The Hawaiian gazette., 1918-08-27
BY Bloise Robinson


British armies in Franco not in the
lighting line, hut in that enormous army
Of labOrers which makes il possible to
carry on the war. Nearly n hundred
thousand Of these are working with the
British in northern France, and more
than forty thousand moro are scattered
Now they are coming into the Amer
can lines In large numbers
Most of these men come from North
ern and Central China, and for the
same reasons that many Of our Amer
lean boys came to France before the
United States entered the war. Some
Of them were attracted by the high
pay aud the chance 20 better their
own condition, some of them out Of a
pure love of adventure, still others be
cause Of their appreciation of what this
struggle means in their own future his
tory.
And there are, too, not a few Chi
nese scholars and men Of somP distlrc-
ton in their own country who have
been forced to leave for political reR
sons, az well as Young students from
England or America. They are engag-
cd in making ammunition, in the con
| struction of buildings, in paving roads.
in loading and unloading ships and
trains--in all the thousand and one
"waI industries that have directly
and indirectly to do with the maintain
ing Of the Allied armies in France.
Many Misunderstanding
Merely for the sake Of efficiency, j.
| is of importance that a feeling Of mu
tual understanding and sympathy
should exist between Sammy and the
Chinaman who has come TO be his
neighbor Officials recognize it's mill
tary value and have met with appre.
| ciatior the efforts of the Y. NJ. c. A.,
which is carrying on the work in most
of the camps were Chinese are located.
II was n big task that confronted
the few pioneer ~" secretaries who
were fitted, through a knowledge Of the
Chinese language, to undertake II, and
one desperately needed. SO far as act
ual conditions went, the men were we'll
of. rley were quartered in barracks &C.
cOmmodating n hundred men each, they
were we'll paid and their food was prac
tically that provided for our own boys,
I with concessions made to the peculiar.
tiles of Chinese taste or what American
quartermasters. believed to be Chinese
tnste. But imagine what II must be to
be q member of an army commanded by
officers not one word Of whose language
you could understand and who, inHturn.
were unable to comprehend the slightest
thing you wished to tell them.
Most Of the difficulties were due TO
this lack Of understanding. For in
stance. a quiet, hard working Chinaman
had some trouble with his eyes and
was ordered to the only place where he
could have protection from the light
which happened to be the guard house,
no doubt Sammy tried to explain to him
on the way just why he was being sent
there. but his efforts were not notice
ably successful. All that Ching China
-- man could comprehend, and all that his
friends could comprehend, was that he
was being shut up in the "Hei WI
Use" when he had committed nc
offense. Or, when the energetic dough
boy wanted to hasten along the deliber
ate coOlie he would wave his arms wild
ly in the air and, with the idiotic in
stinct We all have to believe that the
= man who does not speak our language
is hard of hearing, yell at the top OF
his lungs.
Word Objectionable
"Come on. YOU fellows let 5 CO.
Unfortunately, however, "gO' il
Chinese means dog, the laborcrs suppoS
Ell they were being "balled out FOL
some incxplicable reason, and there
might have been trouble had not {
"Y' secretary who had once been (
missionary to China Strengthened thing
out A it was, cOolie and doughbON
went of together with grinA on thei
faces. Cinnamon can appreciate Joke
as we'll as Yankees, and a new word wa
added to their vOCabularies.
/ From the point of view Of the Chin
/ csc themselves, the work is a most salts
, factory, as we'll as lucrative one. Al
! though there are among them men o
! education who have had the advantage
, Of English or American education a
well as all their own country rOul,
give them, by far the majority ar
illiterate. Not over ten percent o
them can read and write the Chimes
language; the majority can not writ
their own names. As the men qui
work at half past five in the aftcrnoo
they have nothing to do until ten
Generally they would spend their leis
y ure hours in strOIIing about the villages
a in visiting cafes and in gambling. Il
$ this way thew see the most uncivilize,
side of civilized France, and jump T.
the conclusion that all other men an
women In France are of the same cate
CORY as those with whom they com
! in contact.
How 'Y'' Works
In the Chinese work, M Pvrrywher
I else. the "Y' begins by making thOs
yellow hoys" as physically rOmfoI
table as possible. They are being pre-
vihed with tea and boiled water m
Chinaman never drinks uUb' lied W.T.
4 NJ hnme--Rnd With tn ir ar"ustumH
: diet. IA f|r ns that j. p sable. In at
r dItion to changes IN the mess whic
/ men familiar with Chinese ltu M0r
\ Hhlr to >ug est. the Ch,n 81 cant"e
>"lls, at actual cost, such Ihir & H. suI
n fish, salt pork, p, pp'r, sardIncs, fruit
CANNED peaches and uPncots prose
we'd hgS, jam, biscuits, cakes, nut
b chocolate. us we'll ms convenirnces [
!" one sort and another dear to the CHM