The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1917-11-19
WHAT A Y. M. c. 4. NAN
\ IN FRANCE DOES IN A DAY
BY Reginald Wright Kaufman, Author
Of "Jim," "The House of Bond
age" Etc.

Do you want to be Il \ M, Y, "A. work
er at the American campy
Cast your eye over the duties of The
average hut secretary and decide fol
yourself.
You must sleep where you can; eat
when there's a chance, and overlook the
daily bath. If you are lucky enough to
have bed you will be glad enough ia
make it yourself And if you can find
needle and thread you won't stop to look
for somebody else to mend your clothes.
You must be able to handle drunk with
tact, and meet bully with the first
blow. You must be interruption proof
I've seen lecturer at the British front
continue his talk under shower of air
bombs-and noise -proof-the other day
an English Y M. c. A. woman worker
was killed at the counter of her canteen
in communication trench, but her as
sistant continued selling lemonade.
You must be Jack of all trades. The
hut secretary down here is storekeeper,
stenographer, club manager, house stew
ard head waiter school teacher, impre-
sario, athletic promoter, boxing referee,
father confessor, peacemaker, town crier,
preacher good mixer and dead game
sport. Why, he can even umpire at base.
ball and retain his popularity!
The average worker follows this rou
tue:
He wakes at 6 a. M, lights an oil stove
and puts some coffee to boil. Then at
80 he drinks his coffee and chews bit
of bread-that is his breakfast. Then
from 845 until III he is cleaning up his
hut-you will remember that each hut
is used by 1900 soldiers day, and you
will realize that the man who can clean |
it in four and half hours is going some. |
AT IL the worker opens the canteen and |
sells there so long as customers appear, |
and then, if they slack up bit, he may |
get chance to drink another cup of cof-
fee and make himself a sandwich to be
eaten between sales.
About | o'clock business lightens, but
then the personal contact" begins. You
have promised to advise Smith about his
private conducts Jones wants you to
send some money home for him; Robin
son would like to know if it's true they
go into the trenches tomorrow: Thomp-
son has a confession to make, and Jack
son asks if Boston has won, or whether
you've heard the Harvard Yale score
and if you haven't won't you please find
out for him?
That goes on until A. Then-perhaps
just as you are in the midst of writing
to AS girl in Philadelphia to tell her ,
that her sweetheart deserves to have her {
make it up with him, or as you are be- {
ginning letter to BIS parents in Chey- {
enne, who haven't seen him since he ran I
away from home-then, | say the men
come in from drill, and the canteen be- 8
gins to make sales like a department I
store in the Christmas rush.
Here is where you are doing two things a
at once--and sometimes more. You have s
to run outside every little while to see c
that the athletic program (often a com e
plicated affair is working smoothly, and q
you have to come right back and sell t
stuff at the canteen; and if the athletics s
stop at shutdown, be sure that the store n
work goes on till 1880 or s. As often as t
not there is no time for supper, because n
you must arrange perhaps even rehearse, t
the evenings entertainment, and you've n
no sooner arranged it than you must seat "
the incoming audience, introduce the per-
formers, keep things lively, and, if there h
8 lack of talent, do turn or two your II
,elf fl
The show is over at 9:30-but not the o.
worker of the worker Before he can il
tumble between his blankets on cold Oh
,ot in the hut he has to balance his IL
looks and take account of stock. fl
In other words, the Y. NJ c. A. worker al
s doing at least a IT. and often a 49, 81
lour day. IN,
In the accepted sense of the word "sal. W
Try" almost nobody is "on" it. Nearly W
he whole lot are working for what is bi
allied expenses" which is a sum which fo
oesnt quite pay board in country in
where eggs cost nine cents apiece. Sug-
+ cards are going to be suspended
throughout France for the month of De.
ember and there is about as much use
t worker trying to live at the ten
DOM village inn-taxed by the demands Ts
t ready money soldiers-as there was n,
0 Lazarus trying to encroach upon the CO.
lenu of Dives. nm
It's life that rather wears on one. mi