New-York tribune., 1918-04-22
Governor Whitman
And Harry Lauder
Urge Y.M.C.A. Aid
Collaborate at Metropolitan
to Tell of Organizations
Labor in France

Harry Lauder and Charles S. Whit
man collaborated at the Metropolitan
Opera House yesterday afternoon in
telling New York, just at this moment
when General Pershing has asked that
"hut workers. be sent to France at the
rate of thousand a month, the story
of the Y. NJ. G. A. in war.
Between them, with the Governor
going into some details of facts and
figures and his running mate after
him driving every point home, they
made outright Y. NJ. C. A. missionaries
of the 1000 men and women who braved
the rain to be at the Metropolitan mass
meeting, These were ready to convince
others that Y. NJ. c. A. workers were
in no sense slackers and to straight
away let their friends know that by
and large dollar given to the Y. M.
Z. A. goes as far toward the achieve
ment of victory as dollar spent for
bullets.
1t was upon the canard that Y. NJ.
{: A: workers in the field are evaders
OF military service that Governor Whit
man made his chief attack. He recalled
the cases of two of them who had met
Y. M. c. A. Men Not Slackers
You can't call man in Y. NJ. c..
A. uniform a slacker," he said "Thev
are not slackers, nor are they pacifists.
They are militant body. Their work
taxes them into the front-line trenches,
where they share the risks of the SOL
dlecs of the line. Their dugouts arc in
the second line and subject to she'll
fire.
"ln everything the Y. NJ. C. A. has been
called upon to do-and the dcmanQs on
1T have been great-it has devoted to
the maximum tho powerful and com
prenenslve machinery of the associa-
ton. the nuts, at once recreation
centres and general stores, link our men
with home. They serve to make men
forget they are 5000 miles from their
own country.
"More Y. NJ. G. A. workers are need
French and Italian eemmanders ndsr: have = we
appreciated the great work they are ac-
complishing in upbuilding and sustain
ing morale. They want the same thing
for their own forces"
Inc Governor, also chairman of tho
meeting, besides being a speaker. told
of the death in action of Captain John
Lauder, the comedians only son, as he
lhtrOduced Harry Lauder.
FOR Gods sake, get behind YOUR Y.
NJ. Z. A. was the Lauder appeal. GIVE
freely in time or in money, as best Won
may"
Lauder, who begins professional
engagement at the Metropolitan today
has just returned from a tour of the
United States in which he travclled d
from coast to coast and from Canada
to the Gulf, speaking for the Y. M. C.
A., the Red Cross, the Liberty Loan
and other patriotic purposes.
Warns cs German Propaganda
long out of the war was German
propaganda" he said. "1t is still with
you. If you'll be doing what YOU
should by your country you'll find out
who your neighbor is.
"On my trip | have seen crowds
standing before the bulletins of Ger
man-language newspapers. have iust
seen them standing there and talkinp
between themselves. But who knows
70 what dcns of sedition .tney turn
"hen they go away? Those news
papers should be suppressed.
re- america has had no commerce with
Hermany Tor year now. Great Brit
am hasn't for four years. If we can
get along without German trade, can't
we get along without the German Ian
guage? One thing you people can do,
II you have children in a school where
German is taught, then send with them
word that they will not return until
snat language is no longer part. of the
a talk was all Lauder had intended
TO make but before the audience per
ihleted MN to retire he had sung a
couple OF simple Scotch folksoncs,
And, though big band from thc Pcl'
ham Naval Training Station was on tho
platform and ready to help out, he