The Mankato free press., 1919-01-31
0. w. WALKER SAYS THE CRIT.
.... ICISM Is UNJUST
WHAT WAS DONE ABROAD
Help Rendered To the Wounded
Men; His Own Experience
AT Front

o. w. Walker, who acted as Y.
NJ. c. A. secretary in France dur
ing the war, strongly refuses the
derogatory remarks and criticism
with which the Y. NJ. G. A. is meet
irg, and in ar interview with The
Free Press today he explained his
own Y. NJ. C. A. work in detail.
Il acted as Y. NJ. C. A. secretary
to the Third Battalion, 116 Infantry,
Twenty nineth division" said Mr.
Walker. The men ir this division
were from New Jersey Maryland, and
Virginia. l was hut secretary.
When | landed in Paris in August
was assigned to my battalion and
met it at Bellfort or the Alsace
front
In our canteen we furnished ci-
gars, chewing tobacco, cigarettes,
chewing gum, tooth brushes, shaving
soap, chocolate bars, cookies, and
other articles wanted by the boys.
When the American changes his
money into French money he re-
ceives for one dollar in American
morey five francs and seventy cen
times in. French money. 1t takes a
fraction over five centimes to equal
an American cent.
The Prices Charged.
Regarding the prices charged by
the Y. NJ. c. A, we sold the ElRoy
Tan cigar, ten cent size at thirty
five centimeS; AZoraS at forty CEN
times; tooth brushes at one franc or
one hundred centimes; chewing gum,
Spearmint double strength, at fif-
teen centimes; Star chewing tobac-
co at forty five centimes for ten
cent cut; package Camel cigaretts
at forty centimes; Sweet Corporal at
fifteen centimes, and oher kinds in
proportion; Bull Durham smoking
tobacco at twenty centimes.
The Y. NJ. c. A. centeen was
open under the regulations of the
major, ard / was strictly under the
army regulations as any army man.
was allowed TO have the canteen
open from s a. m. until $3.50 a. m. !;
from II m. until p. NJ; from 6
p. m. until 8 p. m. Soldiers asking
for anything between those hours
got it if it was in the canteen. OF
course if a crowd congregated to buy
things the army rules had to be obey
ed.
Moved to Verdun Front.
I'VE moved TO the Verdun front
ard entered the battlefield in the
Argonne woods. l followed the bat
talon into the battlefield My divi-
sional superintendent in charge of
trucks and camunettes, sent cigar
cites, chewing gum, chewing tobac-
co, canned goods and cigars in the
Argonne woods, to one and a half
miles within the front lines, where
they were dumped by ar old building
in shattered town. One man ran
this place as a distributing point,
and the hut secretary (myself) car
ried the stuff up into the woods to
my battalion OF infantry. The boys
were told that while on the battle
front their money was of no value
whatever, ard that everything VIC
had was free to the American men.
Every member of my battalion.
which numbered 1000, appreciated
everything | had for them, and many
times offered me their money, which
We did not want. Most of the candy
and sweet cookies we kept in reserve
for the wounded boys.
I'VE also had a large kettle, and
served hot chocolate twenty-four
hours a day, and | waited personally
on many hundreds of my battalion,
as well as men from other battalions.
Everything was free to the wounded
boys.
VIII Fight For Y. M. c. A.
Major Opie of my battalion
and his thousand men will swear by
the Y. NJ. G.. A. secretaries, and
will fight as long as there is breath
in them for the Y. M. C. A. They
so stated or the battlefield They
were surprised to think that ! had
the nerve to follow them into battle.
and ordered me, more times than
once, to return to the service of the
rear at Verdun until the battle was
over. The major said that it was
uncalled for and unnecessary for Y.
NJ. G. A. secretaries to expose
themselves to continual gun fire and
shell explosions While out the ma
jOr witnessed one of our men shot
through the thigh, he had his own left
hand shot off on the morning of Oc-
tober Is, but he did not come into
the dressing station until after dark.
When he heard my voice outside he
called out, There's my Y. NJ. C.. A.
man, Walker. l want to bid him
good bye before ! go to the hospital!"
l offered him some of the things !
was giving to the soldiers but he said
to keep them for the men.
Walker Was Gassed.
"On October 19 l was gassed, and
rolled to one side unconscious for an
hour. l am unable to say what hap
pened during the next two days. /
returned to the front October 20 and
stayed until October %, when l be-
came so weak and sick my division
al secretary ordered me back twenty
five miles to the rear TO his head
quarters where / stayed three days,
and was then ordered to Paris for
medical attention. After ten days
rest | was sent tn Tours, France,
where the heaC OF the ordnance de-
partment is located and where about
10000 German prisoners were held.
There | was made canteen man in a
Y. M. C.. A. hut which covered a
fourth of IN acre and was modern in
every way. 1t had a theatre capable
of accommodating a thousand. We
sold articles here at the same prices