Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1919-08-12
TRAIN
SERVICE DEPT.
Serves 749, 5S1 Members OF
A. e. F. in Four Months
Great Difficulty Has Been expert
enced In Properly Housing Three
Quarters Of a Million Men.

Boston. July.-The train Serves
Department Of the Y.M.C.A. In Parls
served 749,5Sf members OF the A-E'F
in the first four months.
On the Train Service Department
of the Y.M.C.A. devolves the duty OF
not only welcoming all members 81
the A.E.F. upon their arrival in Paris
but being sure that they are properly
entrained and comfortably fixed at the
time of their departure. This Depart
ment is being directed by James g.
Conner, a newspaper man OF Phila-
delphia. When taken over by him, the
personnel consisted Of six Y workers
and a Ford camionette. with a capa-
city of twelve persons. Since thai
time, the work has developed so rap
idly that the personnel has been
increased to thirty men, besides a
Director and an Assistant, and twelve
large army trucks are necessary FOL
transportation purposes.
The cares covered by the Trair
Service Department, are st. Lazare
Montparnasse, Austerlitz, Lyon, Or
say, Nord and Est, These station;
are covered by Y workers from
o'clock A. M. until IL Midnight ane
it is the duty of these men to heartily
receive members Of the A.E.F., botf
casuals and those on leave, direc
them to the Red Cross canteens at the
stations for meals, if they so desire
and place them on the trucks for trans
portation to the various Y.M.C.A. ant
Red Cross hotels located in Paris, fol
their stay while here. In addition tt
this work, the men have been dis
pensing cigarettes, chocolate ant
gum, which they have carried in larg,
quantities in musette bags, selling
them to the boys at cost price, and il
some instances distributing them gra
tuitously, when discretion premit:
them to ID so.
These Y welfare workers are alst
equipped to answer all sorts OF ques
tons put to them by the members o
the A.E.F. That an idea may be gath
ored of the fund of information tina
they must have at hand, few of tn
questions asked might be mentioned
here:
Where can | buy Kodak films?
Where is Wanamaker's?"
Where is an American dentists"
Where is the Odd Fellows Ledger
Where are the base hospitals?"
Where is Tiffany's?"
What is the rate of German ex
change"
Where can change Swiss mon
ey?"
What hours are the Louvre open?
In the past four months difficult.
has been experienced in properl,
housing the three quarters of million
men, Along these lines, Col. l.. H
McKinlay, Welfare Officer, q. S
Army, and Mr.. Conner, have worke'
out plan for the establishing Of
Central Regulating Bureau the pur
pose Of which will be to ascertain tn,
number Of beds available at the Y.MC
A. and Red Cross Hotels in Paris, and
through an intercommunicating tele
phone system between the Directin!
Office, Central Regulating Bureau, tn
RIO. Offices at the Cares and tn
Hotels keep complete record o
such accommodations which will b.
corrected every two hours Of the tim
between 6 A. M. and Midnight. 1t i
thought that this regulating system
will do away with troubles hereto
fore faced by the "Doughboy" whe,
upon arriving in Paris, he finds tina
he is unable to obtain sleeping quar-
ters. Booths for the dissemination o
information have been established a
five Of the seven Cares in Paris. Thes,
booths are adequately equipped wit.
all sorts of literature bearing on tn
hotels canteens, theatres, places tina
the Y operates for the entertainment
of the boys, Religious Services, Sight
seeing Trips, md all other data tina
is Of interest to the soldier visitin:
Paris.
The Train Service Department ha
been congratulated by United State.
Army Officials on the work it has ca,
ried out. It's Directing Office is Il
is, rue Boissy- d'Anglas.