| Show r r YMCA BODY c J FRONT NO O Or OI r I I Jy q dry b y yA A A Ax f x A IJ h M 3 st Y fi f rt 4 f i 5 tip R f w a Men of the Red T Trl- Trl ri- ri angle anale Must Be to toDo Do thing But Go Over the T Top OD 7 N American soldier hardly hardly hard hard- ly Iy more than a bo boy was reading a n letter Jetter which had just been delivered to him at a n concentration concentration t. t tion in l camp France Six weeks before he had written to his father and to his sweetheart T Ti e censor had mixed the letter from his best girland girl 0 and nd as he sadly tucked it 1 u away in his pocket he vas f heard to murmur I wonder what the old man will say c That is what the Y x M. M C. C A A. wonders wonders won won- ders as today the association addresses address address- es as to the old man an appeal for him to pick up stakes and follow his boy overseas to wear the Ule uniform of th the Red Triangle e. e Before September 1 the Y M. M C. C A A. A must recruit men and women to share the burdens on the western front with the more than 2500 workers who are already there To those who do not know that the British Y M M. C C. C A. A has workers workers workers work work- ers In the British armies and that thai the r American Y M M. M C. C A. A has been charged with the responsibility of providing recreation for the fighting men of the United States and keeping up their morale It Is Is perhaps Inconceivable says a n writer In the New York TrIbune Tribune Tribune Trib TrIb- une that the men of this country Y- Y above draft age should be asked to give up their business to go overseas with r their sons and their younger brothers who are not too old oM to fight Part of the War Machine The facts are clear The outstanding outstandIng outstandIng ing fact is that the Y II 1 C. C A. A while retaining Its Individuality as a civilian organization Is an Integral part of or the military machine And the association Is a part of ot the military machine not I only of ot the American expeditionary forces but of the French and Italian armies as s well The Y M. M C. C A A. A was In the great t before General Pershing landed land lanil landed ed on French soil solI General Pe s g went to the western front with several I cut clear-cut notions of or how best the AmerIcan American Amer Amer- ican scan troops could do their part In th the e t winning of or th the war First he determined determined deter mined that his army should be a clean army he believed that the best use V that could be made of a man in uniform uniform uni form was to put him In the fighting forces he sought to transfer as many of the noncombatant functions of his army as ns possible to some so e responsible agency The Y Y M. M I. I C. C A A. A got the Job because the Y M M. C C. A. A had the Since then other volunteer organizations organizations or or- have gone to France to help All AU are welcome Salvation Army r Knights of ot Columbus and so on TheY The TheY Y Y bears the brunt because of Its size Hut Keeper Does Little of Everything s c This man with the Red fled Triangle on his sleeve Is over ove draft age The Y would not have haye him there If lie he were i not lIe Ho has no no rank but even the officers salute him because they say ny he Is there through the Impetus of service The Thee shells may may fall tall all alJ aroundhim around aroundhim him but It is extremely unlikely that the Croix de Guerre will ever be pinned planed upon his breast He lIe is unarmed beranse because be- be cause ranse capture by the Germans under such circumstances means death im im- mediately What Is his Job Well his hut but Is the club of the trench or billet The Y is the general store I It H Is where the men meet when they l are not on military du duty y The man I in r charge sells or gives away some of ot the Vj i. i I l fe Tr if JT HEAR mE 76 1 pounds of chocolate that tha t the American troops are eating every 1110 month th In France Or through hi his hands go some of ot the cigarettes and tobacco that are shipped to o the western western western west- west ern front In ton hundred I lots When he lids Js is too not-too close to the front he runs runs' motion picture shows and lectures lectures lec lec- lec- lec tures In the evenings If his billet Is a n small one and there Is no sports leader lead lead- ej er assigned there he leads the men lead lead-I in athletic games In which all may take part And under the same circumstances circumstances circum circum- stances it may be hl his Job to arrange religious religious sen servIces ices ices for Jew and Gentile for Catholic and Protestant He lIe sends money back home for the boys without charge to them In the Y dugout they write their letters and the hut but leader starts them on their way He listens to tales of woe answers questions ques ques- by the hour admires the picture of or the baby that was born since father answered the call to the colors and works about three hours a day longer than the Hie working hours of the man In uniform If he lie be assigned to the trenches near the front line It Is the Y mans man's Job to make hot coffee and hot chocolate chocolate choco choco- late late at night fill his pockets with chocolate gum and smokes and go through the communication trench to the front line so that the boys on watch may have their comforts from home And if it there be a listening post near by by In No Mans Man's Land he goes there too The Y goes everywhere with the men except over the top and is not far behind then The Kind of Men Not No Needed What kind of man Is the Y Y M M. C C. A. A seeking then in this drive to keep pace with the rapid expansion of the military mili tary establishment of the nation I Surely not the kind of which a sam sample pIe appeared at the offices of the sam sam-I National National National Na Na- War Work Council Madison 1 avenue the other day The Lord has closed all doors tome tome to tome me he began all except one and that one opens to France The Lord has made it clear to me that it is my duty to go over there and preach to those boys It Tf happened happened that the listener was rone t I i James A A. A Whitmore who has bee been a Y M. M C. C A A. A secretary for tor years and arid who recently returned from the westI western west west- ern front with bro broad d views inspired by watching pastors of big city pulpits sell plug tobacco to soldiers on Sunday afternoon and the like Mr Ir Whitmore was explicit In his reply Your kind Is the last that's needed overseas said Mr Ir Whitmore When you go to France for the Y M M. C. C A. A you go on a blind assignment to do doI I whatever whatever- Is most Important at the time and always to do what the boys in uniform want Mr Whitmore went Into details re re- regarding regarding garding the Y M M. C. C A. A program of service and as h he proceeded the visitor visitor visitor tor palpably weakened He thought that he would be willing to go to to I France with n a revised point of ot view In fact he said saM that he would be willing willing will will- ing to do anything that he thought the Lord wanted him to doVell doWell do Well Vell replied Mr Whitmore in that case you'd oud still be a bit restricted The Lord gives gIes his message to only one Y Y M. M C. C A. A man In France lie France he's hes Ned Carter our chief secretary secretary and you'd have ha to take Ned Carters Carter's word for It that you were getting the Lords Lord's message straight Type of Man That Is Needed I And as the messenger whose message never will b be delivered went on his Ilis wa way Mr Whitmore shot after him his no notion on 0 of the kind of man man who Is needed need ed cd In France today b by the angle He lie said First of all nil the man man who I Is sent Rent to France by the y Y M. M C. C A. A must mURt un- un I YV 7 YE j that he is going to war He Hel I f l must be ready to do the thing that i j comes to him to o do F France anc is nor no r J place these days dars for the man who thinks he he has n a mission There Is Just one Idea Iden behind the whole work and and that is service sen servI ice e what our boys boy want and not what some missionary nary thinks they they ought ought to have The man I who goes overseas must be a man of ot COli conscience science Integrity Integ and high Ideals I and ability And he must realize that h he Is tackling the biggest job that It was ever given man to do Second a man must go In there with th the Idea firmly fixed In his mind that unless we win this war it were better that America should be be- annihilated than that she should retreat one stepIn step stepIn In the determination nation to prevent the barbarous Hun from Imposing his unmerciful unmerciful un un- merciful sway over the world and sweep democracy from the earth Third he must be a ma man who belien's believes believes be be- liens lien's in the war work of or the Y M. M C. C A Av and can grasp the meaning of its wonderfully human and spiritual program program program pro pro- gram and who seeing all this can be enthusiastic about his job and consider consider consider con con- sider it a great privilege to perform it And last he must be a thoroughbred thorough thorough- bred bred bred-a a dead game sport In in the best sense of the term who term who can go through the whole war game and not flinch finch in spite of the slaughter the blood the mud the discouragements desolation and horror of It all He must go through it all by the sheer good nature nature na na- ture that sees above it his high Ideals triumphant and democracy vindicated and scattering its blessings upon man man- kind Scope of Work Boundless The scope of th the Y M. M C. C A. A enterprise enterprise enterprise enter enter- prise Is practically boundless The ass association as ns- s has gone far afield from It Its traditional activities Never In their wildest dreams of service have the leaders of ot the Y M M. C. C A. A conceived the possibility of their becoming manufacturers manufacturers manufacturers man man- of chocolate and purveyors of or tons and tons of cigars cigarettes I I and smoking and chewing tobacco Yet today the Y sign hangs over the doors of more than GOO COO post exchanges in France Because of the difficulties of transportation transportation transportation trans trans- only three to four thousand tons of of supplies can be shipped from America each month Hence the Y M M. C. C A. A has become a manufacturer by necessity Raw materials are shipped from the United States and the completed completed com com- products chocolate products chocolate crackers etc are are made in France I The Y needs therefore not only business men who can sell goods but men who are experienced on the manufacturing manu manu- I end The scope of the work makes It possible for tor sales salesmen en ware ware- I r accountants and clerks of nil all kinds to go overseas and do their bit In this war Sports If It there is one thing that the healthy American young oung man In khaki needs most In France It Is good henl healthy sport Some Som of the most famous famous fa fn- athletic directors and athletes of or other years ears are I In france France today leading lending men In mass athletic games g Herbert L L. Pratt vice president of ot the Standard Oil company who recently recently recent recent- ly returned from France to head the local overseas recruiting c committee is for the for the statement authority that there is no Job In France too small for the biggest man in any American community cOin cOin- com com- No president of a n railroad or a n bank or a college he adds no law lawyer tr or minister Is too too- big for the job of taking care of our boys over- over sen seas Mr Mr Ir Pratt tend fInd others who hove have seen the work worl that Is being done In Frn France e eRum sum Rum it all up by saying that It means menn to our boys over there first of all all all- I I America and anel home |
