The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1918-08-30
Vivid Picture of Life
on American Transport

Several letters have come from
". A. Funk, who is working with
the Y. NJ. G. A. aboard transports.
Mr.. Funk's letters are SO full of
war spirit and of his sincere in
terest in the boys as individuals
that it is doubtful if any better
man anywhere could have been
found for the position he fills. A
few extracts from his interesting
letters follow.
In speaking of loading a boat
Mr.. Funk says: We'll they kept
piling on and piling on. and it
wasn't long before we htJ quite
chocolate colored' ship. We
took on several thousand "choco-
lates'', and ended up by taking
several hundred whites. l was
kept busy all the time supplying
the needs of the troops. worked
awfully hard morning, noon and
night, wore my voice ont com
pletely and am just beginning to
recover it. We had several Colo
RADIO boys, but of course l am for
hidden to give any names.
Zone of my days would be about
as follows. Breakfast at I a. m
then down to the office and figure
out plan of action for the day.
While l am in the Office, about a
dozen fellows would come around
for something like a magazine, II
game of checkers, a game of domi-
noes, chess, book TO read, writing
paper, fill fountain pen, etc
You can always find some young
fellow who has had experience in
Y. Nj. G. A. work to leave in charge
This morning l start out with
100 sheets of popular songs. l
come to bunch of several hun
dred negroes who can sing but
don't know the words. Vas sir,
boss, Is a purity good singer some-
times, deed an homes | is, but to
tell de truf, boss, l aint had no
chanct to learn none o. desc hyar
new tangled songs what de solar
boys sings, but l shore would like
to try my hand at it. eff you jest
is willing to hep me out. So We
start in with Over There, There's
a Long, Long Trail Winding
and several others. AfterI get
them started pretty well, go on
to another bunch and so on.
Then after dinner | take the
phonograph around and let a group
use it, and then pass around with
copies of the ships news that is
received daily by wireless.
Thousands of these boys have
never been on the water before, it
is their first experience on any
kind of ship, and naturally they
come to the Y. NJ. G. A. man for in
formation about geography, arith-
metic, longitude and time, how to
get the correct time, where we are
going, how soon We get there, etc.
Then comes the religious mat.
ters and the more delicate matters
of home, family troubles, pictures
of their homes, family troubles,
pictures of their wives and sweet
hearts, wanting me to send mess
ages for them (Which we are strict
ly forbidden to do) etc.
I'VE can never be certain of
anything aboard one of these boats.
All your calculations are liable to
be blown into a cooked hat or iuto
a torpedoed transport. It's all in
the game, and when l think of
these poor fellows returning arm
less, legless, etc, the little troubles
don't cut much ice.
"The fellows l feel sorriest about
are the poor hremen down in the
stoke-hold these hot days and
nights, shoveling coal into those
red hot boilers, four hours on and
eight hours off continually day
and night. They come up from
that FIRE room plumb exhausted,
and Just throw themselves with
their cloths on down on the steel
deck and are asleep any place, fat
on their backs. When this war is
over l want some one to write a
good euloey about the boys of the
Black Gang, as the fiiremen are
called.
Speaking of the wounded men
being brought back, Mr.. Funk
says, "The Red Cross is doing
wonderful things for the men.
Those nurses will do anything and
undergo any hardships for the boys.
They go out and buy things for
them, and do little deeds of kind.
Ake l..~ as...~o.s.A..