Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1918-12-07
HOW THE Y. M. c. A.
HELPED CLEAN UP
Presence Of American Girls Lifts
Many Soldiers Beyond
Termination

1CAo Pa0AAoM
When the United States Army and
he Y. n C. A open up a new leave
area in France for the use OF tired
soldiers. the first thing they have to
do IS to clean up the town. 1t is not
pleasant job, bu. 1t is a very neces-
sary one for it must be remembered
that in certain parts of France there
is still plenty of wine. women and
song
When the third leave area was
opened at La Bourboule. down in a
beau iful valley fianked on all sides
by the mountains in the Auvergne dis
trict, there were about 400 women of
the streets floating about the town.
waiting foFthe American boys as they
got OFF the train. Today there are only
hree or four of them left and the
wires are laid for those TO follow the
trial of the original 400.
To take the place OF the haunts
that once fiourished in the town and of
he class of women just described. the
Y. NJ c. A. has opened the one time
gambling Casino and is running it
under the direction OF Charles Carver,
Jr., OF Philadelphia. Pa, assisted by
/ 20 fine. clean American girls and as
many more fine, clean American men.
The cleaning up of this town has
been an easy task because OF the fibre
that makes up the figh ing American
man in France today. Nothing could
/ illustrate it better than a little Incl
den. that happened one night when
the once famous card den was ablaze
with lights and a dance was going on
with about 1000 doughboys and two
dozen " NJ. C. A. girls for partners.
Two boys who had arrived late that
afternoon were seen at the from of
the Casino with two gaudy French
damsels. Mr.. Carver stepped up to
the boys and said he was awfully
sorry but the place was so full that
he feared the quartette could not
enter The boys protested and so did
Mr.. Carver. Finally Mr.. Carver as
sured them there was room for the
two men but not for the four. The
boys began to see light He called one
boy aside.
See here, Buddie," Mr. Carver said
put ing his hand on the boys shoulder,
Inside that room you will find two
dozen fine American girls-girls like
your sister is at home. Now tell me,
would you want to introduce these
French girls to your mother or to
your sister? OF course you wouldn't.
That's why there's only room for two. "
American girls" echoed the dough
boy. why. I'd rather see one Amer
lean girl than all the girls in France.
We didn't know. You just stick around
until we shake these parley-vous girls
and take us in with you; and say, Car
yer, don't tell these girls inside about
this, will you? 1t might queer US
and honestly we didn't know"
Those boys came in and danced that
night They danced the next night !;
hey followed those American girls
about the town for seven days and
they danced with them, sang with
them, climbed mountains with them,
drove donkey carts with them and
went to church with them. Seven days
later those girls saw them off on the
train, started safely and on time back
to the front lines. The last thing they
did as they got on the step of he car
that took them far to war and left
peace behind, was to give three rous-
ing cheers for the American girls,
swearing % protect them and all they
meant from that time forth
La Bourboule is today clean town.
The moral question there is nil, thanks
to the combined forces of the French
commandan. of the post, the United
States Army, the Y. M. C. A. officials,
and the great mass of thoroughbred
American boys who go there on leave.
-&@-