Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1919-01-24
DIRK s. @. FRIDAY. JANUARY "a,
MEASURE OF The Y. N. c. A.
Record Of the Organization Subject
to Criticism
INCLUDED MANY UNFIT WORKERS

L S-
Some Of the incompetent Ones Thought
4 They Were conferrins a Privilege
+ Charged the Dough. Boys Exorbitant
Priees-some Were Capable, But
' Most Of Them Were Not.
Returned soldiers have dropped
enough criticism Of the workings Of the
Y. M. C. A. to make drastic investiga-
tion necessary. DR.. Mott has promised
this, but before his report appears, a
long letter from the front, written by
sheds much light on the vexed ques-
tion. His letter is dated from Coblenz
and he reports Mr.. George w. Per-
kins the finance chairman Of the Or
ganization, on the ground with money
to spend, but also with an anxious heart
over the dissatisfaction with earlier
disbursements. He has been told,
says Mr.. James, that there Is no
doubt that the Y. M. C. A. was chock-
full of good intentions. but that it's
career with the American Expedition
ary force had been lavishly misman-
aged" Mr.. James divides this charge
into three parts: First, mismanage-
ment Of the canteens: secondly, un-
fortunate selection of much of its per-
sonnel and, thirdly, overmuch care for
the moral welfare of the American
OH h IN n q ~
in The Literary Digest on November
%, we gave extracts from a pamphlet
issued by the Y. M. c. A. setting forth
some of the reasons why its policy was
necessarily different from the every
thing free" Of the knights of Colum-
bus. Mr.. James presents the same
fundamental facts with the added color
Of the soldiers reactions:
1T is idle to try to express in few
words what has been the matter with
the Y. M. C. A Its present unpop-
ularity is an outgrowth Of many fac
tors. If were asked to set forth the
biggest factors in making the unpleas-
ant reputation the Y. NJ. c. A. now has
over here I would say, first, manage
ment Of canteens; secondly, 'unfortun-
ate selection of much of its personnel,
and thirdly, overmuch care for the
moral welfare Of the American dough-
boy.
Let us take the matter of canteens. |
OF course, 1t Is true that the army
asked the Y. NJ. c. A. to take over the |
canteens. Disregarding opinions as to
the wisdom Of that procedure. the Y.
M. c. A found itself with the canteen
job on its hands. In accepting that
job the Y. M. C. A. made its big mis-
take. And this is why the dough- boy |
has never been able to understand why
he should pay fancy prices at the -4t
NJ. c. A. canteen when he has read
of millions given to the Y M. c. A.
by his folks back home.
For the Y. M. C.. A. it was and is |
unfortunate that the dough-boy is not |
endowed with judicial temperament.
Were he so endowed he would doubt |
less weigh carefully that the Y. M. C. |
"A. ieu " pay Di6 oihPpii6 iiSiShto' |
that the Y. NJ. C. A. had to pay rents, |
that the Y. M. C. A. had to pay many |
salaries, bigger than the dough-boy got
for fighting Uncle Sans battles. He
would consider all these things-if he /
had the judicial temperament. But
not having it, he has said:
why the duce should we have to !
pay big prices for those things when
the money Is given the Y. M. C. A"
Now the Y. M. C. A. sets forth per-
sistently that nowhere in its publicity |
campaign did it say that it was going
to use money raised to give things to
dough boys. Yet the conclusion seems |
justified that it did not set forth plain
ly enough that things were to be sold |
to dough- boys, because in countless |
letters from home dough-boys were
told of how parents and friends had |
given money to the Y. M. C. A. so that |
canteen supplies would go quickly and |
freely to fighting men.
Judging from this net result, the Y.
M. C. A. drive publicity was not man
aged in that it left a wrong impression |
IN certain quarters.
1.-THE Y. M. C.. A. was not alone in
this mistake. The Red Cross also |
made it in its posters showing beau
tiful Red Cross nurse lifting wound
ed soldier from the field of battle to
her protecting breast. Now, the |
dough boy knows perfectly well that |
no Red Cross nurse lifts wounded SOL |
dicrs from the field of battle, that a |
wounded man never sees a Red Cross |
nurse until he gets back to some evac-
uation or base hospital. And that self
same poster in the hands of the SOL
dicr has hurt the Red Cross seriously.
But that Is beside discussing Y. M. c.
A. canteens.
1T is we'll known and admitted now
by the Y. M. c. A. that 1t made mis-
take by charging too high prices at
canteens. 1t made the mistake of buy
ing cigarettes from an army commits
sary and taking them across the street
to a canteen and charging twice what
was paid at the commissary. When 1t
cut it's prices the Y. NJ. c. A. hoped
that criticism of it's canteens would
cease. but it did not.
81 think the Y. M. G. A. as an or
ganization is entitled to lot Of SYM
pathy over this canteen question. The
army expected that it would charge at
canteen prices, and that was natural.
But it was dealing with a condition
and not with theory"
Transportation difficulties naturally
affect the Y. M. c. A., as it's supplies
would have to give precedence to food
and ammunition for the troops, but the
disappointed dough-boy was not apt
to reason about the matter, and some
soldiers branded the Y. NJ. G. A. as no
good when the Y. M. G. A. could not
help itself" The question of person.
mel links up with the canteen question
90 hn icfo Of |