El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-08-16
Y MAN WELCOME
ON TROOP TRAIN
FL Paso Preacher Sketches
Service With Units on the
Way to War Zone.
By REV. c. X. CA1IPBELL.

on a recent Friday evening secre-
" tary II. P. Demand wanted to
know Of me whether I could leave FL
Paso at 10 o'clock the next day on a
troop train bound for some eastern
camp. The departure and route Of
these trains is not made public. Who
knows when a Shiny SPY viii hear Of
IL and. By diabolic cunning, get the
news TO atrocious confederates, who
would not hesitate TO do all the dam
age OF which the hellish Hun is ca
pable2 But since those 221 boys, with
their half dozen officers, have arrived
safely at their destination. it is be-
rravinr no government secret now to
state that I had the privilege Of ac-
companying them as far as Chicago.
y. IL c. A. With Men 10 Dueouts.
We all are familiar with the wide
variety Of services the y is render
ing TO the men in service. It has
been APPLY defined as "a home away
from home. This expresses the
spirit Of il admirably. From the time
ne leaves his home town until his re-
turn from the front, a home atmos-
phere is created for the soldier. A
secretary IS with him on the train to
the training camp; during the months
Of his training he has a home in the
y hut; later he is accompanied TO
some port OF embarkation- chence
across a pirate infested ocean TO the
very dugouts OF the front line
trenches. And should he be wounded
and return home. his homeWard
journey IS made pleasant by the pres
enee OF his familiar friend, the sec
retary-
Welcome the lIen.
But. some has asked what can the
r IL - A. do for the men on a troop
train2 There Is no such question in
the mind OF the Boys. As soon as this
temporary secretary entered the car
clad in a borrowed Uniform, he was in
a friendly atmosphere For a mo-
ment they looked surprised. for they
I'D not know This service was pro-
Vlded for them But only for a mo-
ment- Immediately there came the
welcome; Here's the man What
would We Go without the I2' SAY,
are yOG going all the way with usl'
Go overseas with US" The porter
Erinnsd his welcome for Mr.. Y. N. c.
A. man" The officers were cordial (
The conductor and travelling passenger I
agent expressed their appreciation Of I
the secretary's presence on the train. I
First Class News s'Bsseher."
But what does he do Tor the boys
en- routez To begin at the lowest I
scale. he is first class news
butcher" Only he does not have TO I
create a market for his wares. Nor
does he need 70 higgle about the
prices. Come ve. buy papers, games, !
stationery without money ana without /
price. j. his invitation TO the patrons I
Of the train Current periodicals are Z
supplied free, and postal cards and /
sraa rHn
Checkers and dominoes are loaned. I
And these help 10 keep down the de-
sire for more harmful games. One
who is making a long trip knows how I
tedious and tasreless are the hours I
without any reading matter or games ]
And he knows. TOO. the convenience I
Of having stationery ready at hand 10 /
send back messages along the trip. I
one Of the officers said 1T is fine 4
you have all these things for the boys
for we couldn't pack them around" !
There were scores OF messages sent
by these 221 men as a result Of the !
travelling Y. II. c. A.
But more than merely supplying
these wants, the secretary cultivates
the com partnership OF the men. After
a traveller has Wcaried OF reading and
writing and playing games, II is rest
ful 10 talk with some one. So the
secretary goes through the cars con-
TerEiuE with the men, making rneu
feel that they have a friend on
board.
Religious IntervieHss Not Always.
Does he talk religion7 That de-
ponds on his judgment. In the ma
ioritv OF instances he does not men
tiou religion Il is matter not 10
he talked so much as TO be lived
Want a ciEaret2" "No, thank YOU,
7 responded. Il knew you wouldn't
take it. or you would have been the
first 7 man who smokes" Soldiers
can hear a volume OF cursinz without
blushing. but I imagine they would
really be shocked II they should hear
an oath from a z. II. C. A. secretary
But there are times when the CONVEX
sation can be tactfully guided into
religious channels
Sunday morning. being deprived Of
my loved pulpit I sought out oppor-
tunlles for individual fishing for
men. Here was a man for several
years In the regular army reading a
pamphlet containing the ten COM
maudments- Slipping into the seat bel
side him, there came the immediate