From ‘Women and the War‘, The Spectator, 24 July 1915:
It is not too much to say that without the help and inspiration of the women we could not win the war. But we have had the good fortune to know from the moment that war was declared that if we did not win it would not be the fault of the women. All fears that a great war would be too nerve-shattering and too horrible for women to give their moral sanction for its continuance have been absolutely dissipated. We have heard of no single case of a woman throwing impediments in the way through a loss of nerve, or through that kind of particularism which might have been expected to make many women argue in terms of deeply moved personal affection rather than of the intellect. No woman has cried in agony that the future of the world might go hang so long as her husband or her son was safe. We can hardly find words in which to express’our admiration for this noble bearing, this limit- less capacity for sacrifice. It would be a, great mistake to suppose that, striking as the procession of last Saturday was, readiness to serve and to suffer is the peculiar characteristic of those who take part in processions. These qualities exist in every corner of the Empire. The women understand that civilization—the safety and freedom of every civilized home in the world—must, since fate would have it so, be purchased by blood, and having made up their minds to it they have shown no tremor of hesitation
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