The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-07-26
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
INFORM A TON
Blu RE AU
FREDERIC J. HASK1N. Director.
Washington. D. C.
SALVATION NELL IN TRENCHES.

SALVATION NELL IN TRENCHES.
Washington, D. c., July 24.-Over a
hundred Salvation Army girls from
this country have discarded the blue
poke bonnet, full skirt, and tam
BOURNE for khaki colored uniform,
tin hat. and a Bingham apron. In
this costume, with gas mask conven-
| lent, they are ready to meet shrapnel,
mud, and roaring hot kitchen fire
while they prepare doughnuts and
coffee for our men at the front.
The Salvation Army works unob-
| trusively, but effectively. Since Amer
lea entered the war, $50 of its men
and women have quietl. gone to
France to supply some # the soldiers
needs, such as homemade pie, but
| tons sewed on TO stay, place to
spend time off duty, and, not least i'm
| portant, disinterested advice.
Close to the front lines, in dugoutS,
cottages, or made-to-order huts thye
| set up shop : hang out their sign
A kitchen stove is the most important
| item of equipment A Salvation Army
unit may struggle along with a well
behaved stove and no roof to cover it,
| but lacking a means of cooking, the
most elaborate hut is failure.
For the Saliva ton Army specially is
| cooking. Doughnuts, apple pie, cook
! les, coffee, and coo Ja-these the capa-
| Bile young cooks turn out in quantity
every day for the edification of the
American soldier to whom life without
pie is a calamity. One girls record
! for doughnuts rests at $500 in a
morning. Even 2 500 doughnuts do
| not last long if line of hungry SOL
diers extending far down the road is
waiting its turn at the mornings
| baking.
At night, about the time when the
| soldiers are shifted. Salvation Army
| lassies. escorted by officers of the or
! ganzation, go on expeditions to the
trenches. armed with coffee and
| baskets of pastry. As the men re-
lieved from duty come out from the
| trenches the iris distribute their
| gifts. AS one soldier says, "a cup of
steaming coffee may net look like 4
| luxury to the civilian. but to the tired.
m; ddy soldier just out of the trenches
| it is tie last word in material COM
| fort"
One fact about these girls which
the soldiers note and appreciate is
| that they are real workers, with no
| fuss and feathers, going calmly. about
their workNnder fire and iHfusfng the
elusive home atmosphere into the huts
where they cook and sew.
There are now twenty-five of these
! huts built by officers of the American
Salvation Army and more are being
|
! hut consists of a Salvation Army Off
GER. his wife and two young women
! assistants. The young women as well
as the men are usually commissioned,
for the Salvation Army was among
| the first to give women equal rights
with men. A commission. does not
mean that the officers main duty is to
give orders. A lieutenant or captain
may be seen any morning removing
| last nights mud from the hut floor or
chopping wood for the kitchen fire.
| The girls have few comforts and no
luxuries. If their hut is near a village
| they may rent a room in a cottage. If
they are stationed near the front they
sleep in a tiny unheated cubby hole
! built off the main room of the hut. In
| either case they are cheerful and
make the best of inconvenience and
dangers. If a cook is interrupted by
a shell falling thru the roof and de-
| molishing the kitchen table, she gets
the man of the unit to fix a strip of
canvas over the gap in the ceiling,
mixes a new batch of dough, takes
bottle for a rolling pin and goes on
with the days work.
| One of the main difficulties in turn
ing out pies in France has been the
4 pie tin problem. The American pie
French pies being made in deep
dishes. Therefore, pie tins. such as
| the Salvation Army needed by hun
| dreds, were not TO be had even in
small quantities. This trouble is now
| being removed by shipments of tins
| from America. The twenty-five tons
| of flour and other supplies shipped
over to the Salvation Army workers
last week included one thousand pie
| tins, which, it is believed, will greatly
relieve the pie situation. The French
government has shown its approval
| of the work of the Salvation Army,
not only in words, but by recommend
ing special consideration in transport
ing its supplies, so that delay is mini
| mixed.
Besides cheering up the soldier
| with homemade apple pie, the work
ers keep open house for men off duty
From a. m. to Q p. m. the huts are
full of soldiers writing. playing check
ers, reading, playing the graphophone
or piano-if the hut is so fortunate as
to possess Sne-and making hem
selves comfortably at home. At one
end of the structure behind coun-
ter where chewing gum and other ne
cessities are sold. sits the wife of the
officer in charge. She furnishes In
formation advice If asked, and help
in any difficulty. She is middle
aged woman. probably with sons on
the firing line. ard her motherly So
licitude for the boy with cold or
the blues has made her an impor-
tant element in keeping up the morale
of the army. according to more than
one army officer.
Her husband, responsible for the
hut, may be called upon to cook,
draw water, conduct meetings, or visit
hospitals. If his hut is near los-
pita1, he makes frequent visits to write
letters and send messages. If he is
stationed some distance from an army
postoffice, he undertakes to send
money to relatives for the soldiers. A
receipt is given each man and the
money is cabled to this country. to-
gether with a list of addresses to
which the stated amounts are to be
forwarded.
On Sunday. undenominational reli-
gious services are held to which the
soldiers come IN such crowds that
, other meetings have to be held in the