'Here's a man,' says Ernestine, 'asking, "If the women get full citizenship, and a war is declared, will the women fight?"'
'Haw! haw!'
'Yes.'
'Yes. Just tell us that!'
'Well'—she smiled—'you know some say the whole trouble about us is that we do fight. But it's only hard necessity makes us do that. We don't want to fight—as men seem to—just for fighting's sake. Women are for peace.'
'Hear! hear!'
'And when we have a share in public affairs there'll be less likelihood of war. Wasn't it a woman, the Baroness von Suttner, whose book about peace was the corner-stone of the Peace Congress? Wasn't it that book that converted the millionaire maker of armaments of war? Wasn't it the Baroness von Suttner's book that made Nobel offer those great international prizes for the Arts of Peace? I'm not saying women can't fight. But we women know all war is evil, and we're for peace. Our part—we're proud to remember it—our part has been to go about after you men in war time and pick up the pieces!'
A great shout went up as the truth of that rolled in upon the people.
'Yes; seems funny, doesn't it? You men blow people to bits, and then we come along and put them together again. If you know anything about military nursing, you know a good deal of our work has been done in the face of danger; but it's always been done.'
'That's so. That's so.'