Trench and camp. [volume] (Augusta, Ga.) 1917-1919, 1918-02-13

ings is a puzzle But the clamor and
the laughter must be a positive men,
tai relaxation after the pounding of the
big guns, and the dropping of shells
and grenades at any and every mo-
ment
1t is not only, however, at the front
that the value of the hut is appreciated,
though it is quite possible that it is ap-
preciated more there than elsewhere
It has an immense value in the towns,
in keeping out of mischief the thou
sands of men returning, not merely to
bases, but actually home for their PEE
riodic leave. Hundreds of thousands Of
men on leave pour into London and
Paris, and the other great towns, every
year in this way, If they have no
home, and often, even if they have,
they are subjected in an instant,
to al those temptations of which
every great city is center. Then
1t is that day or night the open
door or the glowing windows of the hut
offer their welcome, with the result
that feet which might, and undoubted-
ly would, otherwise be turned to the
public house or the cabaret find their
way to the pure atmosphere and the
clean recreation afforded by the fore
sight and labor of the Young Mems
Christian Association.
These opportunities do not, however,
by any manner of means exhaust the
usefulness of the hut In few places,
indeed, is it's usefulness more felt than
in the camps themselves and in the
great cities and towns in the neighbor-
hood of the camps. In these camps, in
America especially, where great arm
les are training for the front, and in
the towns which the men there train
ing can easily visit, there is a peculiar
demand FOR the hut The trenches fur
nislf an excitement which Is fortunate
Iy all their own. The man on a weeks
leave is generally fully engaged in find
ing legitimate or Legitimate amuse-
meat to take the place Of the excite
ment OF the front. But the man in the
training camp is working hard In the
somewhat (lreary monotony of learning
TO be a fighter III y record time, Tha
terrible excitement OF the trnches is
not here, and, as n result, cut off from
home and from the companionship CT
his friends, his outlook is liable 10 be-
come somewhat drah during the periods
givn to him for relaxation. 1t is then
that the hut in the camp or the great
buildings in the neighboring towns, of
fer him opportunities for recreation,
the value of which 1t Is difficult to
overestimate. Here there are dorn1i-
tories where for twenty-five cents he
may obtain nights lodging in COM
fort and cleanliness. Here also are
gymnasiums. bowling alleys, and bill
lard rooms, places where he can go
for recreation without being subjected
to all the temptations of drink and
those other temptations which go with
drink.
Anybody who knows anything about
armies knows that the hardships of the
maneuyers, and the dvllness of barrack
life are far more difficult to bear than
the UNNECESSARILY greater hardships Of
active service which. in it's very insist
ence, largely, fills mems time. The ne
eessity for the endurance of hardships,
once the campaign opens, is thing no
soldier questions, but there is always
q certain questioning, whether it takes
audible form or not, as to the necessity
OF much that happens on maneuvers or
in training camps. 1t is, therefore, in
filling the spare hours of the men en-
gagged in these training camps and on
these maneuvers that the Young MEMS
Christian Association huts and other
buildings are so invaluable,