The sun., 1918-11-29
BEST THANKSGIVING
In HISTORY OF CITY
Hosts Of Soldiers and Sailors
Joyous With Victory and
Feasts of Turkey.
HOSPITALITY UNLIMITED
War Camp Service, Red Cross.
Clubs, Hotels and Citizens
Generaus Entertainers.

There are gentlemen-and ladies
who have written books upon the aloof
inhospitality OF New York. but it is
doubtful II these authors will ever
become standard with the thousands
Of soldiers and sailors who by the
fortunes of war had to pass Thanks
giving in this city or its near neigh
herhoods yesterday.
For everybody, organized and I'M
organized. sought to do them honor
and I'LL them with cheer, visible and
invisible. From morning until la.e at
night they were fed, feted. danced
with, and otherwise entertained.
For days leading up 20 the festival
the War Camp Community Service.
the various large and little welfare
boards, clubs and hotels, families and
individuals had perfected arrange
ments to make them happy for the
day and there were so many places
where they were welcomed and pro-
vided FOR yesterday that when mid
night closed upon the day there had
been more turkey cooked for them
Thousands of families and individual
men and women who had left their
names with boards and societies as po-
teutial hosts in the event OF over
crowding were not called upon as en-
tsrtAiners and dined soldierless and
satloriess.
The War Camp Community Service
had established fifty-one stations I'm
Manhattan alone, covering the Dor
ough from the Battery to Spuyten
Duyvil, and at each OF them there
were guides and pilots. mostly OF the
Boy Scouts, on hand to take the
fighting men to places where feasting
was prepared for them. There was
entertainment all afternoon and eve
ming under the auspices OF the Y. VI.
C. A., the knights of Columbus and
al the other war organizations, and
at night in regimental buildings and in
rented halls there was dancing and
girls TO dance with until midnight
convaIeseents ut the Waldorf.
The New York County Chapter Of
the Red Cross assumed the especial
care Of more than 200 wounded men
and convalescents from DebarkatiOn
Hospital No. / on Ellis Island and
gave them a happy day at the Wal
idorf-Astoria- The men were taken to
the Battery by boat and from there
TO the hotel in Red Cross ambulances.
From Fox Hills Hospital. on Staten
Island, went another Contingent OF
zoe % the Friars Club and the Lambs.
The Democratic Club had put IN an
Invitation for anothe. 200 wounde7
nen, but men with actual battle scars
were so in demand yesterday that the
club drew only seventy five and was
admonished that il ought to be very
grateful for that number.
Dinners were served as early as 9
o'clock in the morning to some men
whose passes only permitted their be
ing IN the city until noon. At the
Hotel Majestic John German Morse Of
California, a shipbuil5er, gave \ morn
ing dinner and dance to ninety sailors
and at Dime" time the hotel itself
provided for 800 more.
Open house for men in Uniform was
held all day by the Harvard Club unit
Of the community service. and at its
station at Seventh avenue aud Thirty
third street moro than 500 men were
entertained. At the Harvard Club
proper there was special dinner for
100 officers. most OF them members of
the club with homes in cities remote
from New York.
Another body ~ veterans. 200
wounded American marines and fifty
French sailors VINO are convalesceut
at the navy hospital in Brooklyn, were
the guests Of the Lafayette Battalion
Motor Corps at the Hotel Aston
As for the sound and well men they
were everywhere and everybody
wanted them. The War Camp Com
munity Service with its hundred or
more affiliated clubs ami III ganizstions
was unable last night. after some busy
figuring to estimate how many thou
sands had been entertained. But the
number of dinners eaten had run into
the tens of thousands and the number
Of free theatre tickets distributed
about tailed with the dinners.
Debarkation Hospital No. 3-once
upon a time the old Greenhut store at
Eighteenth street and sixth avenue
responded with 100 If its wounded vet
Grams To an invitation by the Elis
Club in West Forty-third street. Mem
bers of the club fetched the fighting
men TO the clubhouse in autOmo-
biles and some Of them had to be car
ried from the cars into the house.
After the boys had dined they were
made comfortable in the galleries sur
rounding the main room OF the club
and a vaudeville bill was provided for
them.
Every branch of the national SER
vice was represented among the men
who were entertained at the four can
teens maintained by the Mayors
Committee on National Defence. open
house was kept from noon until s
O'Clock and well known New York
women in the uniform of the commit
tee served the soldiers and sailors tire
lessly. In the evening there was n
dance at Canteen No. ., az 1915 Broad
way.
At the Navy Club, jO9 Fifth avenue,
1000 enlisted men of the service were
provided with dinners. 1900 at the
club itself and tho remainder in the