Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1918-08-23
KEEP FROM FEELING BLUE,
Hovs .Enroute "Oyer There Make
Merry on Transports, s.


BY Walter Kellogg Towers
"What do we do now, Dick?" ~
"Darned if ! know, Harry"
1--WE got to do something, but how
and where, and with what, Tenn"
Tom and Dick and Harry were typ
ical Americans, typical soldiers,
aboard a typical troop ship, bound for
cover There Leaving the rnsh of
civilian life they had entered the even
more active life of the army. Days
had been full Of new sensations, new
experiences, of work and drill, study
and wholesome tlay m the training
camps in America. Then, with the
Hun battering the Allied line on the
Western front, they. with many
others, had bean hurriedly placed
aboard snip.
Space aboard ship is necessarily
limited. There is no room for drill,
no facilities for the ordinary activi-
tics of camp lie whi:h keep the bod
les and minds Of men occupied, and
mould them into hett.,r men ard sod
icrs. Mess calls, boat drills and guard
duty fiji some tine; but not an entire
day.
Then there appeared among Tom,
Dick and Harry and the others chap
with a pair of boxing gloves under
one arm, and bundle of stationery
and checker boards under the other.
lie wore the khaki of the army, with
the Red Triangle of the Overseas Y.
NJ. C. A. on his right arm.
"Find Hickey" came from the ar
tillerymen. "He's fighter. l bet
he can lick anything that machine
gun bun can show. Oh you machine
gunners, bring out the best you've
gotI"
A boxing bout was soon under way
in 4 cleared space on the deck, with
the others packed thickly about,
hanging from every point Of vantage.
Homesickness and ennui had been BAN
ished, dissatisfaction and restlessness
had fed. Merry gibe and happy
cheers rang out as the two-roGnd bout
came to happy and harmless conclu-
'sion. One sergeant had seen fair
play though he had little to do and
another held the watch. There was
no decision, and no evidence Of i'll tenn
per. This bout over, another pair
donned the gloves, and another and
another. So the time passed from
the early dinner until dark, hours that
otherwise would have been very long.
Other men had taken the stationery
offered by the "Y" man and retired to
quiet corners to write letters home.
Still others had paired off at checkers
or chess. And as the days passed the
service TO the men was extended and
increased. l..
These boys, who had, been more
than busy, were nightly hungry to
read, now that hours of leisure and
confinement were upon them. The "Y',
had had three cases of books, some
five hundred, with which to fulfill this
demand. The commanding officer de-
tailed two enlisted men who hal had
some experience in library work. to as
sist the Red Triangle worker. They
took full charge of the books. keep
ing the records and seeing to it that
the copies came back on time.
Adventure stories, boys books, md
solid fact books, outdrew in popular
ity the sugary novels of love thai are
rated among the best sellers by Ar:er-
ica:1 book men. These books had been
gathered by the American Iib:sry
Association and others and if the
people at home who have given books
from their libraries could have seen
these boys in khaki eagerly leaning
over their books, could have seen them
passed from hand to hand, serving
scores OF men, they would have felt
well repaid for their sacrifice. And {
they would have been inspired to sac '
rice more books, and to urge their
friends to do likewise.
Besides the books, the Red Triangle /
had supplied French lesson sheets for t
free distribution These were passed /
and all with studious inclinations set o
10 pick up few words of French. y
Besides paper and envelopes there q
we're return cards for each boy to fill d
nut and announce his safe arrival in p
france. n
TEe'"i' man was an athletic di- #
ector and at every possible oppor- h
unity would start simple games II
nlODr tho Snl1tarc Had