The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1919-01-24
Y. NJ. c. A.
issues Statement In Answer
To Charges Made Against It.
Claim That Institution Made
Money From Canteens And
Gave No Free Supplies Re
futed.

Free distribution of canteen sup
plies to American soldiers by the Y.
M. c. A. to value of 81 100000, and
loss on operation of post exchange
overseas exclusive of the soldiers
stores in Great Britain amounting to
$332,1S1, were announced yesterday
by William Sloane, chairman of the
National War Work Council of the
Y. M. G. A., in statement based on
cable message from f. C. Carter,
chief "Y" secretary in Paris.
''This total of nearly $1,750,000,' .
said Mr.. Sloane, (which does not in
clude the post exchange deficit for
November and December, is the most
emphatic answer that the Y M. c..
A. can make to the charges of pro-
fitting which have been made by the
soldiers. In neither of the items
which make up the total, however,
does the magnitude of the 'Y" free
service appear. For instance, there
is no mention of the free use of ath-
letic supplies, valued at $829, ,499.44,
no mention of the entertainments
provided or Of the stationery on
which millions of letters are written
home. Some time ago the War Work
Council appropriated $600,000 for this
item of stationery, estimating that
the supply would last six months.
The soldiers in the home camps wrote
14,089,305 letters on Red Triangle
stationery in November alone.
"The loss of $332,181 on canteen
service up to October 81, 1918, does
not take into account the vast cost
of operating post exchanges.
Every bueiness man knows how
his expenses are increased by the
items of rental and clerk hire. These
items have been contributed by the
~ to the operation of 1,500 post eX-
changes as a part of its programme
of war service In other words, en-
tirely aside from the cost of opera
ton, the Y. M. c. A. conducted its
canteen service at an actual loss il
spite of the fact that our arrange
ment with the army provided thai
this service should be conducted OF
cost basis. The army has alway:
made it plain to us that it preferred
to have canteen service run on /
cost basis, as it did not wish to have
the soldier feel that he was being
pauperized.
Referring again to the free dis
tribution of canteen supplies by th
" Mr.. Carter states that his fig
ures are undoubtedly substantial.
below actual distribution. His total
include only the giving away o
sweets and smokes and hot drinks t
men in the trenches, to prisoners o
war returning from Germany and t
soldiers who had not been paid fo
. some time and were without money
''By actual figures he shows tina
the total value of supplies distrib
uted free up to October 81 by tn
~ was $532,110. His November es
innate is S183, ,486. To this combine
total will be added the very large eX
pense entailed by the elaborate Y N
c. A. Christmas programme. Th
War Work Council authorized tn
distribution to every fighting ma
overseas a gift that included tw
packages of cigarettes, can of to
, bacco, package of gum, five Christ
mas cards and bag of candy Con
sultation of our latest price list fror
overseas shows that these gifts coul
not have been assembled at a cos
less than thirty cents man, o
100000. Transportation difficultie
, in spots delayed but did not prevent
we believe, the achievement of thi
programme. The grand total is oh
tanned by estimating the Decebe
free distribution at 100000, exclu
siye of the cost of Christmas gifts.
"a pa "a