The Chesterfield advertiser. [volume] (Chesterfield C.H., S.C.) 1884-1978, 1918-06-13
THE RED TRIANGLE IS
KEEPING ITS PROMISES
Y. N. c. A. Secretaries Follow The
Soldiers Out Into No
Mans Land
No Job Too Small For The eiuoe.,
OF Men

The American Y. M. C. A. Is keep
Ing Its promises. American secretaries
are now, and have been for many
weeks, at work in the forward areas
along the battle front in France. To
an indeterminate number of Red Tri
angle men "over there" gas and shell
fire and mud and actual battle are a
grim reality-a part of the DAYS
work.
A personal letter Of absorbing inter
est was lately received from Mr.. Ralph
HARRISON, president Of the Pittsburgh
Y. M. c. A. and well known business
man OF that city, who has been in
France on a special Y. M. G. A. Mis-.
sion.
Tho Letter
Casualties had occurred among our
soldiers just before we arrived at our
village" the letter reads, land we were
ordered to get under cover of our de
cutie. After a supper Of chocolate. war
bread, and canned beef. the six OF ua sec
retaries were ordered to the cellar of
the ~ together with fifty soldiers who
happened to be in the old shell.torn
building, as the hoche were beginning
again to shell the town. We took can
dies, q big basketful Of canteen SUP.
plies, to last US in case we should have
to be dug out later, overcoats and blan-
kets. we fitted our gas masks on to
be sure they were working well. and
then settled down-or tried ton the
dungeon. We expected to have to stav
all night, but in an hour a sentry Cal !.
ed, All ont and up we gladly went
The rest Of tho evening we spent up
stairs in one Of the reasonably whole
rooms, with piano and songs and sto.
ries and the ever-present and wonder.
ful canteen, at which ] took my turn
Needless to say, / slept none tha,
night, with all the bang and noise out
side, but nobody does, I'm told, the
first night. The night before I got
about two hours Of doing with a stiff
neck, sitting up in a crowded night
train, but, strange to say. never felt
the lack Of 1t for minute
1--WE were up the next morning al
une bonne heure, and after breakfast
at the officers mess Clarke and I
started off for the trenches, each of
us ladened with about fifty pounds OF
canteen supplies besides our helmet
gas masks, carried at all times at
'aIerte,' etc.
For two hours we pursued dor
tuous way among the various lines of
trenches and connecting trenches.
stopping frequently to dispense our
popular wares among the boys, some
repairing the trenches, some building
new ones. some on sentry duty, some
sleeping in the dugouts, some man
ring guns and watching for German
heads.
"As we entered the front-lina
trenches, we suddenly ran into Secre-
tary Baker and accompanying officers.
I stepped aside as we'll as l could, sa-
luted and said, Good morning, Mr..
Secretary AS they passed | heard
tary, You see. Mr.. Secretary. the "Y"
trenches with the boys
Time was flying, and we know
there were still more soldiers further
on who would be glad to see us. Soon
we entered No Mans Land by means
OF q trench, q land which we had
seen frCni the rear lines in tho dis
,ancs an .four earlier, all uprooted AMI
torn and desolate, and after some min
utes we crawled, hot and winded, into
a shell hole-the furthermost listening
post in our lines - and found six sol
diers on guard, all very much alert
They gave us warm welcome, and
we conducted our communications In
low whispers, for there were ,hree
German snipers in three different d.
rections only seventy-fve feet away.
Needless to say, our gunnysacks
we're empty when we came out We
hurried back to the sign Of the Red
Triangle in the village, drank a cup
of hot chocolate, and started in again
in another direction.
I'VE watched the explosions getting
closer and closer, each one preceded
by the weirdest kind Of a wall and
whine through the air. and then dur
ing let-up we rushed across the open
and into the dugouts In an embank
ment, where our second pack OF sup
plies disappeared.
1.-TWO Of the secretaries had been
gassed the day before we arrived at
this place, and one slightly wounded
by shrapnel, while others were break
ing under the physical strain and need
ed relief I'm sure we will hear Of
fatalities soon, but since my expert
ence in the trenches I don't ask the
question any more is II worth
while" Never was such an opportun-
ity given to man to serve his fellow
men as this.
"Pass the word on, and pass Il
quickly, that five hundred Of the most
capable, earnest, and blg-souled Chris
tIan men are needed hore today In ad-
dItIon to tho weekly stream that 10
coming. We are cabling New York
frequently. but they don't come. 1t is
critical, and we must not fail, but we
will unless more and better men come
AS zee It, there In no