Bisbee daily review., 1919-02-09

cial. For instance. in the beginning they could hardly have been expected | to weigh carefully the fact that the '. NJ c. A, in selling them supplies had 10 pay freight. transportation and other excessive charges for handling merchandise and getting il to the front, which the army commissarv had not taken account of as part of the cost.
 They generally objected to the fact that, in the beginning, the charged them a few cents more for a package of cigarets than they had been accus- toned to pay through the army com miSSary. There were doubtless many among the soldiers who felt taat these small contributions 10 their comforts. such as cigarettes, chocolate. cookies etc. should have been given them, especially as they knew that the folks at home were giving large sums of money to the '. They did not. and possibly could not have been expected 10 take into account the fact that the fund raised for the I work would have been insufficient to supply even these small articles free t0 our rapidly eX- banding army for one mcnth, let alone for one year and even though the ' gave them club rooms. stationery. athletic goods. lectures. movies" and numerous entertainments free Of all cost, many did not relish paying for the little luxuriss purchased through the r -canteens. They accepted, as S matter Of course, the cigarets. chocO- lates, etc, vast quantities in the az gregate which the Y gave to them without cost in the front line trenches and in the combat area.
 The "Y' Jonah
 There is no doubt, as stated in one Of the letters from the soldier boys. that the cOmmissary. or canteens proved 10 be a jonah" for the Y. Taking over the canteenS was not form Of service which the directors of the Y work sought IL was in Q way, wished on them and, to have shirked this form of service, would doubtless have discredited the organization. To comply with it increased tremendous ly the burden of work and reSponsh bility which was already heavy on the shoulders Of the organization, which was expanding so rapidly each month to keep up with the demands Of the service.
 I wish to make it clear at the same time that am not setting up the '. II. C. \. and it's representatives as being above any just criticism. Un- 6oubtedly, 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 10 measure up to big jobs. This condi- tion could not possibly have been avoided There were also, among these who volunteered for the I serv- ice and found their way overseas, men whose character and conduct was entirely unworthy of the organization they served and whose uniform they wore. The same were true of men in other branches of the service. l knew of one army chaplain, who. on landing in New York. gave an inter view to one of the metropolitan dailieS in which he said that the work of the I. Nj. c. A could be summed up in one word-nothing." Such a seir- evident falsehOod as this carries with it its own refutatiOn. Such a witness should have removed the beam from his own eye before trying to cast out the mOat from his brothers eye.
 Lives Given for the Cause
 Many good men and some noble women in the uniform of the Y. M c. A. gave their lives in devoted serv- ice to the welfare of our splendid soldiers overseas. Nine of its work CTS were killed by shell fire on<duty; 24 were seriously gassed or wounded; S1 died in the service as a result of exposure or overwork; 10 were cited for bravery or decorated. Hundreds suffered daily hardships and danger without either citations or decOra- tions.
 John Sherman Hoyt. vice chairman of the national '. NJ. c. A. war work council, who was with our troops in the St Mihiel drive and the battles os the Argonne, stated that in the Ar gonne fight there were zoo '. M. c. 4. secretaries working daily, 50 of whom were women canteen workers attach ed to the different fighting units with which they remained in the danger zone and frequently under shell fire during the entire offensive. 1t viii never be possible tO measure how much these brave men and women did to preserve the glorious spirit ana the keen fighting edge of our troops and thus to help win the war.
 The history of Americas participa- tion in this war will afford no more striking illustration of mans inhu- manity 10 man than the blanket con demnation-the ungTatefui and unfair which the American sol dier boys in France. or returning tO this country. have thOughtiessly giv- en expression regarding the great and work which the representa- tives of the Y. M. c. A have so 6e- votedly carried on in order to min ister to the comforts and welfare Of our brave boys "over there" = saess H a