El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1919-02-01
letters GIVE
THE Y PRAISE
Officers and Others Tell Of
Wonderful Work Done
by the Organization.

III mat j have heard from reliable
/ sources. is the wonderful work II ala
| for the boys over there nen ,.
] comes TO profiteering- know Wnere
I they sold three packages OF Caueis
l for a quarter and a bar OF Hershey
I candy for 10 cents, when they coull
] not buy them for less than lnaL ana
II the boys didn't have the money
{ (which was frequently the easel they
\ we're often given the goods outrlsnt-
I In the front line trenches they gave
I these articles free. but nave always
I thought they made great mistake
. /, irving TO get into the trenches. as
3 even the military couldnt keep ID
: rs own supplies in many cases When
. YOU ask any Of the kickers = point
/ blank question. they just simply cant
/ r,-ove \ single thing OF any moment
? That isn't 70 the credit OF this great
Z organization. have visited the build
J ines over there and I know what
3 am talking ABOUT
CouId Give Many letter..
/ Similar testimonials might be quot
ed indefinitely, but the reaoer wolio
weary Also, they would probably ue
I useless. for "a nan convinced against
/ his will. Is OF his own opinion stilL
Granting, II you WILL that the
Z above statements from me Ino7l
I trustworthy witnesses consutute reas-
I enable evidence Of the efficiency ana
I beneficial effects OF the overseas
work OF the T. NJ c A. what
Is the explanation Of the criticisms
/ which have arisent Some OF II "a
/ undoubtedly due to a deliberate at
I tempt on the part OF certain agencies
/ ana people, for reasons pest known
( to themselves, TO discredlt the Work
! OF the Y because OF the rapidly grow
- ND .salarmines' nopuIaritv OF the
I organization Much Of Il is undouot-
Z e9Iv due 10 the natural inclination OF
he dough boy" to criticise- As Byron
Z truly said;
"A man must serve his turn at every
save censure. critics ali are ready
made"
A Ready Made Critic.
And certainly every soldier boy iE
Z a ready made critic. Their criticisms
I are often impulsive rather than u
Z diciaL For instance. in the beginning
I they could hardly have been expected
I to weigh carefully the fact that the
Y. II. c. A. in selling them supplies.
| had 70 pay freight. transportation and
Z other excessive charges for handling
Z merchandise and getting Il 70 the
Z front. which the army commits sary had
! not taken account OF as part OF the
They generally objected 10 the fact
. that, in the beginning. the charged
D them a few cents more Tor package
Of cigarets than they had been accus-
! toned TO pay through the army com
I missary- There were doubtless many
among the soldiers who felt that
Z these small contributions 20 their
comforts. such as cigare-s. chocolate.
cookies. etc, should have been given
l them. especially as they knew that
the folks at home were giving large
& sums o. money to the 7 They old
NOT. ana possibly could not have been
expected 20 take into account the fact
! that the fund raised for the WORK
would have been insufficient 70 sup
ply even these small articles free %
n.Hn HI1Ha
month. let alone FOR one year and.
/ even though the 7 gave them club
I rooms. stationery. athletic goods. lee
lures. movies" and numerous enter
tainments free OF all cost, many did
I not relish paying Tor the little lux
T uries purchased through the can
teens They accepted, as a matter OF
course. the cigarets, chocolates. etc
vast Quantities in the aggregate
which the gave 70 them without
cost in the front line trenches and
in the combat area
The aTs Jonah
There is no doubt. as stated IN one
OF the letters from the soldier boys.
that the commissary, OF canteens
proved 10 be a Jonah" tor the =
Taxing over the canteens was not
form Of service which the directors
OF the work sought II was, in a
way. wished on them and, 70 have
shirked this form OF service, would
ration To comply with IL increased
tremendously the burden OF work and
reEnonsihlfty which was already
heavy on the shoulders OF the organi-
zation. which was expanding 50 rap
idly each month 70 keep Up with the
demands OF the service.
wish 10 make 10 clear at the same
time that I an not setting Up the
Y. II. c. A. and its representatives as
being above any Just criticism IN
d0ubtedly. a considerable number Of
Inefficient and unworthy men found
their way Into the overseas service
OF the Red Triangle. I. myself. saw
big men patiently filling little Jobs
and little" men doing their best 20
measure Up 10 big jobs This condi-
ton could not possibly have been
avoided. There were also. among
those who volunteered for the 7 ser
vice and found their way overseas.
men whose character and conduct was
entirely unworthy OF the org1niza-
ton they served and whose uniform
they wore The same was true Of men
In other branches OF service 7 know
Of one army chaplain. who. on land
ing in New York, gave an Interview
90 one Of the metropolitan cailies. IN
which he said that "the work OF the
Y. n c. A. could be summed up IN
one Word-Nothing." Such a self evil
dent falseh0od as this carries with IL
its own refutation- such a witness
should have removed the beam from
MS own eve before EFNllE 70 CAST oAL
the moat from his brothers eve"
Lives Given for the Cause.
Many good men and some noble
women in the uniform OF the Y ~.
c. A. gave their lives IN devoted ser
vice 20 the welfare OF our splendid
soldiers overseas. Nine OF its work
ers were killed by shell fire on duty;
- were seriously Eassed OF wounded.
81 died IN the service as result OF
exposure or OVerWorks 10 were cited
for bravery or decorated Hundreds
suffered daily hardship and danger
without either citations or decora-
tions-
John Sherman Hoyt. vice chairman
OF the national Y. A. c. A var work
council. who was with our troops in
Z the st. Mihiel drive and the battles
Of the ArEonne. stated that in the Az
I gonne ficht there were 200 Y IL
c. A. secretaries working daily, so Of
whom were women canteen workers
. units with which they remained in
I she'll fire during the entire offensive
. how much these brave men ard wo-
F men did TO preserve the glorious
4 spirit and the keen fighting edge CT
our troops and thus 10 help win the
war
The history OF Americas particlpa-
. ton in this war viii afford no more
. striking Illustration OF mans inhu-
. manity 20 man" than the blanket con
T demnation-the unEratetui and unfair
criricismS-ro which the American
n soldier nuTE in Franco ~ -rfrr-rf-ra-