The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1918-06-19
SHARE DANGERS
WITH SOLDIERS
". nj. c. A. Workers Are Almost
Constantly Under Fire
in France.
MANY HAIRBREADTH ESCAPES
Moments Delay Saves Red Triangle
Man From Death by Sheli-Ex-
perlences That Arc Test
for Real Man.

misunderstanding shells arr
everyday, everyhour experiences II
the lives of all soldiers and Y. M. G
A. workers anywhere within 25 miles
of the Boche guns. DR.. George Louis
Meylan, who has just returned from
France where he was engaged in rec
reatiOn work for the Y. M. @. A..
threw some strong light on the con-
of the trenches HVe-and die. He had
been asked to tell some specific in
stances of "Y" workers under fire in
flrst-line trenches.
"ThOse over here who have not been
In the war zone must forget their old
time ideas of warfare and its dam
gers" said Doctor Meylan. "Forget
this old idea of open fighting, with
troops battling across plain the size
OF large athletic field. Modern ar
t1llery shoots for miles and is always
shooting. Every person within 20
miles Of the trenches is under fire
practically all Of the time, yet the re-
ports do not call this battle. The
reports announce The artillery was
active and that means shells any
where five to twenty-five miles back
Of the trenches.
Dodge Shells Constantly.
"Narly in April the Germans made
night raids and their airplanes were
active In bombing. Two Of my or
MI fchk
ton miles back of the front-line
trenches. The Germans kept up the
bombardment for three days during
which time those ~ men were dods-
ing shells constantly.
ION the second day they we're in a
Foyer de SOldat-One of the soldiers
recreation huts provided by the French
With Y men In charge-when, within
i've minutes two shells struck, one
efew yards away, the other hitting the
hut. The " men were thrown down
b. the concussion. 1t seemed a
miracle they were not hit, for soldiers
we're killed and wounded all around
them. -
, 1T Is strange that although we have
hundred men workers, not a single |
r. man had been killed up to the
time left France, whereas Hun shells
had killed two of our women workers,
Miss Crandell and Miss Winona Mar
tin.
I'm certain woods the shells were
dropping so thickly that the French
ordered our men to aban-
don their huts. As the order was not
received until evening, ~ man Of
my acquaintance decided not to leave
until next morning as he wished to
take his stuff. Next morning he was
the hut when a French
officer stopped him to exchange fare
wells. This took little more than q
minute, and the Red Triangle worker
started on his way when a shell ex-
point where he would have been had
be not been detained.
Close Calls Every Day.
"Some ~ workers are having hair
breadth escapes every day, not every
man every day, but each in his time
With regularity to justify saying
some men every day. Eight of our
men with the Canadians have been
Killed, and we cannot expect to escape
They work from six
o'clock In the morning until eleven
relock at night, seven days a week,
With a week OF every three months
md many never take their week OF.
e{n % oh T
workers were up at three o'clock In
he morning with hot coffee to warm
he French soldiers coming in after
three-mile wade through mud and
ain. Those Poilus appreciated that.
MANY Of our workers slept on the
round In zero weather this winter,
nth nothing but blanket between
hem and the frozen earth, and with
o shelter but a hut made often Of
reen lumber which warped, letting
! icy blasts. A test Cor a real man.
IT went forward toward the
renches to meet the American SOL
lers coming back after their baptism
{ fire at Chemin des Danes and they
ere all eagerness for more. The
ermans- had sent picked troops
yainst them, their strongest men in
and new equipment, to impress the
mericans that Germany had an
,undance OF everything, material
ID robust men. Quite a contrast to
. ill-equipped emaciated men the
aench had taken prisoners. The
hericans gave such good account Of
emselves In this fight that the
.ench could not praise them enough"