The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1918-08-14
To Mothers Of Soldiers

We Americans are more deeply
in France than We are in anything
else-eNcept, of course, the winning
of the war. So when the request
came from the War Work Council of
the Y. NJ C. A. that l visit the Army
in France and, as an outsider, study
this phase of their work, l gladly laid
aside all other matters and went"
says Luther B. Gusick, President of
the Camp Fire Girls, in August Good
Housekeeping. l was given every
opportunity to form my own opinions
and to see the real situation-from
a port of entry to Paris, from Paris
to Toul, and from Toul through the
length of the American front line.
Most important information was
given to me by Brigadier General
Bradley in charge of all medical, sur
gical, and sanitary matters in the
American Expeditionary Force. Mr..
Z. C. Carter, head of the Y. NJ. c. A.
work IN the armies of the Allies,
made arrangements for such trips
and visits as | desired. Much time
was given me by DR.. j. H. McCurdy
in charge of athletics in the Ameri-
can Army, and by DR.. George Mey-
Ian in similar relation to- work in
the French Army.
First of all, l want to say right
out chat the American young neD,or
our boys as we like to call them,
stand better chance of developing a
strong, clean character and of keep
ing free from disease in the Amerl-
can Army in France than they do in
the average American home and city.
make this not as a general, loose
statement, but as sober conviction
based upon my observations begin
ming at where the men landed, fol-
lowing them through the training
camps, through the military centers,
right up to and including the dug
outs in which they live Immediately
behind the front line trenches.
Il found that in the army camps
the men have better surroundings
and more adequate. wholesome
things to do in their free time than
they usually have in their own
homes. You who have only seen the
y. NJ. c. A at work in America have
no idea what it is doing over there.
The chance for clean recreation is
far greater over there than here. We
are taking the leading American
physical directors, athletic coaches,
baseball trainers, boxing masters,
fencing masters, and leaders of all
kinds of sports, and are developing
over there bigger athletic adminis-
tration for all the men than the
world has ever seen. The Greeks in
their most vigorous days never had
as many athletes in training as there
are in the Aemrican Army in France.
l just happened to hear the other
day that in the British Army alone
hundred thousand pairs of boxing
gloves had been ordered from one
dealer Putting together all this pic
ture of which | have given you the
oatlines, it shows tnat leisur: liz; is
filled with the finest things that can
be made available. Never before
were the fine things of life organized
and developed and administered so
as to tempt men for righteousness.
Not merely a few men some of the
time. as is done in the churches, set
Elements, Y. NJ. c. AS and commu-
nifty centers over there, but all the
men all the time, with equipment
enough, and talent enough, and adj
ministrative ability enough to put !
it across. l have seen much admin |
istration used for the exploitation of |
vice Never before have l seen it |
undertaken for the exploitation of |
virtue"