"THATOUCH OF HUMAN KINDNESS"

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2777, 23 May 1916, Page 8

"THATOUCH OF HUMAN KINDNESS"

IN EGYPT WITH "TOMMY." RETURN OF YJ.C.A, EMISSARIES Sis months ago Mr. W. G. Jamieson, of. Qhristchurch. chairman of the National Council of the... Y.M.C.A.- in , New Zealand, and Mr. W. H. George, of •Wellington, a member. of the National 'Executive, set lout for- Egypt, to inquire into and report on the work of the .Y.M.C.A. among the soldiers l.here. Having travelled a good deal and visited all the centres of military activity in Egypt, their' inquiries are at an end, and they arrived back in New Zealand by the Riverina yesterday ready to report. That report is said to be. an interesting one, touching on matters that should be looked to in the interests of our men, but both gentlemen declined to dwell on the matters referred (o 'before they' had made their official report. Messrs. Jamieson aild/'(Seorge,- reached Port Said, via Bombay, and the Canal, on January 29. The voyage was a pleastint one, and from Bombay on they had thei;pleasure, of the company on board of the late Viceroy of India (Lord Chelmsford), who • openly expressed i'is admiration of tho good -work that-had been done by tho "X.M.C.A. in connection with the Mesopotamia campaign and also in India. In Battle Array. The banks of the canals werp lined with troops, but one could not see the outer trenches. They were yfifteen miles out over tile'desert, tut it was wonderful to think that over, the waring ridees of sand towards the Holy Land were British (troops holding safe the great woterway that practically divides three Continents. From Port Said they journeyed bf train to Cairo, where the Eeyptian National - Headquarters, of. the' Y'M.C.A.' nre situated, and frbm which nerve centre the activities of the association extend in every direction—to-'branches at Mahdi, Port Said, Suez, -Alexandria, Israailia. and to camp centres like Ztitoun. Mena. Giza, Hcliopolis,' Aloascar, and Tel-el-Kebir. The Y.M.C.A. has at 45 huts and GO secretaries but if all the _work offering were to be dono .they. required from.loo to 150 huts and from', 2(10 .to 250 .secretaries. ' That was' when the men were all there from GalSpoli. but, as events prove, the conditions change. \ l larß "o'hiiiE but admiration for the work that, has besin done," ««id ''Mr George, I>ut regret that more ',{ it could not be done. Look at the conditions. Here are tens of thousands 0 f men in camp round about Cairo. The men are accommodated in. tents on the burning desert Rand everywhere and in e vervImnfv ir J entg with imp-limentn Lvenr ono of those men 4. Icis, »'o during each J*' 3 l ent ls impossible—what is he to do to. pet nwny. from the monotony of •camp lrfe What-should ho do?.. Gniro, of course!. And what was there between the- camp and drink , and o«W teronla-tions-7-nothing but the T.M.C.I Thov provided somewhere out of the cuivSWo a mnn could rest, write his letters, listen music, and receive just that touch, of human kindness that is lacking Hi-military - - Havens of Rest. Our huts—really Jiig. halls made of iiative mathmr which exclude the sun-and admit the light and air—were havens of rest for the weary soldier, who is feeling a bit down. It is a refuge-a place outside the ■ regulations, where no one need salute anyone and tho secretary, and his assistants were prepared to take an interest in the soldiers' affairs. Then thev arranged entertainments hearly every •evening, and with tho least bit of oii gamsahon the soldiers could ■ entertain, themselves At same of the huts there Jero buitefs, where refreshments could be obtained a ! t a moderate thing away from camp fare. On Sundavs there were the se'rvioes—bright and : free mid easy, sort of services that tho* men crowded to. They wero'even''allowed to Fmoke and nominate" their' owii '-'hvmhs.' And- there any one of; them-was'Allowed to speak if he was so minded, and if ho had anything to say -with' an idea in it , he would sret a bettor hearing from his comrades than if he spoke here.'in New Zealand. 'L'hey- ore* great services, I tell .von, and the- men love them—much better standing cut in tho Mazing sun, while the., chaplain in the distanco reads ■prayers that only one-tenth of the'company -On parade can hear."

Esbekia Gardens.. / ' It was to counter tho temptations in Cairo that the Y.M.C.A. established'the iiScelcia Gardens in tho heart of Cairo. It is an open-air theatre, with a stage, and lunematograph. outfit, completely surrounded by a high wall. There entertainments are given nightly; and are quite free to all tho soldiers, and lady volunteers help at the buffet, where , soldiers on leave could get good, wlnlesomo re-' i-.eshmcats at a cheap rate. Quite recently another place had been- secured for soldiers in . Cairo. .That was tW- Anzac Hostel—the old Cairo. bourse—which had been secured by the military authorities,, who'asked tho Y.M.C.A. to .attend to'tho social side of the ivorlc in 'connection with the hostel. Here ■ the soldiers will be able to get a clean, decent bed'at a nominal cost." • Finances All Pooled.Mr: Jamieson explained that all this Y.M.C.A. finances went into .the general fund at Cairo, no matter from what quarter they came. ■ He wished to'make it quite clear that the money subscribed in New Zealand would- not necessarily be spent on New Zealand soldiers—one "only need visit Egypt to find out how impossible that would be. All the moneys are pooled, and- everything is expended evenhaudcdly upon the soldiers of.the Empire, irrespective . of. what point of the compass they camo from. ■ And it'shonld be £0. Jlany a ; New Zealander " had benefited by the comforts paid for by the Australian War Chest Fund. On one occasioii the # New Zealand secretary benefiUd by receiving ten cases of paper nnd woks. That was. tho splendid thing (wont the work—the fine spirit of camaraderie that existed among those working for the benefit of the soldier. The only feneral regret was they could not catch ?P to tho dema'nd for the work. ■ Affairs were hampered a good deal by tile mcertainty of the Mediterranean serrices. The Y.M.C.A. had .£IO,OOO worth >f comforts on Mudros Island, sent out xrom London by a special steamer, which they would have given anything to get over to Egypt, but could not owing to the shortage of .steamers. Men, munitions, and food must take precedence where steamers ajui railways were concerned, and as they could not get enough boats to do that work-other things just had' to wait. Economy and Efficiency, Mr. W. H. Georgo stated that there iras no doubt that all Y.M.C.A. moneys ivere being handled economically and tfeciently. The chairman of tKe -Egyptian National Council was the High Commissioner for Egypt, Sir Henry M'Mahon, the vice-enairman was Lord Edward Cecil, the treasurer was Mr. li. M. Graingerbtewart (manager of the National Bank of Egypt), and the energetic secretary was Mr. Wm. Jessop, and every officer appeared U) take the liveliest interest in the affairs of the association. And right throughout the visit of the New Zealand representatives to Egypt they heard nothing but the -greatest praise from Generals down to privates of the work that ™ 5 , l 5 done V tll °' Y.M.C.A., an( ], said Mr. George, "I-was "glad, to hear on nil sides that the' Now Zealand troops .were the best conductcd and most efficient troops in Egypt!"