homes and hand-knit socks will never save the world," said
Alex's mother. "Look at Germany! The German women are kind, patient,
industrious, frugal, hard-working, everything that a woman ought to
be, but it did not save them, or their country, and it will not save
us. We have allowed men to have control of the big things in life too
long. While we worked--or played--they have ruled. My nearest neighbor
is a German, and she and I have talked these things over. She feels
just the same as we do, and she sews for our Red Cross. She says she
could not knit socks for our soldiers, for they are enemies, but she
makes bandages, for she says wounded men are not enemies, and she is
willing to do anything for them. She wanted to come to-day to hear
you, but her husband would not let her have a horse, because he says
he does not believe in women speaking in public, anyway! I wanted her
to come with us even if he did not like it, but she said that she
dared not."

"Were you not afraid of making trouble?" I asked.

Alex's mother smiled. "A quick, sharp fight is the best and clears up
things. I would rather be a rebel any time than a slave. But of
course it is easy for me to talk! I have always been treated like a
human being. Perhaps it is just as well that she did not come. Old
Hans has long generations back of him to confirm him in his theory
that women are intended to be men's bondservants and that is why they
are made smaller; it will all take time--and other things. The trouble
has been with all of us that we have expected time to work out all of
our difficulties, and it won't; there is no curative quality in time!
And what I am most afraid of is that we will settle down after the
war, and slip right back into our old ways,--our old peaceful
ways,--and let men go on ruling the world, and war will come again and
again. Men have done their very best,--I am not feeling hard to
them,--but I know, and the thoughtful men know, that men alone can
never free the world from the blight of war; and if we go on, too
gentle and sweet to assert ourselves, knitting, nursing, bringing
children into the world, it will surely come to pass, when we are old,
perhaps, and not able to do anything,--but suffer,--that war will
come again, and we shall see our daughters' children or our
granddaughters' children sent off to fight, and their heart-broken
mothers will turn on us accusing eyes and say to us, 'You went through
all this--you knew what this