Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-11-22
CANTEEN WORK
GREATLY AIDED
PASSING. YANKS
Work TO Be Continued When
Fighting Men Come Home
From France

During the past year 55,7S7 SOL
diers passing through Harrisburg on
troop trains have been met by the
canteen workers of the Harrisburg
Chapter, American Red Cross. A
summary of the years work in which
this total is contained, was made
public to-day by Mrs. Francis j.
| Hall, chairman of the canteen COM
mittee. The report follows:
THE following is the report of the
canteen committee of the Harrisburg
Red Cross for the year ending No
yember 1, 1918. This committee met
it's first train October 10, 1917, and
from that time the following trains
have been met: 1917-October, 1,197
men; November, 1,725; December,
800. 191S-January, 80; February,
/ 2,1S6: March, 1920; April, 4,05S;
May, GAGS; June, G,1S2. July, 5,217;
August, 9,475; September, 1891; Oc-
tober, 9,461;. total, 55,7S7 men.
Number of troop trains met, 1S1;
number of invalid trains met, IA;
complete hospital trains met, 6; total,
201 trains
The canteen department has
drawn from the treasury of the Red
Cross Chapter, $4,667. OF this
amount there are supplies on hand
to the amount of 1910. The average
cost per man has been less than eight
cents In this estimate it must be
considered that many meals have
been served at seventy-tive cents a
man, which shows the extremely
small cost per man, when only ordi-
nary canteen service is given. Our
greatest expense will be the wound
ed and sick men, who need the best
OF food, and in tuberculosis cases
plenty of milk and broth. We have
had only $50 invalid men, but we
know only too we'll that there will be
thousands of them passing through,
the care of whom will greatly add to
our expense account. According to
advices front Washington the troop
movement in connection with the
breaking up of the camps will be
enormous, and the Red Cross is ex-
pected to feed many of these men.
The following telegram was re-
ceived this morning from Mrs. DreXel
and speaks for itself. Instructions
from Washington \ say, men dis
charged to receive in passing, same
treatment as in service
The canteen organization consists
OF a chairman, an assistant to the
chairman and vice-chairman,
twelve lieutenants and forty y-nine
workers. Since the early part of June,
during the absence of the chairman,
Mrs. Walter II. Gather the assistant
chairman, has been in charge of the
work. Her interest and unselfish
efforts have been untiring. She has
been on duty day and night, and no
train has been uncared for. The re-
ports of these months show how
splendidly the work has been done.
I'VE now have a canteen infor-
nation booth. in the Pennsylvania
station, also a supply closet for any
emergency calls that may come. We
have made arrangements with the
Harrisburg Hospital, to care for any
sick or wounded men who may need
attention. We have sleeping quar-
ters, and arrangements for feeding
motor truck men or any soldiers who
have missed connections; also have
made provisions for special food for
men on invalid trains.
Unless otherwise ordered, we dis
tribute to the soldiers passing
through Harrisburg, fruit, tobacco,
magazines, always postcards, and
during hot weather, ice cream. We
have given out over $500 postcards.
with a picture of the capitol on
them, all stamped ready for mailing.
Upon instructions from Philadelphia,
or requests from a commanding Of
ficer of troop train, we serve hot
nnnlS Tho in "a nf n
Pennsylvania restaurant have often
worked most of the night to prepare
these meals for us.
"A Hostess House has been OPEN
ed at the Civil Club and the canteen
committee in charge of the vice.
chairman, Mrs. Miley Jones, serve
refreshments there on Saturday and
Sunday evenings.
we greatly appreciate the CO.
operation and assistance given us by
the employees of the Pennsylvania
Railroad, who at any hour of the
day or night are willing to give us
any information necessary for our
work, and to fGlp us in every pos
sible way. Without their cheerful
aid, our task would indeed be diff
cult.
Every month the work is heavier.
and we feel more worth while. The
character of the work is changing.
We had at first men who were anX-
ious and eager to get over there
full of life and enthusiasm, whose
one idea was to get to Berlin, and
we heard of the marvellous things
that they intended to do, when they
got there. We still have, of course,
numbers of the same kind, whose
disappointment is great, that the war
is over, but we have also many of
those who have been brought back
from oveH there Men who have
! given, not only their arms and legs,
but in so many cases their minds as
well, and who do not even know
their own names. They are Just
wrecks of the fine fellows who left
this country some months ago.
while our hearts are wrung by
the pitiful sights we see and the
stories that we hear, we are more
than repaid by the feeling that to
some of them we may have brought
ray of sunshine.