Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1918-10-13


" e. \ Given an army Of i,0OG. 900
mon. the Y " & A VIII thus equal
an addition of 10000 men 10 our
fighting forces
Evcry coGrrtbutinu. therefore. IN
~" 7 " e. A lH Hn'Imount 10
adding another soldier 10 tho battle
me Every contribution. cous".
Gn'ntly directly helps 10 shorten the
var
Take over Cantrcns.
General pershIng knew what he
was doing when he asked the Y N.
e A ~ take over the army canr"ens
Espn."nce, or rhc McS4,ln border.
hnd taught Nm the efficiency Of
this organization He felt confident
that 'hc work difnculi. complicated.
often dIscouraglng though II might
be. wouh be handed skiIlfulIy tnct-
fuhy and unwastofuuy by the Y NJ.
g a
Also. General pcrshing being A
fighter ard being In France 10 COM
Ulud fighters, wanted to have every
man possible on the firing line.
pounding the Germans bnck beyond
N" Rhine n he could avoid H. he
wanted ~ have none ~ his men Scry.
Ing SudIs or candles or crackers be-
hind hundreds 0f counters. He very
property figured that. by turning
oyer the army country stores 20 nom.
flfht"rS ho could strengthen his
hHitlo lin"
That briefly was the wherefore
and the whyforc NJ General Perish
ing'S gu"ral order ~ September \.
1914 officially authorizing the Y. VI.
{. A. '.iO establish exchanges for the
American troops In France these
exchanges not to hc limited TO areas
distant from active operations. but
to bn pushed as far 10 the front a.
military operations permit In order
that such comforts and Couvenlcncrs
as they afford may reach the soldiers
IN the more advanced positions
where they are most needed" "
At first. very naturally there WAS
some confusion, some misunder-
standing and doubtless some ground
for grumbling. II took little time.
for instance, TO establish uniformity
In the matter Of prices, Also. be-
cause things were distributed free
to men bus!ly engaged in fighting
right in front trenches, the impress
sion was gathered by many men
that the Y. NJ. &. A. was TO charge
nothing for any Of It's supplies in
any Cantecn. an assumption that
was, OF course, wholly unwarranted.
While II IL cmincntly proper to sue
cor In every possible way men who
nrc In the midst Of battle 1t is not
'ho desire Of General Pershing or
any other military authority that
goods be given away unfortunately
10 the soldiers. AS a matter OF fact.
commanding officers have found
that one OF the chief dangers In that
7Oldicrs have too much money and
they regard as absolutely invaluable
tho establishment OF Y, NJ & A
Canteens so that the men may have
to spend money ration.
ally and leg!timatcly and receive
'ull value for every dollar.
with tho approval Of all parties.
I was arranged that tho prices to
he charged should he AS near as
possible those ruling in tho United
States Notwithstanding all tho heavy
expenses involved In first sending
The goods to Atlantic scnports. then
in transporting them overseas, IN
unloading them at the other side and
in moving them to the widely scat
tered Canteens. an operation that
frequently necessitated the use Of
motor trucks. automobiles and even
hand transportation. The aim is
not to make "A cent of profit out OF
the canteen. hut to bring It within
sight of a self-supporting basis, In
other words, the strictly business or
mercantile division OF the Y NJ g.
A. Is meant TO be run on strictly
business lines
The truth Is that. because 81 the
large quantities Of goods distributed
'ree to men in battle and because of
The abnormal transportation costs
often involved, the Canteens are run
At loss Of from three 10 five mil
lion dollars II year Also as the
work grows, the capital needed to
wing this colossal enterprise mounts
-apidly Of the 500, 100000 now
being raiscd--the "Y's" share In the
united war work campaign to run
rom November II 10 Is, $50, 600 900
Will be sct aside for this purpose.
purpose which is not one whit less
essential to the preservation and up
building Of morale than the nonCom-
merCial activities OF the organiza-
zion.
Incidentally. the Y. NJ. G, A. now
sells its tobacco to the mon at Just
what It pays for II wholesale. In
other words, since August |, 1918, |
the "Y" has met army quartermas-
ter prices This entails a loss OF
several million dollars year. but
II gives the boys Bull Durham at ~
cents Fatimas at 9i4 cents and other
brands at lower prices than are paid |
In Oshkosh, San Francisco or New !
York
'Doughboys" Delighted.
Need Il he added that the dough- |
boys are delighted to he able to pro-
cure the markings" ~ such prices? |
Whatever complaints we're raised at
tho start. before proper system |
and scale Of charges were instituted
have now wholly disappeared, and !
the soldiers look upon the V" stores
as Neritahle oases IN foreign desert.
Tor only at these stores can they Sc
,uro the American made things
which they hearts and their palates
crave
To run tho V NJ e. As 1900 os-
tahl'shmcnts in France including
the hundreds serving tho French !
army. calls Tor NapOlconic business
brains To run Marshall Fields or
WoOlworth = or a Wanamdkcr'S Is
'hild'S play compared with running
hese unique concerns stretching .
rom the Ray Of EisCay TO the CON
,iantly moving battle front, where
he only "huildinc" available may be