Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1918-11-12
Perils Of the Disqualification Period
WORK OF WELFARE SOCIETIES NEEDED
1@4 THEN MORE THAN EVER.
VA Vol % CS%p.irnS Ssnsl on''so

4 tBy John r. Mott, Director General, Unit
III War Work Campaign)
A few days ago letter reached a
: desk from one Of the officers of the A.
+. In France. ] shall not quote 1t We
: batim, but the substance of 1t was thi
"The conduct of the American Arm
thus far has been one of the wonders {
history. There never has been In Il
world 80 clean, so efficient q f1ghtin
,, force nor one endued with 20 much {
, unselfishness and idealism. But som
OF us who are responsible for the live
. and future Of these boys are beginpin
to think about the period of demobiliz,
Hon-and not altogether without sy
prehension. We remem Der what some
times took place in our college DAYS O.
the night when the team broke training
Here In France ia not one team only. bu
half dozen-French, English, Amerl
can, Portuguese and all the rest-and al
OF them have been playing the mos
tense, most exciting and exacting gam
In human experience. What will
happen when the word passes along tn
line that the armistice has been signe,
and the fighting Is overp When tb,
tension Is RELAXED, and men have, not
part of their time free, but all of thei
time to themselves-what will the record
be then? Arc you, thinking of this prob
lem In America? Have you laid Won,
plans to meet and solve It? Are you 90
ing to hurry back to your separate bust
nesses when the fighting ends, and for
get Us over here? Or will you redouble
your efforts as you ought to dop Will
yon stand with us, as you have, until the
last boat.load of US leaves these shores
on our journey back to you againp"
have received few letters in this wal
that contained more food for thought
than this letter from the western front.
Our whole experience for the past four
years has been process of learning to
think new thoughts along familiar lines.
1t took Us long time to accustom our
selves to thinking in terms of a long
war; We are now approaching the period
although no one can tell how distant 1t
is, when We must accustom ourselves to
thinking In terms of long and difficult
era of rehabilitation.
Most of US have not considered this
question at all; We have thought vaguely
OF an Immediate return to peace condi.
tions following the final victory. But a
little study Of the histories of wars is
enough to show the misleading character
of such thought. The Franco. Prus-
sian War, for example was a matter, not
Of years, but Of only few months, The
number of men mobilized, while large 10
nar1ann Nth
small in comparison with this; 1t did not
begin to tax the man-power and the re-
sources OF the nations involved az this
one has done. Yet even after that war
it required year to return the soldiers
to civil life.
When I was in France, before our own
entry into the conflict, the Canadian
authorities stated that it would
require at least year to bring their
armies home; the Australians figured q
year and six months. Since then We
have poured into France more than two
million men together with mountains of
supplies which can only be appreciated
BY those who have seen our huge store
houses over there. Assume that twenty
transports carrying an average of
3 900 men leave French ports every week.
1t will require ffty weeks to bring back
our men to this side.
So We must accus.om ourselves to the
thought that our boys, at least, will be
on the other side for year or more like
ly two years after the final victory is
won and peace Is declared. Mazzipi
made the wise observation that t"the
morrow of victory Is more perilous than
it's eve." Itis our business as good
as fathers and brothers and
sisters and mothers and friends of the
boys over there, to see to 1t that their
of victory 10 not perilous, that
the period of rehabilitation be not
made . period of dem moralization.
What plans have the war work
agencies to accomplish this tremendous
" important task?
First of all they have laid Q basis In
The work of their physical instructors
that 10 going to be vitality important. No
one except the military authorities in
France can realize what q tremendous
task stbeltics have played in Americas
to victory. Morale con-
sists of several clearly defined factors,
and one of the most important of these
s the power OF changing mems minds
the process of helping them to forget the
scenes OF the trenches and to think
the normal wholesome thoughts that con-
1uce mental rest and healing. Nothing
,an take the place of out-of.door sports
IN that process. have seen men come
back from the trenches hsggard and
worn and looking as though life had
ost its interest for them; and I have
Ieen those same men half an hour later
,tterly absorbed in the healing ex-
,itement of an old fashioned base ball
,sme. It 10 because our boys can play
better and more wholeheartedly than
he Germans that they have been able
10 fight better; and the same facilities
or play which have kept their fighting
,dge keen during the period Of conflict,
and help keep their bodies At
Ind their minds wholesomely engaged
luring the equally trying period Of de-
To carry forward this
work there are nearly thousand physi-
cal directors In France, trained athletes
from our colleges and the various fields
Of professional sport; they are equipped
with athletic supplies in immense
quantities. It is vital that these men be
kept on the job, and others added to
their number, and that the supplies be
kept moving across to take the place Of
those that will be worn out or lost.
p What have said about outdoor
applies equally to the other en-
features Of the war work.
The seven agencies engaged In the
United War Work Campaign are to-day
the largest exhibitors of motion pictures
In the world. Literally miles of 6lm set
sail for France every week, and the
in other wars have too
often had no decent place Of amusement
have in this war had the relaxation
and the delight of the movies, and of
wholesome theatrical entertainment In
the huts Immediately behind the
trenches. II there has been need of
these entertainment features In the days
when discipline was rigorous and mons
tim fully occupied, how much more
vital thcy will be In the day when dis.
cipline is somewhat relaxed and leisure
takes tho place Of combat.
3 need NOT enumerate the elements In
the program In full. Each one of them
has been carefully worked out; each one
is vitality important. The, canteen, the
soldiers store, whose management
General PershinQ has entrusted to the
war. work agencies, must be kept sup.
piled and equipped. There 10 nothing
moro dangerous to men In any circum-
stances than the possession Of too much
n