Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 174, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 August 1918 — RECREATION BIG NEED OF YANKEES [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

RECREATION BIG NEED OF YANKEES

Soldiers Over There Must Be Given Mental and Physical Diversion. WAR IS MOST DEPRESSING Standard Oil Offic.al Who Has Been Serving as Y. M. C. A. Secretary Says Soldiers Must Be Saved From Going Insane. New York. —“If the United States is to be spared the harrowing experience of having thousands of American soldiers returned home because ot mental derangements, this country must provide for more physical and mental recreation for our boys overseas.” That’s the message which Herbert L. Pratt, vice president of the Standard Oil company, brings to the American people after spending seven weeks in France as a Y. M. C. A. secretary, and who while there was given opportunity to see just what is meant by war. “During the first 18 months of the war there were as many English and Canadian soldiers returned to England because of mental derangements as there- were because of wounds,” said Mr. Pratt. “The United States must profit by the experiences of our allies and must plan how to enlarge our facilities overseas for taking care of our men when not actually fighting. The American soldier is naturally higher strung than any of the allied soldiers. He’s always on his toes. He’s ever alert. AlXvays ready to go". He’s a dynamo of energy. And when he isn’t actually fighting he seeks an outlet for that energy and it is of vital importance that his energies be directed rightly. War Is Depressing. “The war is most depressing. One who rubs against the realities of war

is overwhelmed by its seriousness. One marvels at what the men have endured and what they are accomplishing. The war overshadows everything else. And that’s all the more reason ,why everything that will result in cheering up our men should be done now. A great deal is being done but a lot more must be done. “I wish I could describe just how the war affects one who comes in contact with it. He feels all pent up. His emotions seem all bundled together. And naturally he seeks relief. He welcomes the smile, the laugh, the warm handshake, the word of good cheer. Good cheer! Ah, that’s it. It’s the *cheer-up’ message that is needed overseas. “Don’t think our boys are downhearted or that they are discouraged. Just the opposite is true. Their morale is excellent. Their spirits are high; their courage is just what it ought to be and they are absolutely confident. But they want that bit of cheer which makes them forget some of the cruelties of war. And we folks at home must see that they get it. “General Pershing has commissioned the Y. M. C. A. to provide for the physical and mental recreation of the American soldiers and sailors overseas. The association has been given a great big job and in spite of most perplexing difficulties has been doing splendidly. But the great need today is for men, great, big, two-fisted, red-blooded men who are capable of tackling a great big man’s job and getting away with it big. Has a Hard Job. “Serving as a *Y. M.’ secretary in France is a hard job. The hours are long. The hardships are many. And the responsibilities are tremendous. It isn’t merely a case of selling cigarettes or chocolate. That’s merely incidental to the big work which is being done. The ‘Red Triangle’ man is the soldier’s pal. And a good pal must always be there with a smile or a word of cheer or a warm handclasp or just whatever it is that is needed. This may .sound easy but it’s not. It’s a hard job. “The American people must wake up to this genuine need for big men to serve as *Y. M.’ secretaries overseas. They must realize that this service is of the greatest importance to the American soldier and sailor. It’s what so frequently makes a soldier on the verge of breakdown because of nervous strain, a soldier fit for service."

1—Steel cargo ship Galesburg. 7,500 tons, launched at Mariner’s Harbor, Staten island. 2—Observers at American outpost station in France, protected by antiaircraft gunners. 3—One of the great Handley-Page bombing machines of the British air force being prepared for a raid.