Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-11-10

CHeSt, d tray. Ine tray contained pies
which he was selling to make llveli-
hood. AS he moved slowly through
the crowd crying his wares he was
met by an old comrade. who had been
too young, too old or too weak to
fight. This man stopped the Soldier
and commiserated with him, saying:
'Tom. can't tell you how sad 1 feel
for your misfortune. My soul is sick
with pity for YOU" He then started
away. whereupon Tom cried: Damn
your pity! Buy my pies"
This. figuratively speaking, is the
cry of the United States war work
campaign which begins tomorrow.
It's pies are the right to subscribe to
$17O,bOe,0o0 worth of opportunities to
do work in the war, and its business
is on cash basis aPtriotism, pity
and promises do not go except when
backed with hard cash. ana every one
of us will be judged by his gifts
One hundred and seventy million
dollars! 1t Is vast sum, viewed as
whole. 1t is more than one-third as
much as we spent on the Panama ca
nal. and more than dozen times the
cost of the Capitol at Washington.
That is how it seems through the
front end of the opera glass. Now
turn the glass around and scatter the
money over the country. How 1t has
dwindled! It is only so many ny
wealth. 1t is less than 50 per fam
lily: less than 81 for every man, wom-
an and child. The latter FIGURE in
cludes also the little ones and the ba.-
bies. They cannot give; but If each OF
than pin prick the fund will far ex-
coed the sum asked. The only re-
ouirement is that every one should
give something. The Boy Scouts SO
cents or more Is needed as much as
holders. and. like the widows mite,
1t will make him an equal partner in
this. the noblest war work of all time.
I say partner. The offer is of shares
letter I am acting as one Of the pro-
motors. Let me lay the proposition
before you. What is it that the United
States war work campaign has to Of
fer?
1t is stock in a combination of the
seven greatest philanthropic organi-
cations of all time. These are the Y
M. C. A., which had circled the word
with its stations before this struggle
began and has already spent $4,000
the Young Women's Christian AssO-
citation. which has established hostess
houses for the boys at scores Of camps
abroad and at home and is aiding in
club and recreation work at all war
communities. 1t includes the Knights
of Columbus, that great organization
of Catholics. which is harnessed side
by side with the Y NJ. c. A., and the
Jewish Welfare Board. which is per-
forming similar work among our SOL
diers of Hebrew descent. 1t includes
the Salvation Army with it's hundreds
OF nurses and canteen assistants now
at the front, the American Library
Association, which has already put
books than there are in the National
Library at Washington; and the War
Camp Community Service. which is
doing so much to raise the morale
oilers from the time they are drafted
until they start over the ocean to
France. The work of each of these
organizations is the pride of Amer
lea. 1t would take columns to tell
you its story. can point out only
the high lights.
Take, for instance. the A. L. A.. or
the American Library Association,
which is to use $s.500.0o0 or about
Gsne-nftieth OF the money you are to
paign. This association needs this .
money to expand the service. with less
than one-half the amount asked it has
established in France forty four IL
braries Of 30. 900 volumes each at the
large camps and smaller libraries at
300 other camps and posts. 1t has Ii
braries at 148 naval and marine sta
tons. and $500 branch libraries in
the huts: canteens and clubrooms Of
the Y. M. C. A.. X. Of c. and other
organizations of the present cam
pa1gn. There Is deck library on
every transport and one on 23O YES
sells OF war. The association has IL
brartes In 129 hospitals, and at every
cantonment this side the water
since we entered the war it has
sent more than a million books over
seas and put more than 5000, 900 pc
riodicals and magazines in TIE hands
of the soldiers.
Many OF these books were gifts, COL
lected by Boy Scouts, and they came
from all sorts of Libraries. Some were
old and most of them fiction. The SOL
diers like fiction. AS one of them
said recently wien asked If he want
ed love story: "Sure, want a love
story. Amt 1 got a girl?" Another
soldier was offered the novel "Bambi"
with the remark that it was about a
young woman who married a man
without his having anything to saw
about 1t. The applicant. who had de-
clined all other books. reached out his
hand. saying: Give me that book:
it's my autobiographyw
But there is a demand for some-
thing more than fiction The men
want technical and scientific u,orks