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American Soldiers Want
Best of Reading Matter
More than half a million books
5 -have already been sent to American
soldiers in France and training
.'camps In this country by the War
i Service Committee of the American
' Library Association and the work of
supplying reading matter to the boys
' in khaki is to be kept up on as large
Mo Drain nn rwisslhlft.
Reports received by the committee
show that the library buildings
u in each of the training camps have
. proved a mecca for thousands of solf*
j diers and that on many days the entMHre
supply of books was exhausted.
The cost of constructing the library
?? buildings was defrayed from a gift
? "of $320,000 from the Carnegie
Foundation, of which there is still a
m , surplus. In all, the committee re?
icelved $1,600,000 in. subscriptions
'- with which to keep the soldiers sup,
.'.piled with first-class reading mati:
> ter.
* Great care is necessary in acceptlng
contribution books as German
i propagandists have been tirelessly
cS; active in their efTorts to get stories ,
nf Herman elorv into the libraries.
t Reports show that the soldiers pre2-fer
the best of reading matter and
/ f-are particularly anxious to get books
, dealing with the history and customs
..tot France.
'M 1UK EXEMPTION GROUND
JS* The two young girls watched the
^.knutty young Cuthbert pass along
the street.
"Did he appeal for exemption?"
said May.
i "Yea," said Ray, "you might have
^ known he would."
TRENCH A
I ?? 1
President Admonishes
Army and Navy
to Observe Sabbath
THE WHITE HOUSE.
The 1'rcHident, commander in
chief of the Army and Navy, following
the reverent example of
his predecessors, desires and enJoins
the orderly ol?servance of the
Sabbath by the officers and men
in the military and naval service of
the United States. The importance
for man and beast of the prescribed
weekly rest, the sacred
rights of Christian soldiers and
sailors, a becoming deference to
the best sentiment of a Christian
people, and a doe regard for the
Divine- Will demand that Sunday
i.iui- m the irmvumi Vavr he re
duccd to the measure of strict
necessity. Such an observance of
Sunday is dictated by the best traditions
of our people and by the
convictions of all who leofc to Divine
Providence for guidance and
protection, and, in repeating in this
order the language of President
Lincoln, the President Is confident
that he is speaking alike to the
hearts and to the consciences of
those under his authority.
wwunuw wii/exji*. |
PRIVATE HONORED
A private in one of the commands
In one of the Eastern cantonments
was not particularly popular with his
tentmatee. When he was transferred
to another command they hung out
a service flag.
HAIL IT TO THE FAMILY
iND CAMP
a' le5
o'rfe
(retirbo)
W,
<r^r \\
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^v
./A
8Wf
Belgians Defiant as Ever
Toward German Invaders
JI1UI IUC OJJ1I 11 Ul
been weakened in the slightest^ degreo
by the suffering she has endured
since 1914 is plainly shown by the
following excerpts from King Albert's
reply to the Pope's peace proposal:
"The Integrity of Belgium, the territory
of the mother country and colonies,
political, economic and military
independence without condition
or restriction, reparation for damage
suffered and the guarantees against
a renewal of the aggression of 1914
?such remain the maispensaDie
conditions of. a just peace. Any settlement
that would not recognize
them would shake the very foundations
of Justice.
"If there is a country that has the
right to say It took up arms to defend
its existence it assuredly is Belgium.
She desires passionately that ,
an end be brought to the unheard of
sufferings of its population, but she
would have kept only a peace that
would assure her at the same time
the equitable reparation and security ;
and guarantees for the future."
A BIRD OF AN IDEA
The War Department ia being
swamped with suggestions as to how
to end the war and devices to be em- (
ployed. Many of these suggestions (
are filed away because of their im- (
practicability. Others have been (
adopted.
Among those which was not |
thought to be practicable was the |
suggestion that homing pigeons be ;
crossed with talkative parrots, the i
beta^ urttkw. I*.
??
ATHLETICS BENEFIT MEN morVVK^I
MENTALLY AND MORALLY,
AS WELL AS PHYSICALLY
A summary of what the War Department
Commission on Training
Camp Activities has accomplished in
the last few months in providing athietic
recreation for the thousands of
men in the thirty-two National Army
and Guard camps and a forecast of ray*VaJn
its plans for further promoting this
vast work are contained in a state- ffaqgfc^7 Ju
ment issued by Dr. Joseph E. Hay- Sowm iLj^j
croft, athletic supervisor of the Com- txvy "u I
mission, who has moved his headquarters
from Princeton to Washing- )j
ton for the duration of the war. /v|
The keen relationship between ac- W //aXA
tual warfare and the various Bports W /yMfaj
that have been fostered in the canton
meniH is empnasizea in ine siaienitni. !f/jJsrJm
"The sports Included in the cjimp curriculum,
such as boxing, football and
soccer," Dr. Raycroft declares, "have I
been selected not only as means of J
amusement but to prepare the men
for the struggle to come, and the value
of the athletic training they have I wAZA
receive will be fully realized when will I MM
they go 'over the top.'
Uniform Doesn't Make Soldier fe . w... C
"When the Commission first began jB?s?55
its work in this direction there was a III 111
well-defined belief prevalent that a II III
soldier was made by putting a man in
a uniform and teaching him the man- II |||
ual of arms," Dr. Raycroft states.
"We have proved the utter fallacy of 0 I I
this theory by showing that athletics III I II
increase a man's fighting efficiency as Jl 1 (
well as providing him with wholesome IX Jill Zfl
recreation during bis leisure hours. ftahXi | \/jSm
"Some idea of the scope of the WByJ jffctH
work we are doing can be obtained by KKiraKJffl
visualizing the fact that at one west- IjflKjjfij
ern cantonment 16 baseball diamonds IfhmtffllMBH
have been laid out in one great field wllll|l"'lMM
and games have been in simultaneous Hji'
progress on each, while at another 26
gridirons. wltn goal-posts ana nieacnera
having a seating capacity of KjWjJJgji
18.000. were in use last fall.
"With this picture in mind, it can I
be readily seeu that the various sportB
have been promoted on a scale unparalleled
in history. The old order
of things has been banished and in its
place new rules and regulations have
been formulated to govern conditions
attendant to the participation of hundreds
of men in a single game. For HRHj
instance, the player limit on football
teams in most camps has been raised
from 11 to 15, while in soccer games |Rj ||Jj?n_^
in which 400 men have taken part, m HjlBw*
with as many as eight to ten balls in lllljjlH 2H
use at once, have occurred frequently klfljfly
"Nothing like it has ever been at- Mfflk
tempted before. Kxperience has By fl'/'jt
taught Allied officers the great help |^V
man in battle, but it has remained for //yjSU
the United States to give sports n
definite place in the military program
and make it plain that a thorough J'?vi
athletic training is a vital adjunct in
the equipment of every American solSoccer
Highly Valuable
Dwelling on the part that athleticn .J
will play in. the conflict, I)r Raycroft 7
points out that the training they have II
received in such sports as boxing and
soccer will be of inestimable value | "*? jjlL
"While playing soccer." he explains. | lUjgj
"a man must be ready constantly to I! ffr
strike at the ball with either foot. In J j (mi
this way he naturally acquires a short 1
gait and a balance that will serve him
In good stead in traversing the
churned and furrowed surface of No- /
Man's land. ^
"In boxing." Dr. Raycroft contin- j y
ues, "nearly every blow and ]>osition , I ?
has its counterpart in bayoneting. J jfjij
Where a man now starts a left hook M
for the head of his opponent in a jyn
friendly camp bout, he will soon be JF
using the same movements in sending yW j/f
his bayonet slashing at the throat of vJy /ry
an armed antagonist, while a right M y/7 >
hook to the jaw will be duplicated '/
when he swings the butt of his gun JRYw
on the jaw of a disarmed foe. J
Dr. Raycroft has been greatly elated
by the fashion in which the soldiers
have taken to soccer. His state- N. /A /
ment says: y\ //
"It is a highly exhilarating game, IjL
combining the maximum of exercise wftwRzvJl
and recreation with a training that '/r/MUIyj^
will be mighty useful to the men ll/Sl///!w)
when they mcot the enemy. Then. j'jp^X^SSA
too, any number can participate in a wm&SfjT/fJh
game and it-can be played in the com- fyfimyjly/A
pany streets, as no special equip- 'u/AtVHUA
ment or field are needed. These ad- WMr^/nfjh
vantages make it au ideal sport for
the camps. f/SMTjff
"Plans are now being worked out," UnBv
Dr. Raycroft says, "whereby prizes InEm//
and medals will be given companies
and individuals for athletic proficien- BUWuAB
cy." This, he expects, will excite
even greater interest in caihp sports. I
"There are more men participating I
in organised athletics today than ever H
before," Dr. Raycroft concludes, "and
not only is this training helping them
5ut hy1- mm