Part 4

And what an arena it is! From the lowest to the highest rung on the social ladder, from the tropic lands of the North to the wheat grown fields of the Downs, from the out-back stations of the West to the Pacific, women have arisen to do honour to the man in khaki. She who must needs work to earn her daily bread spends her leisure moments in knitting or sewing. She who has lived in the midst of household duties and home cares, gives what hours she may spare--and often, what she is unable to spare--to Red Cross activities, comforts for the men in the trenches, or to practical work to augment the funds of some particular patriotic institution. For these works are not temporary works, they are institutions, institutions built on the foundations of self-sacrifice, and they will outlive many a granite building in the memory of future generations. The society woman--the butterfly--has been one of the surprises of the war. Out of her chrysalis she has come and put aside her life of luxury to do homage to this demi-god in khaki. What matter whether he was her gardener or her lover yesterday--he is a soldier to-day, and as such she will give him homage.

Mutual Service Club.

FOR RELATIVES OF MEN AT THE FRONT.

Any afternoon in the week, except Saturday and Sunday, between the hours of two and five o’clock, the Mutual Service Club may be seen in full working order on the top floor of Moon’s Building, Adelaide Street. This club is for the relatives, particularly the wives and children, of men at the front. There are two large rooms available for the club, and they are always well patronised by the wives and children of soldiers. Primarily it is a society of mutual service, and the committee who organised and keep up the club endeavour to assist wherever help is wanted. The women of Brisbane who have time and means do not give their energy to the soldier alone, for they realise that in helping his wife and children they are indirectly doing him invaluable service.

The room is always a centre of interested women and happy children. There are many diversions for the soldiers’ wives, and the children are provided with toys and picture books. A Red Cross Circle provides one interest, while once a week cooking or sewing demonstrations are given and entertainments are arranged whenever possible.

Two members of the committee are on duty every day, and afternoon tea and biscuits are provided for 2d. The subscriptions are 1s. a year for club members, 2s. 6d. for committee members, and 5s. associate members, the latter being practically annual donations for the upkeep of the club, while the shilling subscription is given by the soldier’s wife who wishes to obtain the privileges of the club.

The privileges are many, for wherever help is needed the Hon. Secretary attends personally to the want. Professional men have been exceedingly generous to members, and there are several doctors and chemists who practically give their services free, while even legal advice is tendered to those in need free of charge. The latter help is required more often than the general public think, for there are many times when a woman feels utterly at a loss in the tangles of the law. When a soldier’s wife is confronted with legal or other difficulties, she will always find assistance at the Mutual Service Club. Jumble sales are also held, and quite a large sum has been made by the members from a small stall at which remnants, supplied by the shops, are sold. Proceeds from this stall purchased a clock for the camp hospital at Enoggera last year, and the profits are always of use to the committee. Sometimes money is advanced to women who are in needy circumstances, and, indeed, whenever anyone is in distress, endeavors are made to alleviate the trouble.

The club has been in existence for over two years, and the women who initiated the step towards its establishment must feel exceedingly gratified at the success achieved.

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Printed by GORDON AND GOTCH (QUEENSLAND) LIMITED, 212-214 Queen Street, Brisbane.

[Transcriber's Note:

Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation are as in the original.]

End of Project Gutenberg's For the Sake of the Soldier, by Rita Macleod