THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, JULY 23, 1920
noie.
To
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And Colonel Helen Basted o 'Adds:
Develop Our Souls
We Need It to
Servants, husbands 'and children stand in' terror of the undisdpiined
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woman."
Fencing Master Martin Capdevielle drilling a company of recruits for the
Women's Guard at the Seventh Regiment Armory, New York City.
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Recruits heing enrolled in the new women's
guard at the New York headquarters. ,
Siwa
ln the military drills women get the per
sonal contact with other women that
they need for soul and mind expansion.
III
1111
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Pistol practice by members of Colonel Bastedo's Motor Corps.
How the Energetic Organizer of the. Worn
en's Motor Gorps Is Gathering and Drilling
Recruits for the New Women's National
Guard Which, She Declares, Will Demon
strate the Advantage of Military Training
Even in Private Homes.
Major Jennie C B." Gay at the left) and Colonel Bastedo, or
ganizers of the National Guard for Wbmen.
"T
BY ETHEL THURSTON.,
HE American woman needs a
new soul. New conditions and
new problems are knooking
today at her door. How shall she
meet them? Can the old mind, the old
life square with the new? They can
not!" With the emphasis on the "not."
Colonel Helen Bastedo, who organised
more than 700 women Into a highly
disciplined and most efficient motor
corps for war and pos war work, of
hoth a military and a civilian nature,
stamped her foot and then proceeded
to tell of her plans "in connection
with the organisation of a national
guard for the women of this country,
and also of the great amount of bene
constructive thought means action, !
she decided to perfect a peace-time
organization of women, the "women's
national guard," as it Is known, pat
terned In a fashion after the national
guard. The preliminary work Is be
ing done in New Tork city, where
women recruits are being enrolled
and drilled at the Seventh regiment
armory. They are being trained In
military tactics, sword practice and
shooting. In addition to. the ordinary
routine of soldiering.
"The women's guard wilLbe a na
tional organization, with branches in
every state of the union," Colonel
Bastedo pointed out In describing the
purposes-of this new work for women.
We will co-operate with the police
fit women may gain from military ! and fire departments, as we have
discipline.
There may be those who disagree
with Colonel Bastedo concerning this
stated deficiency in the American
woman's make-up; but whether or not
they share her views on the subject,
no one who is familiar with this ener.
getic little officer's work and achieve
ment will question, for a moment, her
sincerity and her practical common
sense and successful organizing abil
ity. -
Recently, acting. upon her own sug
gestion, for with Colonel Bastedo a
done and are still doing In our motor
corps work. Just as both these bodies
of men are trained for emergencies
that may arise, we shall -train the
members of the women's guard so that
they may act quickly and efficiently
whenever any cccasion may arise re
quiring their aid. Trained workers
can render more efficient aid than
those who may appear on the scene
with no previous experience to teach
them how to administer to this need.
. ."It is a well-known fact that being
occupied In the service of. others helps
to develop one's soul, and so a move
ment of this sort Is certain to create a
favorable Impression oa the women
who are enrolled in it.
-'In this rapidly moving age we
either progress or stagnate. It is
dangerous to stagnate, else we may
get run over by one of the many de
structive influences at work today in
the world. Every human being must
not only, work, but must fight for
what he has and wishes to maintain.
This is the law of nature."
Colonel Bastedo, it 1s Interesting to
note, is the"mother of three handsome
children. Her . husband is a well
known member of the medical profes
sion in New Tork, and Colonel Baste
do, besides her public work, is the
splendid housewife.
"Scores of women," she continued,
"returned from overseas work each
with a nor soul, and it wai all due to
the excellent military training and
discipline they had been subjected to.
These women who had worked long
hours In hospitals in France and Eng
land caring for the American boys
and doing other work which helped to
win the war came back with a new
vision or lite. They had seen . the
great uselessness of being mere social
butterflies. ZJcore-t of these - women
now have turned their backs on the
old life, and, have gone into busi
ness or social service or public work
of some sort. Idleness to them means
tragedy, stagnation.
"War work taught many women the
great importance of organisation. It
is unfortunate that this truth could
not have been borne in on every
American woman.
"Now that women have the vote.
added to the other responsibilities
that -modern life has produced, wom
an's Influence in the community, in
the nation, will not be felt until she
realizes the power of organized ef
tort. And once having learned this.
she must know that in self-control
and better discipline and the patience
to hear another's point of view ex
pressed without losing her temper,
lies the secret of successful team
work.
"These are the chief reasons why I
first planned the military dril'i and
the other exercises for women, which
ci r m..Hn9 with .ufnttft . t th sev
enth regiment armory. New Tor and
upon which the idea for the women'i
national guard was based.
"There is nothing finer for women's
health than vigorous exercise. It stim
ulates the circulation and brings into
play muscles that would never other
wise b used. Fencing and Jiu-jitsu,
.which are practiced in conjunction
with the drill, are enormously benefi
cial to women. These strengthen the
nerves and will quicken the mental
processes.
"The war showed In the physical ex
aminations made that we as a people
were getting soft; it showed the need
of universal training for men.
"The fine healthy boys who found
their way into the army and navy
were to a large extent boys who came
from the ranches and farms of the
great outdoor life of the various
states that go in for these things. .
"Now isn't it just as natural and
important that women, especially
those who lead sedentary lives in of
fices and homes, be equipped physic
ally and mentally as well as men?
Doing things for oneself teaches one
to do things for others. And this
should be the spirit of the day.
"We are flourishing around with
political futures, but with little
sense of civic and national duty.
"In these military drills women get
the personal contact with other women
that they need for soul and mind ex
pansion. In their attitude toward
life and in their manner of meeting
others one can readily distinguish
between the woman who has led a nar
row, selfish life and the broader vl
sloned woman whose selfishness and
whose poise and happy frame of
mind make all things glad.
'Now, if you meet a woman who is
easily offended, who can brook no
criticism of her objections or plans of
work, you know at once how to label
her. She is, you will doubtless find.
the boss of her household. Her serv
ants, husband and children stand in
terror of the undisciplined woman, for
they know, if she does not have her
way, she will flood the house with her
tears and her scoldings. In organiza
tion work she at least gets the les
son she needs. She finds that she has
much to learn by such association,
and that only by subjecting her own
nature to a thorough course of disci
pline can she hope to accomplish the
things she would like to do.
"Nothing brings out the fine gold of
a woman's nature more quickly than
working with large groupi of men
and women of all classes. She begins
to perceive that she has a social con
sclousness, of which she had not been
aware.
"We believe the business woman is
the woman of tomorrow. She has
learned in life'B school those lessons
that make for character development
of the highest order. - Her business
training gives her, too, that broader
comprehension of affairs which comes
to men through contact with diversi
fied problems of far-reaching impor
tance to the state and nation.
"The business woman is democratic
In the finest sense of the term. She
knows how to mingle and work with
others.
"By business women, I do not neces
sarily mean unmarried women, for to
day we find scores of married women
in the professions as well as in busi
ness careers. And during the war the
work done by married women was
most excellent. In fact, many mili
tary authorities were disposed to say
that the work of the married woman
showed a deeper and more intelligent
grasp than that of the single woman.
"If we desire a strong, virile nation,
we must develop our women to work
in concert. The problem of every na
tion from generation to generation is
the proble.n of improving the quality
of its mothers. A nation rises in im
portance and achievement according
to the quality of its motherhood, the
moulders of the race. Women find
the freest expression of their talents
and abilities through team work, that
is to say. with groups of men and
women."
SCIENCE FINDS ADMIRATION
FOR POISON IVYS DEFENSE
Three Leaves Spell "Foe and Five Leaves "Friend," Rule for Dis
tinguishing From Virginia Creeper.
ASHINGTON, July 24. "Look are shining green, short-stemmed and
t for that poison ivy, is an
oft-repeated cry these picnic
days.
To know the poison ivy Is to avoid
it. yet to admire it. for its sturdy
self-defense," says a communication
to the National Geographic society.
The poison Ivy is a member of the
sumac family, having as relatives the
vinegar tree, the smooth sumac and
the smoke-bush. Its range reaches
as far north as Nova Scotia, as far
south as Florida and Texas, and as
far west as Utah and British Colum
bia. "Many people confuse the Virginia
creeper with the rascally poison ivy,
a confusion which nothing but care
lessness in remembering the charac
teristics of plants could bring about;
for the Virginia creeper is careful
always to put fortn five leaves where
the poison ivy has only three.
"The Virginia creeper is condemned
as being poison ivy oftener than poi
son ivy is accredited with beinK a
Virginia creeper. Many a Virginia
creeper has reached the untimely end
of mattock execution by the error,
and not a few people have received
a painful reminder of their mistake
when they have failed to observe that
three leaves spell 'foe' in the ivy and
five leaves "friend."
"The poison ivy, or poison oak, as
some call it. is a prodigal climber, in;
clined to run over everything in eight.
Even the oak sometimes is almost
smothered when the poison ivy
reaches its topmost branches and
spreads Its dense foliage over them.
"It begins to blossom in May and
June, its flowers being small, fra
grant, yellowish green and arranged
in densely clustered spikes. Toward
fall these develop into smooth, white,
wax-like berries that often hold fast
, the winter through. - The three leaves
oval-pointed.
"The poison of this Ivy is a pow
erful, non-volatile oil which pene
trates the pores of the human skin
and develops hosts of tiny itching
blisters, followed by a burning swell
ing of the affected parts.
"While we very naturally dislike a
plant that poisons us when we touch
it, yet If we investigate the reason
for its poison we discover that a
vast number of plants develop poisons
and near-poisons, and when we look
over the list we find that we would
be rather badly off without them, it
is true that most of them are poison
ous only when eaten, and that few
are poisonous to the touch, but they
have all developed these qualities in
self-defense.
"Some of them store their poison
In their seeds, others in their root
stocks, and others in their roots to
protect their progeny from harm.
They do not go about looking for
trouble' or seeking, like the devil,
whom they may destroy: but they are
prepared to resist invasion of the
rights of their children, jf ui vomica
and aconite are two of many such
illustrations that might be cited.
"Others develop alkaloids, like the
nicotine of tobacco, the quinine of
the cinchona tree, and the theine of
tea, to protect themselves. Strych
nine, digital's and a hundred and one'
indispensable drugs that are poison
ous In overdoses are the gift of the
plant world to man as a by-product
of plant preparations for self-defense.
"And so, when the poison ivy
learned to give off its poison by con
tact rather than through its own
destruction, it simply went a step
further than Its neighbors. It has
arranged Its plans of defense so that
it can wage war without first being
eaten. In that respect it meets the
problem in the eamn way as the
thistle and the thorn, although it
fights by Bubtle stealth rather than
open warfare."