The Liberal democrat. [volume] (Liberal, Kan.) 1911-1924, 1917-10-18
COMMUNITY HOUSE A HIT.
The Days Work Is Hard and an Eve
ming of Some Kind of Recreation
Must Follow-Need Money al
Junction City.
(By Staff Correspondent to the
Kansas City Starr

camp Funston, Mans, OcI. IL
Early in the morning-about the
time the folks at home are getting
their best sleep, bugle sounds rev.
ellie at Camp Funston. Another takes
it up, and still another, until the en-
tire forty thousand men in camp are
astir and are stumbling sleepily into
their overalls and khaki. Every morn
ing the bugle' sounds the same call at
the same time.
After the beds are made and the
barracks Strengthened up, assembly
comes, with roll call, sick call, and
then breakfast By 1880 o'clock the
real work of the day begins and COM
pany after company can be seen
marching on the parade grounds or
mile or two back in the hills where
the dust isn't so bad, drilling back
and forth and back and forth until IL
o'clock, dinner time.
The routine is resumed at l o'clock
and continues until 4:30 o'clock,
when the boys have their play hour,
which is more strenuous exercise
than drilling and whole lot more
welcome. Then comes retreat, when
everybody stands at attention while
the bugles play and the flag decends
for the night. After that comes sup
per and then freedom until $3.50
o'clock.
After supper what? That depends
If the men want to stay in camp they
can remain in their barracks and
read, write or sing. Or they can GO
over to the Y. M. C. A. buildings OF
the Knights of Columbus and play
games, listen to entertainments OF
read and write.
But an army camp grows monoton
GUS, especially to the boys from tn
J cities and the small towns, who ar
accustomed to little outside recrea
ton at night, something to break VI
\ the everlasting routine of work ant
sleep, seeing the same faces and do
ing the same things. Then there ar
Manhattan and Junction City, tw
small towns nearby. But there it
almost the same. Ice cream parlors
pool halls occasionally, and more ic
cream parlors. A soldier can con
sumo more soft drinks trying t.
spend pleasant evening in tow
than a drinking man can consum
whisky.
The most popular place in junction
City is the Community House,
building erected by popular subscrip
ton among the people there for tn
benefit of the soldiers. Here. the boy
are welcome any hour of the day o
night up until 10 o'clock, and her
they can smoke, read, write, visit
sing, dance or rest and look on. Thi
| is the only place where they meet tn
town girls, and night after night
day after day, parties of junction
| City girls, in charge of chaperon
| 90 to the Community House for thei
evenings recreation. They are in
troduced to the soldiers and man
dance or sing or just visit. A hous
rhatron and secretary are Away
present to see that introductions ar
x,oJo nropar1u
H The Community House is the mos
popular place in town. There ar
| from one thousand to three thousan
| soldiers in lit every day and NOR
| than ten thousand letter heads ar
given away free each week. Here
| where the boys like to come. Nc
only the soldiers visit the house, bu
the civilians are welcome, and be-
= ter feeling between the citizens an
soldiers result from the chance az
ouaintances. 1t is here the boys fin
n friends who invite them home to r.
gular dinner occasionally, or to spen
an evening sitting in the living rooi
with the family, one of the things tn
majority of the boys out here spen
hours dreaming about.
There is more real pleasure for
soldier in spending an evening wit
somebody's father and mother, brotl
er and sister, talking or maxim
candy, than in all the burlesqu
houses or pool halls in town. Ft
every one of the boys here had
home before coming to camp, whic
he left to fight for his country an
protect those same home folks.
Here is what J. P. Robertson, r
presenting the War Department con
mission on training camp activiti'
in community work, has to say abo'
the Community House:
y "You can see what the boys are d
ing, and how they enjoy it. You ca
~ to tho loo craam narlOrs the res