ome, that they may come back to us even
better men than when they went away?

We have seen the terrible ordeal to which they will be subjected at the
front, the temptations to which they are exposed in France, in the
training schools, and the base camps; we have seen something of the
havoc which demoralizing forces have already wrought in other armies in
the camps of the prodigals, and we have seen the deadly dangers and
perils, both physical and moral, which the soldier must face. We have
spoken of the enormous sums voted to carry on a great war of
destruction. Is there not a yet more urgent need that we should supply
the great constructive forces for fortifying the physical and moral
manhood of our nation? Two organizations have been recognized by our
own and the other allied governments in the war zone--the one bearing
the symbol of _the red cross_ for the wounded, and the other _the red
triangle_ for the fighting men.

The nation has already generously responded to the needs of the wounded
even before the first battle was fought, giving more in one week than
any other nation in a year for the same purpose. And not a dollar too
much has been given for this great cause. But we shall soon have
several millions of fighting men under arms. What are we to do for
these men? We have already seen that they present a threefold need.
There is the physical need of these millions who will soon be training,
fighting, and suffering. Only the men at the front know what it really
is. There are the mental and social requirements of men who must have
recreation, healthy amusement and occupation. There is also the moral
and spiritual need of men who will face the greatest temptations of
their lives, when they will be farthest from the help of home and
friends, while old standards seem to be submerged or swept away "for
the period of the war."

We have already seen that the building that bears the red triangle of
the Y M C A at the front is at once the soldier's club, his home, his
church where his own denomination holds its services, his school, his
place of rest, his recreation center, his bank and postoffice where he
writes his letters, his friend in need that stands by him at the last
and meets his relatives who are called to his bedside in the hospital.
If there is anything which safeguards the physical, social, and moral
health of the men who are dying for us, can we do less than provide it
for them? While billions a