THE WOMEN'S LEGION

New Zealand Times, Volume XLII, Issue 9792, 16 October 1917, Page 7

THE WOMEN'S LEGION

W. G. Shepherd, the Petrograd poprospondenlt of' the United Pipes*’ of America. telcgiß-pShs under data July st>vh to an sMfdsii «hm? Mva Dheta Ohild» Dorr, ap American wntor, who h»h j\w* wfeonied. from the Wpmen’s Legion of Death, with which she went to the front, says:— "t'Wihon I left the women’s headouartajf a tew days ago they did P«t «?BSC* to go into action, though they had been Siiifing to do go for many days, I lived wttft them tWO weclcti. 1 There are wq-. men cf all types, peasants, intellectuals, (looters, stenographers, telephone girls, efe When J tefit them I did t(ot really believe in my kdadi thgt’ they would h% gent to the front. •nVhe.n wg shartsd frng» Petrograd we tiigTWed in cam wtth, wooden bniM 1 end «w»wda on W pbrttevmsi made fun ®f us. Mhißf. ‘why no g»rte want to fight?’ 'Because you men are cowards,' f«teitod ttte wconen, jumping pfi the train #pd shouting and making speoehes, "A journey of forty hours brought us to headquarters near VUna, where we w?r§ eeaduetfid ta leas wsodfs huts, half sunk in the earth. We slept hers pn wooden shelves. Soldiers gathered in their tfiouwmda, The first night there wag a pounding on the door, and a ( Jewish jfirl Wilting gore the challenge. 'Aren’t the iu herer' asked soidieiß outside, ‘We are not girls, we. are aqUlfera,* sS'id the sentinel, stepping out- ‘lf yon dwt gp away we’ll shoot,’ Tiifty WMVfc* ‘’Thruikt d*T W« «ll went to the rivsi; to b®the, eontlnele guarding u«^ The me* stood e tea* distance °u. them office re, who are gll gep.tlejnen, assisting in heepio? thm Wch, J&.wtwd every day, hul the women named oat their drulg and practices in ebnrp'Mcat, ins aiifaidngiy. They Uy?d just e« d» the With tW# difference, that their ooramiader, lima. Botohkarevn, who is now wounded, was foal timei atrtotor* T*t women always calird her\ w Cegnanaader,’ When I asked them Thy. mwiwUed. ‘° h; dl miiitarr terms are masculine, and it is mtieh too much of a fag to go fominie, ing the list of war terms,* “Qf course, many men thought the women were there for evil purposes, hot w* soon disabused their winds. Many of the soldiers said, ‘Well, they'U novd let you go to the front. The .fcAiremiajfi have sent us word, and we'll till Jon before we permit you to,' “The only sign of mutiny | ever eaW grow out of the demend made by the women to go into battle. They had been drilling only five weeks, and their superior* seemed to feel they ought to bj kept back longer. When word came that they were to be mpved nearer the front their hufrehe lasted many min. i.tes. Th®aa women have overthrown every convention and luryofeten every, thing thoit women have ever been taught. You have no idea how nice women can b* when they are absolutely natural and unselfish. These did their jeh in dead earnest, and there was no nonsense about them. When they indulged' in e little skylarking Mam. Itetchkarsva itoed to shout: ‘No silliness, i'ou may be dead in five days.’ It had never occurred to me before that women ought, to go to war, but I am convinced sow that in anv country, under such. ecu. ditions, women ought to step into the breach, guns in hand. It is their conn,, try w each m the men*i, w -BKhws9,