Germany in War Time: What an American Girl Saw and Heard

by Mary Ethel McAuley

Society Women Helping the Poor Children.

The women will be divided into two classes for their army year—the first class being the higher and more educated German girls, and the second class being the poorer girls who must earn their own living. Naturally, the rich girl who stays at home would not be taught the same branches as a poor girl.

The better class girls will pay for their year of service. Buildings would have to be built for them, complete in every equipment, where they could live during that year. The other girls would be taught in the public schools, and their training would be free, the State paying for everything—clothes, food and training.

The most important thing for the women to learn in their year would be housekeeping. Not merely the keeping of the house in order, such as sweeping, dusting and scrubbing and all the branches that go with housekeeping. They must learn cooking, not only cooking for strong healthy people, but things that sick people can eat. They must learn to prepare food for infants. They must learn to do washing and ironing, and they must learn to make a bed properly.

They must learn to do scientific marketing, so that they will know what to buy without wasting, for Sparsamkeit, i. e., economy, is one of the fundamental things to learn. They will be taught what to do when there is no fat to be had, and they will be given different menus for times when certain foods are scarce.

Then the German women will be taught how to make a garden, when to plant different seeds and what grows best in certain seasons. Chicken raising will be taught to the girls who care to know about it, and for the country girls there will be training in the making of dairy products.

Society Women Learning to Cook.

After housekeeping the next important thing is nursing. The women must learn to take care of the sick, how to make bandages, and perhaps some knowledge of medicine. If this branch is distasteful to any of the women they will not be compelled to pursue it very far, but for those who like the branch they can continue it until they become graduate nurses.