Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1917-06-15
WHAT THE RED TRIANGLE
MEANS TO THE SOLDIERS
British, After long Experience With Y. M C A, Advise Americans to ENCOURAGE Army Branch
Of Organization, Which Provides Comforts for Men They Could
Procure in No Other Way.

"Of course the public must finance
the work. Why shouldn't it? For whom
are the soldiers working under such a
strain as men in normal life never can
know! For the public. Who benefits
by the soldiers work and strain and
risk. who gains by his health, who loses
by his sickness and wounds by his
death? The public. The Red Triangle
exists for the soldier and there is every
reason. therefore. why the public should
help it along.
But the public in Great Britain by
no means pay for all of the Red Tri-
angle of Y. NJ. V. A. war time activi-
ties. They are nance in two ways.
First, the general public gives what it
will. and in the British empire as "a
whole 1T a beef most generous, for
the value of the Y. NJ. C. A. work has
been appreciated by the public after
it has been reported pon favorably
by the military authorities. Second. the
Y. NJ. CA. itself has paid much, most
indeed.
1t does Il certain mount Of trading.
primarily to help the men. but never
theless at a profit, since the Y. NJ. C. A.
Is not allowed to undersell regimental
c~anteens. Its customers are told frank
~ that they help the work along by
buying their refreshments at and using
the accommodation OF the huts. They
remain immense gamers by this, be-
cause the greater part of the service at
the institutions is performed at low
cost. ind this with wholesale buying
enables the Y. M. c.. A. to offer food
and accommodations far above the
market quality at far less than The
market price.
The men have shown immense ap-
probation of the public's generosity,
has given the men have spent 10 shil-
lings, or half a pound. Of their own
money. This makes the drain upon
the public no more than fair, for while
! he men are paid for their services as
IL dters they are paid comparatively
'e. And every penny which
lA above actual expenditures is spent
upon the maintenance and extension Of
the work. Hundreds of pounds are
spent upon free hot drinks in dugouts
In the firing line. in providing refresh
ment for wounded men crossing back
to the field hospitals. in concerts, lee
lures. games. literature.
THE work. as it has been found
wisest to organize it here, is divided
into several sections.
First. there is the section which
deals with the soldier and sailor at
training camps n with the actual
fighting men at the 'front.'.
Workers Who Are Not Fighters.
Second there. are the thousands to,
NC lOOAEN dxtCE WHO are III LuS IrOuI
neither by sea nor upon land. but e
ertheless are fighting for their country.
Among the most important Of these
are the workers In the munitiOn areas.
The Y. M. c.. A. work among the mu-
milton workers is very important and
chiefly consists Of supplying them with
refreshments. Here the organization
gets much help from the manufacturers
themselves. for h government allows
them to equip for Y. M. C. A. work out
OF excess profits which otherwise would
go to the states in a very large degree.
Third. a growing effort is being
made to be Of use to young men about
to go into the army. These include
principally boys of Is or IL. We think
nothing could be more vital to The
nations interest han such work as
this.
Fourth. there is the work lone in
the huts IN London n elsewhere far
from the firing line. but where soldiers
upon leave or special duty are numer-
GUS. We feel that this work has been
OF especial value in London.
Fifth. there is the work. of the organ
izatiOn in hospitals and convalescent
camps.
with America going into the war
there Will be almost at once an oppOr-
tunity for almost all the work which 1
nave Indicated. except prehaps that
which we do at the front, and when the
United States sends over It's expedition
airy force that work will be of as much
value to her soldiery as it has been to
ours.
This work so far has been princi-
pally done among the British soldiers
at Inc front and in England. But re-
Gently we have bee asked by france
to set up experimental work In her mu-
milton factories.
Nor 10 this request from France the
only ognACiQ(1v OrAfifv1n~ no3ooAA -.hS~,h