THE WAR AND MORALS
The unprecedented state of things produced by the war brought in its
train serious anxiety as to moral conditions, not only in regard to
the relation between the sexes but in other ways. The gathering of
every kind of man together in camps creates great problems. Young
boys, who had never been away from home before, who know very
little of the world or of temptations, were often flung in with very
undesirable companions. There were many risks and many hard tests
and the parents who see their young boys go to camp without preparing
them, or warning them, do their boys a great disservice and I have
known of sons who bore in their hearts a feeling of having been badly
treated by their parents, that would never die, for being sent without
a word of counsel into these things.
It is not only actions--corrupt thoughts are the most evil of all--and
to help to give our boys the greatest possession, moral courage,
founded on knowledge, is our finest gift.
There were temptations to think less cleanly, to hear things said
without protest and to say them later. There were drinking temptations
and one used to wonder with a sick heart, what mothers would feel if
they could see these young boys of theirs sometimes, so pathetically
young and so foolish. There was also in these great camps of men--let
us realize that quite clearly--great good for the boys and the
men--good that far outweighs the evil. All the good of discipline,
all they gained by their coming together for a great cause, all they
gained in that great comradeship and service for each other, and in
their self-sacrifice for their country and the world. The wonder
and beauty of what it is, and means some of our own men have told
us--among them one who died, Donald Hankey, and has left us a rich
treasure in his works. And we all know it in our own men--that abiding
spirit that is the vision without which the people perish.
But there are and were evils to fight and men and women to help. The
huts and canteens and guesthouses are great agencies for good--as well
as for comfort. Loneliness, and nowhere to go, and no one to talk to,
are conditions that make for mischief.
Then there were the girls at the outbreak of the war, excited by all
that was happening, not yet busy as they nearly all are now, feeling
that the greatest thing was to know the soldiers and talk and walk
with them, and flocking around camps and barracks, being foolish and
risking worse.
The National Union of Women Workers decided to take action about this
and drew up a scheme which they submitted to the Chief Commissioner
of the Metropolitan Police, Sir Edward Henry, K.C.V.O. This scheme was
for women of experience and knowledge of girls to patrol in the camps
and barrack areas, and talk to girls who were behaving foolishly, and
try to influence them for good. It was felt and it turned out to be
quite accurate that the mere presence of these women would make girls
and men behave better. Sir Edward Henry approved of the idea and
arranged that each Patrol should have a card signed by him to be
carried while on duty, authorizing the Patrols to seek and get the
assistance of the Police, if necessary, and the Patrols wore an armlet
with badge and number.
Their work in London proved so successful that the Home Office
recommended the adoption of the scheme in provincial centres, where
the Chief Constables authorized them and later the War Office asked
for more Patrols in some of the camp areas and spoke very highly of
their work.
A woman Patrol is generally a woman who is busy in her own home or
profession all day, but who gives some hours one or two evenings a
week to this work.
They have done the work faithfully and well, and have exceeded in
their success all anticipations. There are about 3,000 Patrols in the
Kingdom; of these eighty-five are engaged in special work in London
and paid by the Commissioner of Police. Two are engaged in work at
Woolwich Arsenal. Two are Park Keepers appointed by the Board of Works
and are working in Kensington Gardens, and their names were submitted
to the King before appointment. They have the power of arrest.
A subsidy has been granted to the Women's Patrol Committee for the
training of Women Patrols of £400 a year. In many big towns admirable
work has been done.
In Edinburgh the Patrol Committee was asked by H.M. Office of Works to
help the men park keepers in keeping order in the King's Park.
This they have done with great success. Dublin has just taken over two
women Patrols as paid workers.
The Military, Admiralty, Police, and Civil Authorities have all united
in praising their work and any one can realize how much patience and
tact and knowledge it calls for, and what it means to have had it done
for over three years. The patrols have not been content only to talk
to the girls, though it is wonderful what that alone can do. They have
succeeded in getting them to come to clubs and they have worked
in connection with the mixed clubs of which we have several very
successful ones. A mixed club is very useful and helpful, but it must
be well run by a good committee of men and women, and you need people
of judgment and knowledge and tactful firmness in charge of it, if it
is to be the best kind of club.
We have found an admirable thing is to have evenings for men friends
in the Girls' Clubs when the girls can invite their men friends in,
and have music and games and entertainment.
When Patrols were started, there was a very strong feeling that there
ought to be women police, a much needed change in our country. We had
none when war broke out, but in September, 1914, Miss Darner Dawson
founded the Women Police Service. When members joined they were
trained in drill, first aid, practical instructions in Police Duties,
gained by actual work in streets, parks, etc. They studied special
acts relating to women and children and civil and criminal law and the
procedure and rules of evidence in Police Courts.
Their first work was done in Grantham where, in November, 1914,
the Women's Central Committee of Grantham elected a Women Police
Subcommittee to provide a fund for the payment of two Police Women to
work with the Chief Constable. In February the following letter was
written about their work:
"To the Chief Officer, Women Police,--I understand that there
is some idea of removing the two members of the Women Police
now stationed here. I trust that this is not the case. The
services of the two ladies in question have proved of great
value. They have removed sources of trouble to the troops in a
manner that the Military Police could not attempt. Moreover, I
have no doubt whatever that the work of these two ladies in an
official capacity is a great safeguard to the moral welfare of
young girls in the town.
(Signed) "F. HAMMERSLEY, M.G., Commanding 11th Division, Grantham."
and in November, 1915, they were made official Police by the City
Council. In July, 1916, the Police Miscellaneous Provisions Act was
passed, which encouraged the employment of Policewomen by stating that
pay of the police "shall be deemed to include the pay of any women who
may be employed by a Police Authority," etc.
Now there are thirty-four Policewomen in our Boroughs, but their
position is still anomalous and unsatisfactory, as they do not come
under the Police Act for purposes of discipline, pay, pensions, and
compensation, but this will come. Meantime the Women Police Service
goes on doing its admirable work of training and providing Volunteer
and Semi-official police (supported by women's funds), in addition to
those appointed by local authorities in Boroughs.
These semi-official police women are able to do a great deal, if the
Chief Constable is friendly, and, naturally, they are appointed where
he is so. They are often made Probation Officers and are used for
children's and girl's and women's cases. Their work leads more and
more to the official appointments and in this work as in so many
of our successes, we women have achieved the results by having the
voluntary organizations and training ourselves first and proving our
fitness.
From my own experience, it is impossible to speak too highly of the
kindness and willingness of many Chief Constables to do everything to
teach and help the women.
The Women Police Service naturally insists on a high standard of
training and this has been of great value.
A big development of women police work has been in the Munition
factories where now about 700 women are employed in this capacity in
England, Scotland and Wales.
The report of the Women's Police Service gives the following
interesting account.
"In 1916 the Department Explosives Supply of the Ministry of Munitions
applied to Sir Edward Henry for a force of Women Police to act as
guards for certain of H.M. Factories. Sir Edward Henry sent for the
two chief officers of the Women Police Service, and informed them that
it was his intention to recommend them to the Ministry of Munitions
for the supplying of the Women Police required. They thanked the
Commissioner for his expression of trust in their capabilities, and in
July an agreement was drawn up between the Minister of Munitions
and the Chief Officer and Chief Superintendent of the Women Police
Service, who were appointed to act as the Minister's representatives
for the 'training, supplying and controlling' of the Force required.
The duties of the Policewomen were to include checking the entry of
women into the factory, examining passports, searching for contraband,
namely, matches, cigarettes and alcohol; dealing with complaints of
petty offences; patrolling the neighbourhood for the protection of
women going home from work; accompanying the women to and fro in the
workmen's trains to the neighbouring towns where they lodge; appearing
in necessary cases at the Police Court, and assisting the magistrates
in dealing with such cases, if required to. The Force for each factory
was to consist of an inspector, sergeants and constables. Women to
be trained for this work were at once enrolled by the Women Police
Service and trained under a Staff of Officers.
"Since the inauguration of factory-police work for women in July,
1916, a marked success has attended the organisation, which has
resulted in almost daily applications for Policewomen for factories
situated in every part of the United Kingdom. We are not able to give
a list of these factories nor to mention their names in our report
of the work carried on by them, but we may say that at the present
time we are supplying H.M. Factories, National Filling Factories
and Private Controlled Factories. We are sure that our patrons and
subscribers will feel as proud as we are of the intrepid Policewomen
who for the past fourteen months have been carrying out these duties,
which, we believe, no women have hitherto dreamt of undertaking, and
which have called forth qualities of tact, discretion, cool courage
and endurance that would compare well with any of those whom we call
heroes in the fight at the front. We would call attention to one
factory from which both the military and male Police Guard has
been withdrawn. The factory employs several thousand women in the
manufacture and disposal of some of the most dangerous explosives
demanded by the war. When an air raid is in progress the operatives
are cleared from the factory and the sheds and magazines are left
to the sole charge of the Firemen and Policewomen, who take up the
respective posts allotted to them. The Policewomen who guard the
various magazines know that they hold their lives in their hands.
We are proud to report that not one woman has failed at her post or
shirked her duty in the hour of danger. The duties assigned to the
Policewomen and their officers in these factories have increased
considerably in scope during the past year. In one factory the force
of Policewomen numbers 160 under one Chief Inspector, two Inspectors
and twelve Sergeants, all of whom have been sworn in and take entire
charge of all police cases dealing with women. They arrest, convey the
prisoners to the Women Police Charge Station, keep their own charge
sheets and other official documents, lock the prisoner in the cells,
keep guard over her, convey her to the Court House for trial, and if
convicted convey her to the prison. A short time ago the Inspector of
Policewomen in one of H.M. Factories was instructed by the authorities
to send a Policewoman to a distant town to fetch a woman prisoner,
an old offender. The Policewoman was armed with a warrant, railway
vouchers and handcuffs. The prisoner was handed over to the
Policewoman by the Policeman, and the Policewoman and her charge
returned without trouble. The prisoner expressed her relief and
gratitude at being escorted by a Policewoman, and behaved well
throughout the journey. The Policewoman reported that she was given
every courtesy and assistance by both police and railway officials.
[Illustration: POLICE WOMEN]
"We believe this constitutes the first time in history that women
guards have been entrusted with the care and custody of their
fellow-women when charged with breaking the law."
Other pieces of important and difficult work have been undertaken by
women.
There have been, unfortunately, cases in which the soldier's wife,
left at home, has behaved badly and been unfaithful. Men often write
from the trenches to the Chief Constable to ask if charges made
to them in letters about their wives are true. Naturally the Chief
Constable asks the women to investigate these charges. Sometimes the
charges are quite unfounded, simply spiteful and malicious and the
woman and Chief Constable write and say so.
In other cases the husband knows of unfaithfulness and writes to the
Army Pay Office asking to have the allowance stopped to his wife.
The Army Pay Office never acts on any such letter without securing a
report from the Chief Constable, and again the woman is needed,
and there is frequently the question of the children as well. Their
allowance, of course, never ceases but they may go to some relative or
be disposed of in some way.
These cases are infinitesimal in number.
After the outbreak of the war there were many scares. Every one in our
country knows now how a myth is established. We have left the stage
behind where people told you they knew, from a friend, who knew a
friend who knew some one else who saw it, who was in the War Office,
etc., etc., etc.--that England was invaded--that the Navy was all
down--or the German Navy was all down--that we were going to do this,
that, or the other impossible thing.
Dame Rumour had a joyous time in the early days of the war and
we suffered from the people who were not only quite certain that
everything was wrong morally, but told us that the illegitimate birth
rate was going to be enormous. Their accusations against our ordinary
girls were monstrous. There was some excitement and foolishness, but
anybody who was really working and dealing with it as the Patrol were,
knew the accusations were ridiculous. The illegitimate birth rate of
our country is lower than before, which is the best reply to, and
the vindication of the men of our armies and our girls against, these
absurd attacks.
Another scare was about the drinking of women. Soldiers' wives were
attacked in this connection and the same kind of wild accusation
made, so much so that a committee was appointed to go into the whole
question (1915), presided over by Mrs. Creighton, President of the
National Union of Women Workers.
In my experience a great deal of this talk was caused by the fact that
many women, who had never done social work, and who knew nothing of
real conditions, started to go among the people and were shocked and
overwhelmed by what were unfortunately normal wrong conditions, and
lost all sense of perspective. Some women did drink--true--but I found
they were generally the women who always had done it, and who perhaps
in some cases, having more money of their own and no husbands to deal
with, drank a little more.
The findings of the Committee showed this clearly and they made some
recommendations, especially recommending that the Central Board for
the Control of the Liquor Traffic proceeded to do on its creation,
restriction of hours of sale. Our restrictions make the sale of liquor
legal only from 12 noon to 2.30 and from 6.30 to 8.30 or 9 P.M. Our
convictions for drunkenness for women have fallen very low and for
men, too. There is very much less drinking in our country and things
are very much improved.
These attacks on soldiers' wives were naturally much resented as their
work in the homes and industries, with their men away, and all their
difficulties, has not always been easy. We find there is a little more
difficulty with the boys. They miss the fathers' discipline and there
has been some trouble through that, but such magnificent agencies as
the Boy Scouts, who have helped us everywhere in the war, do great
good.
The problem of dealing with the prevention of immorality has been
a big one. The Women Patrols and the Women Police have been used in
London in Waterloo Road (which had a bad reputation) and in parks,
etc. The G.R. Volunteer Corps of men who meet the soldier arriving in
London at the stations do a very good work.
In the Army and Navy excellent leaflets and booklets were issued
dealing with the question in a very straightforward and admirable way.
The Council for Moral and Social Hygiene and the National Council for
Combating Venereal Diseases has been doing a great work. The latter,
which is a body set up as a result of the Government Commission on
Venereal Diseases, had done a great deal of educational work and has
set up an organization over the country. The Commission recommended
much fuller facilities for free treatment for those suffering from
these diseases in every town and district.
A Criminal Law Amendment Bill has been brought in and it improves
our existing law in many ways and strengthens it. There has been much
controversy about certain of its provisions, some dealing with power
to send young girls to homes. There is a very strong feeling among
many of our social workers that Rescue Work in our country altogether
needs overhauling and change, and new experiments are being tried.
Wars have almost invariably in the past meant an enormous increase in
venereal diseases on the return of the army in the civil population.
Armies lose large numbers of men by them, and every person must feel
it is their plain duty to leave no means untried and no measures
unused that could help.
The woman who lives by her immoral earnings is, like the man who is
immoral and uncontrolled, a serious danger and menace to her country
and to generations yet unborn.
The problems that arise from the existence of these two groups are
the business of all men and women. The problems are those of providing
decent and wholesome recreation and surroundings, of helping men and
women to meet under right conditions, of giving the right kind of
information and guidance to the soldier and the girl, of realizing
what drink does in this traffic, and the fundamental task of working
to create better social, economic and moral conditions.
There is no need nor is it desirable to have masses of people
suffer unnecessary misery by a knowledge of the exact nature of this
disease--which leads sometimes to morbidity and often to a frenzied
desire to do something at once, before they really know anything about
the question and what has been done.
There are three questions that ought to be answered in the affirmative
before any legislation or preventive treatment is decided on.
Will the proposed action apply equally to men and to women, to rich
and to poor?
Will it tend to increase and not undermine the powers of self-control?
Will it improve morals in the nation and elevate them?
Repressive measures by themselves achieve nothing. Preventive measures
of every practical and sound kind we want, but most of all we need
to inculcate the truth that "Self-reverence, self-knowledge,
self-control, These three alone lead man to sovereign power."
It is not enough to prevent and teach. We should be willing to help
up, to save, to love, and we should never be self-righteous in our
help.
Who among us has the right to cast the first stone?
WHAT THE WAR HAS DONE FOR WOMEN
"Give her of the fruits of her lands and let her own words
praise her in the gates."
--PROV., Chap 31.