Ripley County democrat. (Doniphan, Mo.) 1905-1920, 1918-06-07
SHARE DANGERS
WITH SOLDIERS
Y. n. G, n Workers Are Almost
Constantly Under Fire
In France.
MANY lYHlIRBREADTn ESCAPES
laomsatsa Delay Saves Red Triangle
Man From Death BY Shsll--Ex
rsrisncss That Are Test
fsr Real Man.

4 Man From Death by Sheil--Fx
nerisncss That Are Test
ssr Real Man.
washington Bursting shells are
everyday, everybour experiences In
the lives Of all soldiers and Z. M, @.
A. workers anywhere within rs miles
Of the Bcche guns. DR., George Louis
Meylan, who has Just returned from
France where he was engaged In rec
reation work for the Y. M. @. Al
threw some strong light on the con-
ditions under which all persons back
OF the trenches live-and die. He had
been asked to tell some specific In
stances Of "Y'' workers under fire IN
flrst.line trenches.
aThose over here who have not bean
in the war zone must forget their old
time ideas of warfare and its dam
gers, \ said Doctor Meylan. aForget
| this old idea Of open fighting, with
troops battling across plain the size
OF i large athletic field, Modern ar
! tilIery shoots for miles and Ii always
sh0oting. Every person within 20
miles Of the trenches is under fire
practically all Of the time, vet the re-
ports do not cali this q battle. The
reports announce The artillery was
active and that means shells any
/ where Ave to twenty-five miles back
Of the trenches.
Dodge Shells Constantly
.'Eariy In April the Germans made
night raids and their airplanes were
active In bombing. Two Of my or
ganixers we're visiting camps eight or
ten miles back Of the front-line
| tranches, The Germans kept mp the
6onsbardment for three days darink
which time those r. men were dBdg.
ing shells constantly.
1 ION the second day they were In q
Foyer de Soldat--one Of the soldiers
recreation huts provided by the French
with " men In charge-when, within
| i've minutes two shells struck, one a
few yards away, the other hitting the
hut. The 'y' men were thrown down
by the concussion. 1t seemed o
miracle they were not hit. for soldiers
: were killed and wounded all around
them. M&
n ut Ia strange that although we have
only about one woman worker to every
hundred men workers, not single
" man had been killed up to the
time I left France, whereas Hun shells
had killed two Of our women workers
Miss Crandell and Miss Winona Mar
tin.
TN a certain woods the shells wers
dropping 80 thickly that the French
commander ordered our men to aban
don their huts. As the order was no
received until evening. " man o.
| my acquaintance decided not to leav'
until next morning as he wished Il
take his stuff. Next morning he wal
! approaching the hut when Frencl
| officer stopped him to exchange fare
wells. This took little more than
! Ilminute, and the Red Triangle worke
| started on his way when shell ex
| ploded on the path near the hut at th
! point where he wenld have been hal
1 he isot been detained.
Il Close czIls Every Day
III asome " workers are having hair
/ breadth escapes every day, not ever
| man every day. but each In his tim
/ with a regularity to Justify sayin
some men every day. Eight Of ou
| men with the Canadians have bee
| killed, and we cannot expect tp escap
| unscathed. They work from si
o'clock IN the morning until eleve
| o'clock at night seven days = sweel
| with a week oR every three months
| ana many never take their week Of
q On one occasion Of which ! know th
! workers were up at three o'clock
n the morning with hot coffee to war;
the French soldiers coming 10 afts
ia three-mile wade through mud an
rain. Those Poilps appreciated tha
Y sMany Of our workers slept on II
ground In zero weather this winte
> with nothing but q blanket betwet
!. them and the frozen earth, and vii
"a no shelter but q hut made often
81 green lumber which warped. lettif
I in Icy blasts. A test for real mn