Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1919-02-19
"Y" in France Has Done as
Well as Army, Says Witt

To end this descursive view a.
get down to the charges, let ~ taIe
IN. testii,sny Of Lieut.. Stcphsa ..
Early Of the si7th Infantry, now Aes
ISOLATED with the stars and Stripes =
Paris, In civilian life. IAsutenAae
Early was with the Washingten ataa
OF the Associated Press. 30 we may
regard him IA careful and reliable In
his statements and conclusions.
Y IN oattis xe~s.
my regiment was In the ArGonps
lighting" he told me. "One day my
platoon WAS In the support line. just
a little back Of the main cnwaKenisnt,
aud right alongside us there was
man with . stock OF chocolate and
cigsrets. which he was giving away
free TO the soldiers. To my knowledge
he worked steadily for twenty-f -four
hours without a stop. He did all that
anybody could possibly have dohe."
talked with fine capable and
sensible Y. NJ. Z. A. secretary who has
spent eighteen months In France. and
who knows tina situation thoroughly.
1t IL true" he told me. that some
OF the Y workers should never have
come to France at all. Out of a per-
sonnet OF $500 men, headquarters hAA
been Obliged 10 give dishonorablc Dis
charges to 200 and send them home.
These men were of the type who had
never experienced temptation. and
who couldn't measure up to the situa-
ton. Some Of them went wrong
morally. You have heard how three
workers have been locked up for en-
BICYCLING money entrusted to them by
doaghboys about to go over the top.
We have had TOO many ministers with
out executive ability. Some ministers
have gone down before the lure OF the
girls on the Paris boulevards. Then
We have had some men who used the
rs means of getting TO France 10
see the war, and whose interest ragged
as soon as they had been around
little. We have had small men with
big heads, who lacked tact and who
couldn't get along with the boys. Hut
take all these misfits together. and
they have made only a small percent
age OF the whole The great body Of
the workers are SINGERS whole hearted
men who have made real secrfices.
and whose families have undergone
sacrifices. in order that they might
come.
No Estortionate Prices.
Charges OF extortiona.e prices are
not fair. AT the outset. when the Ar.
my directed he Y M. C. A. to operate
the post exchanges, we charged pric-
es that would cover cost Of goods and
transportation, and margin for waste
and spoilase This caused protest.
For some time the Y has charged com.
missary prices and stood n loss for the
rest. -
"On one occasion l obtained a sup
ply of smoking tobacco which / cold
ut three cents & sack The runner
started that I charged franc sack.
ana ] couldn't head it of.
I'VE have given away free to the
soldiers more supplies than all the
rest of the relief organizations put to-
gether. with the exception of the Red
Cross
The Y. NJ C.. A. stands well with
the high officers OF the army Our
most mercless critics are the"lieut-
eaants. As Tor the doughboys. they
do not have an easy time OF 1t over
| here in the mud. with their pay often
| far in arrears, and with the mailH
from home slow and irregular The
men have their personal troubles:
many a man has come to me for com
| fort when his girl back home has MAJ
| ried someone else. The doushboys
are perfectly free to take out thSir
crouch on the " NJ G. A. and they
do It. The Y offers them safety valve.
1t seems .discouraging at times to
work Your head of and get nothing
but growls and sneers and looks %
aversion. but am confident that
judgments will be more mellow In
time"
What w. A. White Says.
asked William Allen White what he
thought Of the work Of the Y.M, G.
A. at has done as well as the army"
was his comment,
Ny own opinion is that the Y. NJ
G.. A. has been of inestimable service
to our men abroad. in spite Of all
mistakes. The cheerful, reading and
| ioungins rooms all ovr- France, the
| $4,000. 900 spent for athletic equipment.
| the equal amount invested In books.
| the ten million sheets OF letter PAPER
and envelopes given away free weekly
| the constantly crowded canteens all
have given the maximum OF good. The
boys may speak darkly of the Y. but
1t is their club, just the same. and they
make a world Of use of it. Some day
| they will speak better OF 1t.
|