New Britain Herald Newspaper, September 7, 1918, Page 3

Boston Store A Complete Line Of DR. SLEEPING GARMENTS JUST RECEIVED Will be sold at prices es- tablished by turer. Cool nights arve on the way, it would have your requirements for the winter on hand early. SPECIAL VALUE in a large iwo thread Turkish Towel at It would be well to keep in touch with our Dress Goods section from now on, we are receiving shipments daily, PULLAR & NIVEN Paul Dill Has B Year, Paul T DENTON’S S e | montn the Manufac- be well to 38¢ each. LEAVING HIGH SCHOOL | depar ders Resignation | this ingham Tc District Supervisor— | a | | positi lent o the ecen at Local Institution iliin the Boston Red Sox in the World Ser- ies games. Top row | board to secure a v head for ation will t of his suec will tment, his re upon the T illingham Tive he is district of ent he is on will make ver from one ction of the state zned to isor education, which This upeintend cities in | to which he i now waiti 10 him to five in the direct ; Martin, left to right, they | row, left to right: I . | last year 1o fill the vacancy left by | | the of Lieutenant aviatic listment t of the 1 cory been director reetor of tra Zieder, O' TFarrell. Tyler, are: Hendrix, Killifer, Carter, Knabe, | Cabe, Pick, Wortman, Vaug Jame Dur of Second ) kert. Me- rine {trainin Lincoin Bottom row, left to right: Barber, Hollocher, Mitchell, | Douglas, Walker. Mann, included Arthur Includis It m doubling custome KH. STOCK TROUSE SV E BIG DISPLAJ to 10 years. This departrient ¥ around any time, owll fhd it nea Deal, USE THE CLASSIFIED C”L m FOR QUICK RETURNS % Boy Fighters Buoyed Up By “Home” Atmosphere Wh From Training Line Trench. ich Follows Them Camp to Front By JOHN R. MOTT fleneral Secretary of the National F STOOD one day a few months ! ago in the office of Gen. Hd- wards in France. It was 2 tateful hour. Only 2 few minutes before my arrival his telephone rang. An officer near the front ine sent the distressing word that a company of his men, caught be- tween the enemy’s barrage and the fire of their own artillery, had been terribly punished. This news still rang in the General's ears when he welcomed me. Gen. Edwards led me across the room to a great map of the front lines and pointed out to me where the awful punishment bad taken place. “It was their first baptism of fire,” he said sorrowfully, “their first exposure to the fearful destruc- tion of modern warfare.” 1looked from the map to him and said: “General, how do you ex- plain it? How is it possible for these boys to come from their peaceful homes right into the teeth of such a terrible experience, and to stand up before it like vei- erans?” PRAISED BY GENERAL. Turning to me impressively he gave this splendid answer: “If you want my explanation, Mr. Mott, it is very simple. 1 give all credit to the tradition of the American mother.” The tradition of the American mother! Among all the priceless treasures we are risking in this battle for democracy there is none more precious than this. We should be cheated indeed, were we to win this war and lose one iota of that tradition’s power. It is part of the task of the Y. M. C. A. to keep the traditicn bright. Day by day as I have traveled tto United States I have geen ger- vice flags grow thicker in the windows of homes. I am writ- ing this to the fathers and mothers who live bohind thoso service flags. 1 want to invite them to travel with tas, a8 I have often traveled lt, the path that Jeads from home to ver thare''; i wnnt them lo s0e tew the ¥, M, O, A, goe3 with thelr hoy every atep of the way. floeently thers came to my afilee lettar trom & man in New Huge 3 RTE (BRY try this week,” it sald, gevenigen Aave ngver 8 pight awar ivom 81 g this ee and of the beiore alept agine, if Base. the Bovs as tasy saw bahiad t@eiy t¥ai & w673 At aleas ga thet tveop train, nev iviendipss, By War Work Council of the Y. M.C. A. government permission there goes on every troop train at least one M. C. A. secretary, sometimes more. They are the first links in the Y. M. C. A's great chain of friendliness. oy The second link in that chain is familiar to most at home. We have visited the great army cantonments. We have seen more than 500 great huts where boys write their letters, vlay their games, and have the com- forts of the club, the library, the theatre, and the school. But after the cantonment there is another lonesome stretch on the road to France—the long hours on those trains that slip sllently from the cantonments, carrying their pre- clous cargoes of human life fo the seaboard. On those journeys, too, there is a Y. M. C. A. secretary, a friendly hand and voice on every train—a representative of the fatherhood and motherhood of America. LAST NIGHT IN AMERICA. And what of those “unnamed ports” where our men embark? A few months ago I approved the largest appropriation the Y. M. C. A. has ever made for the erec- tion of one of its huts. The arguments that led me to ap- prove it were six photographs of our American soldiers. They were picture® of men spending their last night in America—sleeping upright in chairs at our overcrowded build- ing at an unnamed port. Men sleeping on billiard tables, and on the floor! 7 said to myself: “This Is intol- erable. What would the fathers and mothers of America say if they saw those pictures? What sort of appreciation is this for a great country to show to its sons!” So we have provided for that port 8 super-hut; and have filled it full of the things of home. With the approval of the War Department the “Y,” as the boys oall, it, steps with them onto the dock of the transport, Dreary tripa those used to be; dreary and uncomfortable enough they eare even now. Yet gomewhero on those groat ships motlon pletures are be- ing shown; somaewhore gomes are going on among tho incn; some- where there {8 @ room whore they mey write to friends beck home on the letier paper of the Ked Tri- angle, AMERICAN ARMY QLEAN. @ the iong, iryirg, dangerous jouFney & 8paeq at 5 the B6; iai a2 3ea jev gves e battle itsels, "Fhe pevis MOTHER TRADITION of debarkation “over there” aire no suburbs of Heaven even now. Yet let me say this as positively as I can—that in all my travels up and down France, I saw not one single American soldler or sallor under the influence of liquor. Our the cleanest army that ever marched to battle. It is due, largely, to the tradition of the American mother. 1 wish I were st liberty to print the military mep of one of those great ports where our troops de- bark. It would show at a glance the acope of the work for the 7 in & way that words cannot tell it Buoh a map, showing the port, and the train areas arcund It, is coy- erod thick with red dots, Hvery red dot means a Y. M. C. A, hut. Aloug the cozat are blue dots, each a hut for our geilors and our naval avi- aters. Beoaitered about are yellow doty, repredc i taurants and oale 3 eniered one of ihoaa 5% o pert uzed ehiedly t and #ald e the w ‘Few man the past year? tihe worker—a w B=AR. sweradl “More tham 1,100,000," arge sared fop I wi not stop to describe the great training camps ov there— those great universities, where skilled officers from the French and English and Italian armies help to bring our men to the finest fighting edge. They do not differ in essen- tials from our camps on this side; and with them the fathers and mothers of America are familiar. I want tc hurry on with the boys to that centre of our heart interest, that section which the French name the “zone of combat” for t C. A, goes even there. Farly in thie Ameries better, referred to secretary’'s calling proof fob.” I wish tha hava traversed the with me la he might seo the 1y come tc iy office Lot ma piek en P g G diive AleRg Held piaee uatil &f last seti with the troope alding w_erever it is possible. All stores food dis- tributed weary poilus whose sup- plies failed to reach them. Cof- fee and soup made and served until building shattered by Ger- man shells. 98 foyers been de- stroyed by shell fire or captured by the @Germans. Three ware- houses of the Y, M. C. A. were burned by Association officials in order to prevent remaining stores falling into the hands of the enery. “Mlss Marfe C. Herron, of Cin- oinnati, Ohlo, sister-in-law of ex- President Taft, and Miss Jane Bowler, also of Cincinnati, Y. M. C. A. canteen workers, particularly distinguished themselves, laboring on with troops, refugees and wounded with villagee burning about them. Miss Bowler, who stayed at the post at Soissons ali through the fast offensive, held it again In this last one despite the terrific bormbardment. Finally left when everything In flames, less than an hour before the Germans entered.” Then the despatch goes on to mention two of our secretaries who were exposed to shell fire until they were gassed; others who helped back thousands of refugees and wounded. That is the first message. “Y” MEN AT THE FRONT. Take this one also: “Secretaries at front are Tre- sponding splendidly to intensified labor placed upon them by attack. Becretaries are going aimost con- stantly as close front as permitted by officers, giving the men fruit and chocolate, often taking them in the front trenches. Many sec- retaries are suffering from shell shock or gas. but keep going in in- tense attack. All Y. M. C. A stores are freely given men in need, where communijcation is inter- rupted they help to feed men, aid the wounded, a t chaplains. Two Amerfcan Y. M, A. workers just killed within two days. Smith sac- rificed his life by continuing work after gassing, going out of line of duty to load ammunition train which had lost its way. That is the second message. Here 18 a third: “Germans shell dressing stations. Three Y. M. C. A. secretaries in one when it was destroyed by shell fire wers uninjured. Supplies taken on trucks {n the dark. No perma- nent centeen in this sector, Head- quarters ‘n & sandpit. Motor trucke work out from thove, Ready azny moment, 2y or night, Replace- mont troops arrived w food. : C. A, trueck es to got pupplies, fr (Y hoepitals day o smade wonderful 1561793 with the men, js the finest over. and drops wounded in that dreadful area. The Red Cross is at his side then. There is not and cannot be any possible conflict be- tween the Red Cross and the Red Triangle. The leaders of these two organizations are generally agreed that this ghould be the di- vision of responsibilty—the Red Triangle should care for the boy while he is well, or convalescent; the Red Cross should care for aim wounded or sick. There are Red Triangle huts at the Red Cross hospitals. 3EVEN DAYS OF FREEDOM. Then comes the day when the boy bhas his leave of absence. Seven days is allotted to him every four months. For weeks in advance he looks forward to it, and the great day comes at last. Seven days of freedom! What shall he do with them? The Frenchman may go back to his home; the Englishman turns across the channel to “Blighty.” If you wiil read the history of wars you will discover that every army has had one great common enemy. Its name is Leisure. The Y. M. C. A is trying to remove Leisure from the liability column and place it among the soldier's assets. General Pershing, who feels the eyes of every American mother upon him, has no love for the great cities as a place of leave for the men. With his help and at his suggestion, the Y. M. O. A. helped to work out a plan. Over In one of the beautiful cor ners of France, near the Swiss mountalins, Is Alx-les-Bains, one of the most famous resorts In the world. There the association went and rented all those great hotels; even the great gambling hall we rented, turning It Into a motion picture theatre. There are sta- tloned fifty or sixty of the finest men and women In America— wearing the “Y” uniform. | maln- taln that Amerlcan soldlers no- where have such a vacatlon &s they have at Alx-lec-Bains, where the best plays and racreational sports, the most distinguished lec- turers and actors, and the ablest preachers In America combine to Insplre and Instruct and entertain them, Our boys are going across very fast theze days. The resort at AiX is already overorowded. DBut we have arranged for flye similar groat resorts, Nothing ls too good {or the Amerioan boy-—and In hlg loloure hours, the “Y" offora him Ite_bost, Fathors and mothers in Ameries agk mo about the prisom eamps, “guppese our hey were eapiured?” they say. And one methar paid ro me: I ean piend | of lesing bim in bai theughy ef the hervars 5 gmaFe LA [ ean 8v6 Fou §eeB the aszps?” thoy B8k e cometimes wish that filly eny thai ¢ ipd & Brig - And A, The picturs sipstane s1g {nda: URS L. S. SOLDIERS TO GLORY are In the enemy’s hands—British, Canadians, Americans, Italians, Russians and others. ‘What can America do? you ask me. The “Y” can do much. Be- fore we entered the war there were Y. M. C. A secretaries visiting and helping in all those camps. I wish you might have seen the miracle of their work. SAVED CAMP PRiISONERS. In camps where men were drift ing into insanity for lack of occu- pation, the “Y” secretary ap- peared. He found among the pris- oners one who had been a iine musician before the war. Securing some band instruments, he started a band. He found another who had been a banker. He organized a class in banking with the prisoner as teacher. Another had been & shoe manufacturer and was soon busy with a corps of men repairing the prisoner’s shoes. The secre- tary brought with him a phono- graph and a motion picture ma- chine. It was a miracle those men achieved. With our entry into the war we were compelled to withdraw our men gradually. But still there are channels open to us. The “Y” has its offices in Copenhagen and in Switzerland. Through neutral agencies like the Danish Red Cross it still reached out a cheering and a helping hand. As I finished my tour of France, the Y. M. C. A. secretary who had me in charge said to me: “Now: you have seen everything, haven't you?” I looked at my list, and it was all checked oft. “Yes,” I answered, “I have seen everything.” But he answered, “No. one place yet to visit.” So he took me in a machine out to a cemetery. There we stood ber side a few scores of newly-made graves—the graves of American goldiers and sailors. ALL CREEDS® ARE ALIKE. "Tm not a preacher,” said the secretery. “Only a laymen, but I have been alone here and ns there was, until rooemlyflwinm at this point, I have read the last service over these boys—all of them alike, Protestants, Cathollos, Jews.” Then ho told me of a Dbsautiful thing. He had conceived the idea of finding for each one of these graves a Fremon mother in that town to serve as Godmother—of getting each mother to may: “I will eep flowera over this grave while the war lreta” And seme saidi "1 will take two graves, ens tor esgh of my sens,” Our Army and Nayy will im grease by milllens, Thege milliens wiil ge everceas e day they will aeme heme—{bag s, piest ef them There % o The ¥, M, €, A, Will aegan, papy ihem snd minister to them all the way, We wfié meke jo them gt the Ameri W 5ee ikem eeming ageney, Q. the il 13 § ¥ nam leave heme 8, represeating te i 3 BE inteyvening Faaths ard VEUIRE {R tFuth jhe tranitien of Americay methes,