The Coconino sun., 1918-11-08
Y.M.C.A. COUNTRY STORE" DOES BUSINESS OF MORE THAN $75,OOO
 ANNUALLY WITH MEN AT FRONT
By B. c. Forbes
Editor of Forbes Magazine)

forces in France, created the greatest storekeeping enterprise in the world
 He did it by calling upon the Y. M. c. A. to take charge of all post ex- changes serving American soldiers in France. The Y. M. c. A. today runs "country store" for our millions at the front. That store is doing busi- ness of over $75,000,000 year now, and will soon pass the $100,00O,0OO mark.
 The Y. M. c. A., it will astonish the people to learn, is one of the most im- portant and remarkable business or ganizations in the whole world. Read these facts:
 The Y. M. C. A. a Big Business.
 The Y. M. c. A. runs more retail stores than Woolworth or Kress.
 The Y. M. c. A. does larger retail tobacco business than any other retail CT in Europe.
 The Y. NJ. c. A. sells more candy than all Huyler's stores put together. The Y. M. c. A. bakes more biscuits and sells more cookies, crackers and the like than the twenty largest bak- CTS in New York or Chicago or any other city.
 The Y. M. c. A. sells more chewing gum in week than any American store sells in year.
 The Y. M. C. A. gives away absO- lutely free, to soldiers engaged in bat tie in the front trenches, more hot chocolate and coffee and crackers and cigars and other comforts than are served under any roof in the whole of America,
 Million Sheets of Paper Eevry Day. The Y. M. c. A. supplies to Amer ican soldiers in France over 100000 sheets of writing paper every day, furnishes ten million sheets month to their French comrades and one million a week to our own fighters stationed in Italy and Britain-all without one cent of charge
 The Y. M. c. A. maintains in France more shows than Belasco, Loew, Klaw & Erlanger and Conan & Harris com bined.
 The Y. M. c. A. keeps going mer- rily more than thousand pianos and phonograps in France alone.
 The Y. M. c. A. has organized more musical bodies than can be found even in Milwaukee, the range covered run ming from an orchestra of seventy pieces conducted by a prominent New York City director to mandolin clubs and performers on the mouth organ.
 Rivals the Chautauqus.
 The Y. M. c. A. rivals even the chautauqua in the brilliancy and va riety of the talent furnished for the entertainment and edification of its millions of uniformed patrons, it's pro- gram including such names as Soth- ern among actors,, and Cobb among talkers-Cobb having gone over, as he put it, to do his little bit in try ing to Knock the mania out of Ger mania"
 The Y. M. c. A. furnishes more books, magazines, sheet music, etc., than are sold by the largest book store in the land.
 The Y. NJ. c. A. is arranging to con- duct more educational classes than are conducted for grown-ups in any half dozen American cities, the cours- es covering every conceivable subject from how to doctor human beings to how to doctor automobiles.
 The Y. M. c. A. acts as an banker posits, remitting funds to relatives, etc, for more customers than the Ma tional City bank of New York or the Continental Commercial bank of CSi- cago can boast.
 Yes, the Y. M. c. A. stands unique as business organization. It is in- finitely more than business organ ization--it represents to the American soldier and sailor, the Amercan home, the American church, the American school and college, the American li- brary and reading room, the American theater, concert hall and movie, the American athletic and recreation club lin short, it is the embodiment of every wholesome American activity from which, but for the Y. M. c. A., the soldier or sailor would be alienat- ed, barred.
 The Red Cross tends those who have been knocked out of the game; the Y. M. C. A. keeps men fit for the game.
 It is the great builder of morale. It tones up our fighters, physically, mentally, spiritually. Its mission is to enhance the mems health and hap piness.
 What General Pershing Says.
 How well it is fulfilling its gigan- tic task is testified by General Per shing, who declares that 100000 men and the Y. M. c. A. are worth more than 100000 men without the Y. M. c. A. Given an army of 100000 men, the Y. M. c. A. will thus equal an addition of 100000 men to our fighting forces
 Every contribution, therefore to the Y. M. c. A. is tantamount to add ing another soldier to the battle line. Every contribution, consequently, di- rectly helps to shorten the war.
 General Pershing knew what he was doing when he asked the Y. M. c. A. to take over the army canteens. Ex- perience on the Mexican border, had taught him the efficiency of this or ganization. He felt confident that the work, difficult, complicated, often discouraging though 1t might be, would be handled skillfully, tactfully and unwastefully by the Y. M. c. A.
 Why the Y. M. c. A. Took