Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1919-02-12
PRAISES THE Y. M. c. A.
NOTED MAN EXPLAINS CRITI-
CISM AGAINST ASSOCIATION
Edward Box Says the "Y" Did Marve-
lous Work and Proved at Least
Seventy Per Cent Efficient


No man in the country, is probably
in better position to discuss the pres
ent criticisms of the Y NJ. C. A. war
work overseas than Mr.. Edward Box
state chairman of the Y. NJ. C. A. War
Work Council for Pennsylvania, who
as chairman of the Philadelphia Per-
sonnet Y. NJ. c. A. Board, recruited
$50 men for overseas service, and has
seen the workings of the ~" in its
executive offices in New York, London
and Paris and at the battle fronts of
/ France which he visited last Septem-
Der and October while the fighting was
going on.
Mr.. Box was asked recently by a
newspaper reporter as to the truth of
the widespread criticisms of the work
and towhat extent it had been efficient.
! His reply is complete and most con-
vincing. From it we present a few
of his statements in condensed form.
! The war industries bureau was so
per cent efficient; Hoover said his food
\ bureau averaged the same and was
proud of such a good showing; the Y.
/ NJ. G. A. proved 20 per cent efficient.
against it are groundleSs.
General Pershing asked the "Y' to
undertake canteen work, and at the
close of the war it was running $500
Country grocery stores, with bust
ness of five million month, selling
everything atscost.
Pershing declared only recently that
| if he had to do it all over again and
had his choice between nine soldiers
and the "Y" or ten soldiers, without
the 'Y' he would choose the nine and
The "Y" had to recruit 5000 secre-
taries The army took the best men;
the ''Y" had to select from what was
left, Yet so per cent of the seeretar-
les made good" But the ten per
cent who failed are the ones that are
talked about. These men spent Is
hours a day on their feet selling to
isoldiers-a trying job with no time of.
| The ~ secretaries WERE at the
front. Nine were killed, 20 seriously
wounded, 81 died from over-work and
exposure, ten were decorated or cited
for bravery. Hundreds of them have
Cor hours been under continuous shell
4 fire.
The "Y" did not always give perfect
servlce-neither did the government
commissions Transportation prob
lens behind fighting front are heart
breaking. They did the best they
could.
At times they charged more than
the government charged, because the
"Y supplies We're often transported in
private ships and freight and insur-
ance added to their cost To offset
this the 'Y" gave away hundreds of
thousands of dollars worth of supplies
to the men.
The ''Y" actually did sell cigarettes
to the men which had been sent over
as gifts, but the government has alb
solutely assumed the blame. The ship
ment was not properly marked by The
government packers.
All the returning wounded soldiers
claim that the Y NJ. c. A. did nothing
for them. This is true. Pershing
said to the "Y": You take care of the
well soldier" and to the Red Cross,
take him when he is sick or wounded
They were instructed by the govern
ment not to overlap" in their work
The French government asked the
"Y" to take charge of all its canteens
and recreation work. Rather a strange
request to make, if it had proven in
efficient.
Mr.. Box concludes with these words
1--WE are hearing now of the small
breakdowns and what are, after all,
really petty criticisms-petty, mean
when the complete largeness of the Y.
M. c. A. work is taken into account.
When the entire work is seen there
will be different story, and that will
be a story of which the American
people will be mighty proud"
These satisfactory explanations
come to the American people with a
sense of gracious relief, and we are
indeed glad that the work of the big
Christian service. organization has
measured up to our ideals of its exalt-
ed mission.