The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1918-06-07
Rev. l.. A. Parr Writes of Training
Camp Activities.

US on! I little thought when, as boy
in an English school | first learned the
American plantation songs, that | too
some day should be in the land of
''cawn and cotton" and walk along the
roads "where the sweet magnolia s
perfume fills the air." Yet here I am,
and my first impressions of the South
land have been very pleasant. The
weather thus far has been very CON-
Portable, altho the people tell me 1t has
been quite unreasonable. If this Is
so, dread to think of what my state
will be when the meridian summer heat
beats down on my defenseless head.
The camp that | am working with is
Camp Beauregard, and from twenty to
thirty thousand troops from Louisiana,
Arkansas and Mississippi are located
here. Alexandria, which is It's miles
north of New Orleans, is about AZ miles
from the camp and has population OF
eighteen thousand Government con-
tractors have recently completed fine
asphalt road connecting town and
camp AS most of my work lies in the
city, in organizing its resources and
agencies for the care and entertain
ment of the soldiers, my office is To-
Gated here, altho l am out at camp fire.
uuently and expect shortly to have a
tent among the officers quarters.
Our War Camp Community Service
office seems to have a variety of func
tions. Not only do we plan for the
social entertainment of the soldiers and
attempt TO surround the camp with
hospitality" but we are a clearing
house for complaints and criticisms
and enquiries of every sort, made by
every sort of people.
You can imagine somewhat the prob
lem which has arisen in the various
cantonment cities, and which it is the
duty of the w. G.. C. S. workers to
solve. Here, for example, in Alexan-
dria we have city of $4,000 suddenly
having projected onto it 80, 600 soldiers,
with all their needs and all their de-
mands. The Y. M. c. A. and K. C.'s,
valuable as is their work, are entirely
unable to cope with the situation. For
they work within the camp; and the
soldier will strike for town the minute
he is released from duty. Think then
of the strain upon the business life, the
hospitality, the social resources thru
these abnormal demands. And this is
part of our work.
dQulLlOIl
our War Camp Community work, there
is the moral aspect. Alexandra is
wet, so wet that it's moisture sex
udes" in various forms of lawlessness.
The whiskey interests are very strong
in this southern part of the state
reaching down thru the French Creole
districts into New Orleans. We are
hoping, however, that bill now before
the state legislature, which will create
twenty-five mile dry zone around
Camp Beauregard, will pass. The
moral problem, however, is a very Sc
rious one. We have about six women
workers among the women and girls,
doing police and protective and con-
structive work and their hands are full.
As with every camp, there has been an
immigration of silly girls and vicious
women following the lure of the uni
form. For one whose business has
been mainly in looking for the good in
human nature, it is an unpleasant dis
covery to see the vicious activities of
vampire women. We preachers talk
much about the wickedness of men,
but God save us from the repacities of
bad women!
Another, and most interesting and
valuable part of our work is with Wis
itors and relatives who come from all
over to see their boys in camp. Espec-
tally has our office been besieged dur
ing the past two weeks, for during that
time several thousand soldiers have
been in quarantine preparatory to 60
ing overseas. This has meant great
influx of visitors. Some of them are
indeed Innocents Abroad. They have
never before been on railway train;
our station workers report that many
of them have never used telephone
before But they come to see their
boys! And it has been a strange and
moving spectacle. Raw boned farmers
from Arkansas; angular women from
Louisiana and Mississippi, carrying
baskets, bouquets and babies, and
many of them bringing copious sup
ply of tears to bedew khaki clad Shout
ders. Funny sights; but the touch of
pathos and tragedy in them all. When
one saw young father behind the wire
holding his baby in his arms, with his
wife on the other side; or mother
thrusting head and arms thru the wire
and straining her son to her; and grim
and gaunt farmers from some back
woods region chewing furiously to hide
their emotions, one saw not the CLAM
our of war, but it's drab, khaki realism.
A most interesting feature about this
quarantine camp was that week ago
last Sunday three weddings took place,
brides and grooms separated by six
foot wire fence. Surely that is one
way of ensuring felicitous honey
moon!
The movements of men that are 60
ing on daily now are indication of the
grim earnestness of our government
and sign that we are throwing into
the fray steady stream of our armed
forces.
AS most of my work has been de-
voted to organization and administra-
ton, | have done no public speaking
whatever Indeed for two months a
strange hush has fallen upon my voca-
tional loquacity! But last night l
started off again and had the privilege
of addressing $50 men in my ''Y'' hut.
1t was a very pleasant experience.
Just before / spoke two soldiers came
m and asked me- If any ladies were 90