The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-11-03

.ks oST Of us get our ideas of war Gtll from published photographs and from the moving pictures. Prob the movie is the sole interpreter le vast majority, therefore war, to people, is matter of fighting, Thing, or getting patched up in hos SiT. These form the romantic and Ifsting phases of war. By far the tif iiess of war is lived undei ,nous and laborous conditions re- q rom the firing lines. Soldiers asked ! { me the real hardships of war all VI invariably reply: "Monotony and Opess." Books, more than anything
 1help to tide over these periods of thsion.
 sisi, 'doughboy" in action needs onleven more do the men detailed to offyork than actual fighting in the lees. There are a great many of vrnen. If we add the supply trains,
 tuarters police, veterinarians, etc., as elss the upwards of 1200 officers, Idr. Raney, overseas director of the acan library association, I've shall .aave accounted for two-thirds of the
 men that go to make up a combat
 pn. Thus there are about 45O0 artil- zen. 250o machine gunners, 15O0 en- F>s. 150O engaged in medical and san work. ana 5Oo belonging to the sig forps-grolps having each life pe- | to itself and calling to us in it's
 tongue.''
 -sn the experiment was first tried ovplying books to soldiers and sail ls was thought they wouldn't ,sad.
 Tt was thought they would read
 fiction. An appeal was made tgh the public libraries of the coun- fst winter for gift books. The pub
 lsponded generously, and more than DO books resulted from the cam {. Nearly all these books were fic-
 practically all that could be used fiction. All technical and scientific 5 needed by the soldiers must be nt. and the demand for these is tre- sous. In many camps the men are Ang for commissions, and the li- furnishes their text books, Men left college to enlist are going on, ell as they can by reading, with college educations-the library s this possible. Foreigners are ing English-special books must be Eded for them. Illiterates are learn Ito read-primers and simple read fnust be purchased by the hundred shem. There are camps devoted en-
 to certain branches of the ser kThere is chemical warfare camp, hgipe, camp, a quartermasters i.dfcal corps camps, etc. For nen at all of these camps highly Zeal, p-to-date ~books must be Et;they do not come as gifts. These are very expensive, costing some
 as, much as eight or ten dollars
 single volume. reds of sick and wounded men for Ii diversion must be found. How E, than in books? Thanks to the E of modern science these men are 1 Iy not in pain after the first day Y, but they must lie in bed, often | Sained, unnatural positions. for | q and months. The hospital libra | Ills, her. wares around on rubber | Mart, like a tea-wagon, stopping at | bed long enough for the patient | Nct volume. Is 1t possible to ovcr- | Mte the comfort thus brought to l Then? Many who had never been | < rs when they fed healthy. artfve I become them now. There is little ' that the army that returns to us De reading army.
 s5 the aim of library war service to
 Ae book soldier may want ready | n when he asks for 1t. This ideal Never actually be accomplished, for & not be possible to have a trav- 9sydroplane library to provide fresh ] B for shipwrecked sailors, but as fast