The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1917-03-25
Appeal for Aid to Soldiers
Penned Up in Prison Camps
Most Appealing From Europe

happy by a copy of Dickens oliver
Twist" which they read aloud together.
A Berlin professor in the same hospital
forgot his pain and bitter thoughts
when n Russian grammar and die
tionary were put into his hand. At
Darintre several Austrian colonies, one
OF whom was an oxford graduate, were
made happy by copies of Shakespeare's
Macbeth" Romeo and Juliet" and
Hamlet
! An association secretary. writing
| from somewhere along the Trans-Si-
bcrian railway tells of n football game
that had been held at one of his camps.
Among the players were three old
/ international stars, two of whom had
competed on opposite sides in the
/ Olympic games at Stockholm. Another
! secretary had the distressing expert
ence of having to pass by a camp of
1000 prisoners without leaving the men
| anything but 80 books and one foot
| bali.
At the Orenburg camp a library of
nearly 500 volumes has been provided,
and so far not a book has been idle
! single day. The secretary in charge
writes: The first religious meeting
| was held in the open, on a Saturday,
and was attended by over half the men
! in camp. It was conducted by the
Orcnburg Polish priest. During the
preliminary exercises the men seemed
strangely touched, and when the white
robod priest began the opening chant
| Of tn mass, old and young men broke
down and cried. After a two years
absence it was too much for them. A
! young officer wrote from memory ev
cry note of Shubert's mass and trained
a chorus for the occasion. An organ
had been brought from the city. l wish
you could have heard those officers
sing, 1t is no wonder the tears rolled
down our checks from start to fin
The religious work committee is very
,active and almost every man is sup
Piled with Catholic or Protestant
Bible. according to his desire. At any
hour in the day one can see men sit
ting about. reading testaments. A Po-
fish count leads this committee. He
says he believes the men show more
gratitude for our supplying this need
than for any other thing we have been
able to do for them"
A letter from France contains the
these circumstances is n Eodsend.
Where there is no work to do, the
wonder to me is that a larger number
of men have not gone mad. Now you
ask. What is the Y. NJ. G. A. doing?'
In z, word, we are trying to break that
monotony ".by our system of cir
culating libraries and by the halls
which we have built or furnished in
many camps"
One of the most influential senators
of Italy said, after hearing about the
work among the prisoners. what you
are doing gives me a new faith in
humanity
The same encouraging reports come
from Germany and Austria: "Our men
confess that their toughest fight is
against collapse of mind and spirit.
am proud to report that thus far they
are waging a successful fight. Their
debating society. association hut, con-
corts, theater, football team, and most
of all. their well organized school for
instruction in all sorts of things-the
, University of Ruhleben, | call it-are
, keeping them busy and interested" In
a this same camp a devotional confer
n ence has just been held to DISCUSS the
/, problems that have arisen in the asso-
q citation work, and more than 100 men
n enrolled as members.
0 A detailed description in one of the
0 Austrian camps gives some idea of the
! scope Of the work. There is school
= in reading and writing and arithmetic
for the illiterate, and for the educated
n there are classes in painting, music
= course Games are provided for all the
groups, with football as the favorite OF
d the students. The religious work Is
: being done in cooperation with the
1t field chaplain, and crosses and ikons
x arc Distributed among the prisoners
} VIII" M" chiefly Greek orthodox. A
gruWUnhon" and small portable kline
tOsCopH have been provided, and a
fine string orchestra gives frequent
~ and highly appreciated concerts.
. In addition TO supervising these
. VARIED activities, the association hut:
'r" the distributing points for all the
J., food and clothing sent to the camp.
where they are most needed. 1t is il
10 this practical way that the students o
,o America have shared their friendship
= with the students of Europe and thei
is comrades among the six million pris
at GnrrS of war.
he AS the dead of winter passes, it i
* not difficult for us to realize what sucl
in an expression of sympathy is meanin,
of to the men in the prison camps. TIL
T. student who felt the pinch of his sub
lc sCription most sharply during tn
nj campaign. now has the satisfaction 0
d knowing tnHt each cold day som