Part 56

“From everyone, officers and men alike, nothing but the highest praise is given the Salvation Army. They are right in the thick of danger, comforting and helping the men in the front line, heedless of shot, shell or gas, the U. S. Army in France, as a unit, swears by the Salvation Army.

“I am proud to have a sister in their ranks.”

An old regular army officer who returned to Paris last week said:

“I wish every American who has stood on street corners in America and sneered at the work of the Salvation Army could see what they are doing for the boys in France.

“They do not proclaim that they are here for investigation or for getting atmosphere for War romances. They have not come to furnish material for Broadway press agents. They do not wear, ‘Oh, such becoming uniforms,’ white shoes, dainty blue capes and bonnets, nor do they frequent Paris tea rooms where the swanky British and American officers put up.

“Take it from me, these women are doing almighty fine work. There are twenty-two of them here in France. We army men have given them shell-shattered and cast-off field kitchens to work with, and oh, man, the doughnuts, the pancakes and the pies they turn out!

“I’m an old army officer, but what I like about the Salvation Army is that it doesn’t cater to officers. It is for the doughboys first, last and all the time. The Salvation Army men do not wear Sam Browne belts; they do as little handshaking with officers as possible.

“They cash the boys’ checks without question, and during the month of April in a certain division the Salvation Army sent home $20,000 for the soldiers. The Rockefeller Foundation hasn’t as yet given the Salvation Army a million-dollar donation to carry on its work. Fact is, I don’t know just how the Salvation Army chaplains and lassies do get along. But get along they do.

“Perhaps some of the boys and officers give them a lift now and then when the sledding is rough. They don’t aim to make a slight profit as do some other organizations.

“Ever since Cornelius Hickey put up ‘Hickey’s Hut,’ the first Salvation Army hut in France, they have been working at a loss. I saw an American officer give a Salvation Army chaplain 500 francs out of his pay at a certain small town in France recently.

“The work done in ‘Hickey’s Hut’ did much to endear the Salvation folks to the doughboys. When a letter arrived in France some months ago addressed only to ‘Hickey’s Hut, France,’ it reached its destination toute de suite, forty-eight hours after it arrived.

“The French climate has hit our boys hard. It is wet and penetratingly cold. Goes right to the marrow, and three suits of underwear are no protection against it. When the lads returned from training camp or the trenches, wet, cold, hungry and despondent, they found a welcome in ‘Hickey’s Hut.’

“Not a patronizing, holier-than-thou, we-know-we-are-doing-a-good-work-and-hope-you-doughboys-appreciate-it sort of a welcome, but a good old Salvation Army, Bowery Mission welcome, such as Tim Sullivan knew how to hand out in the old days.

“Around a warm fire with men who spoke their own language and who did not pretend to be above them in the social scale the doughboys forgot that they were four thousand miles from home and that they couldn’t ’sling the lingo.’

“I saw a group of lads on the Montdidier front who had not been paid in three months, standing cursing their luck. They had no money, therefore, they could not buy anything.

“The Salvation Army had been apprised by telegraph that the doughboys were playing in hard luck. Presto! Out from Paris came a truck loaded with everything to eat. The truck was unloaded and the boys paid for whatever they wanted with slips of paper signed with their John Hancocks. The Salvation Army lassies asked no questions, but accepted the slips of paper as if they were Uncle Sam’s gold.

“And one of the most useful institutions in Europe where war rages is one that has no publicity bureau and has no horns to toot. This is the Salvation Army. In the estimation of many, the Salvation Army goes way ahead of the work of many of the other war organizations working here. I see brave women and young women of the Salvation Army every day in places that are really hazardous.”

First Lieutenant Marion M. Marcus, Jr., Field Artillery, wrote to one of our leading officers:

October 9, 1918.

“If the people at home could see the untiring and absolute devotion of the workers of the Salvation Army, in serving and caring for our men, they would more than give you the support you ask. The way the men and women expose themselves to the dangers of the front lines and hardships has more than endeared them to every member of the American Expeditionary Forces, and they are always in the right spot with cheer of hot food and drink when it is most appreciated.”

Extract From Letter.

“Away up front where things break hard and rough for us, and we are hungry and want something hot, we can usually find it in some old partly destroyed building, which has been organized into a shack by—well, guess —the Salvation Army.

“They are the soldier’s friend. They make no display or show of any kind, but they are fast winning a warm corner in the heart of everyone.”

“I feel it is my duty to drop you a few lines to let you know how the boys over here appreciate what the Salvation Army is doing for them. It is a second home to us. There is always a cheerful welcome awaiting us there and I have yet to meet a sour-faced cleric behind the counter. One Salvation Army worker has his home in a cellar, located close to the front-line trenches. He cheerfully carries on his wonderful work amid the flying of shells and in danger of gas. He is one fine fellow, always greeting you with a smile. He serves the boys with hot coffee every day, free of charge, and many times he has divided his own bread with the tired and hungry boys returning from the trenches. In the evening he serves coffee and doughnuts at a small price. Say, who wouldn’t be willing to fight after feasting on that?

“In the many rest camps you will find the Salvation Army girls. They are located so close to the front-line trenches that they have to wear their gas masks in the slung position, and they also have their tin hats ready to put on. The girls certainly are a fine, jolly bunch, and when it comes to baking pies and doughnuts they are hard to beat. The boys line up a half hour before time so as to be sure they get their share. I had the pleasure of talking to a mother and her daughter and they told me they had sold out everything they had to the boys with the exception of some salmon and sardines on which they were living—salmon for dinner and sardines for supper. They stood it all with big smiles and those smiles made me smile when I thought of my troubles.

“In the trenches the boys become affected with body lice, known as cooties. A good hot bath is the only real cure for them. While on the way to a bath-house a Salvation Army worker overtook us. He was riding in a Ford which had seen better days. The springs on it were about all in and it made a noise like someone calling for mercy. The Salvation Army worker pulled up in front of us and with a broad smile on his face said: “Room for half a ton!” We did not need a second invitation and we soon had poor Henry loaded down. I thought sure it would give out, but the worker only laughed about it and kept on feeding the machine more gas as we cheered until it started away with us.

“I want to tell you what the Salvation Army does for the moral side of the soldier. The American soldier needs the guidance of God over here more than he ever did in his whole life. Away from home and in a foreign land in every corner, one must have Divine guidance to keep him on the narrow path of life. If it was not for the workers of God over here the boys would gradually break away and then I’m afraid we would not have the right kind of fighters to hold up our end. Of course, prayers alone won’t satisfy the appetite of the American soldier, and the Salvation Army girls get around that by baking for the boys. They believe in satisfying the cravings of the stomach as well as the craving of the soul and mind. I always enjoy the sermons at the Salvation Army. A good, every-day sermon is always appreciated. The Salvation Army helps you along in their good old way, and they don’t believe in preaching all day on what you should do and what you shouldn’t do. The girls are a fine bunch of singers and their singing is enjoyed very much by all of the boys. It is a treat to see an American girl so close to the front and a still better treat to listen to one sing.

“The Salvation Army does much good work in keeping the boys in the right spirit so that they are glad to go back to the trenches when their turn comes. There is no Salvation Army hut on this front. I often wish there was one on every front. I believe the Salvation Army does not get its full credit over in the States. Perhaps the people over there do not understand the full meaning of the work it is doing over here. I want the Salvation Army to know that it has all of the boys over here back of it and we want to keep up the good work. We will go through hell, if necessary, because we know the folks back home are back of us. We want the Salvation Army to feel the same way. The boys over here are really back of it and we want you to continue your good work.”