Racine County, Wisconsin - Chapter 35: Work of Welfare Associations, 1920

Chapter 35: Work of Welfare Associations

VARIOUS welfare associations contributed to the comfort and pleasure of the men who served in the Navy and Army. To a large extent, these organizations accomplished the purposes for which they were intended. In some respects they failed, and owing to the exigencies of war any similar plan probably will always fail to reach its ideal.

The greatest of these institutions, from the standpoint of the enlisted man, was the Y. M. C. A. The good work done by this organization on the Mexican border in 1916 had convinced the governmental authorities that it was a useful and essential part of the military organization, so that when the nation entered the World War the Y. M. C. A. made immediate plans for expansion. It was in the course of this expansion that some defects developed, the main one being the impossiblility of getting enough trained men to occupy the secretarial positions in the camps.

Despite this fact, every soldier will be quick to admit that a great deal of the writing that he did was done upon stationery furnished free by the "Y," and the greater number of his most pleasant evenings in camp and cantonment were spent in the huts erected to serve him. The "Y" men were untiring in their efforts to provide amusements of all sorts for the men, and assist them in arranging entertainments with "home talent." In Fi-ance, and particularly in the field, the soldiers depended almost entirely upon the Y. M. C. A. to provide him with letter paper and envelopes, and despite the shortage of chocolate and cigarettes almost every member of the A. E. F. was able to get an occasional allotment of these articles from the divisional hut.

In America there was never any serious criticism of the army Y. M. C. A. In France it developed toward the end of the war from three or four causes. In the first place, there had been some kicking because a few influential young men had gone into that service instead of into the army, and the authorities promptly put a stop to this practice. Then the "Y" men, for some reason or other, had been authorized to wear officers' uniforms and the soldiers were expected to exchange salute with them. As the men had been taught that the salute was purely a duty and privilege of soldiers, it went against their grain to salute "Y" men whom they did not know, and it put the secretaries in a position where they could not have as close associations with the men as they should have had. The same error was made in regard to chaplains, who were and are given commissioned ranks and are thus bound by the rules which prohibit social intercourse between officers and men. Capable "Y" men, like efficient chaplains, disregarded the customs of the service entirely in this regard, but many an amateur, donning his "Sam Browne" belt for the first time, enjoyed the experience of being saluted too well to admit of placing his purposes in life ahead of his pride.

Then again, regimental canteens, or stores, were abolished in France, and after this department was turned over to the "Y" the army would not provide sufficient transportation to enable it to get supplies to the soldiers and some were inclined to wrongly blame the organization.

Finally, the friends of the association at home made too elaborate claims for the character of the work being done, in the course of solicitation of funds. When doughboys in France read clippings from American papers which declared that "Y" huts were in every front line trench, well stocked with dainties given free to all comers, they arose on their hind legs and let out a roar of enraged denial. Prior to the armistice the "Y" did not give things away and was not supposed to, but the statements were made in America and the A. E. F. members felt that in some way they were being robbed of something that their folks at home had bought for them and had expected to be delivered to them. To all of these comparatively trivial matters was added the occasional complaint that some over-zealous secretary was trying to take advantage of his position to "force religion" on some unwilling boys.

These complaints are mentioned here in detail because the consideration of them may assist in preventing similar errors in the future, and also to point out that all of them were of a nature which did not really offer cause for denouncing the "Y" as an institution. Most men who were in France will testify that the Y. M. C. A. secretaries did untold good in assisting them to send money home, obtaining supplies from distant cities, providing comfortable recreation places where it was possible, and doing all that they could to get to the regiments the candy and tobacco which the men desired to buy. From the standponit of size alone the Y. M. C. A. was the most important of all welfare organizations - probably much larger than all the rest of them combined. In home camps theaters were built, and athletic supplies provided. Abroad, woman workers were stationed at important transfer points and railroad stations to provide weary travellers with sandwiches and coffee, and many girls were taken into the organization to go to France and furnish entertainments of various sorts.

The Red Cross operated almost entirely in the hospitals of France, and the very nature of its work was such that it made friends wherever it was represented. It was not allowed to charge for anything that it provided soldiers (which gave it an advantage over the Y. M. C. A., which was required to charge for canteen supplies.) Red Cross civilian workers were stationed at all base hospitals to write letters for wounded men, communicate with their parents and otherwise assist in making them comfortable and contented. They met all transports and provided lunches for the men as they embarked or disembarked. Both in France and America they maintained railroad station canteens where men en route were able to get food and drink without cost.

The Knights of Columbus, the Jewish Welfare board and the Salvation Army had welfare organizations of much smaller size than the other two named. They were all popular with the men, because they had the mission of distributing things free and were given a sort of roving commission permitting them to go anywhere back of the actual battle zone. The Salvation Army lassies, making a specialty of doughnuts and griddle cakes, were greatly beloved by all who came in contact with them. In the British sectors this organization was especially strong, but there were several score of "doughnut" teams working with American divisions. The Knights of Columbus field seccretaries always carried with them for free distribution a big supply of "Casey" cigarettes, and many a doughboy greeted their arrival with cheers as he saw a chance to replenish his stock of smokes.

The religious work of all of these organizations was a secondary matter, but the Y. M. C. A. held an informal meeting for prayer on Sunday afternoon when a place was available. The Knights of Columbus were especially desirous of assisting Catholic boys in any way possible, and the Jewish welfare board was watching out for the interests of those of the Jewish faith.

Perhaps the lesson which may be learned from the minor tribulations of the organizations, is that in the future all welfare work should be in the hands of one organization, so that comparisons of methods will not invite dissatisfaction over details. Taken in their entirety, all of these associations performed their work fully as well as could have beeen expected under the circumstances. The rapid expansion of duties, and the consequent employment of numerous people who knew little or nothing about their duties, put a handicap upon these societies just as it did upon every branch of the government, and probably the Y. M. C. A., for example, was as efficient in its field as the army, or the United States Shipping board or the government railroad administration were in theirs.

The Racine Y. M. C. A. took an active part in war work all during the conflict. During and immediately after the war it sent overseas for service with the army L. H. Park, M. C. Wadmond, L. C. Bradshaw, R. B. Felch, H. B. Stecher, Miss Louise Clark and Miss Kathleen Freeman. For home camp services it enlisted Julius Krenzke, C. A. Draeger and Harold C. Jensen. Judge E. B. Belden was a divisional inspector of Y. M. C. A. activities in this section of the country, and was stationed at Camp Custer for several months.

On May 2, 1917, Ted. Schroeder, Y. M. C. A. Secretary for Milwaukee spoke to Batteries C and F, in the Lakeside Auditorium, of his experiences as a prisoner in the war camps in Germany. On May 4, at a special meeting, the directors of the association endorsed the $3,000,000 campaign and decided that Racine would do her share in raising funds so that the work of the Association could go with the boys wherever they went. Wisconsin's share of this $3,000,000 fund was .$100,000. The campaign was conducted May 22-25, 1917. Racine's goal was $10,000. $11,861.81 was subscribed. F. Lee Norton was chairman of the campaign committee. F. H. West, formerly Secretai-y of the Y. M. C. A. of the University of Wisconsin was State Campaign Director. Over $5,- 000,000 was pledged in the entire country.

The Racine Y. M. C. A. presented a victrola with some records to the battery boys before they left. The boys took this with them to Camp Douglas and they enjoyed it many an evening that would otherwise have been lonesome.

In November, 1917, the nation was asked to contribute $35,000,000 for the extension of the Y. M. C. A. work at home and overseas. About $51,000,000 were raised.

The Racine Association was called on to send Association Secretaries and Business Men on the troop trains with the boys on the way to camp. This service was rendered on several occasions and was very much appreciated by the boys. Reading material was furnished, postal cards distributed, drinking cups provided, and singing was participated in so that there was a good-natured crowd that reached Camp every time.

The Association was asked to provide entertainment for the Jackies at Camp Logan. A representative committee was appointed with W. C. Davis as chairman and entertainment was furnished by Racine people for several weeks, much to the enjoyment and benefit of the boys at Camp Logan.

Just before Christmas, 1919, boxes were sent for some of the boys at Great Lakes. This appeal was made by a committee consisting of Henry Rogers, Arthur Friedman, W. C. Davis and L. C. Bradshaw, who secured contributions and purchased candy, fruit and supplies and with the help of some of the women from the Red Cross, these boxes were sent to the boys at Great Lakes and were presented to the men in the Y. M. C. A. buildings there.

Send-off gatherings were held for a number of the drafted men when a good social time was spent at the Association some evenings before the men left for Camp.

In November, 1918, the country was asked to subscribe $170,500,000 in the United War Work Campaign to provide funds for the seven organizations doing work with the men of the service at home and overseas. Wisconsin's share of this amount was $3,900,000. Racine County contributed $185,000 through the Patriot's Fund. Wisconsin pledged $4,546,706. $203,179,038 was the amount pledged by the entire country.

Part Iv Died In Service

IN' THE following pages appear the names of those men from Racine County who gave their lives in the Great Conflict. Diligent search of all records fails to reveal others. There may have been, but up to this time the facts had not been obtainable here. The pages bear the names of the men, the date of their deaths, the place where death occurred and, where possible, the burial place. This Honor Roll does not contain the names of men who served in the war and died after leaving service. All those names appearing are of men who died while in the ser\ice of their country.