A WORD TO WOMEN

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3129, 6 July 1917, Page 2

A WORD TO WOMEN

A CORRESPONDENT'S APPEAL. Tho following letter has been received, from a correspondent, and tho remarks she makes should do something to make people realiso that this is no time to slacken any effort that makes for tho comfort of our soldiers, whether they are lighting at tho front or in hospital at Homo. If by any strange chance there aro yet people to bo found who have not bestirred themselves on their behalf tho facts she mentions should mako them lose no further tirno in doing what they can for these men who aro fighting so bravely for homes and country and civilisation itself. The letter is as follows:—"With your permission the following remarks aro addressed to all who are not working to their fullest ability for the needs of our soldiers. Information recently received, both public and private, tends to the fact that the pinch of want will bo felt much more acutely than hitherto. One officer, writing about April, says: "There is very little wool in England . . . the men welcome food parcels. ... It is weeks since we had potatoes at our mess. Wo get little sugar, and are cautioned to wasto no bread.' Supplementing the food supply is possibly left to individual friends, but an nppoal for knitted comforts in much greater quantities should not fall on any deaf ears. If there is little woo! in England it is no use relying on the British Government. Tliey cannot make bricks without straw. Parcels sent from the Town Hall are not nearly sufficient for ho men in the trenches. Lost are cast for them, and it is quite likely that those who don't get. them have no friends to supply them. Is it not time to put away the pretty eyelet-hole embroidery and crochet work, and realiso that thosn brave kinsmen who aro fighting to the death for U9 will suffer severely from frost-bite if dainty trifles aro allowed to take precedence of comforters, caps, waistcoats, mittens, and, above all, socks. For a man is helpless, indeed a drag, if his feet are not in good condition. Possibly the ever-rising price of wool is partly the reason women and girls are not knitting. That is an unnecessary hardship, and should have been legislated against earlier, for our soldiers are by it the chief sufferers. But. oven so, it is a straight-out duty to do the little one can for those who aro doing so much for us.-Honour of New Zealand."