Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-12-25

NJ BAt u u. w nbeht-
About 5000 american soldiers are
chartered in Siberia this winter and
there is no good reason TO suppose
hat as body they can be sent home
at once They are more useful there
han most of them realize. regardless
ri holshevism- Certain great prob
ems are being worked out in Asia At
his time and our soldiers. though few
IN number, are upholding the inter
csts OF the United States. There are,
therefore, a few things 10 be consid-
cred.
in some respects the lot of the
American boys in Siberia is hard.
They are very far from home. not
only i'll the thousands of miles be-
tween their barracks and the home
iiresideS in the United States. but in
the difficulty of communication. which
makes these distances seem inter
rntnabIe- Like all other boys. they
suffer from inconsistencies.
Men Isolated in Russia.
This perfectly natural tendency is
Increased hy the fact that they are
among an alien people whose language
IS the most difficult of ali civilized
toT guts. The American soldiers may
learn = few words of Russian. but
they cannot master enough of the
al SuaCe 70 give them an understand
ms Of the people or 10 AID them IN
ccmenting friendship. The men in
ASiatic Russia are much more isolated
than they would ne in France or Ger
many.
Not only are they far from home and
among strangers, but the telegraph
much burdened with commerce and
The affairs of state to give them
enough of the Kind of news they want
and deserve. Among the varieties,
these boys delight in base ball scores
and fight news. The details of the
Dempsey Willard fight or of the Car
pe ntier-Beckett go would have les
sened the strain on the Siberian mo-
rale, if for no other reason than that
they would have shown that the folks
back home were thinking about the
boys in Shorthand this. after all. is
the main thing. The lads in snowland
want to be remembered.
Not Enough Books There.
At none of the American camps 1 Wis
tied in Siberia were there magazines
and books enough. although this condi-
ton was being improved rapidly. Very
likely in France the soldiers got enough
of the right reading matter. but in
Siberia they did not. And the farther
west you go i'll Siberia the greater is
The thirst for reading matter. Copies of
The Japan Advertiser that had been
through fire and We're burned
around the edges were eagerly snap
ped up. The sight of American now
lis and magazines would cause a
small riot. over there these things
are not boarded. If anybody has
them he reads them and passes them
along. and any book that is humanity
readable is bound to travel from hand
= hand until it falls in pieces. Books
= 9TH brains in them awake response
IN Siberia just as much as in Boston or
Chicago. \ novel is liked and a good
novel is loved.
However, books and reading matter
are by no means the only things that
1.ryt, A1w
dcles includes unscratched photograph
records and maybe monographs and
games and checker boards and whate1 er
else will help lot of regular hur.an
boys to forget that they are far away
from home and the family.
Big Organizations Help.
Both the Y. NJ. C. \. and the Knights
OF Columbus have of late been doing
good work in bringing cheer to the ST.
berian contingents. Garry McGarry's
troupes of dancers, actors and singers
nave been useful. The young woman
entertainers for the Y. NJ. c. A. have
driveI- melancholia from many a sol
cier's breast. The boys Took to the
scientific lectures with enthusiasm.
Probably the women are more helpful
than anybody else, as they easiiv
symbolic all that is sweetest and best
n the old home life.
There has been a good deal of
leisure for the Siberian forces. This
can be a good thing if properly used,
but may become a source of danger
when the conditions are bad. Some of
The American surplus leisure can be
spent in reading uplift literature. or
the boys might spend a little time
skating. ii they had the skates
which they haven't-or something of
the sort. But even at that. there is
SolnS to be some spare time. What
shall be done with it? Shall the SOL
Tiers be given a chance to study 70