The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1917-11-20
What The Soldiers Say About
The Y. M. {. A.
The Good 1t Does The Grief It Saves The High Character
and Good Health It Preserves

western people, know SO little about
the work of the Y. M. c. A., that
the following extracts from letters
by different men in the army camps
will throw considerable light on the
service they are rendering to make
the life of the new soldier more
agreeable while he is in the transit
ton from civil to army life. 1t is
great change for the civilian, and
especially for the young fellow, and
these letters written by men who
were simply opening their hearts to
the folks at home, show condition
and service as the boys find them.
One of the best and in fact the
| biggest thing we have down here is
| the Y. M. G. "A. I am writing this
letter in the Y. NJ G. A. at this
time with the Victrola going in one
half of the building and moving pic
lures in the other half. There is
funny picture on now and / wish
you could just hear this bunch laugh.
It is the biggest pal fellow can
have down here. 1t is just like big
brother to the fellows. The men
in charge. Of our "Y" and this one
is supposed to be the most popular
in camp, are the finest set of men |
ever met.
It's surely a pleasure to be where
one can do some constructive work,
| in the face of all the destruction
now being waged. | have known for
years that the Y. M. G. A. was doing
fine work; but here in the midst of it
seeing the actual help it is to men
who have no other help; getting the
inside dope" on it and catching a
glimpse of how it jacks up faltering
spirits and affords a lonely man a
real friend. When I see how it
touches a mans life at all points,
and how every contact is for his bet
terment-then I understand how
much of a job it is really doing.
@. M. Detachment, Overseas
Casual Camp, an American Port,
Nov. 7.-Well, we are still here and
have sort of made ourselves at home,
so when it comes time to embark it
will be somewhat like leaving home
again. I had just gotten settled at
Co. L, 310th infantry, when | was
| transferred to the engineers. After
getting settled there I got the chance
to go across and again I broke away.
| We have been here but five days now
and it already seems like home. The
boys were entirely strange when we
first got here and the first night was
spent rather quietly, but now we are
getting acquainted and each tent is
again happy family.
Southern Farming
And the fields of corn, which
would seem to northern farmer to
be woefully going to waste, but are
not. The method down here is to
strip the leaves off the stalk, tie
them into a small bundle and let
cure that way. The great sixteen
row dent corn are then left to ripen.
They are then harvested. The stalk
is ploughed under, and the crop for
one season is a product. Then there
are the fields of velvet beans. Fields
of corn, with velvet beans climbing
the stalks, which act as bean poles,
and what load they carry.
In Movie Land
/ saw all of this, and as I've rid
den about cannot fail to remember
that this, the Piedmont section, is
the section of the country in which
Thomas Dixon laid the scenes and
wrote the story that became the
| film "The Birth of Nation" / be-
lieve Griffiths twas it, took the pic
ture in this very section, for one can
run across any kind of southern
character or type one chooses here.
Last night I had command of the
Seventy-first regiment, actual COM
mand, and took them out in forma-
ton. And every man in that rank
was a non-commissione officer. In
fact that's all we have now as en-
listed personnel. 1t must have made
some of them think pretty hard. It
wasn't so long ago that I was just
one of them. Of course, there are
only about 10 men of the regiment
left but it is the regiment until every
last man goes.
You see it was this way
There is a war correspondent who
is a representative of an Argentine
newspaper, La Argentina, and he has
some very wonderful films and re-
livers a lecture which he calls
"Eleven Nations at War"
He is officially accredited for 1t
was division order which brought
us to the Y. M. G. A. big tent. Every
one of the regiments have been
ordered per schedule to this lecture.
It surely is instructive, considering
that he shows the filmed scenes and
conditions of the people of eleven OF
the nations at war, among them the
Germans.
| About the Y. M. @. A.
By the way, don't want to bore
you, but you ought to know some-
thing about the Y. M. G. A., for you
know SO many of the boys are away
from home and are up against the
impersonal care and consideration
which is the inevitable result Of such
a grouping of men as the army 1s
all more or less strangers to each
other.
I have found that the life of an
enlisted man would be soul killing
thing but for the saving relief of the
Y. M. G. A. organization.
/ When I was an enlisted man, the
Y. M. G. A., always seemed to come
to my rescue about that time in the
course of events when I was dis
gusted. Mind you, not blue, just
disguised. I always felt that one be-
gins getting home sick by first be
coming diSguested then blue, anC