The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1918-07-23
HEADING OFF HOMESlCKNESS is
t5y, IMPORTANT JOB WITH THE ARMY
Work Of the NJ Is Not SO Much With the Morals of the Men
as With the Morae-How the Bishop Broke Up Case OF
Blues - Son of Idle Rich Finds His Job
- Pershing'S Men Fine Clean Bunch. &

]
exchanges and canteens. Here Is Il
fertile field for criticism, sporadic and
local and lndyiduc criticism, but criti-
cism which must be answered before
the highest efficiency can be reached.
Then Bill Gets Sore.
Bill Jones goes to his quartermaster
and buys package of cigarettes. He
pays for it less than he paid in Amer
lea. Next morning he drops into Il
"Y' canteen and buys the same sort
of cigarettes. He pays q tri1e more
for it than he would pay in America,
and he is sore. Not only is he sore,
but he exerts the fine old American
privilege Of kicking about it and Of
airing his soreness. TAe burden of
his complaint is that the ''Y' is try
ing to make money off him.
The investigator hears of 1t and asks
the reason why this should be so. The
"Y" purchasing department tells you
' that the army commissary department
transports supplies to its posts free
of charge. 1t pays no freight on
steamers from America; it pays no
carriage or truckage in France. That
| huge item OF cost does not enter into
cOmmissarlat considerations. This
| cannot be so with the Y. M. G. A. 1t
has to pay for freighting its commodi-
| ties across the ocean, and freight rates
are not ON the bargain counter at this
writing. 1t has to pay railroad freight
in France; it has to pay for its motor
transport. The wonder is, we are told,
that chocolate, or cigarettes, or hand
kerchiefs or what not can be had as
cheaply here as they are had. The
regrettable point Is that "Y" canteens
have to enter into competition with
commissariats which possess all the
advantage.
The commssarlats cannot begin to
supply the demand The 'Y' canteens
are a necessity. Both are selling at
the figure which to each is the lowest !
possible so when your son writes home
and tells you it looks as if he were be-
ing stung by the "Y" canteen, just |
think it over, and you will see.
Personality That Counts.
Then 1t comes to the matter of the !
personality of the man who is running
the canteen. There are men in France
who haze the ability to get so close to
the- -sotdiers that when they say, "Jack, I
this is the fact, We've got TO do it so
because" Jack believes him and is
satisfied, because Jack knows that man
is on the spot 10 do everything in his
power for the soldier.
But there are exceptions and there
must be exceptions when thousands of
men are picked hurriedly for emer-
gency employment. Men land in
France without fully understanding
what is expected of them, and without
understanding France or that splendid
organization, the A. 4. F. They come
with enthusiasm, but without definite
knowledge Of what the army wants of
them, and until they adjust themselves
to conditions, they are apt to come to
much grief
One thing few men realize until they ]
have been here week or two, and
that is that they are an integral part
of the A. E. r. and that they are work |
ing under the authority of the military s
not as they suspected, on their own 5
hook or for the Y. NJ. G. A. Their job {
is to do as they are told and to do it
quickly and exactly. That they can
learn, and do learn, or they hear the q
footsteps of grim retri- q
button. Most of them learn more ]
they learn what real service means. I
They learn TO forget their own egos
and to love humanity as exempified
by an army Of bully young men in t
ihakl. b
Hundreds OF men are landing here c
monthly to take up some service un- +
Ter the Red Triangle. They are of all u
sorts and from all environments. 1t n
approaches the marvellous how they
ire made TO fit Preachers have ar
lived filed with ardor TO evangelize. Z
They find their true service can best
'e done by driving a motor truck. Z
Bankers come and speedily find out I
hat they can do the best job getting :
Ip entertainments in some lonely hut. 4
Finds His Job.
one rich and useless bachelor struck +
hese shores filed with the desire to 4
10 something, but alarmed at his pow (
rty Of abilities. +
"Can you preach?" he was asked I
mo" +
can you slng1" 'Nf issiE'.' !
mo" Z
'Can you run motor carr" :
"No." +
What can you do?"
Nothing that know OF. I'm just =
ne of the idle rich"
Go ont and fuss around a few days 4
nd then come back" he was told.
That night he met up with west
rn sergeant who was in Paris to see 4
ie town, and who had started to view Z
he sights through the bottom Of a 4
lass. He was half seas over and am Z
iuous TO be submerged. The MEM :
er Of the Idle Rich inveigled him in -
conversation. furnished him ciga-
sttes and a light. Pretty soon, by
leer personality, he persuaded tho 81
ian to go to bed without finishing of ~
IS evening artistically. In the morn WI
z the sergeant came around and cor an
cred the Idle Rich Man. "a