Imperial Valley Press

WE the Women

By RUTH MILLETT

In a city where recruiting of girls for the Marine Corps is lagging, the captain in charge of recruiting had a word of advice for the parents who assume that a girl should stay at home instead of getting into uniform.

His comment was that it is quite possible that women in the Marine Corps are better protected than they are in many homes.

As an example, he pointed out that parents might tell a girl they didn't want her to go to certain places—but for all they know the warning may go unheeded.

But in the Marine Corps, a warning becomes an order—and the girl who disobeys it faces the consequences, with court martial as a possible punishment.

There is another way in which Uncle Sam is a good guardian of the young women in uniform. Their health is of the utmost concern to him.

If a girl is ill, there is no fooling around. She isn't permitted to decide whether she wants to go to the doctor or not. She is ordered to sick bay, where she gets good medical care, does exactly what is best for her health, and she stays there until she is fully recovered.

Parents aren't always able to keep a girl home from a dance when they know she should be in bed. That's a simple matter for Guardian Uncle Sam.

SHE KEEPS BUSY

Also, a girl who has enlisted in her country's service has a job of which she can be proud. Many girls, who live under their parents' roofs, get into trouble because they have too few real interests in life and too much time on their hands.

So it seems as if parents of a daughter old enough to enlist in one of the services are being overly-cautious when they refuse to let her do so because they think she won't be safe out of their sight.

If she is a girl of sound principles and average common sense, Uncle Sam's guardianship ought to be all that she will need.