The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-07-28

of rest periods spent In other than
drink environment which thu co-re-
| spondent believes will have a powerful
effect in encouraging complete 80.
briefly e
/ Before the entrance of the United
States into the war, a beginning had
been made with soldiers '.foy.rs'
| tfiresides) as the French picturesaueIy
cah them, hitting upon word which
Is surely much more descriptive Of The
object of the institution than our
word hut" The French foyer effort
was begun In August, 1914. by N.
Emmanuel Sautter. Financial assist
ance came from French and American
sources and finally enabled the expen-
diture of about Si5, 600 n month, but
this was mere drop in the bucket
AS soon as the worth of the foyer oe-
came known, the commanding gen.
erals began to ask for them and to fA-
eilitate their establishment and equip
ment General Petain alone asked for
one hundred. BY June, a year ago,
the French had seventy foyers at the
front. frequented. 1t was estimated, by
from 100000 to 10000 soldiers
The cooperation of the Y. N. c. A.
has now been fully extended to mis-
French work. II said in previous
letter said this French correspon-
+, dent. happy Sammies. because they
will find ready for them In the camps
and environments the huts for rest.
amusement and refreshment. say
to-day. Happy polius' because the
French soldier is not going to have 10
envy his American comrade in this ~e-
spect
All, the quiet corner for writing
letters, for re-reading what one has
fAr i'm N hEt
lgraphs. And why Is 1t SO quiet. "a
homenke? Why no shouting. quar-
reis uproars. drunken scenes, az in
1.-The drink shops: Because everybody
is sober at the foyer. Coffee, average
ing three sous the cup, chocolate with
condensed milk at four sous, lemon
ade, soft drinks, but never spirits or
fermented drinks"
All the well-known Characteristics
of the hut" are in the foyer for the
poilu. There are helpful women. Two
secretaries one French and one
American are there in Y. NJ. c. A.
uniform. They serve food or drink.
They talk; or they keep silence. The
entertainments are crowded There
are books for bad weather. indoor
games, outdoor sports. The phono-
graph Is in such demand that at
camp near Lyons the commanding
general, it Is said. had to post sen
try a the door of the building where
the instrument was installed to keep
lit from myster iously disappearing.
But beyond all this, the point that
most impressed the French corre-
spondent, and that has deep signif-
canoe not only for today but for the
France of tomorrow is the absence OF
lall alcoholic beverages. The only
unfriendly words concerning the
foyer come fram the thirty or more
sa loonkeepers who have fallen on hard
lines. They attribute the desertion OF
their shops to the various attractions
of the foyer. 1t Is a fact that they
are no longer making money. A fact
also that since the opening Of the
foyer there are soldiers who for
three months at time have not cared
to leave the camp. In a single day
the letter box has received 10. 900 let
ters, And. moreover. they do not sell
liquor at the foyer, not even pinard
Ga drink made from the marc OF
grapes after the juice has been
pressed out for wine). 1t liz possible.
| then, to get along without liquor?
| One can live just the samef He
strong. brave, endure hardship? The
wonderful lesson of that fact
Among the foyers at the rear a eer~
tain number have been reserved for
establishment near the greHt nunf-
ton plants for the modified men OF
these factories. Let us congratulate
ourselves, says the French Observer
that SO many splendid fellows are
finding here The moral and physical
reinforcement they need and are be-
coming accustomed to healthy bev-
erages, and. while taking note Of thu
uselessness af alcohol. accustomed tn
the idea of the suppression of thu
poison throughout France, what we
hope for, what we should obtain"