The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1918-07-31
YIN. A. CHEERS
'YANK' SOLDIERS
Harry Evans Tells How the Y. M. c.
A. Cheers the Boys From Home-A
Grand and Noble Cause.
MEN IN THE WORK
Preacher Threatens to "CIean Up" a
Western "Cowboy" and Thereby
Makes Man Of Him.
BY n. c, EVANS

AT THE FRONT WITH THE
AMERICAN ARMY IN FRANCE, June
20-If the people at home knew just
how the money they gave last fall to
the Y NJ C. A. is being spent over
here they would right now begin saw
ing their dimes and dollars for the
contribution that will be asked for
next fall. l recently left French
Atlantic port where thousands of our
men are permanently stationed. They
are receiving and storing the untold
quantities of supplies that come acros
the ocean and distributing them. Into
this port come our fighting men where
they disembark and entrain for the
front.
To serve these permanent and tran
silent troops the Y. M. c. A. has erect
ed fourteen huts and as many more
within a radius of fifty miles. Over
one hundred ''Y" men and women are
located in this area. Every group of
officers and men in this area is served
by the Y. M. c. A. 1t may be only a
few books and magazine, or Victrola
or piano for the small group.
Then the huts, varying in size as
the number of permanent men in the
camps vary. All over the area there's
a moving caravan of movies, theat-
rical troops, lecturers, preachers and
all sorts of entertainers. Special at
tention is given to athletics. In this
area alone ten thousand hours OF the
boys time are consumed daily at the
athletic games and at the evening en-
tertainments. In addition there's the
canteen service and the occupancy of
the huts during the day when thous-
ands of letters are written home.
In Interior Of France.
In the interior Of France in the
training camps like conditions pre-
vail. At one central point l found
DR.. w. S. Naylor, of Lawrence col
lege, Appleton, Wis. About him he
has gathered some fifty strong fell
lows, among them Professor Custer,
of the same college, and few wom-
en-. During the English soldier
rest period he can cross the channel
in two or three hours to home and
mother. The French soldier Is with
in a few hours of his home. But the
American soldier! There's no such
thing as visiting home and mother
and own country for him. But, please
God, there's the Y. M. c. A. and
there's two thousand DR.. MAYORS to
whom the boys go as confdingly as
children go to their parents.
Most inviting, indeed, are the "Y''
|huts-whoever named them huts de-
serves to be court martialed. To the
boys coming in from the muddy
trench or the barren barracks they
are as mansions. 1t was Lew Wal
lace who made his hero say to the
lady he loved: "a palace is a hut
without you, the hut becomes pal
ace with YOU" There is no such
thing as hut, in the common accept
ance Of the term, when presided over
by kindly, christian man or sweet
faced woman.
Prominent Men Work.
Some of DR.. MAYORS assistants in
vaded this territory before our SOL
diers came. With their own hands
they erected the buildings and made
all preparations for the coming Of the
troops. On a. cold day last winter
when the snow mantled the ground,
four men with picks and shovels, In
mud shoe top deep, were digging a
trench around Y. M. G. A. palace to
drain the water away from the build
ing. They we're G. A. Metcalf, presi'
dent National bank of Columbus, O.;
B. f. Farber, pastor Woodward Avenue
church, Detroit, Mich; ]. S. Custer,
professor of history, Lawrence col
lege, Appleton, Wis, formerly OF Pei
la, Iowa; H. ]. Woods, professor OF
Washington college, Topeka, Kans.
The Y. M. c. A. forces were
strengthened by DR.. W. l.. Stidges,
Methodist preacher Of San Hosea,
Cali. In his application he stated he
could drive an automobile. Men with
this accomplishment were scarce
when the doctor arrived in France. A
United States division had just gone
into the trenches. Stidges Joined the
"Y" forces there and for two months
drove an army truck from the supply
base in the rear to the "Y' canteens
at the trenches over roads that were
constantly under shell fire. The trips
were made in the night, often in the
rain and over mud roads. Covered
with mud, grimy with the dirt and
grease of the truck, the Rev. DR..
Stidges drove that hard road for two
months and never whimpered. His
car was one of train of trucks that
carried munitions and food to the SOL
diers. One morning just before the
break of day the train Of trucks had
returned to the base after particu'
larly hard night. The distance was
for enough to require all night for the
round trip. A new recruit from Wy
oming was driving the truck just
ahead of Stidges. He was badly worn
at the end of the trip, in bad humor
and was swearing blue streak, in
terspersing his oaths with vulgarity.
The Rev. Mr.. Stidges endured it all
night long, but finally said to the fel'
low:
A Fighting Parson.
Look here, l don't so much mind
your swearing. most anyone would
swear on this job, but what's the
sense in the vulgarity-cut it out!"
'You go to h" retorted the ex'
asperated cowboy. "You talk like q
dn fool preacher. Last camp |
was at a preacher, too cowardly to go