The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1918-12-12
THE RED TRIANGLE

! OClObtT III
THE RED TRIANGLE
! Well ] remember the time when in
/ the home town there came into being
an organization known as the Y. NJ. c
! A ! became a member first because
good time was promised and second
ly because my brother was mem
| Der. | am frank to state that the
Y NJ A. meant little to me at that
ime. But / have lived to learn and
today the sign of the Red Triangle
means great deal to me and TO my
comrades. .
You at home have sent one man
into the field to work among the boys
and | understand that others are 60
ing Theirs IL a yeomans service
and the responsibilities are great |
doubt il they realize when starting in
the work what a wonderful power for
good they are to be among the fight
! ing forces OF the L. S.
/ Over here in the A. +. f. the sol
der makes the Y NJ. C. A. his home.
| 1t matters not whether he be station
ed at some Base port or fighting in
the front line, always and ever his
eyes are ON lHe "hlth lOi thc iNSd
Triangle And never does he look In
vain The sign is always there and 1t
sure does his heart good to receive the
hand of fellowship which is always
prevalent in one of these huts.
1t may have been true that in the
past | have written on subjects with
which | was not familiar but in this
case | know of what | write. On
more than one occasion when the way
looked pretty dark; when fatigue and
the lack of home comforts assailed
me. have / been cheered by the good
fellowship experienced beneath the
Red Triangle.
In ALL the hut, any time after re-
treat, may be found a capacity house
Men gathered together to talk over
the affairs OF home. To write letters,
to convey to each other the news bits
from home. You forget for the time
being all things pertaining to the war.
There is always someone in the crowd
who plays the piano and when the
music starts up il sure takes a load
from heavy heart. We fellows pic
ture the days back home when to the
tunes of II Hate to Lose You I'm SO
Used to You Now" and Everybody
Loves My Girl we were won't to trip
the light fantastic But there is no
dancing. We must content ourselves
with singing and We do
Then the "Y' man appears You
can tell one of those fellows any
where. The look of fellowship shines
from his eyes and the right hand is
II lOI ,,,;t
of them look carewOrn and why
shouldn't they. Working day and
night in the interest of the boys. Try
ing to make lighter the burdens being
borne And they are succeeding Won
derfully. Nearly every night some
kind of a show appears on the bill.
Vaudeville or movies. Doug Fair
banks and Mary Pickford appear as
of old and some of the best comedians
of France and America are here to
lend their aid by pouring JOY over
the footlights. A man forgets all
about the war and 1t often seems to
me az l have watched the pictures
that I'm at home again.
| believe the fundamental purpose
of the Y. M. c. A. in France is to
DTlnB together III 50 lar dS pDSSlulS
home influence and the soldier. In
every hut is that motto Write home
to mother" And when fellow reads
that, even IL he has written the day
before, he sits down at the desks, al
ways available, equipped with paper,
pen and ink and write again to that
anxious mother over there. And so
we are kept in touch with home more
than we would be but for this infiu-
ence Then there exists the canteen.
the soldiers friend Here may be
purchased cigarettes land by the way
let me suggest that to my mind even
the founder OF the Anti-cigarette
League would have to admit that the
weed" is a mighty good panacea for
the ills of the fighting men; chocolate.
cookies. etc. I've eaten square of
chocolate from the supplies of Uncle
George on the corner but chocolate
never tasted so good before.
And then there's the spiritual side
of the Y. M. In the huts on Sunday J
the soldier can go to church
and in the evening he can attend an
other service. Many man who
might have ridiculed the idea OF going
to church year ago is mighty glad J
now to take advantage of the oppor- |