Evening star., 1918-05-19
BY WILLIAM r. ELLIS.
(The Religious Rambler.)

(The Religious Rambler.)
Copyright. 1918, by the Ellis service)
AT THE AMERICAN FRONT II
FRANCE. May 1.-If the American
nation could see what 1 have beer
seeing for two weeks past. myriad:
of parents would rest more easil,
upon their pillows tonight.
The crux of my especial theme o.
investigation. the effect of the wal
upon religious conditions, is the char.
acter and conduct of the soldiers; ant
therefore 1 have been afield in France
meeting the men themselves. From
Paris and it's mystery gun and all
raids, under which no American mar
wavered an instant, SO far as ascer-
tainable. l went to the great por,
which is being made over in the new
for the reception of American troops
This is not the place to write of the
staggering magnitude of the Amer
lean preparations for the war; but il
the German general staff know about
them they must spend anxious hours
in discussing them
From that landing point l have fol-
1o"So the <AHucTicaH SlSHDOdFOS-lit-
orally American slgnboards-osa d
large part of France. l have met the
troops in all arms of the service.
from the engineers in overalls do
ing machine-shop work to the avia-
tors with whom | iiew above the
divisions. officers schools. camoufage
department. artillery and infantry
regiments, MISUNDERSTANDING the
largest in the world. now under con-
struction by the Americans have
visited. Naturally, 1 have seen the
men on the march, and in their viii
lage billets. where fragrant manure piles
take the place of front yard flower gar
dens. OF course l have talked with
privates and officers. and with chap
lains and Y. NJ. c. A and Knights of
Columbus workers: and / have been
present when Elsie Janis danced on
Y. NJ c. A platform. unanimously
entertaining the men; and in that
same hut when, on the following
morning. a California preacher gave
a regular sermon from the same plat
FORM Now l am up at the front.
where one scarcely notices the guns,
and is Obliged to carry a gas mask
with him all the time, as well as a
metal helmet.
How the Boys Look in France.
So much by way of credentials, that
: the reader may understand that / know
what l am talking about when l say,
without any reservation or qualifications,
that the American boys here in France
grade even higher than they do at home,
and that there is nothing the matter
with them except impatience to get to
grips with Fritz. and then to go home.
Physical fitness stands out from
every line of these men. They are
well set-up. alert, strong: not in vain
has been their long training at home
and here. One Frenchwoman said,
when the troops first came to her
town, What giants. How will you
ever be able to feed them?"
In truth. they are the best fed peo-
pie in France. The mess of the Amer
lean privates is better than the table
hote dinner of some of the largest
hotels in the cities. They have the
only white bread that | have seen in
the country. and in unlimited quanti-
ties. Nothing less than good food,
and in abundance. could account for
the ruddy health of these boys, who
swing so jauntily along the roads, or
else go whistling about the work of
American boy has been brought over
to France. and after the mess has
done it's best by them they still go
to the Y. NJ. c. A huts for chocolates
and candies and cakes and chewing
gum. as well as tobacco. For almost
the first thing that the outreach of
American religion is doing for these
soldiers so far from home is to feed
them. There are dozens of dominies
in the uniform of the association, who
fondly believed that they were COM
ing out to France to preach to the
troops. who have done little else than
serve hot chocolate and other canteen
supplies TO this Unsuitable multitude
Mothering the Men.
With traditional adaptability. the
American soldiers have settled down
to life in France. at the bases, on
the march and at the front, as il
they had been used to it always.
They are not merely enduring the
war: they are enjoying it. There
must be some grouches in the Army
anything else would be contrary to
human nature: but j have not met
ness and good nature of the troops
Is a marvel. They understand their
1ob. and have buckled down to 1t.
confident of themselves. of their all
lies. of their home folk and of the
victory in the war. They know that
war is not one splendid dash at the
foe. but an immense enterprise-the
largest and most important that the
American government ever embarked
upon. In that knowledge they cheer
iuiiy 10 Work at the base or fight
like veterans at the front. II this
were military article I could tell of
last nights attack in force by Fritz
on both fanks of this sector: and how.
splendidly our men met and defeated
IT. Instead of having to be blood ed" ("
in period of panic and fear, these
troops carry on like veterans. to the
surprise of the military observers
They are as ready the day after an
attack as they were in their first en-
thusiasm for the fight.
Without being coddled at all. this
army is being mothered" as was
never army before. To begin with.
Gen. Pershing has a real solicitude for
the moral and mental welfare OF the
troops. as well as for their physical
well-being- French and British off,
GERS have called his regulations "pu-
ritanical- They are astounded at the
high standard OF personal conduct re-
quired of both officers and men This
Is the most idealistic of all the forces
OF armed men that ever went to a
foreign land Their conduct and code
are bound to have a great influence
upon the world.
Company and regimental officers also
are "mothering" the men in a way
that warns the cookies OF an Ameri-
can parents heart Their health, their
comfort. their conduct, tire their daily
the looks and behavior Of the men
than i am with the efficiency Of this
hard-working host of officers There
is an atmosphere in the Army that is
difficult to define but that begets the
conviction that democracy really
works when it goes forth to war
The Y. NJ. c. A. and other agencies
no more cordial helpers than the Arm,
officers from Gen Pershing down