The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1918-08-16
War Camp Community Service.
Camp Beauregard,
Alexandria. La.

Training Camp Activities, more popu-
larly known as the Fosdick Commits
sion, which should have charge of and
develop amusement and recreation for
the men in the camps and also make
clean and safe the communities sur
rounding the camps, and develop their
social and recreational resources for
the benefit of the soldier during his
leisure hours. The public has been
made we'll aware of the splendid work
of the Y. M. c. A. and the Knights of
Columbus and other organizations with
in the camp; but what many are not
aware of is that these organizations
simply work within the camp. To other
branches of the Fosdick Commission
has been entrusted the work within the
communities adjacent to the camps. 1t
is this latter work that have been en-
gagged in during the past five months
and have found the work of absorbing
interest.
The, organization with which l. have
been working is the old Playground and
Recreation Association of America
under whose president, Joseph Lee of
Boston, such splendid work was done
in pre-war days for developing COM
munity recreation and the Playground
movement This association, now
known as War Camp Community Serv-
ice, was invited by Mr.. Fosdick and
authorized by Congress to have charge
of the community work for the soldiers
and is directly under the War and Navy
Department Commissions on Training
Camp Activities.
| sometimes think that not enough is
known of the invaluable work that is
being done by the w. C.. G. S. for the
soldiers and sailors. 1t is difficult in
deed for the civilian out of touch with
the camp cities to comprehend the vast
ness and variety Of the work done or
the problems that have to be met.
Many of our war camps were placed
near to cities which were too small to
be able to care for the thousands of
soldiers and the many thousands of
people who always flock to the camp
city Imagine the situation in cities of
from four to ten thousand population
suddenly having TO care for twenty to
forty thousand men. Every resource
is strained to the breaking point. Ho-
tells are overcrowded; restaurants can
not feed the crowds; profteering breaks
loose; house and room rents soar TO the
titutes all busily ply their trades and
have as their chief mark these boys
whom we have sent to be trained to de-
fend our liberties and the democracy of
the world 1t is a strange irony that
the moment we set large group of
our finest youth apart to make them
into ''that fine ideal stuff the young
gods took to frame the world of old"
~. IL. a%
once get busy and gather for their sin
lister work.
The social problems are among our
greatest problems. These men in uni.
form will not stay in camp, else could
the ''Y" and kindred organizations care
for them. But, as is to be expected,
they love the lights and the color and
music; they are tired of seeing men,
men everywhere; tired OF tramping in
the dust and drilling in the blazing sun
for eight hours day. So the moment
they are free they strike for the near
est town, no matter how small or sor-
did it may be. Then commences our
task. What shall be done with these
boys? Shall the old commercial in
stinct prevail: "What can these boys
do for u.s." Or shall a new idea of
service prevail: what can we do for
the boys?" And l am happy to say
that thru the efforts of the War Camp
Community Service scores of camp
communities throughout the land have
risen to the new ideal and are gener-
ously giving themselves to brighten the
off hours of the soldier and sailor.
The imperative necessity of this COM
munity work is at once apparent. It is
clearly shown that the thing that most
of the men suffer from is natural
inconsistencies. They are away from
their homes and families and friends.
Boys from their parents; young hus-
bands from their wives and children.
What else can we expect that despite
all that is done for them in the camp
they shall be at times depressed and
homesick? Just there is where we
step in. We have urged the churches
to adopt as slogan, 'Take soldier
home to dinner" with the result that
many youth has had the deadly Sun
day afternoon monotony broken. Sol
diers' clubs have been built; entertain
ments of every description have been
arranged; auto rides, free use of swim
ming pools, baseball centers. recreation
fields have been provided. The Home
touch" has been introduced; the men
have been brought into social gather
ings where motherly women and whole
some girls make them feel ''at home,"
and where once again after their plain
camp fare they eat things like "mother
used to make.
President Wilson has said, ''The
spirit with which our soldiers leave
America and their efficiency on the bat
tie fronts of Europe will be vitality af
fected by the character of the environ
ment surrounding our military camps"
And the work of the War Camp Com
munity Service which has been aptly
termed ga social and military neces-
sity," is in shaping that environment;
in making it clean and safe for our sol
der boys; in making it warm with
friendliness, so that they shall have
both their morals and their morale
kept at the highest pitch.
have not space to speak of the per-
sonal side of this work. Of all the
stories that we might relate of per-
I