The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1919-03-26
A DEFENSE OF THE Y. NJ. c. A.
(stars and stripes)

Editor of Stars and Stripes:
am not the guy who really won
the war. nor did / see all the fronts,
but there are a some other birds in
this outfit who didn't get as far to-
ward Berlin as yours truly. Having
myself to my enthusiastic
readers, stand back and allow me to
begin.
My subject tonight will be few
words about the Y. M. c. A. Some of
the lads don't seem to like it, and
have started in to make the crowd
back home think it's a false alarm.
Now, Ed, you know that it's an easy
thing to scatter the citriol here and
there, and there is a certain class of
young volunteers who would rather
dc it than eat. I'm one of those peo-
pie who like to crab little myself;
it's a habit / learned around the scut-
tie but task the COB what / mean) the
vitriol boys are on the wrong track
this time. They are citing isolated
cases that have happened during this
year and half, and making a noun
tain out of hole-hill. This puts the
entire Y. M. G. A. on the witness
stand in self-defense, and that is a
thing that should not be. Let's drop
off a few points. jibe and look around.
What do we see, mate?
We see hundreds of men who could
have kept the home fires burning IN
the u. S. A. and earned a good wage
along with the slackers and the gen.
uine non-drafted men at any number
of good paying positions. What did
they do? They came to France and
kept on the job morning, noon and
night and every day of the week.
They kidded the brawny fighters In
the S. o. S. with movies, candies, Gig
arettes and decent words.
After you have done that about
5000 hours. more or less. you begin to
get sick of it. Back in the S. o. S. the
TRANSPORTATION was available. and the
supplies came into the canteens. But
up at the front, when you were lucky
tc get clothes and chow. it was a
pretty tough proposition. and what
ever did come up TO the Y. M. G. A.
was nabbed by the guys on the spec
ial details and various trains back
with the division. Some Of it did get
up to the front, but not enough tc
create a panic. But that wasn't the
fault of.th Y. M. c. A. it was the
| inevitable result of a constant for.
ward movement In open warfare.
suppose some of our heroes wanted tc
get hot chocolate dropped on advanc.
ed outposts by airplanes. It's too bad
about those kids.
Since I've been up with machine
guns I've never seen anything Of this
chocolate ration that the @. M. Corps
serves our troops, and / don't expect
to do so either. Nor do i feel any
anguish because the Y M. c. A didnr
feed me in fox-hole, especially wher
1 know who had the monopoly OF
available transportation.
There was a lad named Wilbur wht
was the secretary assigned to our bat
talon. He had been turned down TO
the army because he mad one eye. s.
he sought the lucrative and luxuriou
life of the Y. M. G. A., thus hoping
to be of some service to his country
When he found that it was impossible
ito drag chocolate bars and cigars owe
the top with machine guns, he CAV
first aid to the wounded under shel
!. fire. He had the time of his youni
!, life, and no one had anything on VIII
bur when it came to courage. Tn
boche winged him up at Blanc Mon
, in Champagne. and he got blighty.
! There were lots of Wilburs IN tn
Y. M. c. A, if you start investigat
ing. / hate to see a.lot of crabs ie
nOring them, too.
r When we started on our maratho
; via France, Belgium. Luxembour
) and Germany, we were lucky to hav
our emergency rations keep up wit
US. Then we settled IN various castle
on the Rhine, and the crabs began
scream for the Y. M. G. A. WheI