The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-11-25

4phFS-leSEeu young man AttlFsu III t'''
| breezy garment known track pants
He was always crouched In Ready
TON your mark Set GO, attitude. and
it was plain that he was ell ready to
run around something or other.
Sometimes that picture was varied by
another showing the same young man
about to dive into a large, lively
looking SWIMMING tank. on, yes.
One more thing. knew that the
7. NJ. c. A. was a substantial, square,
brick building, rich In windows, and
with printed notices Of meetings and
classes tackled up on the door. and
In the hallway That's ALL
/ My knowledge was so wtdened and
ibrohdened, and deepened in the last
few minutes that 1t seems imperative
to give all of II 10 someone, and some
of 1t to everyone. / know now that
the Y. NJ. G. A. Is going to be one of
the biggest factors in the winning OF
this war. ! know what a well+known
editor of q widely circulated maya
zine meant when he said: Every cent
that l have to give in this war Is 60
ing to the Y. NJ. c. A. That's where
it VIII do the most good i know
that that young man In track pants
Ia a young man in khaki now. and
that the Y. M. c. A. is going to mean
more to him, and to you, and to this
country in the next few years than ii
has ever meant in the past It's gong
to mean books. and comfort. and wei
come, and warmth, and cheer. and
help, and direction.
Any person who has visited a train
ing camp in the last few weeks knows
what the Y M G.. A. buildings rep
resent to the soldiers. Multiply that
by winter cold, and the straugeness
OF foreign lard, and trench hard
ship, and loneliness, and you'll have
the answer to what it's going to mean
to them over there.
What the Red Cross r. to his
wounds, the 7. NJ. G. A, is TO his
what's the word7 sptrit2 Soul? Men
tai and physical we'll -beingH All four
thrown into one. There is that in the
Y NJ. G, A. hut to heal his loneliness.
1t sews up the stitches in the gap
made by absent family and friends.
1t ia a refuge. a clubhouse. meet
ing place. < library x lounge. He
can't smoke in his barracks but he
ear In the Y NJ e. A He can get
the new books, and the magazines
there. and the newspapers. He can
learn French there, and English, too.
/ which he needs much worse. It's the
well mans hospital, is the y, VI. &. a,
> And q whole country of men and
: women left behind In comparative
, comfort and ease must he made to
realize this fact. Must be made TO
, realize it go thoroughly that the s35-
900, 600 needed to carry on the work
of this marvelously functioning or
} ganization will be forthcoming with
; out struggle
The Y NJ c. A. aSova all. is a
: place to go. Amy one who has ever
been lonely will get the significance
81 that. New York and Chicago, and
Detroit, and Pittshurg and philadel-
phia, and every other big city is fun
} OF men occupying mahogany desk po-
stions now who can look way back
down the years TO nippy November
I nights when they used to have the
chores to do before corning to supper.
There was the milking. the stock 40
feed, and bed down, and water. and
wood TO carry In, most likely. A
frosty. hungry. tfresome business. ali
of It. for the farm boy. But the
thought. of that warm, bright, lamp
!. iightedkuchen awaiting him. with the
yellow glow of IT In his hand. and the
savory smell OF ii in his Imagination.
| kept his lips prckered into a whistle
! while he went about his work. and
made his nipped fi2gers, and his red
p nose, and his weary limbs things of
J little consequence, since they were SO
soon to be allayed Any man who has
: known that feeling---be he ever so
surrounded now by plate glass, and
brass grtiis. and mahogany. and secre-
taries-n1ustt be made to realize that
what the prospect OF that warm,
, bright, coy kitchen meant to him in
, those days, the Y. NJ. G. A is going
to mean to the soldier in this war.
=, And more. Infinitely more. Without
| the aid and comfort and support that
the Y. NJ. G. A. can give him, a night
OF cold, and stars. and frost, and lone
, liness, will be followed by other nights
, OF cold. and stars. and frost, and lone
> Illness No bright spot to relieve the
, hlackness OF it. Nights like that, I'M
. relieved, can break man.
, They who know tell us that they
get down to fundamentals out there
And that the same thing that brought
comfort, and happiness, and peace to
the boy OF fifteen works the same
magic In the boy of twenty five and
thirty. A chance to get together with
his crowd and sing. Every man in
the world thinks he has a voice and
secretly longs to lift it in song The
Y. NJ. G. A. has instituted sings. and
they say that these affairs do more
TO put heart in tho men, and courage
. and unity, than any one other thing
fireplace on cold night, The very
/, sight OF that rs he opens the Y. VI.
-. "a dtoii III EtApuBli LO WfpF TIC UaS :
hardships out of his mind Books
, mpanionship.
Listen to some of the questions put
TO director OF one OF the New York
camps:
Say / Just heard about this guy
Kipling. I'd like to get one of his
books, One of those about soldiers
forget IN >enameA
That boy might have lived and died
; in the place he came from without
ever having heard of kipling. There's
more to be learned in this war than
how TO stick the enemy with hayo-
net. Much more. And IT'S beins
learned, And it's being taught. And
the Y. NJ. G. A is doing the teaching
Have YOU a history of philoso-
phy?' This from quite another type.
The librarian shook his head NO
but I'll get II for YOU" And he did
"Meester, you make plees writing
heer 10 Mees Anna Slovak she my
seester'
An envelope TO be addressed for a
boy still struggling with spoken Eng
fish, and quite unable to cope with
the written cufllcues.
: ffottsaffTfs and Thousands OF boys
,, in camp today are unable to speak a
word of English. The Y. NJ. G. A.
is undertaking to teach them. In