Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-03-10
THOUSAND MEN
A DAY FED BY
CANTEEN WOMEN
~Bon Amy Says Stalwart
Doughboy, Practicing His
Atrocious French"

Last week was the banner week
&or activities of the canteen service
OF the Red Cross in Harrisburg. The
report shows that food and refresh
ments was served to $500 soldiers
and sailors. AS this averaged nearly
a thousand a day the good women
who have given up their time to this
work were on duty night and day.
This includes the number of men
who applied at the booth at the Penn
sylvania station, also nearly a hun
dred wounded men from the Carlisle
hospital, who were entertained at the
theaters or movies"
Eleven carloads of colored soldiers
were furnished with refreshments
last night. They were all overseas
boys on their way from Camp Upton
to various points in the west, where
they will be mustered out. Owing to
the 1ateness of the train the canteen
workers were compelled to wait for
three hours. It was quite a late hour
when they arrived, but the workers
were amply repaid for their efforts,
as the soldiers proved. to be as inter-
esting as any that have passed
through Harrisburg for several
months.
These stolid "doughboys" had all
seen service in the Argonne forest,
and there were many missing COM
panions upon the return trip. Some
of them were asleep when the train
arrived, but when the voice of the
commanding officer rang out: Boys
here are the women of the Red
Cross" two heads appeared at every
window. BY some mistake they had
missed" their supper; not an un-
common mistake" in the present
system of transportation of soldiers
these days, and the way these boys
went after the "eats" was an en-
couraging sight to the women who
were present. The appearance of
fruit, chocolate and tobacco even in
terfered temporarily with several
crap games. One of the soldiers had
a little dog that had followed him
through the battle of the Argonne,
and while the mongrel was not much
to look at, his master shared his
sleeping berth with him. When ask
ed how he managed to get the dog
past the commanding officer, the SOL
dier replied: 81 just naturally brought
him with me-"
It was interesting to note how
some of the soldiers had picked up
a smattering of French, and while it
must have sounded startling to the
poilus, yet they seemed to delight to
get it out of their sysem no matter
how amateurish were their efforts
at the language. Nearly every one of
them could get away with "oui, oui,"
but when one of them said THANK
you very much, little petit lady," and
another remarked: bon amy" it
was too much for the canteen
workers.
AS to the charges of unwarranted
killing of the American boys at the
battle of the Argonne, the officers in
charge were relustant to talk, but
from their conversation it could be
easily judged that they believed that
if the United States had been better
prepared at that particular battle
many more of their companions
woul dhave been on the train last
night. While some of the colored
boys slept two in a berth and with
out lights in the car, there was no
complaint; undoubtedly for the rea-
son, as one remarked:
Believe me enter nous it Is a
thousand times better than two feet
of mud at Brest"