ten pounds of par
affin to make 270 candles, and every
now and then somebody sends a dona'
Uoa of paraffin toward the work.
Warmth for the Poor.
"Here on the West Side during the
zero weather hallboys In fashionable
apartment hotels warmed themselves
by newspaper candles. It was all they
had to keep themselves from being
made ill by the cold, and when we dis
trlbuted them to such applicants their
gratitude was pathetic. .
'Another case of gratitude was found
In an express company driver. He
came to deliver some boxes of candles.
Oh, madame, he said, "you saved me
a fine from the police! I had no light on
my wagon, and tho police were alter
me. Just then I remembered that I had
some of your candles In my pocket. I
Jumped out, put those in my wagon
and went along with as good a light as
any lamp ever gave."
Miss Gaffney shook her head at my
remark about the entire monopoly of
her time in this patriotic work. "It's
worth It," she declared earnestly. "Only
think. of the good they have done! I am
only too glad to teach and -help every
body and distribute them as fast as I
can. i
"Ton know the work did not orig
inate with me. Italians In Italy have
done a great deal of work during the
war in making trench candles, and a
French army officer taught us how to
do the work. I merely suggested to
my organization tbat we make trench
candles, and they were so enthusiastic
and interest spread so rapidly that I
have not had a minute lor anything
else since September.
"It waa in August that Columbia
University sent a delegate from each
of 21 states to learn at a hotel candle
bee what we could teach about making
trench candles. These were Summer
students, bound for home, and they
have all started circles In their states.
so that the work is general all over the
country and not the least use for news
paper candles has been found on farms,
where they take the place of oil lamps
and tallow candles.
"The reason they ar called trench
candles' ia jjecaus they, are used-to i
w
3
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'ait
StSStt
si
ft
light surgical operations In the Euro- I tendency was more noticeable in cities
pean trenches. Tho candles do not drip, than In the country. "The death rats
as do tallow and wax candles, and they of males is increasing annually and
afford a much more brilliant light. I : another ract wnicn jsnouia not De neg
am so thankful that the lesson of their
usefulness has been brought ' to this
country and that the severities of this
Winter have been lessened to thousands
of people through these little newspa
per trench torches."
"Candle Bees' at Rome.
I could not help thinking, as I left
the roomy house of this philanthropic
woman, tbat she might De spared a
great deal of labor and have more time
for her 'generous teaching if consignees
would roll their candles with care and
do . their own paraffining. There are
circles of women and men who meet
regularly and have delightful candle
bees, rolling candles during the early
part of the evening ana devoting tne
remainder ol the time to paranining
them, dancing and music. The trench
candle bee has come to be a recognized
form of amusement among social clubs
this Winter.
BIRTH RATE ON DECLINE
Marriages- and Divorces Show De
, . crease in Japan.
TOKIO." March J- A general decline
In the birthrate. In the number of
marriages and in the number of di
vorces in Japan during 1915 is noted
In the official announcement yesterday
of the results of the Investigations
which have 'Just been concluded re-
saxdiiiaT iHo population of tho country.,
lected is that the number of deaths of
children and young men has in
creased," eays Mr. Ushizuka.
GIRL MAY BARE MYSTERY
Marjorio Jenkins Thought to Have
Knowledge of Murder.
HENDERSON, Ky March 1. MaiM
Jorie Jenkins, a schoolgirl, of Clay, Ky.,
questioned by the authorities, told a
circumstantial story which apparently
implicates her fiancee, Heber Hicks, in
the death of Mrs. Joey Sparks, a young
widow, whose body was found last
week buried in a livery stable at Clay.
Miss Jenkins according to tha
authorities, said young Hicks had con
fided to her that he had put the young
widow "out of the way" because she
was wrecking his mother's life, and at
the same time exhibited two rings.,
which he said had been given to Mrs
Sparks by his father, Jacob Hicks.
Both father and son and two negro
employes of the livery stable conduct-,
ed by tho elder Hicks, who had been
here for safekeeping, were taken to
Clay today for an examining trial.
They were taken into custody soon-
after the woman's body was found.
Miss Jenkins' statement was made to
.Coroner Blue and City Judge Winatead,
who tnadQ it public.