The Nezperce herald. (Nezperce, Idaho) 1900-1957, 1919-05-22
LIGHT ON "Y" WORK.
In Lecture at Brethren Church
U. s. Duncan Explains Over
seas Service.


Belgium part of the time with
the famous 91st Division
There was a total of 5,693 men
and 1857 women secretaries over
seas in March. and 4,763 in home
camps.
Most of these men were local
business and professional men,
recommended by leading local
people.
They were carefully selected,
because out of 10000 recon-
mended, only $4,000 got to New
York and Of that number only II, :
229 were sent overseas.
The Association operated in
1856 points 1907 with the A. r.
F. and 1849 with the French and
prisoners of war.
Some 1000 huts were built dur
ing 1918. Ten million sheets of
writing paper were furnished
weekly, at an expense of $37 900
per week
One thousand picture machines
were operated, and fifty to one
hundred groups of entertainers
were continually on the road from
camp to camp.
Athletic material to the amount
of $1,4OO,OOO was given to the
boys in 1918; 100 athletic fields
were in operation and over 300
trained physical directors were in
charge of the work.
Scores of large hotels were
operated for the men at a mini
mum rate per day and with as
nearly home cooking as could be
gotten in France.
An average of 100000 men at
tended the Franch classes each
month many thousands of negro
stevedores learned to read and
write over there. Thousands OF
soldiers attended the institutes on
scientific farming, under the lead
ership of DR.. Kenyon L. Butter
field, of the Massachusetts, Agri-
cultural college.
Regular services for protest
ants, Catholics and Jews were
held in the huts to hold men fast
to the faith that they had
Secretaries travelled on the
transports to furnish entertain
ment, writing paper, and on the
way back, furnished candy and
smokes free to the men. K
At the request Of the army, the
association took charge of over
80 rsorts and made leave areas
with capacity Of $4,000 men. 7
A typical program for January,l .
1918, at the Aix-les-Bains was:
twenty-seven complete vaude-
villes, 81 band concerts, 12I
dances, 60 orchestra concerts, SO 3
musical concerts, AZ lectures, 96 :
movie shows, 5 stunt nights, as I
well as daily excursions to the g
nearby Alps. {
The Association acted as store 6
keeper for the A. E. F. handling :
an average of $12,630,000 worth Q
Of goods per month during 1918.
AT Gen. Pershing's request Mr..
B. Fosdick, who had ),
charge of all the war activities, 2
looked into the matter Of prices, 3
ETC., and reported that the Assoc
iation was not making any money =
ON canteen goods sold. The 5,
goods were sold at from 60 to rs =
per cent of what they were re- B
failing for at the same TIME in
this country.
Some 81 AGO. 900 worth Of goods =
were given away to the men in :
1918, and $3,172, 800 is set aside =,
for the same purpose this year. &c
Fifty thousand papers daily c,
we're given away in the Argonne,
and 1000 daily were distributed -
by airplane. n,
Any goods that could be gotten rs
to the front lines were given :
away.
A million and half men re-
,eived Christmas packages from B,
The Y. M. G. A. al
We never had more than half G,
men; never more than CCl
half the space needed to get sup K
plies across the water and never St
more than 40 per cent of the nee R,
essary trucks
With the 91st Disision we had
only two trucks, one. Ford and a -
motorcycle, and never more than
% men, when we should have had % D,
IS men to properly care for a Fl
division.
Gen. tombstone stated recently, G,
1t Camp Lewis. that we couldn t 81
nave gotten our goods to the front =
{ we had trucks, as the two 3;
'oads were jammed all the
;ime with more necessary mater ~
al. u
Over 700 secretaries were with
he troops in the Argonne, and c
when they. couldn't get goods b.
hey turned in and worked as St.
bearers or worked with c.
he wounded at the dressing sta