USA > California > Alameda County > History of Alameda County, California. Volume I > Part 33
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Reference has already been made to the work of the Women's Com- mittee in food conservation. Before the appointment of the Federal Food Administrator in California, through the County organization which had been formed, the Women's Committee collected thousands of pledges in the county, carried on educational campaigns through
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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
women's clubs, and by means of neighborhood gatherings brought about greater household economies. In their earlier endeavors, Ala- meda County women along with their sisters throughout the state bore the brunt of the fight to overcome the prejudices of those who felt that they were already economizing sufficiently and of those who believed that the housewives should not be called upon to do their part unless the great commercial waste in using cereals and grains in the manufacture of spirituous liquors were eliminated. In cooperation with the College of Agriculture of the University they joined in the state-wide campaign for conservation and gave demonstrations of household economies and of scientific methods of canning, drying and preserving food. Lessons and classes in home economics were arranged in the early months of the existence of the County Committee. Later the Department of Home Economics worked mostly through the schools and the women's clubs, also through the County Farm Home Demonstrator. Under the Food Administration, Mrs. W. E. Gibson, Oakland; Mrs. Douglass W. Ross, Berkeley; Mrs. A. J. Wilson, Alameda; Mrs. J. E. Thane, Niles, were appointed to direct the work of conservation. These Food Directors, as they were called, had their special headquarters and did their work with great success. The first activity of the Food Administration Depart- ment of the County Committee was the campaign for signing food pledges, during which 45,000 signatures were obtained. An interesting feature of this work was the enthusiasm with which the school chil- dren of the county promised to abstain from candy and ice cream for the year.
An important work of the County Committee was a survey made of all organizations and agencies already engaged in any kind of Amer- icanization work, also of factories employing foreigners, and of their methods-if any-of Americanization. In May, 1918, a census was taken by the Women's Armies in Oakland and Berkeley, of the foreign- born, of the children of the foreign-born, and of their knowledge of the English language and of their own language.
Valuable service in the promotion of health and hygiene, especially among the children of the county, was rendered by the "Children's Year" and like departments of the committee. Working in conjunction with the State Children's Year Committee, which had been subsidized by the State Legislature in the sum of $5,000, the local department car- ried on a weighing and measuring drive during June and July, 1918. Information concerning child health and welfare was distributed to
384
HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
mothers of the county in pamphlets and bulletins, and health centers and clinics were established.
Closely related to child health was the work of the department which dealt with education and the problem of school attendance. The latter question was greatly aggravated by war time conditions, many women and children being employed in industry who would not otherwise have been working outside the home. In 1917 the Education Department joined with the Department of Child Welfare under chairmanship of Miss Evelyn Stoddart in an endeavor to protect the children of Cali- fornia from the forces of disintegration which the nations longer in the war had found seriously menacing education and juvenile well-being. To this end, a circular letter and questionnaire were prepared and sent to all Education and Child Welfare County chairmen for distribution by them to all school districts. This questionnaire and "follow-up" letters to individuals, from five to fourteen each, sought to get the facts about school enrollment, number of children out of school, number at work, the extent to which war conditions were forcing children to work, the "leakage" between elementary and high schools, and certain other matters.
The census taken in Oakland was probably the most successful of those carried on in any part of the state. In that city, with the assistance of the attendance officer of the Oakland Board of Education, and the Woman's Army, a real school attendance census of children up to the age of eighteen was carried out. The Board of Education furnished the blanks, and the expert advice for their completion; the Woman's Army furnished the house-to-house volunteer service. Generous pub- licity was given the drive by the newspapers and the moving picture theatres. One of the notices of the drive displayed on the silver screen read :
"KEEP OUR CHILDREN IN SCHOOL
Uncle Sam knows how many mules there are in Oakland. He does not know how many children there are in Oakland. Will you help him find out? A house-to-house canvass bv the Woman's Army will begin next week. Give all the help you can."
Some of the statistics gathered are given below : In Oakland, May, 1918 "Boys and girls from 14-18 years of age not in school 1,802
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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
"Reasons for leaving school (percentages )-
Economic necessity 33%
Failure, disappointment in school
10
Sickness
10
Parents' wish, business opportunity, etc. 31
Unknown and miscellaneous
16
100%
"Character of work engaged in (percentages)-
Errands, delivery, etc. 4%
Public service corporations
6
Office, mercantile, retail
19
Electrical, mechanical, factory, etc. 32
Housework, dressmaking, laundry, etc. 10
Miscellaneous
9
Unknown, or temporarily out
13
Not working at all
7
100%"
The remarkable house-to-house canvass revealed the need for con- tinued and extended Americanization. For example the survey showed that about 60 percent of the children under eighteen in Oakland were of foreign birth or had foreign-born parents; that 1,051 fathers could not read or write English; that 560 fathers could not read or write any language ; that 600 mothers could not read or write any language. Fif- teen native born Californians were found who could not read or write any language yet had children under eighteen. During and since the war the School Women's Club and the Oakland and Berkeley Federa- tions of Mothers' Clubs have carried out Americanization work.
Health and Recreation was another department of the Women's Committee which made an important contribution in Alameda County. The work of this department was in large part combined with that of the Girl's War Service Department and with aid given the War Camp Community Committee ; though, also, for some months, the Department Chairman arranged for many talks on health and recreation at churches and other meeting places. The two chief efforts of this department were devoted to protective work for girls and educational work in social hygiene. An endeavor was made to care for wayward girls who had run away from home in order to be near the excitement of camp life and to caution other girls against the unusual temptations which were
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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
the result of war time unrest. Sound sex education through churches, clubs, and girls' organizations was an important undertaking of this department.
Under the direction of the Girls' War Service Department, of which Ruth Wilder was chairman, talks and lectures were given through the efforts of the Unit Chairmen, and classes were formed for girls all to the end that they might be better able to give patriotic service not only in work with their hands but in the cultivation of character. Miss Ethel Moore, an Oakland woman, served as state chairman of this de- partment from April to November, 1918. A large girls' club was or- ganized in Oakland under the War Camp Community Service. This club used the Patriotic League pledge so widely used by other girls' organizations throughout the State. Members of the Patriotic League pledged themselves to maintain high moral standards from a sense of patriotic duty. Patriotic addresses were given by the State Chairman in high schools and private schools in Alameda and other counties. Ac- tively cooperating in this work, the Oakland Young Women's Christian Association took over several Patriotic Leagues as Girls' Reserves.
To the Liberty Loan drives, treated at length in another section of this history, the women of Alameda County made a substantial con- tribution. Unquestionably their success, as that of the Red Cross drives, was due largely to the canvassing and other work of women's organizations. The Women's Liberty Loan Committee in the county and the different towns and cities, added greatly to the bond subscrip- tions by the canvass, each time, by the Women's Armies. The work was carried on in cooperation with the various men's committees. For the Third and Fourth Liberty Loans, the only ones for which figures were compiled, Oakland women ranked next to those of Los Angeles in the percentage of the quota raised through their efforts and outdis- tanced those of San Francisco. The percentages were as follows: Los Angeles, 60.7% ; San Francisco, 5.5% ; Oakland, 43%. The amounts of subscriptions and the quotas of the three cities were as follows :
Reports from subscriptions by Women's Committee :
Loss Angeles .$26,100,500
San Francisco 6,000,000
Oakland 6,730,575 Quotas of these cities (for Third and Fourth Loans) were : Los Angeles $ 42,938,900 San Francisco 107,876,500 Oakland 13,320,350
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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
The whole County Committee and the Red Cross had the most cor- dial relations, the Women's Armies often assisting in their drives. A very careful survey was made of all existing social agencies in Alameda County, and much valuable information was thus gained. The news- papers were most generous in giving space to the material furnished by the publicity chairmen of the Committee and many leaflets, dodgers and pamphlets were distributed from the various headquarters and by the Women's Armies. Members gave numerous public addresses and posters were also used to carry the Government's messages to the people. The Women's Committee also made a careful survey of women in different forms of industry in the county with their wages, hours and kinds of labor, and other pertinent data. Help was also given in obtaining recruits for the Women's Land Army.
Besides the activities described in the foregoing the Women's Committee engaged in numerous branches of special work. During the influenza epidemic considerable aid was given throughout the county by the Unit Committees, especially in the dissemination of information. in the appeals for nurses, in the collection of needed clothing, in the "manning" of emergency hospitals, in the procuring and cooking of food. The Committee performed valuable service in recruiting a student nurse reserve through newspaper appeals, talks made at various gath- erings, and leaflet distribution by the Women's Armies. In all fifty-four volunteers were obtained.
In several of the county units besides Berkeley, girl and women drivers were enlisted and Motor Corps thus formed, through the co- operation of the National League of Women's Service. The Committee also undertook to keep its activities before the public by providing dem- onstrations at fairs and exhibitions held during the war period. Oak- land unit had a splendid display at the Land Show held in Oakland in the fall of 1918 and obtained the help of many workers. Community singing of patriotic songs was encouraged at many gatherings by the Committee. The distribution of cook-books containing economical rec- ipes was another work of the Committee. The Oakland unit was espe- cially active in the distribution of cook-books as well as many different United States bulletins. Berkeley unit published two editions of a large and useful War Cook-Book which sold at fifty cents a copy. The Com- mittee also assisted the Woman's Land Army to enroll members through the different unit chairmen, and through the membership on its Executive Committee of the County Committee's chairman, Mrs. Fred- erick C. Turner.
388
HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
Occasional references have already been made to the Women's War Service Armies of the county. These were the unique contribution of Alameda County to civilian activities during the World war, for the idea of mobilizing women under military regulations originated there. The "War Service Army," first started in Berkeley and Oakland, and later adopted by at least sixteen counties throughout the state, was organized under a colonel with subordinate officers including majors, captains, lieutenants, and sergeants. Mrs. Frances T. Robson, wife of Captain Robson, U. S. A., colonel of the Mobilized Women of Ber- keley, also served as chairman of this committee of the State Women's Committee and was the moving spirit in the organization of similar organizations in other counties. Mrs. Magnus A. Anderson com- manded the women forces of the City of Oakland.
An interesting feature of the armies was their democratic character, for membership was based on residence in specific city blocks or in school districts in the case of rural sections. At the meetings held be- fore each drive or other task, society matron and factory woman met on common ground. It was found that the Women's Army was the most efficient method of canvassing. The colonel studied her district, whether city, town or county, divided it into sections, each delegated to a major, and so on, through the lower ranks, until the lieutenants were reached, each of whom was responsible for a block. A lieutenant was often assisted by a sergeant who might be a Girl Scout, or a mem- ber of the Patriotic League.
This house-to-house canvassing often disclosed cases of need, espe- cially during the influenza epidemic, which otherwise would not have been reported. As a means of distribution of printed information, and general canvassing for funds, the army was most effective. In Ber- keley under command of Mrs. Lewis A. Hicks, 800 women could be thrown into the field at an hour's notice. It stood ready for every emergency. It was also of material assistance in the Loan drives. When the shipbuilders needed housing, the army canvassed with excellent re- sults, and filled the order. When the distracted doctors called for nurses, to care for influenza victims, the Army signed up hundreds of women, having made the appeal directly by word of mouth. At the same time the army collected hundreds of blankets, pillows, sheets, and pieces of old linen for use in the improvised hospitals. When the Red Cross wanted to know how many families of enlisted men were in the community the army furnished the information. Likewise it registered all foreigners, with information as to their nationality, loyalty, and number of mem-
389
HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
bers in the family. When the "Children's Year" program was to be carried out, the army assisted by spreading the word among the mothers. Reference has already been made to the assistance furnished by the Women's Army in the Oakland school census.
In Berkeley, where the idea of a Women's Army was first realized, representatives of 153 women's organizations gathered to devise plans for aiding Federal and State authorities in meeting the emergency. These women represented fraternal, social, civic, and church groups and were fully organized for war work before the Women's Committee of the State Council of Defense had begun to function. A board of di- rectors was chosen at the first meeting to serve as a clearing house for war services. From this germ in time sprang the Women's Army al- ready described.
From the inception of the Berkeley Army, the forces were used only for emergency work when quick results were desired. The army was not used for continuous demands, such as the sale of Thrift stamps, but for sudden drives. It became so efficient that when the need arose, every family in Berkeley could be reached within twenty-four hours of the first call. The first trial came in the fall of 1917 when the army was used to collect books and magazines for camps and ships. Available re- sources were ascertained by good canvassing and in one day there were collected 18,000 volumes and ten tons of magazines. The next test showed equally satisfactory results : the army was used for the food pledge campaign, with the consequence that 16,000 food pledges were circulated and signed in Berkeley when 12,000 was considered the city's appropriate limit. The campaign for Red Cross subscriptions was equally gratifying to the leaders of the army movement, for in this drive, too, the women went beyond their allotment. The first time they brought in over eight thousand new members, the second time 15,000 members; altogether they went more than twice "over the top", to the great surprise of the men members of the Red Cross Committee, who found themselves with no canvassing to do.
The success of the Women's Army in collecting books for the camps in Berkeley has already been mentioned. The same efficiency was exhibited in the drive for books in Oakland and Alameda during the winter of 1918. The Oakland drive was conducted in January under direction of Mrs. Magnus A. Anderson, who commanded the forces of mobilized women who divided the city into five districts and canvassed them thoroughly. Mrs. Anderson was a sister of Franklin K. Lane, sec- retary of the interior under President Wilson. She was assisted by
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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
Mrs. A. C. Baumgartner, adjutant general, and the following colonels at large : Mrs. J. J. Valentine, Mrs. Edgar L. Ormsby, Mrs. Oscar F. Long, and Mrs. Frank K. Mott. The colonels were Mrs. George W. Perry, Mrs. C. E. Wilson, Mrs. Newton Koser, Mrs. Charles Haines, and Mrs. Harriet Hawes. Miss Ethel Moore served as chairman of the executive committee of the Women's Army.
For two days, January 21st and 22nd, the women made an inten- sive house-to-house canvass. The books were assembled at schoolhouses in the five districts and then taken to the Oakland Free Library at Four- teenth and Grove streets. In all, Oakland women collected more than twenty thousand books, which were shipped to Camp Fremont for use in the library established at that camp by the American Library Asso- ciation. In the City of Alameda, women workers, under direction of Mrs. Marcella Krauth, city librarian, collected 1,800 books and 3,000 magazines.
Hundreds of pages could be written about the activities of the women of the county in the World war. Truly the conflict of 1914-1918 was the first war in which women played an extensive role. Lack of space forbids more than the mention of the following clubs and their presidents, all of which had a brilliant record in war work :- Ebell, Mrs. F. G. Ferguson; Oakland, Miss Theresa Russau; Oakland New Century, Mrs. Robert Watt; Park Boulevard, Mrs. A. M. Beebe; Rock- ridge, Mrs. G. A. Rigg; Joaquin Miller, Dr. Minora Kibbe; Adelphian of Alameda, Mrs. Mildred Husbands; Twentieth Century of Berkeley, Mrs. Frederick Athearn; Alta Mira, Mrs. A. N. Aitkin; Hill and Valley of Hayward, Mrs. R. R. Rogers; Country Club of Washington Township, Miss Mary Brown. Mrs. Aaron Schloss of Berkeley served as vice president at large of the California Federation of Women's Clubs, while Mrs. Katherine Smith of Richmond was leader of the federated clubs in the Alameda district.
A list of other women's organizations which did notable war work must include the Navy League of Alameda County, the members of which at their headquarters on Capwell's roof-garden quietly knit hun- dreds of garments for men aboard ships and sent them thousands of comfort kits and letters; the Daughters of the American Revolution in its several chapters; the United Daughters of the Confederacy, Mrs. C. C. Clay, leader, and the Women's Relief Corps, represented by Mrs. Carrie Hoyt, who after the war was elected to the Berkeley City Coun- cil. The Junior Patriotic League, headed by Mrs. Gustave Snyder, assembled the girl power of Oakland for war work. Societies for re-
391
HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
lief overseas also performed signal service-the Belgian committee, Armenian Relief, American Women's League, Prevention of Cruelty to American Prisoners, Boycott of German Goods, each served in its own way.
THE AMERICAN RED CROSS
No other organization active during the World war owed more to the women of Alameda County than the American Red Cross. In Oak- land, Berkeley, Alameda, and for a time in San Leandro the tireless work of the county's women made the Red Cross chapters centers of help and cheer for both civilian and soldier. Whether serving as emer- gency nurses during the influenza epidemic in the latter part of 1918, or providing little comforts for the boys as they left for camps and ships, the women of the county put their hearts into their work. At chapter headquarters and in their homes women made surgical dressings and bandages to staunch the wounds of the brave lads who were meeting the enemy in the depths of the Argonne Forest and on the fields of Flanders. When the boys came back they greeted them at the foot of Broadway or on the Oakland mole with a hot breakfast or supper. These women also went quietly about during 1917 and 1918 in the less spectacular, but equally valuable work of conducting classes in Home Hygiene and Care of the Sick.
By April 22nd, 1917, the Oakland Chapter of the Red Cross had raised funds to equip 500 hospital beds. On April 30th a campaign was started to raise $12,000 more to equip an ambulance corps, for which University of California students supplied the personnel. Throughout the county women of the three large chapters and of the San Leandro chapter, before it became affiliated with the Oakland chapter, scoured both urban and rural districts for subscriptions for the work of mercy being carried on by the national organization. Thanks to their persis- tence, there were few homes throughout the Eastbay which did not have displayed in their windows the little poster bearing the Red Cross em- blem which was presented to all contributors.
A department of the Oakland Chapter that was highly successful in raising money was the Red Cross Superfluity Shop conducted at Fifteenth and Broadway under direction of Mrs. Bernard Ransome, general chairman, and Mrs. Joseph F. Carlston, secretary and treas- urer. Everything from crockery to phonographs and family albums was welcomed in this emporium of household goods of all descriptions.
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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
From the sale of contributed articles money was raised for bandages, knitted sweaters, pajamas, surgical instruments, and other supplies sent to the American fighting forces. In March, 1918, the Superfluity Shop was supplemented by a "Spare Clothing Shop," opened by Mrs. George Perkins for the purpose of obtaining clothing for destitute French and Belgians.
One of the most important services rendered by all Alameda County Red Cross chapters were the classes in Home Hygiene and Care of the Sick, which were conducted almost continuously during 1917 and 1918. In Berkeley, for example, about twenty-four of these classes were held during 1918 and 1919, with an average attendance of about fifteen stu- dents in a class. During the influenza epidemic in the fall of 1918 the Berkeley chapter did exceedingly valuable work. This chapter took care of more than three hundred and fifty families and assisted in bar- racks hospitals at the University of California, where over four hun- dred patients were cared for. The chapter also supplied nurses for the Berkeley emergency hospital.
Indeed, the influenza epidemic, which wrought such ravages throughout the Nation's civilian population as well as its military and naval forces, was an emergency which greatly taxed the resources of the American Red Cross and other local relief organizations. So con- tagious was this dread malady that ordinances were passed by Eastbay municipalities which made the wearing of masks mandatory in an at- tempt to check the spread of the disease. When the epidemic was at its height the crowds of persons on Oakland's downtown streets wearing masks of white gauze presented a grotesque spectacle. It was with feel- ings of great relief that civilians put aside their masks when the epi- demic had subsided.
Some idea of the extent and diversity of the work performed by Eastbay Red Cross organizations during the war period may be gained by considering in some detail the work of the chapter in the City of Ala- meda. The chapter was first organized on April 23, 1917, in response to a spontaneous effort on the part of Dr. W. O. Smith, one of Alameda's leading physicians, and other citizens, to organize for relief work. Dr. Smith was elected chairman unanimously at a mass-meeting in Adel- phian Hall and served faithfully for many months until his resignation, which was made necessary because of his presence on the local draft board. Dr. Smith was succeeded by E. K. Taylor, who was also a zeal- ous and faithful worker for the success of the chapter. From the date of the founding of the chapter, Mrs. Philip S. Teller and Mrs. William
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