The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-12-29


A. navy hu, on the shores of a seaport
town IN western France you viii ses
a huge sign over the cashiers window. ;
II reads. send Your Money Home, !
We Arc Here To Serve
! tapped on the window because II
was early in the MORNINGS carly /
on shore leave. The incest old gentle !
man In the world opened the sliding
window and greeted me with some
surprise.
II have no money TO send home,
told him. and I'm wondering ii
YOU are here 70 talk az well as 10
serve"
lie invited me inside the little
money office which looked much like
: HE sacred ihnet-afIsee- & cotftftrs-
bank. And there in two very uncom-
/ ferta BILE pine chairs We sat down to
gether and began our talk. | asked
him whether or not the navy boys
were saving and just how many of
them made use Of the sign This
Is The story lac told me.
Through that tinv little caged win
dow in just tina. one Int alone the
boys send home about $4,000
month. Some months 1t runs much
higher. II costs the boys nothing
not even their time. They turn the
money in at the window and get a
receipt for il. The money is sent
he same day by New York draft
direct TO the wife or mother. Under
separate cover GOES letter 10 her
telling how it was SEN, who sent 1t
and when II WAS mailed.
! lie showed nae the stubs Of The
money received the day previous. The
sums we're odd They ran something
like this, sla. $50. s1s. 81. sa7.
OF course the service Of this win
dow is much more far reaching than
that The men behind II cash all post
checks for the boys in the uniforms
OF the L. s both army and r.lvv,
They cash them without asking foE
+ identification They cash all money
orders from home without question
And they cash all personal checks If,
/ .&f- 'scs.' .'sys;seG5 tc saarta Sc s@<..s :ef'
count IN France. Md IT IS interest
! Ing TO note that they have never
had a check OF any kind. sort or de
scription come back to them. They
+ have foaUed money 10 men VINO have
been broke with no security what
ever. but il has always been paid back
! withous exception,
They. exchange an money--french
into American and vice versa. They
/ charge no exchange. And this means
lot TO the men. When a trtrsDor'
! behind those two windows for twelve
or fourteen hours without stopping
for lunch often,imes when they
close the windows along about nine at
night. they 90 il because their eyes
are so tired they don't really see the
figures and their brsn are so weary
, they - dent know what a. dollar is
worth in francs Remember that
banking hours in France are pra"t-
cally the same as those at home.
From ten to twelve and from two to
four in the afternoon. Eut Of course
sailors can get shore leave only when
II is given them, and most OF them
get leave from 5 r. NJ. TO p. NJ.
SO without this Y. NJ. c. A. service
the hoys would he without cent of
money that would he accepted in the
town in which they have landed.
Still another service is the taking
in OF mutilated money. which the
shops If France refuse. Paper M oney
over here Is not as tough or as durable
as ours. 1t Is in shreds before II is
very aged Roys come in with this
torn money and absolutely new money
is given to them for j.. This mutilat-
, cd money is deposited in box. and
they take in about $4,000 worth OF
X every mouth. They have, It mended
by experts IND then turn il into the
banks who must accept il for it's face
value Remember II would be utterly
worthless to the boys
Next comes the acceptance Of local
money. All over France you will find
local money. Certain bank notes are
good In ''Greytown." but they are
worthless in ''Browntou' or any
other town, Our men do not know
this. and they land in Browntown
with Greytown notes. Well at that
navy hut all kinds OF notes arc ac-
Icepted and the general French money
is given in exchange for It.
If It were not for All this service
these boys would be at 'he mercy
OF these foreign banks who charge
what they like--take what they like
and close at four I'm the afternoon
When the boys began to arrive in
crowds cf four and FIVE ut the window
noticed them as they counted out
the strange money. They looked il
over carefully and then stood In the
waiting line TO buy their tobacco.
chocolate and other things from the
girls behind The canteen counter I
driftcj over to table where the hos
tess for the day was sitting. The cap
tain Of troopship was there chatting
about his men.
This is certainly ire place for
my men, he declared. Every hour
the boys are here they are not UP
there fpointing to the t0fn). Up
there Is nothing but gin mills, a china
town of world famed disrepute and
samb bling dens. When ship comes
IN the streets are crowded with wo-
men from, the own and all the viii
lagos about ard the shops are filed
with WORTHLESS material. made MP