REPORT OF RA YMOND FOSDICK
f; REVIEWS ACTIVITIES OF Y. M. C. A.
_—_
f "WASHINGTON, July 5 (by Asso
ciated Press).—Social work in the
army in any future emergency should
be handled by the government itself
through a single, non-sectarian
agency, in the opinion of Raymond D.
Fosdick, chairman of the Commission
on Training Camp Activities, express
ed in a report made public recentlty by
the war department. Secretary Baker
wv: «ald to be “substantially in ac
cord” with Mr. Fosdick’s view.
Rivalries engendered by the sec
tarian nature of the Young Men’s
Christian Association, Knights of Co
lumbus, Jewish Welfare Board or
other societies sharing in the United
War Work Campaign fund of $172,
000,000, Mr. Fosdick found to have
provided “the worst possible basis for
social work with the army,” a result
for which he held the Training Camp
^ > Commission responsible for having
turned to these private agencies.
“It seems to me,” said Mr. Fosdick,
“that the lesson of the war in social
work involves perhaps three points:
The elimination of sectarian auspices;
reduction in the number of agencies
employed, and the transfer to the gov
ernment itself of much of the activity
hitherto left to private initiative.”
Misunderstanding Caused Criticism
Discussing the work of the six or
ganizations that served abroad with
tlw army, the report said the Young
Men’s Christian Association, handling
5S per cent of the war work budget
and with 6,000 representatives in
France, was far the largest and “re
ceived a good deal of criticism from
the soldiers in France.”
• Some of this criticism is merited,”
Mr. Fosdick said; “much of it is due.
1 believe, to misunderstanding.”
The bulk of the complaint arose
from Young Men’s Christian Associa
tion operation of army canteens,
which Chairman Fosdick said was a
mistake, although it was undertaken
as a service to the army and released
a large combatant personnel. From
early days the canteen had been an
army perquisite and the soldiers could
not understand why it should be
handed over to a “private society
which was at the same time raising
millions at home for support,” the re
port said and continued:
iviureover, me personnel oi me i.
M. C. A. was untrained for this kind
of work and it soon found itself in a
maze of business and technical diffi
culties wit a which it was unable at
first to cope. In the minds of the
soldiers, it immediately became a
commercial organization and from
this stigma it has never succeded in
freeing itself.”
So far as the effect of the transfer
of the canteens went on the army
command, the report continued, “it wras
a genuine relief to the general staff
that during the fighting days of the
a army it did not have to handle the
” ever troublesome canteen problem.
Profiteering Denied
“The charge that the Y, M. C. A.
made money out of the canteen is of
course erroneous,” said Mr. Fosdick.
“However high its prices may have
been in individual localities, consid
ered as a business venture the total
results show large losses.”
Another ground for criticism of the
Y. M. C. A. which Mr. Fosdick said
was somewhat justified was in the
character of its personnel. While
many of its men were well qualified
for their work, he said, “many others
were utterly unadapted to this pur
pose and had no common ground in
mixing with our virile, red-blooded
young soldiers.” He found also, how
ever, the field of choice was limited,
men of proper qualifications being in
most cases in the army.
rtign praise tor women
The work of 2500 young women
serving under the Y. M. C. A. with
the troops in France “is beyond
praise,” Mr. Fosdick stated, the girls
being far better adapted to the task
than the average man. He vsaid also
the charge of badly adapted personnel
could not be confined to the Y. M. C.
A. alone.
Viewed broadly, Mr. Fosdick de
clared, “the Y. M. C. A. deserves the
appreciation of the army and the con
tinued support of the public.”
Similarly Mr. Fosdick found that
the Knights of Columbus carried on
a helpful work on the same general
lines, noting particularly that this or
ganization furnished amusement to
many units so located as not to be
served by other societies. He also
commended the stimulation of boxing
and athletics due to the society, but
said there was “a legitimate criti
cism” against it in that its work in
France was not as large as its allot
ment of the War Work Fund would
suggest.
J Knights Started Late
*1 “The Knights were late in starting
’ with the American Expeditonary
Force,” he said, “and never succeeded
in overcoming the handicap. More
over, I believe they are losing a real
opportunity for service through their
failure to employ women personnel.
“After eight months with the troops
in France, I am convinced that the
average woman worker attached to a
hut is worth four or five men work
ers. Certainly her effect on the mor
ale and spirit of the troops is extra
ordinary. An ‘Honest to God Amer
ican Girl’ as the soldiers call her, can
do more to keep the men cheerful
and create an atmosphere of home
than any other factor; and the work
of our women in France—Y. M. C. A.
girls, Salvation Army girls, Red Cross
girls and the representatives of other
agencies—has been in no small degree
responsible for the unflagging devo
tion and inexhaustible patience with
which our troops carried forward their
high enterprise.”
The Jewish Welfare Board con
ducted under able leadership a work
“admirable in every respect,” Mr. Fos
dick said. He noted that its f'acilites
in the Le Mans area were widely em
ployed “by Jew and Gentile alike.”
Kind Words for Lassies
The Salvation Army was beyond
question the most popular of these or
ganizations with the army itself, the
report said. While it employed in
France only 200 workers and actually
reached only a few divisions, “its
fame has spread far beyond its work
and it is difficult to find a doughboy
who does not speak its praise.”
Contrary to popular impression, Mr.
Fosdick stated, the Salvation Army
did not give its supplies free except
in case of need.
“Its policy is to sell its canteen
supplies,” lie said, “even its far famed
doughnuts—and its proces, due to tlm
fact that it had no extensive buying
machinery, are generally higher than
those of the Y. M. C. A.
“It is the inner spirit of service that
has endeared this organization to the
heart of the doughboy. Its personnel
has been carefully selected from
trained workers of the Salvation
Army—-men and women who know
how to meet their fellow men on a
common plane, and no task has been
too humble and no service too small
for them to perform for the troops.
Its reward is the genuine affection of
the American expeditionary force.”
Rivalries of Sectarians
As to the difficulties due to the
sectarian nature of the societies
■which served the army, the report
said the facilities of all were open
to men of all faiths “but the auspices
through which these privileges are
extended are sectarian. The tendency
is to stimulate rivalries and jockeying
for position that are disheartening to
witness. To see the representatives
of these different agencies vying with
each other in an attempt to make a
lasting good impression upon return
ing troops bringing prominently into
the foreground their respective em
blems and insignia, is to despair of
the whole system of social work in
the war.
“Our men have been glad to receive
what the societies had for them in
the shape of service or supplies, and
they have not cared two straws
whether it came from Protestant,
Catholic or Jewish hands. Our boys
fought at Chateau Thierry and in the
Argonnc as Americans. They did not
fight as Protestants, Catholics or
Jew's. As a matter of fact there is no
reason for sectarianism. The religious
interests of the army are wisely con
fined to the chaplains.”
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TAKEN BY POSTMASTER
Among the other mining legislation)
passed by the last territorial legisla
ture was a bill authorizing postmast
ers in Alaska to accept for filing affi
davits of annual labor on either placer
or lode mining claims. For such serv
ice the postmasters shall have simi
lar powers to those possessed by no
taries public and be entitled to simi
lar fees as the latter.
The bill follows in full:
Be it enacted by the legislature of
the Territory of Alaska:
Section 1. That all officials of
the performance of annual labor on
placer and lode mining claims, author
ized or required by the mining laws
of the United States or of the Terri
tory of Alaska, may be taken before
any United States postmaster in the
recording district in which such min
ing claim is situated, and such post
master shall exercise all the powers
of a notary public in administering
the oath and shall be entitled to
charge the fees prescribed by law for
notaries public for such service.
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