THE RED-TRIANGLE

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3147, 27 July 1917, Page 7

THE RED-TRIANGLE

"Y.M.C.A. WAR WORK

WELCOME HOME TO MESSRS. SMEETON AND VARNEY

INTERESTING SPEECHES

, J.- There was a largo and very representative gathering of citizen* of t'he TJoininion at tho welcoming luncheon accorded to Messrs. H. M. Sineeton (eomtuissioncr) and Arthur Varncy (supervising secretary) o$ the Y.M.C.A., in tlio Concert Chamber yesterday. Tho guests included tho Prime Minister (tho'flight i .Hon. W. F. Massey), Sir Joseph Ward, i Sir .Tames Allen, the Hon. G. Aγ. Kuesell, 1 .Mr. Justico Chapman, the Mayor (Mr. ;-«T: P. Luke, C.JI.G.), Genera] Houdor'■son. Hon. .7. G. W. Aitken. M.L.C., sev- ' oval ■members of' Parliament, the leaders Vf iho Y,M.C.'A. movement, and proiiiini ent men in tho professions, commerce, '<etc., not only, in Wellington, but from i wther centres, . ■. The Prime Minister, who presided, 'said that he and his colleagues wove delighted to. bo present to do honour to ■ Messrs. Smeetou and Varney. .Judging by what he hnd seen of tho work of tlie ji.M.C.i. in -England and France, they, us the representatives of.that body were /worthy of ii]). : tho honour they could do ;ihem. (.Applause.) "He had never seen them except when they were -engaged on tho work on which they went Home— '(.he extremely valuable work that the Y.M.C.A. was doing tor. iheir boys at '"tho front and in England. In the vari'ous .'camps iu England the utmost was iteing done-by-the'organisation lo make' '"the men as .cVNmtoitahlo and happy bs '■possible. The .value of the work ot the ; •Y.M.C.A. was recognised by the people >of Britain, just -as much as it was api'Tireciated by the British and New Zealand eoldiers: The .Y.M.C.A.. had tho, \ ; entire confidence, of .tho soldiers, end he >spoke what he fell when he..'said that ;5f ever ..an. organisation had done good /work-it-was the Y.M.C.A. (Applause.) kHe did not say that.to the. detriment of..others. Kindred associations were all vloing well for the soldiers, aid' 'they •were all appreciated, ami the pcoplo liere would realise it better if they knew ..the difficulties .and hardships the men ■lad to. undergo'' in the wretched- winter 'climate. Wherever tbt* men wero gath'«red:together' there was the'Y.M.C.A. It .was.the panie with the..sailors, with the ■men of tho mercantile" marine, those "brave men who were playing such a great .and important -part-in thoigreat ' FtriiggleMapplaufe)—going out day after ■day, never shirking their duly! And so it was with the British tars. It made one proud to be &■'Britisher to eeo and !know of the difficulties and hardships those men underwent to v secure cur peace and security. (Applause.) ■New. Zealand, ha-d done well. She lad found men and money, but ' there was one thin? thej could -10, aud keep on doing, and that/Was to'support the. iY.M.C.A. in every'possible way, frir'their ■boys were worthy of it. He njgedthb giving of moral and financial support. Tor in giving that to. the Y.M.C.A. they pero giving it .to tie men. (Applause.) At. this stage. Mr! H. W. Kersley rose to thank the Prime Minister for presid.ing, aad intimated.that the capital luncheon provided was the gift nf a iriember of the National'. Executive, who did not iivish .his name.divulged.- . ■ • ~' 'Interesting,' Figures. Mr.--Di.A-. Ewen said that he did not propose to give very detailed figures Bince, B.t such a function, they would not be easily followed, nor would they,bo w much to the point as a brief general, statement of a few salient fnots.. He .■would therefore deal, in round sums, and endeavour to present the financial aspect »f the Y.M.C.A/s (N.Z.) activities, as concisely as possible. They had a-staff , of twenty-two field secretaries working abroad in Europo, and thirteen in -New /Zealand. Some .of the'■ latter wore, of' course, waiting to go forward" if anil hvhen the necessity arose". The married field secretaries received. .£250 a, year, end the unmarried ones .£l5O, so that the annual salary bill- came to ,£7OOO. The field secretary was, of course, tho mainspring of' their- wRi- work, :aud it [was on his exertions that the successful administration of their expenditure chiefly depended. Tho average monthly 'expenditure in New Zealand en camps,' troopships, stationery, etc., -was .£ISOO. . From the inceptiou of the fund-in April, . 1915, to June 30, 1917, they had spent on soldiers in Now Zealand ■ ,£12,000, '.£32,(100 had been remitted to England, and, France, and ,£U,OOO to Egypt. The balance in hand on July 2G was' .E23,000, and, as. tho receipts for the last three months wero pvor .£IB,OOO in all,,he did inot think they could be accused c-E hoarding the money.' (The difference in the. two dates mentioned should be noted.) With so large an organisation, however; their war work : demanded that' a sub-stantial-balance must be kept in hand i,r. order that they might sfte at least eix months ahead. Further, as the European winter approached large sums would he needed.to meet'all requirements. . _r Auckland Contributes '£46,000. Their receipts since tho inception of the war fund to June 30 totalled. .£95,000,

in addition to which their Auckland friends had brought down with (hem a cheque for Jitfi.OOO, as the result of their recent truly lino campaign. (Applause) Where all Had so nobly responded comparisons were odious. Tho tliarfte of tho executive wero duo to iha jiooulo of Now Zealand as a whole, for they had enabled the Y.M.C.A. to do what lad be'cu done towards making tho lot of their braro troops "bearable. Particularly wholo-hearted had been tho part played by tho Hawko'e Bay and Wairarapa, whose donations had been exceedingly aenoious— (applause)—though it was but fair to say that ail districts and provincos hacf gallantly done their part. A duly audited statement of accounts would shortly "bo issued. (Applause.) Business Man's Review. Mr. H. AT. Smeoton said it had given him great pleasure to be associated with Mr. Vaniey in. Ihe work which had enfnged theii attention, in Euglnnd and 'rajice. Hβ would not have missed seeing tho soldiers as ho had seen them, and he considered it tho greatest distinction evor ahown hini to go Homo under tho auspices of tho Y.M.C.A. They had had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Massey and Sir Joseph Ward' in England, and had followed them closely to France. He had been particularly interested in tho business organisation of tho Y.M.C.A., as it was duo to tho people-of New Zea-. land to have tho assurance that tho money they contributed was well looked after, that tho books were properly kept, and always open for inspection. Ho snid that an audited balance-sheet was got out every six months, and was published at length in such papers as the London "Timee" and "Manchester Guardian," and that these in somo oaees reached ee.ven figures, which showed the oxtent of the great, work. .Tho trading part was exceptionally well managed."Ho had ,been asked to eit on tho Trading Committee, and there ho had had opportunities to investigate the buying, and distributing of goods and tho way tho hooks wore kept. Aflcr thorough examination, he was able to assuro tho National Exeoutiro that the methods and style of .bookkeeping left nothing to bo desired—(applause)—and tho mon am ployed'did their work in a satisfactory .and business-like way. • Tho accounts of the- Y.M.C'-A. wero audited by a. firm of chartered accountants, and the War OfiTco auditors could come-in at any timo and examine tho books to assure themselves that all was right. The.trading department supplied England. France, Egypt. Salonika, and Mesopotamia, and When ho was at Home Genoral Botha,'had asked tho Y.M.C-A. to look after the canteen stores for Gorman East Africa; a fact which showed what the official authorities ill England.thought of tho Y.M.C.A. One'single order received from German East Africa had amounted to .=£20,000, and it was no light .work to. see to the buying and shipping-, of goods ■to such an amount. The trading department concerned itself both .with t&e canteens and tho trench comforts scheme, but. it should.bo made quite clear .(hat there was a. difference between them. The canteens woro simply general stores, whoro all manner,of goods could be purchased by the troops. Prices wero extremely moderate. Tho Army Committed saw to it that thev were not allowed lo charge any price, stiff profits wero made, but at tho cud of the war thoso profits were, not to benefit tho Y.M.C.A. They wero to bo returned to the soldiers in si>nio scheme which was to be approved by the War Office, fso it would bo seen (hat there was no thought of benefiting the Y.M.C.A., as all the profits would go back to the soldiers. The trench comforts sclicmo was quito a different- fhing. When they got to France early in tho war it was found that ~ some such "scheme was the greatest need of tho men at the front. The men in tho front line trenches vcere too far forward to deal at the canteens they were estattliehing. so- a. scheme o£ supplying trench comforts for the men in tho firing-line-was inaugurated, and distributions were made'within 1000 yard 3 of the front line, and had proved most acceptable in tho bitter cold, weather in Northern France. (Applause.)

Mr. Smeeton also referred to the splendid work that was being done at tho various camps in England, notably'at Sling Camp, where they had built a fine hall, which very soon had to be dii-' ■plicated in size. That had been, maae possible, by the generosity of. the people at Home. Speaking of English generosity, Mr. Smeeton mentioned ono firm, which he,had dealings with as a merchant. Sβ -went to them to see if they were doing all they could to help, and ■as the result they had given increased discounts to. tho Y.M.C.A. Not only that, but they had made the special discount retrospective, and a ohequo for £3~i on goods which had been, purchased from the firm since the beginning of the war. (Applause.) Ho also mentioned that a large cocoa firm had contributed five tons of cocoa, for the men in, the trenches, as evidence that the people at Home were doiii£ as much as they could to make things as easy as possible for tho fighting man. (Applause.) What Is Doing? ■ Mr, A. Varn'ey said ho had only met Mr. Maesey a.nd. Sir ' Joseph Ward in two places at Home—the Savoy Hotel and tlie '-Hotel' Cecil. (Laughter.) He had been delighted to ,nieet them and to knotv that they, so heartily approved.of what the Y.M.C.A. had done and was doing for. thu "boy?." Hβ also paid a compliment to Mrs. Massey, who had opened a. place for them at Waltham, and he thought that ho had never heard a woman spe.ak so beautifully. (Aipplauso.) She had charmed, evoryone present. Mr. Varney gave a. bird's-eye view of the

work of tho Y.M.C.A. It hart 'JOOO cen- ■ tree in tho world. 11. wns established in t.ho ifilauds of tho Eastern Mediterranean; t'licro wero between M and 80 centres in 'Egypt, including, ono in charge- of a Now Zealander (JJr. M'Diiumid) in Khartoum; they woro with the troops before Garn, and had louts ready to pitch iu Jerusalem as soon »i.s the gales woro open to thorn. In Mesopotamia they lisid 50 centres, and wore the first in at when it was occupied by General Maude's Army. There were 51) War Y.lif.C.A.'s in India, and General Smuts had testified to tho magnificent work they had done in Bast Africa. Wherever tho men were, thero was llie sign of the lied Triangle. (Applause.) No one was doing better work. Tho War Contingent Association, tho ho=iiitiils, the Salvation Arniv, and the Church Array were all doing big work, but ho had gathered from his experience that the Y.M.C.A. was doing luoro than all the othor institutions put together. They had 42S centres of activity in France. That was 200 more than all the other organisations combined. They wero at the iSomuie, and when the. position on tho Messines Ridge- was consolidated thero were tho marquees of the Y.M.C.A., and within, a few hours of tho consolidation there were huts established on the fivo or six roads over which tho wounded men were travelling on' their way back, and th'cy were ablo to give refreshment to most of them, notably to the walking cases, which was greatly appreciated. They also placed supplies at the advanced dressing stations—where they wero most needed. I hey were at work fi low hundred yards away from the Genua n lines, giving hot tea and cocoa to tho men us they passed to and from the front-line- trenches from the billots. They loft their billets'in winter at 7.15 a.m., and the trenches at 4.1 a p.m., aud as there was no opportunity of theso fatiguo men to get anything hot. in the front iines in the cold winter mouths they thoroughly apprcci■«ted what wns done for them. It sceni.Eila small matter here in New Zealiiud o tiiJk ot cups of tea and cups of cocoa but it was, really a "urea t need, it gave tho men tte.w heart. One man said (hut it made them fool that they were winning tlio war.. Another soldier hnd suidIt is a J>ifc of practical Christianity!" Mr. Varncy spoko in terms of high. admiration of tho devotion to dutv mid valour of the Y.M.C.A. field men', who otlen risked their lives at tho front. Ho also epoke of tho Y.M.C.A. night motor pati-oj in London, consisting of 2,'i7 motorcarSi which travorso tho streets between midnight and 7 a.m. picking up soldiers who are drunk or lost, or without a place to go to, and udministering succour to all. In the mouth of February luat nearly 10,000 soldiers wevo picked u'u and i'nad.6 comfortable, and in Ibrccmonths 28,000.-soldiers wen; assisted by the night padol. In London they had twenty-five centres. Iu tho munition factories they were, established. He had 6e,en i) 500 girl workers of tho Woolwich Arsenal being attended to by the YiAI.C.A. Buffet. There wero dispensed in those great works 20,000 meals a day. They had 26,000 workers in England and France, and of those 23,000 wero members of that grand band o£ women who were serving the soldiers. so loyally. Of tho 3000 nien, loss, than, 120 wore men of A and B classes. Splendid men had been sent, from. New Zealand, and Gcncrul Richardson had'said thai; 6nly A. class men could do tho Y.M.C.A. work in tb* front trenches, as they Iliad to be twined to the finest point. It. was a. marvel to him that|nioro of their nieii were not shot down. They ■ were absolutely' fearless'. Mr: Hanha, from Now Zealand, had been wounded in Ihe shoulder, and at, 3 o'clock one. afternoon an enemy shell shattered his deeping- quarters. Had it been 3 o'clock in flic morninc there would have been no Will Hanna. to return to New Zealand. Mr. Varney's remarks were heartily applauded. Thp proceeding closed, as they opened— .with the singing of the National Anthem.

PUBLIC MEETING IN TOWN HALL

In the Town Hall last oveDing', a public meeting -was hold fo wolcome Messrs Smeeton and. Varney, Sir James AUon, Minister of Defence, who presided, said that he-was very glad to eeo Mr. VurneJ and Mr. Smeeton back, ho hoped quite well and. stronsr,. Hj very gratefully acknowledged the splendid work boins done fcy . the Y.M.C.A. Tho people oi this country were, perba.ps, not. fully acquainted with the wbrk done in tho camps in England. If anything-, it was even better than that performed in New Zealand. Tho benefits derived from the ivork of tho association oleowhero paled into insignificance when compared with those derived from tho| wort on tho battlefields. Almost invajiably in tho reports ho received from abroad refer- , enco was made to tho splendid work carried out under the aegis of tho Red Triangle. The- meeting would join with him in welcoming tho two representatives present. (Applause.)

Mr, Smeeton spoke in some dolnil of the arrangements made by the Y.M.C.A. in. London for the comfort of the soldiers. He eaid that in ono night in the great city the Y.M.C.A. found sleeping accommodation i'or ten thousaud men. The amount of writing thn liim did in the various inntitufions wae stupendous.. It cost the Y.M.C.A. .£60,000 a, year to huy tho stationery alone that was given, free to the nion in Salonika, Franco, Mesopotamia, aud Egypt. Ho would leave it lo Mr. Varney' to speak of tho w.ork, at tho front.

Lantern slides vividly presenting the lifo of tho soldiers under-the conditions secured for them by the. Y.M.G.A. wero ehibiled before Mr. Varney addressed the meeting.

Mr. Varney, in tho course of his address, paid a tribute to tho splondUt labours of the nurses. Ho also spoko with enthusiasm of the spirit of tho hoys who, despite all tho hardships they had lo undergo, always kept their hearts up. -It would do .anybody good to. go and fee tho men as ho had seen them. It would be a crime to slackeu recruiting- and put oven an ounco of extra : work upon those who were in the lines at presejit. (Applause.) New Zealand should Strive to help Iho meu. and lo do nothing that would cause their iuoralo to deteriorate, ; ■ . Duriiig the evening, Mr. Walter Bicharde, an English visitor, played eolectioiis on the organ. A special collection,ln aid of the Countess of Liverpool's Christmas Plum Pudding Fund was taken up.