The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-09-04
BACK FROM FRONT,
PRAISES sun FUND
brooklyn Captain Calls It's
Work In France "Mag-
nificent."
SMOKES CHEER TROOPS
Groups Used to Share Each
Cigarette Before Their Home
Tobacco Came.
SMOKES CHEER TROOPS

Sent back from the front to give ma
chine gun instruction in an American
camp Capt Stanley q. sauinier. u. g.
A.. formerly Of 800 Gates avenue,
Brooklyn. called at THE Sun once yes
terday ana said:
II Just dropped in to tell you what .
magnificent work TIE suN Tobacco
Fund n doing in France should con-
slider myself an migrate II didn't do
this much. And I want you to under
stand that am speaking not for myself
alone but for the tens OF Thousands Of
fellows who are cheered and inspired by
the homo smokes which you are send
Ing across
ssulmier Joined the Regular Army
two years ago and went to France as
First Lieutenant in the Fifth Ma
chine Gun Battalion in August last year.
In the activities Of the next ten months
his company was cited three times in
the official French communiQues for
sallantry. and he himself was promoted
to a captaincy.
Each Cigarette Passed Around.
One OF our very best friends In
France was THE SUN Tobacco Fund"
said Capt Saulmier. ITO understand
the great work It IL doing you must
first have an idea of the valuation the
soldiers place upon a cigarette. Let
me tell you OF conditions as they were
before the distributions began. The man
who had a cigarette and kept It for his
va A
was the common property Of all the fell
lows he was able to reach. Gangs
smoked It together. passing 1t from man
TO man like pipe of peace. and when
only the stub remained they extin-
guished the light. smoothed out the to-
bacco and made a fresh cigarette OF It
for others to enjoy.
Il believe that the happiest day Of
my life was just at the beginning Of
the holiday season when the specially
decorated boxes began to arrive from
the fund. These brought more than
smokes They brought a touch of the
home atmosphere. and that's what the
men cherish above everything else. The
Government has started its tobacco dis
tributions, but these carry nothing like
the same pleasure. because, unlike THE
SUN funds packages. they fall to rep
resent the spontaneous giving OF the
people over here.
Wherever we were the fund tobacco
reached us-in hospitals. in dugouts. in
the trenches. In the Chateau Thiery
night It followed W right UP to the front
lines. To the wounded men It 10 a life
saver literally. + remember seeing one
fellow In the thick of the fighting who
had little except a pair Of shoes. two
wounds and q cigarette. But he was
all smiles. The smoke made him happy.
Matches are scarce. so scarce that at
times whom we passed out the tobacco
we could allot only one match a day to
q soldier. What did we do? Well. II
We were in a dugout we followed out a
grenade. poured bacon drippings into II
and kept the light going all day.
why the French Admire Us.
There Is perfect comradeship be-
tween the American soldiers and the
poilus. The French like us for two rea-
sons aside from the fact that we are
more than making good over there. They
admire America because she isn't trying
to get anything for herself out of the
war. We want Alsace-Lorraine,' say
the French. Belgium wants her cathe-
drals restored and her territory freed Of
the invader. England wants recognition
OF her supremacy of the seas. But
America-the Americans want nothing
but souvenirs. Hun helmets, scalps and
the like
And the second thing they admire Is
the splendid way in which the home folks
are taking care OF our soldiers. The de-
votion of the Americans is shown in no
way more strikingly than in the work Of
THE SUN fund ! hope you will continue
the distributions till the end OF the war
] wish I could thank all Of the contrib
utors personally. but as I can't do that
! want THE SUN to thank them FOR me.
Tell them they are serving the country
nobly and that the boys at the front will
never forget them"
The fund received yesterday a check
for $3.50, the partial proceeds Of the
smoke fund handicap shoot held by the
Question Club In Atlantic City Saturday
and Monday. The amount Of the en-