The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1918-06-22
Y" War WORK
LEADERS MUST
Be REAL men

The American infantry Is DllIeLed
mainly in French peasant villages
from three to five times as many
men in each village as the normal
population of that village. Enough
villages to accommodate g. whole di-
vision Of about $4,000 men will often
take an era rs miles across. The
men are therefore separated into
units from 300 in number up to g.
900 or 5000. This alone vastly COM
plicates all problems Of public en-
tertainment and recreation.
Our men are living right in the
houses with the French people. The
French men have all been removed,
that is, all the able men from
Is to so years Of age. In these peas
ant villages there are no resources OF
active recreation. Our men cannot
speak with the French people; there
are no newspapers, no news comes
in from outside; life is endlessly mo-
notonous, except for what Is furnished
by the "Y."
The food is good, but about the
same from day to day. The daily
training becomes mbnotonous and
irksome in the course Of q couple
Of weeks. The physical director has
in his hands the only physical ac-
tivity that Is open to the men. Under
such conditions boxing is a life-saver.
Large soccer games are also valu-
able. We must remember that our
soldiers have absolutely no other re-
sources Of an active kind. 1t is i'm
possible for men to do nothing. The
situation is quite different from what
it is here in America where we have
so many resources.
Another reason why physical di-
rectors are extraordinarily important
over there will become evident as
soon as our men really get into the
big fight. Continued tragedy wears
down personality. A great many men
are permanently injured in ways
which we do not understand but
which prevent their ever getting back
into any large activity. Shell shock"
is a general term descriptive Of many
different kinds of mental and nervous
pathological states. When a man has
for three days been fighting almost
without interruption, has had prac-
tically no sleep with but little TO eat;
has been marching or running, car
rying weight, helping to drag guns
and the like, he has been doing work
which makes football seem like
child's play. Men alongside Of him
have been left out in the field either
dead or alive. He has seen his own
comrades some of them blown to
pieces and some bayoneted. When
man under such conditions has OPP
portunity for food and rest and sleep
his body can recover quickly, but
often the tragedy Of the situation goes
round in his mind and it is utterly
beyond his will to control. II this
| lasts long the man is ruined. These
are the conditions when q man is
! practically without any will, and
| temptations for excitement are prac-
| ticaIIy Irresistible. These are the
conditions under which humans have
always dissipated, for dissipation
| gives the one great opportunity for
some interest that will come in and
crowd out the tragedy and the mo-
notony.
Football For Alcohol.
The physical director who can sub
stitute football for alcohol, vice or
gambling is performing a service
greater than a physical director in
peace time ever has the opportunity
to give. It is for this service that
our men will be- needed in France
p, shortly. 1t takes trained men of big
personality to give service Of this
kind.
II Is necessary TO organize special
work to hunt for and enlist physical
directors, because there are so few
trained men of this kind in America.
If we had all the trained men who
are over 81 years Of ago We still would
be short. We must take some Of very
little training and experience because
there are not enough of the others.
We are further behind with reference
to physical directors than we are
with reference to any other class Of
workers.
About three quarters Of all the
work done by the American secre~
taries Of the Foyer du soldat Is the
organization Of recreation. The rea-
son for this is that all the quick
work and games are in charge Of the
French secretary. The religious work
is not aHowed--thus the one great
remaining line of usefulness is in
athletics. These men are secretaries,
not physical directors, but IS per
cent of their work consists Of ath-
letics. When the term physical di-
rector" is used In connection with