The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1919-01-07
!. NJ. c. A. MAY
HAVE ERRED IN |
USE OF MONEY
George w. Perkins Gives State
ment of Investigation
GOOD INTENTIONS SHOWN
Management of Can:een Service One
of Biggest Factors in Making Pres
ent Unpopular Reputation.
GOOD INTENTIONS SHOWN

Those who know the facts know
that the Y NJ. C. A. has done splen-
did and patriotic work and that its i'll
repute has been largely due to mis-
understanding of what its duties
were. 1t was selling goods in the
canteen because 1t was practically
commanded to do so by the govern.
ment. At the same time the war de-
partment did not permit the Y. NJ. c.
A. goods to so to France at the gov.
ernment expense and the Y had to
pay exorpitant transportation charges
which made its prices high.
Coblenz, Jan. 5.--George W. Per
kins Chairman Of the Finance Com
mittee of the American Y. NJ. C. A.,
who is on the Rhine making a sur.
yey of Y. NJ. c. A. work, says the
organization has something like $780,
100000 to spend over here. II ap-
pears that the Y. NJ. c. A. does not
know exactly how to spend the money
There is an evident desire to spend it
IN manner that will do the most
good for soldiers and in so doing 10
rehabiitate the suffering reputation
OF the Y. NJ. c. A. among the soldiers.
Mr.. Perkins has been seeking in
formation as to reasons for the un-
popularity of the Y NJ. c. A., and
at the same time has been seeking
Ideas as to the best ways in which can
be used the large funds that the or.
ganization now has at its disposal. He
has been tod that there was no odoubt
mat the Y. NJ c. A. was chuck full
of good intentions, but that It's career
with the American Expeditionary
Force has been lavishly nismauaged.
II is idle to try to express In few
words what has been the matter with
the \. NJ. c. A. Its present unpopu.
'arity is an outgrowth of many fac.
tors. II were asked to set forth the
biggest factors in making the un.
pleasant reputation the Y. VI. C. A.
now has over here | would say. first.
management of canteens second, un-
fortunate selection of much Of its per.
sonnel, and third. overmuch care for
he moral welfare of the American
loughboy.
Let us take the matter OF canteens.
Or course 1t is true that the army
asked the Y. NJ. c. A. to take over
he canteens, Disregarding opinions
as to the wisdom of that procedure.
he Y NJ. c. A. found itsIef with
he canteen job on its hands. In ac
1epting that job the Y. NJ. C. A. made
is big mistake. And this is why the
toughboy has never been able to un.
1erstand why he should pay fancy
| prices at a Y. NJ. C. A. canteen when
ne has read Of millions given to the
Y. NJ. c. A. by his folks back home.
For the Y. NJ. c. A. 1t was and is
unfortunate that the doughboy is not
endowed with a judicial temperament.
We're he so endowed he would doubt.
ess weigh carefully that the Y. NJ. c.
> had to pay big shipping freights,
hat the Y. NJ. c. A. had to pay rents.
hat the Y. NJ. c. 4. had TO pay many
salaries. bigger than the doughboy got
for fighting Uncle Sans battles. He
would consider all these things-lf he
lad the judicial temperament. But
not having it he has said:
why the deuce should we have to
pay big prices for those things when
he money was given the Y. NJ. c.
A.?'
Judging by this net result the Y.
NJ. c. A. drive publicity was not we'll
managed, in that it left wrong i'm
preston in certain quarters.
The Y. NJ. c. A. was not alone in
this mistake. The Red Cross also
made it in its posters showing a beau
tiful Red Cross nurse lifting wound
cd soldier from the field of battle to
her protecting breast. Now the dough
boy knows perfectly well that nu Red
Cross nurse lifts wounded soldiers
from the field of hattie, that a wound.
ed man never sees Red Cross nurse
until he gets back to some evacuation
or base hospital. And that selrsame
poster in the hands of soldiers has
hurt the Red Gross seriously.
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