Mount Vernon signal. (Mt. Vernon, Ky.) 18??-current, 1918-06-14
E. R. GEN I R Y
Continued from Ist page

that he gets moving order and
he ought to have one. You would
be surprised at how many secre
taries are sent home. But there
is almost unanimous praise for
the work. saw a captain, a man
of about IS, walk into the Y.
here in town the other day. He
walked right up to tie Y. woman
behind the counter, a woman
much older than he was and
said. "You certainly do look
good to me / have been right
In the trenches for six weeks
and ] havn't seen an 0"honest to
goodness" American women in
six months. / looked up and
there we're tears in that big
strong fellows eyes as he began
to talk Lof the great work that
the Y. M G. A. was doing among
the soldiers. Then we all gath
cred round and he talked about
his wife and children and home.
So when you hear anyone from
this side saying anything against
the Y. M. c. A, you may know
that it is an isolated case. Of
course there are huts and tents
and dugouts right up to front
line trenches and many of them
are not nearly SO we'll equipped
as the one I have mentioned
and some of them with practi-
cslly nothing to work with but
they are doing the best they can
/ would tell you that / was not
assigned as close to the front
as | wanted, but most of you
would not believe it, because
you cannot really understand
how it is over here. Whether
you believe it or not. every body
over here is scrambling for the
front, Y. M. G. A, men as well
as soldiers Men who enlisted
in the quarternaster's corps and
other non-combatant organizations
are how trying every way in
the world to get transferred to
active service, so they can get up
front. Something just gets into
your blood over here. l saw a
fellow here yesterday who was
just recovering from dangerous
shrapnel wound in the neck and
he was just crazy to get able to
rejoin his company at the front
Men have told me that they
have seen fellows who were held
back, possibly sick or for some
Other reason, cry like children,
when their company marched off
to the front. Who would not have
thought this of peace loving
American citizens a few years
agoi / must tell you something
OF the work in the larger cities.
/ have been IN two or three he
sides Paris in which the Y. has
rented hotels and furnished the
boys rooms and meals at a rea.
sonable rate with walters who
can at least talk enough English
to serve0you a meal in good old
American style. In Paris they
have at least four or FIVE such
hotels, besides in all the large
ports of entry and other cities
where troops are passing thru
or stationed. You cannot ina.
CINE how much even this means
to a man in a foreign country.
The larger cities and especially
Paris we have a man whose bust.
ness it is to organize sightseeing
parties for soldiers in the cities
and around for amounts just suf.
fcient TO look after transporta
ton. The man who does this
work in Paris is an expert at j,
and a soldier party in Paris
learns more about the things oil
interest there In one dav thar
the average tourist used to do in
a week. Is not this a wonderful
work and where would those boys
likely drift in the great wicked
city Of Paris were il not for these
parties and hotels and wholesome
entertainments furnished by the
Y. N. c. A. And the boys never
forget il. 1 was walking DR. wn
the streets with one of the