Hammond Times, Volume 7, Number 44, Hammond, Lake County, 2 November 1918 — Page 10

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THE TIMES. X OVC

Bo Fighters Buoyed Up By "Home'9 Atmosphere Which Follows Them . From Training Camp to Front ; Line Trench. By JOHN R. MOTT General Secretary of the National War Work Council of the Y.M.C. A.

I STOOD one day few months ago in the office of Gen. Edwards in France. It was a, fateful hour. Only a few minutes before my arrival his telephone, rang. An oSlcer near tha front line sent, the distressing word that a company cf hts men, caught between the enemy's barrage and the fire cf their own artillery, had born terribly r,lnlhed. 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 o-.n to me -where the awful punishment had taken place. "It was their first baptism of Are," he said sorrowfully, "their first exposure to the fearful destruction of modern warfare.'' 1 looked from the map to him and aid- "General, how do yon explain It 7 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 veterans?" PRAISED BY GENERAL. ? Turning to me impressively he gave this splendid answer: "If you want my explanation, Mr. Mott, It is very simple. I 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 cf that tradition's power. It is part cf the task of the T. M. C. A. to keep the tradition bright. Day by day as I have traveled the United States I have seen eerTice flags grew thicker in the windows of homes. I am writing this to the fathers and mothers -who live behind those service flags. I want to invite them to travel with me, as I have often traveled it, the path that leads from home to "over there"; I want them to see how the Y. M. C. A. goes with their boy every step of the way. Recently there came to my oHco a letter from a man in New England. "Twenty -three draft men are leaving; this country this week," it said, "and of these seventeen have never before slept & night away from home." Imagine, if you can, the loneliness, the homesickness cf those boys as they saw their home villages grow dim behind their train. But those boys were not alone on that troop train, nor friendless. By

government permission there Roes on every troop train at least one Y. M. C A. secretary, sovr.etimea more. They are the nrst links in the Y. M. C. A.'s great chiin of friendliness. The second link in that chain is familiar to most at home. We hava lisited the great army cantonments. We have sceu more than 5in great huts where boys write their letters, pUy their games, and have the co:rforts of the club, the library, iher theatre, and tha school. But after the cantonment there is another lonesome stretch cn the road to Frf.nce tho long hours on those trains that slip silently from the cantonments, carrying their precious cargoes of human life to the seaboard. On those Journeys, too, tr.re is a Y. M. C. A. secretary, a friendly band 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 fcr the erection of one of i's huts. The arguments that led mo to approve it were six photographs cf our American soldiers. They were pictures of men spending fieir last night In America sleeping upright in chairs at our overcrowded bv.Uding at an unnamed port. Men sleeping on billiard tablas, and cn the floor! I said to myself: "This !s intolerable. What would the fathers and mothers of America say i( they, saw those pictures? What sort cf appreciation is this for a great country to show to its sons!" So we have provided for that pert a super-hut: and have filled it full cf the things of home. With the approval or the W&r Department the "Y," as the boys call. It, steps with them onto the deck cf the transport. Dreary trips those used to be; dreary and uncomfortable enough they are even now. Yet somewhere on those great ships motion pictures are being shown; somewhere games are going on among the men; somewhere there is a room where they may write to friends back home on the letter paper of the Red Triangle. AMERICAN ARMY CLEAN. So he long, trying, dangerous journey is ended at la6t and we come to the pert of debarkation : the kind of a port that in other wars was often more dangerous to the boy than the sea Journey, or even the battle itself. The ports

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of fiebarkatlon "over there" are no suburbs cf Heaven even now. Yet let me say this as positively as I can that in all my travels tip and down France, I saw not one single American soldier or tailor under the influence of liquor. Ours is the cleanest army that ever marched to battle. Tt is due. largely, to tha tradition of the American mother. I wish I were at li'oerty to print the military map of one of those great ports where our troops debark. It would show at a glance the scope of the work for th boys in a way that words car.not tell it. Such a map, showing the port, and the training areas arounl it, is covered thick with red dots. Every red dot means a Y. M. C. A. hut. Along the coast are blue dots, each a hut for our sailors and our naval aviators. Scattered about are yellow dots, representing Y. M. C. A. restaurants and cafes. I entered one of these cafe huts at a port used chie3y by our allies, and said to the worker in charge: "How many men were cared for here in the past year?" And the worker a woman answered: "More than 1,100,000."

I will not stop to deseril-e the great training camps over 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 essentials from our camp? on this Fide; ard with them the fathers and mothers of America are taniiiiar. I want to hurry on with the boys to that centre of our hart interest, that section which the French name the "rone of combat" for the Y. M. C. A goes even there. Early in thi3 war a well known American, who should have known better, referred to the Y. M. C. A. secretary's calling as a "bomb proof job." I wish that man could have traversed th western front with me last Spring I wish that be might see the cablegrams that daily come to my ofUce from "over there." Let me pick one or two from the pile cn my desk: "A treat service h.is bpvn rendered by thirty American Y. M. C. A. workers among the French troops under terrific shell fire facing German drive along Ai?ne. Held place until at last ' retiring

with the troops aiding wherever It Is possible. All stores food distributed weary poilui whose supplies failed to reach them. Coffee and soup made and served until building shattered by German shells. 93 foyers been destroyed by shell fire or captured by the Germans. Three warehouses of tho Y. M. C. A. were burned by Association officials In o;der to prevent remaining stores falling into the hands of the enemy. "Miss Marie C. Herron, of Cincinnati, Ohio, sister-in-law of xProeider.t Taft, and M!s Jan Bowler, also cf Cincinnati, Y. M. C. A. canteen workers, particularly

d Istlnguiehed themtilves, laboring cn with trcops, refugees and wounded with viil.iQes burning iihout them. Miss Bowler, who stayed at the pest at Soissona ail thrauah the laet offensive, held It again In this last one despite the terrific bombardmert. Finally left when everything In flames, less then an hour before the Gcrmani entered." Then the despatch goes on to mention two of our secretaries wbo were exposed to shell firo 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 repponding splendidly to Intensified labor placed upon thorn by attack. Secretaries are going almost constantly as close front as permitted by officers, giving the men fruit and chocolate, often, taking them in the front trenches. Many secretaries are suffering from shell shock or gas, but keep going In intense attack. All Y. M. C. A. stores are freely given men ia need, where communication is Interrupted they help to feed men, aid the wounded, assist chaplains. Two American Y. M. C. A. workers just killed within two days. Smith sacrificed his life by continuing work after gassin;, going out of line of duty to lead ammunition train which had lost Its way." , That is the Becond message. Here is a third: "Germans shell dressing stations. Three Y. M. C. A. secretaries in

one when It was destroyed by shell fire were uninjured. Supplies taken on trucks in the dark. No permanent canteen in this sector. Headquarters in a sandpit. Motor trucks work out from there. Ready any moment, day or night. Replacement troops arrived without food. Y. M. C. A. truck drives twenty miles to got supples, free d'strlbution. Several suffer from gas, from strain of overwork. Y. M. C. A. men serving in front hospitals day and night have made wonderful place for themselves with the men. Officers say that it is the finest wcrk dene in France." Will anyone read messages like those and say that the Y. M. C. A. uniform is not a uniform of honor? The "Y" Is no fair weather friend. It goes with the boy to the very moment whjn he step Into No Man's Land. The last hand stretched out to him in friendship before he goes over the top Is the band of a Y" secretary. And suppose the boy does go

over, and drops -wounded in that dreadful area. The Red Cross la at his side then. There it not ami cannot be any possible conflict he tween the Red Cross and the Red Triangle. The leaders of these tuo organizations are generally agreed that this should bo the division of responsibility the Red Triangle should care for the boy

wh.le he is well, or convalescent; th Red Cross should care for him wounded cr sick. There are Red Triangle huts at the Red Cross hospitals. SEVEN DAYS OF FREEDOM. Then cornea the day when tha "hoy has his leave of absence. Seven days is allotted to him every four months. Fcr weeks jn advance ha looks forward to it, and the great day conies 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 w!H read the history of wars you win 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. C. A, helped to work out a plan. Over In one of the beautiful corner of France, pear the Swlse mountains, Is Aix-les-Bains, one of the mo it famoue resort in the world. There the association went and rented all these great hotels; even the great gambling hall we rented, turning It Into a motion picture theatre. There are stationed fifty or sixty of the finest men and women In Americawearing the "Y" uniform. I maintain thzt American soldier nowhere have such a vacation a they have at Alx-les-Balr.s, where tho fcet plays and recreat;onal ports, the most distinguished lecturer and actor, and the ablest preachers In America combine to Inspiro and instruct and entertain them. Our boys are going across very fast these dayB. The resort at Alx is already overcrowded. But we have arranged for five similar great resorts. Nothing la too gocd for the American bey and In hi leisure hour, the "Y"' offers him Its best. Fathers and mtl eri in -.ra'lrx ask me about the prisoD camps. "Suppose our boy were captured?" they say. And o?e Tether ?d to me: "I car at; nd tai J.ovzt of losing him in battle, but the thought of the horrors of those camps ia more than I can bear." "Have you seen the prison camps?" they ask me. And I

sometime wish that I might truthfully say that I had not seen them. The picture of those camps, as I saw them in the early days of the war, is burned deeply and indestructibly Into my memory. Before my country entered the war I visited the prison camps in Germany, Austria, and Hungary. Let me remind you that there are today nearly 6,000,000 prisoners. Of that number nearly 4,000,000

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are in tne entry's hands Eritish. Canadians. Americans, Italians, Russians and others. What cn America do? you aek rce. The "Y" ran do much. Before we entered the war thete wer& Y. M. C. A. secretaries visiting and Lelplng in all those camps. 1 wish you might have seen the mira' of their work. SAVED CAMP PRISONERS. In camps where men wore drifting into Insanity for lack of occupation, the "Y" secretary appeared. He found among the prisoners one who had been a fine musician before the war. .Securing seme band instruments, lie started a band. lie found rrit.thcr -vho hii'l been a banker. lie orf;:.:.ited a class ia tankiug v.-;th 'he prisi-ner as teacher. Another Lad been ;i shoe manufacturer and -was soon busy with a corps of men repairing the prisoner's shoes. The secretary brought with him a phonograph and a motion picture- machine. It was a miracle those men achieved. With our entry into the v ar wo were compelled to withdraw our men gradually. But still there are channels open to us. Tho "Y" has lt3 offices ia Copenhagen and in Switzerland. Through neutral agencies like the Dan!?h Red Cross it still reached out a cheering s.nd a helping hand. As I finished my tour of France, the Y. M. C. A. secretary who had me In charge Eaid to me: "Now you have seen everything, haven't you?" I looked at my list, end it wps ail checked off. "Yes." I atiswered, "I have seen everything." But he answered, "No. There is one place yet to visit." So he took me in a machine out to a cemetery. There wa stood beside a few score of newly-maie graves the graves of American soldiers and sailors. ALL CREEDS ARE ALIKE. "I'm not a preacher," said the secretary. "Only a layman, but I have been alone here and as there was. until 'ecently. no chaplain at this point, j. have had to read the last service over these boys all of them alike, Protestants, Catholics,

Jews." Then he told me of a beautiful thing. He had conceived the id.-a of finding for each one of those graves a French mother in that town to serve as Goiimother cf getting each mother to- ?".y: ' I win kep flowers over this grave while the w-r .Ard some aid: ' f v 1 si r.r graves, one for each cf my sons." Our rmy and Navy v,;:i increase ry lii'Vi--. These mil.ions viil gD o-vos-s. Som- day tbey will come home th.t is. most of them. The Y. M. C. A. will accompany them and minister to them all the way. We make jour neys to meet them at the American ports. Ai we se tbfr romipg off the transports or tr-p trains, may we be able to meet t!.ern unafraid and unashamed because '.ve phaU have done all in our po.ver to serve thtn through this agency, which goes with thm from th time they leave heme until th?y return home, representing to them home during si! th intervpnin months and pursuing In truth tho tradition cf the American mother rt.- f !' Pru-i"

Democratic State Ticket

SECRETARY OF STATE Herman L. Center AUDITOR OF STATE William M. Jones TREASURER OF STATE John B. McCarthy ATTORNEY GENERAL Evan B. Stotsenburg

Decatur

Fairmont

Kempton

New Albany

CLERK OF SUPREME AND APPELLATE COURTS

Sam L. Callaway

Monticeilo

SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION Willias A. Fox Angola

STATE GEOLOGIST

Edward Barrett

Plainfleld

JUDGE OF SUPREME COURT, FIRST DISTRICT John C. McNutt Martinsville JUDGE OF SUPREME COURT, FOURTH DISTRICT James J. Moran Portland JUDGES OF APPELLATE COURT, FIRST DISTRICT Milton B. Hottel Salem Hugh Wickens Greensburg JUDGES OF APPELLATE COURT, SECOND DIST. Frederick S. Caldwell Winchester Edwin F. McCabe Williamsport

Vote "YES" for the County Tuberculosis Sanitarium

ELECTION

Tuesday, Nov. 5th, 1918

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Advertisement.

Pres. Wilson Asks Nothing More For Himself Than He Asks For AH. The paramount issue )eforc the voters today is th successful conduct of the war. Late news reports indicatc that iinal victory is more clearly in view. Unity of action at home and abroad should be the uppermost thought in the mind of every true American. The JLK-inonratie party fn. this -anipain rc.'iev s its pledtv to the people that it will diligently and f.vthfu'Hy conduft the affairs of ;fs administration to the end that be war will soon terminate in complete victory victory through unconditional .surrender of Germany and her allies. This is no time to talk tariff. Like other questions it will receive due attention when that issue becomes necessary; neither is it just for our opponents to raise an issue of sectionalism between the North and the South. True patriots will resent such appeals to prejudice. The Democratic party is the party of the people. It came into existence at the beginning of our government. 80 long as. our government lasts, it will last. Its motto is : Equality for all, special privileges to none. Its leaders, its policies and its principles have been assailed, but because of its solid foundation, it is as endurable as the ages. YVY pledge ouiclves to th- public t stand far a 'lean administration in State and County affairs. Lake County is destined to be the leading county of Indiana in industry, population and progress. Along with this development arises the greater need of an honest, efficient administration of county affairs by capable public servants. The candidates on our county ticket are men of good reputation and all are qualified by experience for the respective of (ices they seek, and if elected they will prove true to their trust. Your cause is our cause. Our interests are mutual. Keep Lake County politically clean bv electing clean officials. Go to polls next Tuesday and VOTE THE DEMOCRATIC TICKET.

DEMOCRATIC COUNTY CENTHAL COMMITTEE.

Democratic Couaty Ticket

Whiting

REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS George E. Hershman Crown Point JUDGE LAKE SUPERIOR COURT, ROOM 2 Fred Barnett Hammond JUDGE LAKE SUPERIOR COURT, ROOM 3 Ora L. Wildermuth Gary

JOINT SENATOR T. Joseph Sullivan

REPRESENTATIVES, LAKE COUNTY Thomas H. Cannon Gary Karl D. Norris East Chicago Frank J. O'Rourke Hammond John C. Wells Gary JOINT REPRESENTATIVE William F. Spooner Valparaiso

CLERK LAKE CIRCUIT COURT Chester J. Dunn

COUNTY TREASURER William H. Wolter

Frank Strickland

COUNTY SHERIFF

Alva A. Young

COUNTY CORONER

Gary Hammond Lowell Hammond Hammond Hobart

COUNTY SURVEYOR Peter J. Lyons COUNTY ASSESSOR Henry E. Keilman

COUNTY COMMISSIONER, FIRST DISTRICT John S. Johnston East Chicago COUNTY COMMISSIONER, SECOND DISTRICT Orrion P. Worsley Crown Point COUNTY COUNCILMAN AT LARGE Joseph Morris Gary Joseph Schillow Crown Point Joe V. Stodola Hammond John Dorman Gary COUNTY COUNCILMAN, FIRST DISTRICT Michael Kozacik .Whiting COUNTY COUNCILMAN THIRD DISTRICT Joseph M. Thiel St. John COUNTY COUNCILMAN FOURTH DISTRICT Edward Yates Lowell Arrange Today With Your Employer For Time to Vote.

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