The Detroit times., 1917-06-12
The Real Thing
ny DR.. FRANK CRANE
Copyright. 1915. hy Drank Crane)

Almost all army men will tell you that
the worst thing about war is not getting
shot. not the marches and the limited
diet-these are by way Of being adven-
turous-but it is the terrific, persistent
moral disintegration that sets in during
the long periods of inactivity.
A crowd of men has a tendency to set
tie down to the moral level of the coars-
est. In camp and barrack life the primi-
tive barbaric instincts crop out.
In the first place. 1T is not good that
the man should be alone" now, any more
than it was before Eve arrived in the
garden; and any womanless place of con-
gregation Is apt to slump. Even the
history of the medieval monasteries is
not pretty reading. Penitentiaries and
prison colonies of men develop grim
and ferocious atmosphere Boys schools
have TO be watched closely, and the av-
erage man club is not as a rule the place
where revivals Of religion are naugu-
rated
Women are somehow the custodians Of
the decency Of the human race. When
you eliminate women the forces in men
are apt to illuminate destructively.
II is stated that 10000 men in the
British concentration camps are already
incapacitated on account Of venereal dis
ease
And not only this kind Of perversion.
but other forms Of ethical loosening
are liable to occur Drunkenness is a
soldiers vice To prohibit the use Of
alcohol in any form to soldiers adds at
least ten per cent to their efficiency.
The question of maintaining the
morals of troops is Of vital Importance.
1t means more to keep a soldier from
getting sick than it does TO keep him
from getting killed. For when he's sick
he's a burden when he's killed he's
gone.
People however. arc very fnicly about
interference with their morals For
some reason a soldier is perfectly willing
to undergo the most severe restrictions
as to his labors, his time. and his life.
but he resents it when he is not allowed
to poison himself hilariously.
The government, therefore, has given
its official sanction to the Y NJ. c. A.,
recognizing the vast benefit Of this or
ganization in maintaining the morale of
the fighting men.
By substituting clean games motion
pictures, reading rooms, educational
classes. religious services, and athletic
championships in buildings equipped with
pools, gymnasiums, and auditoriums, the
Y. NJ c. A. has gone long way toward
saving enlisted men from missteps that
generally occur because of lack Of some
thing 10 do 10 relieve the deadly monot-
ony of their lives.
American army officers have gone on
record with the statement that with the
coming Of a Y. NJ c. A to an army post
assertions were cut in half and the
morale Of the troops invariably raised.
The war department recognizes the Y. NJ.
/ c. A. as one Of the most effective forces
in the upbuilding of strong, clean. and
efficient manhood in the ranks of enlist
ed men.
In response TO a call from the British
War Office-the first appeal of the kind
thus far issued to America contingent
Of ninety-two Princeton and Northwest
en University college men sailed a few
days ago TO engage in Y. NJ. G. A. work
at the front. They will be followed in
the course Of the next two or three
months by a succession Of expeditions
that will number some eighteen hundred
men, Their expenses will be betrayed
by American voluntary contributions.
This is real religion, real service TO
humanity
II is the real thing.