Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-11-11

great majority of them bigger and
better men and a larger and better
America is bound to result. War has
usually had a demoralizing effect and
If our men come back better men it
VIII be because of the greater con-
Germ of our government for their
moral welfare. and the many safe
guards which it has established and
also the cause of the incalculably
valuable work of these helpful agen-
cies.
Need of Money
"Now the answer to the question
| of why such an outlay of money when
the war seems approaching an end
Is in the fact that between this time
and the return of our boys to their
homes lies the period of the gravest
moral danger and temptation, but a
period that may become one of great
opportunity and intellectual develop
ment. After an armistice is reached
or peace declared, it will be long
time before our boys can come home.
Not a man can be moved until the
result is sure and the settlement of
peace will take time. Then after the
movement home begins, it will take
long time to bring the millions of
men home, so that after hostilities
CEASE IL W llI DG lIOIl Oht ~ l"O ears
before our soldiers can return. This
will be the time for let down. Dis
cipline will be less strict. There will
be a general trend in France and
Britain to celebrations and festivities.
And all the allurements that test
moral stamina will be more subtle
and powerful. Now the farsighted
men and women who are behind these
great agencies have foreseen this very
situation and for months have been
getting ready for it. They are plan
ming to put on the strongest, finest
program of entertainment and educa-
tion that the world affords. Besides
the entertainments and lectures
which will be of the highest grade
and athletics that will be reported
in all the American papers. it is the
purpose of the Young Mems Christian
Association to conduct the greatest
college and university in the world.
Boys who left college to go to war
will be able to take up their studies
where they left off and get college
credits-and businessmen will be able
to take practical courses to better fit
them for their work when they re-
turn. Many men, particularly the
foreign born, will be able to get the
beginnings of an education who never
would have done so at home. 1t is
quite probable that travel parties
will be organized so that some of
the great things of Europe will be
seen by our boys who otherwise
never would see them. The United
States government has already an
nounced its readiness to cooperate in
the great program.
High Types in Field
I1..A mai.
of all these agencies and noting the
fact that what We say of it could
probably be said with equal truth of
all; let me emphasize the fact that
the great achievements of the past of
the Red Triangle and the sure con-
fdence we may have of the success
of it's gigantic program for the fu-
ture and possibly because of two
things:
First the open mindedness and the
craftsmanship of it's leaders. With
the greatest sagacity they have fore
seen and prepared for some of tn
greatest emergencies of the work.
Doubtless some mistakes have been
made. but the willingness to risk an
occasional mistake is the sign of
genuine leadership. They have not
hesitated to break with precedent or
fly in the face of tradition when it
seemed necessary
THE other factor that makes pos
sible these superb achievements is
the high type of men and women in
the field. These men and women have
been selected after the most careful
investigation but the association was
handicapped in many ways. The
limited class to draw from; the inn
mense development of the work sud
denly requiring large numbers. It
would not be surprising If under
such circumstances some misfits were
found, but the amazing thing is there
are so few. No class of men in any
part of the service have rendered
| more heroic or more valuable than
these men and women"