Y.M.C.A. WAR WORK.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LX, Issue 16824, 29 November 1916, Page 7

V.M.C.A. WAR WORK.

VISIT TO HUTS

FitEiSIiiUEjNTS

CHEAP ENTERTAJ'-SwiEST AND RE-

Those generous New Zealauders who have given or are giving money, to be spent in the equipping oi: the Y.M.U.A. hues at, I>lj,e iront, will read with interest the following description oi: some huts already established on Salisbury- Plain and oi: the way in which they are conducted for the benefit of the soldiers:

In Great -Britain at the present time there are over 700 military camps, and at every one of them tnere is a Y.-u.C.A. hut for the use of the soldiers. At some of the larger camps there are several huts. In France also the V.M.C.A. is carrying on tins work on an extensive scale among the troops of the .British Empire. The V.M.C.A. huts follow the troops of the Empire almost up to the, firing line, and the total number of thsse huts in the training camps of the Empire and in those theatres of the war where Englishspeaking soldiers are fighting,l is over 1,500.

These hiits are much more substantial building.^ than th 6 word "hut" suggests to the New Zealand mind. They are large wooden buildings, the smallest of them being capable of seating 200 men, and some of the largest hav.e accommodation for ten times as many The cost of erecting them has been largely borne by wealthy subscribers to the funds of the association.

On Salisbury Plain there ai\e three large camps of Australian troops, and two New Zealand camps. At each ol: these camps the V.M.C.A. has established huts, which have been paid for out of funds provided by the Australian and New Zealand branches of the association. The camps vary a gerat deal in size. At Larkhill, where the hulk of the Australians are to be found, there are forty thousand troops and there the V.M.C.A. has built five huts. The eainsp consist of long rows of sub-stantial-looking buildings, the standard size bein gadapted tor housing 30 men. These buildings are aiso called huts by the military authorities. Most of them are built of 'wood, but some of them have walls of corrugated iron, painted a dull green. The accumulation of several hundreds of these build-nigs-in successive camps in the undul-ating-plains of Salisbury, gives some idea of the determined spirit in which the Empire has settled down to the task of inflicting a decisive defeat on Germany. . !

The visit to these huts, made after training hours, provided emphatic evidence of the extent to which they are appreciated by the soldiers. Every one of them was full. Some of the men were sitting down waiting for a concert to begin; some were playing billiards; others were drinking tea and eating cakes and meat pies, in every, hut there were found rows of men sitting at long table, writing lewtrs home. Notepaper and envelopes are provided without,-charge, and as '-there are tew huts in which the-daily-number of-let-ters posted does not exceed 1000, the stationery bill of the association is extremely heavy.

It is considered desirable by the association io make the huts self-support-ing, in view of the fact that a losfc in working each of the hundreds of huts in tiie country would soon produce a state of serious financial embarrassment. Uut the standard of self-support is not reached in all cases, in spite of the fact that so many of the Y.M.C;A. workers at the huts give their services voluntarily. The explanation is to be found in the fact that the prices charged for refreshments- and for the miscel!an,eous articles sold at the canteen, which are the only sources of revenue, are low—and they are certainly lower than the prices of the London shops. A cup ot tea or coffee costs Id., cakes and tarts cost Id. each, and for 2d a good-sized, meat pie can be obtained. These, are' prices lyith which the London tea, shops cannot compete. "The- same thing applies to everything which is sold in the canteens, and the stock-in-trade includes tobacco, cigarettes, nail brushes, tooth brushes, tooth powder, soap, cotton, needles, hair oil, pills, patent medicines, pens, and pins, etc. \Vith some articles the Australians and New Zeadanders remain obstinately faithful to the brands with which they are familiar in their own countries, and the same thing put up by the same maker under a different name for the English trade, does not appeal to them. Needless to say, they are faithful'most of all to the brands of tobacco and cigarettes that they have smoked under Southern skies. The "Woodbines," sold at five for a penny, which provide the British Tommy with his favourite smoke, have comparatively no sale among the Australasian troops.