Is he taken prisoner? Even in the prison camp the long arm of these friendly organizations reaches out to aid him. In Switzerland both the Y and the K. of C. have established headquarters, and through such neutral agencies as the Danish Red Cross they carry on their program of help even in the enemy prison camps.
Does he wish to send money back to the folks at home? The Y.M.C.A. and the K. of C., the Jewish Welfare Board and the Salvation Army transmit hundreds of thousands of dollars a month from the front to mothers and sisters and wives over here.
If the Boy is allowed to visit the armies of our Allies he will find that they too have asked for the hut, and received it. More than a thousand Y huts under the name of "Foyers du Soldat" are helping to maintain morale in the French army—erected at the special request of the French Ministry of War. The King of Italy made a personal request for the extension of the "Y" work to his armies. The men who were charged with the task of winning this war believed that America could do nothing better to hasten victory than to extend the influence of these great creators and conservers of morale to the brave soldiers of our Allies.
The cheer, the comfort, the recuperative influence of these united services to our soldiers cannot be overestimated. They are incalculably valuable—and they are purely and originally American.
WOUNDED YANKS ARE CHEERFUL
A Paris correspondent just from the front says—The spirit of American soldiers passing through casualty stations is admirable. One "doughboy" from Kansas, hobbling up to an American Red Cross canteen on one leg and crutches, shouted, "Here I come. I'm only hitting on three cylinders, but still able to get about."
Another boasted of his luck because he had only three shrapnel wounds, one in his hand, one in his shoulder and one in the back.
An American Red Cross canteen at a receiving station often offers men their first chance to talk over their experiences. They stand round with a cup of chocolate in one hand, a doughnut in the other, and fight their fights over again until officers drive them to the dressing rooms.
BOY SCOUTS PLAY THEIR PART WELL
"Boys will be men" is a new version of an old saying. It is justified by the record of the Boy Scouts of America, for a better formation of upright, manly character never was achieved by any other means. That Scout training makes good men and fine soldiers has been amply proven on a broad scale.