Evening star., 1918-07-15
LIBERTY HUT FOR ENLISTED
IS READY FOR 800 GUESTS
Former Sunday Tabernacle Here. Largest
Temporary Home for Men in Service. Is
Model for Y. NJ. C.. A. Secretaries.

Washington has a great new ''hoter'
which has a sleeping capacity of 500.
is equipped with shower baths. read
ing rooms. library of hundreds OF
volumes, writing rooms, and right IN
the lobby are three pool tables. There
Is music at all hours.
Tho "hotel" is the Liberty Hut. which
is tho largest 7. NJ. c. A. hut in the
world. Though the auditorium has
been open for some time. and other
work for the men in uniform has been
going on there, the equipment for
lodging soldiers, sailors and marines.
for checking their baggage and Tor
afrording them all the facilities Of a
hotel have only recently been in
stalled.
Women Supply the "Eats."
And there is something to eat. That
Is provided at the Y. w: c. A. cafeterIa
adjoining, and with the charge OF 80
cents for a beg. checking privileges.
a reduced rate at the cafeteria.
Experts have studied other Y. NJ. c.
A. huts in cities and in camps to get
ideas for the details of the equipment
at Liberty Hut. The erstwhile Billy
Sunday tabernacle. there therefore,, .rs.aH,as Is GGas
from other places already are visit
ing to get ideas which they may adopt
in their establishments.
When the personnel OF the stan Is
complete 1t will be manned by four
teen secretaries, and though there Is
an absence Of restrictions and for
maliaies, g. B. A. Bryant. the genera!
eecretary, has made one hard and
fast rule for his stan. which is:
"Greet every man when ne comes IN
before he greets you. He is deter
mined that IN an essa5hsnmen!h .H3 thsns shs1I 81
Be none Of the impersonality Of mag
nituds.
open Twenty-Fow Hours . Day.
From now on Liberty Hut will be
open twenty-four hours q day. From
midnight until 4 am secretary
will patrol Union station to invite any
man in uniform who has no ether
shelter in view to avail himself OF
the hut's hospitality. -.
For 35 cents the visitor receives the
Free checking Of valuables and
clothing, towel and soap and shower
bath, baggage checked. bed upon
which the linen is changed daily
special rates at tho 7. W. c. A. cafe
II he hasn't the IS cents the cost
is nothing. No man In Uniform Will
ever be turned away from the hut's
DOORS
Upon entering the soldier, sailor or
marine Is in spacious lobby. In
three pool tables, a victrola and q
piano. To his right Is q library.
with a homelikeness that already has
struck responsive chords in many q
weary, dusty. train-tired man In uni
form. There are shaded library
electric bulbs-more musical instru-
ments books and magazines, curtain
ed windows more than half q hundred
armchairB and inviting tables
II the man stays for the night he
registers and his register number.
the Same, for while every precaution
is taken to insure safety and easy
Identification Of clothing and baggage
and valuab1es, red tape has been
slashed to the vanishing point.
The checking system has been
ford a maximum Of safety with a
minimum of bother; and the check
room system was installed at q cost
Of $2.5oo.
How Building Was Transformed.
Since Liberty Hut is the erstwhile
Billy Sunday tabernacle some may in
ouire how $4,000 was spent to con-
vert it to its present purpose. The
floors for the 215-by-235-foot struc-
ture cost about $4,000, the beds and
mattresses $4,000 more and the
blankets $4,000. to mention tnly few
items.
But before going to bed the guest
might desire to write home. A writ
ing room seventy-five feet long awaits
him, and here Is one Of the many
touches that show the care in fitting
the building. Instead OF the inkwells
with tops on the level Of the desk the
wells are raised. Result-the writer
flicks his ashes on the floor instead Of
near the wells where they ultimately
drift in and clot the fluid. Just bit
OF applied psychology. Another exam
pie: In the washrooms are benches
and brushes for the shoes, for one Of
q soldiers first desires Ii to brush
OF, not polish, his shoes. and this sim
ple equipment saves many . towel from
being misappled. 81 <