The Grangeville globe. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho) 1907-1922, 1919-05-22

huflng the war there was an average |
or 100000 men in our French classes
ut any one time. Hundreds were in
classes i'll mathematics. and thousands
or negroes from steVedore regiments
learned To read and write. Since the
Armistice this educational work has
been extended and probably more than
half of the men are studying TO quail
ify for better positions in civil life.
Thousands have attended the agri
cultural Institutes to learn more about
scientific farming
There was close cooperation with
the chaplinS in planning religious ser
vices and Catholic Protestant, and
Jewish services were often held in the
huts on Sundays.
~ men 30 with the men on trans
ports and furnish entertainment, etc.
and on the way back give chocolates
cigarettes, fruit, etc, to the men with
out charge
AT the suggestion Of the army the
Association is operating over thirty
leave areas with capacity of $4,000
men. A typical monthly program as
given nj AK IL Bains during January
1918, consisted of % complete vaude
willie performances, 81 band concerts
! l. hdliNtS, o. oTtlltStIu CONCERTS, ~
musical entertainments. 10 lectures. 90
movie shows and stunt nights. Aside
/ from these there were daily excursions
to nearby points of interest.
The Association served as storekeep
er for the A. T.. f., and as an example
handled total of s. 636 corloads o
material from June 1918 to January
! 1919 at total value Of SOL ,o46. 10000
! fNbn A.
0OLm during 1918 and has set aside
S3l72500.00 to be given away during
| 1919
10000 papers daily were given away
IN the Argonne Forest. "A 900 Of which
were delivered by aeroplane to units
| that could not otherwise be reached
| Whatever supplies could be gotten
4 to the trenches were given without
charge to the men,
1t would require POS tons per month
for each division, but we were never
able to get transportation for over 10C
tons per month. And we had to pay
$4,000 per ton of 1000 lbs. ocean
freight on about half of this amount.
The Association never had over 4C
percent enough trucks, and numerous
times what we did secure was requsi.
TONED by the Government. Two hun.
dred trucks lay on the New York for
months, waiting to be shipped across.
To handle the work with the Dist
division in the Argonne Forest. we had
, trucks. one Ford. and n motorcycle
but as Gen. Johnson said recently al
/ Camp Lewis, mo number of trucks
would have helped as we could not
have gotten them over the too over.
Z crowded rpn1S tp tbp front -
The y. VI. A. had to build its own
buildings. had even TO set up saw mills
10 cllt the lumber, and had to estab-
fish II chocolate candy factories
It was an enormous task to handle
the canteen. but Gen. Pershing asked
us to take it over in order to release
10000 men for fighting purposes We
! took it, knowing in advance that we
i would get the "cussn'" that Away.
has been the privilege of the soldier tc
/ hurl nj the army canteen.
As pr Woods Hutchinson said after
he returned from abroad, "Granting
! that all the criticisms were true il
would only amount TO ! percent of in
efficiency as compared with % percent
efficient service"
George w. Perkins, states in n recent
report that possibly 3 percent of the
men We're inefficient. then why not give
credit for the 95 percent approximate
efficiency?
If the organization is SO unpopular
why do the leading military and naval
authorities continue their unqualified
endorsement Of the Red Triangle work
abroad?
If the ~" charged excess prices
why did not the government have the
canteen removed from the Y NJ. c. A
management?
Did all the inefficient welfare work.
eeS get into the Red Triangle service?
Does not the fact that over 20 gave
their lives in France, IS of which were
killed in action. that GO were decorated
for bravery. that 1852 others were cited
in official orders. at least suggest that
there was some of the men where
things were hottest?
The ~ gave away more than was
given by any two other welfare or.
gnzaations.
Granted that there were grouchy in
diyiduals some who did not use horse
sense on certain occasions when deal
ing with the men, etc. Can we with
Justice to the Association let these
Individual cases blind us to the entire
amount of good work that was done?
Then too. the work in the camps OF
this country was carried out in large
scale and apparently without criticism
Let us remember also that the Y. M
{ A. Association has had seventy wears
It useful service behind IT,
We surely are not going to let the
small percentae Of incfiiciencv overseas
stand i'm the way Of added constructive
work for the men and boys of ON
home counties. states and country.