Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-08-17
APPEALING FOR
BOOKS TO GIVE
TROOPS IN CAMP
DR.. Montgomery Asks Librar-
les in State to Take Part
in Campaign

DR.. Thomas L. Montgomery, the
president of the American Library
Association, is sending out appeals
to the libraries of the State to take
part in the campaign which will pe
started Immediately to provide
books and magazines for the soldiers
in the camps. The slogan of the
campaign, which is under the same
auspices as that which conducted the
Red Cross drive, is, "A book for a
soldier" A very careful estimate has
been made of the cost of this serv-
ice to the thirty-two cantonments
and the other large camps and it ap-
pears that S1.O0 will provide a book
for soldier for three years. Fifty
thousand dollars has been subscribed
as campaign fund, and an effort
will be made to raise $1,000,000 for
this three years service.
The work has the warm approval
of President Wilson and of the De-
partment of War. Mr.. Fosdick, the
chairman of the commission on
training camp activities, wrote to Mr..
Baker on April 13 as follows:
In order to have a comprehensive
plan for providing the troops in our
training camps with reading ma
terial, l asked the American Library
Association, under the leadership of
DR.. Herbert Putnam, to assume re-
sponsibility for the whole matter un-
der our commission. They have en-
tered into the project with a great
deal of enthusiasm, and their pres
ont plans comprehend the erection
of library building in each of the
cantonments, with the Y. M. c. A
buildings and knights of Columbus
buildings as distributive points. To
put up these buildings and obtain
| the necessary books and magazines
will cost approximately $1,000,000
and the American Library Associa-
tion will assume entire responsibility
for raising this sum. They are now
planning to have a war council ap-
pointed, and l understand that Pres
| ident Wilson has been successfully
appealed to, to countenance this
| plan. 1t in no way conflicts with any
| plan the Red Cross has in mind.
This work is going to mean sc
much to the intelligent development
of the social life in the traininl
camps that 1 hope you will see youl
way clear to give it your cordial ap'
| proval.
| "Respectfully,
RAYMOND B. FOSDICK."
Bishop Sends Approval
Bishop Vincent sent to the meet
| ing of librarians held at Washington
on Tuesday last his warm approva
of the movement, which also has the
endorsement of the Y. NJ. c. A. anC
the knights of Columbus with which
| organizations the Librarians will
work hand in hand. OF all the coun
! cilors, some eleven in number, have
| accepted the invitation of the asso
| citation, e. T. Stotesbury, of Phila
delphia, being the Pennsylvania rep
resentative. Mrs. Elizabeth Curriel
has been appointed the campaign
manager for the State of Pennsylva
MIA. and will start the work at once
! 1t used to be said of the soldiei
| that he had no time to read, bu
this has been proven a fallacy, fol
| the demand already made upon the
resources of the libraries is great
er than, the supply. This is no cam
| paign to furnish the contents of gar
rets for the boys in camp. Up-to
date literature, both in the form o.
! books and magazines, will be fur
nished in a comfortable building un'
| der competent management, and I
| has already been proven in small
way that this is one of the best in
| fluences which can be brought tC
bear upon life in camps.
Announcements will be made from
/ time to time in the. papers with re.
J gard to the progress of this cam
paign. The crucial week will come al
the end of September when 1t II
hoped that the full amount will be
oversubscribed.
Mrs. Currier will be in HARRISBURG
to-day to make her preliminary
| plans