Omaha daily bee., 1919-03-15
"r SECRETARY
SUP PLIES MEN
With TOBACCO
Major Adee Tells of Work on
Battle Front; Predicts
Unheard of Boom in
Athletic Sports.

Operating on a shoe string is not
all done in Wall Street, according to
one Wall street man, formerly a
major of the 3llth infantry, who de-
clared that his battalion, made up of
New Jersey and eastern New York
troops, had gone through all the
worst fighting last summer and fall
without a sou. The men were paid
in July and before the first of Au-
gust there wasn't money enough in
the ranks to cash a Russian rubie
IN Peruvian market Yet they ell
joyed little comforts and iuxuries.
In letter to William Sloane,
chairman of the National War Work
council of the Y. NJ. {. A., Mai.
George T. Adee, of the 3llth infan-
try. member of the brokerage firm
of Batcheller & Adee. and the presi-
dent of the United States National
Lawn Tennis association, told how
"" secretary had kept his men
supplied with tobacco and cigarets,
with occasional chocolate and candy,
during the entire time at the front.
Furnished Articles Free.
AT the end Of August we moved
TO the American sector near Chau-
mont, and the early part OF Septem-
Der we went to the front and stayed
there until ordered home, the 30th
of October" wrote Major Adee.
When we went to the front Y. NJ.
{. A. secretary, a Mr.. Coe, attached
himself to my battalion and | take
pleasure in saying that he exposed
himself fearlessly at all times to
German shell fire. He kept the bat
talon supplied with cigarets and to-
bacco, and once of twice a week he
would have chocolate, candies or
cake for every man in the battalion.
If the men had any money they paid
for these things, but if they had no
money he gave these articles to them
free. As the men were paid in July,
and not after that, they never had
any money so that at least 90 per
cent Of these supplies were given to
them. ...
Mr.. Adee declared that each man
had at least one package of cigarets
each day, and that the only thing
that the Y. M. {. A. secretary re-
ceived for the thousands of dollars
worth OF supplies that he gave away
was several hundred francs that the
officers gave to the cause.
Athletics and Army Life.
In telling of the effects. that ath-
letics had on the building up of the
American army Mr.. Adee mentioned
the effects that the army training
would have on athletics. Specialized
and discriminating training of few
athletics for college sports, at the
expense of the development of the
remainder, has been killed by the
war, he declares. The Y. NJ. c. A.
emphasizes mass athletics.
Yale and a number of other
schools in taking up athletics again
are going to institute a system of
mass training" he stated. "They
will develop all the students instead
of the favored few, and in this way
they will broaden the field of athlet-.
les and will institute a much higher
standard of sport There will be
many more intercollegiate meets and
games, and athletics will be stimu-
lated generally.
Athletics are going to boom as
never before, both because the
leaders are working harder to slim
ulate interest and because the men
who have gone into the army will
not want to giveNup their new Con
dition Daylight saving, too, is. 60
ing to help this movement greatly,
because the men will have an hour
more a day out of doors than ever