THE WELFARE FUND 



1167 



SNAKING BIG LOGS, THREE AT A TIME, IN A BIG SAWMILL OPERATED BY THE AMERICAN FORESTRY ENGINEERS AT ST. 



DOZIER ON THE MARNE 



for France, money was appropriated by the Department 

 of Agriculture ambulance fund committee for the pur- 

 chase of six phonographs and records to accompany 

 them. The day the ioth left Washington these were 

 bought and sent to the camp at American University in 

 time to go across with the regiment. 



In the fall of 191 7 when knitting for soldiers began 

 to be pushed vigorously by the Red Cross, the women of 

 the Forest Service saw their opportunity and took up 

 enthusiastically the making of knitted garments for the 

 men of the Forest Regiments. Wool was bought with 

 money left over from the ambulance fund, new funds 

 were raised, and the work grew to such proportions that 

 regular means had to be provided for handling the wool 

 and distributing the garments. Early in November a 

 women's committee was formed, with Mrs. Henry S. 

 Graves as chairman and Mrs. Lilian T. Conway in charge 

 of organization. This committee took over the purchas- 

 ing of wool and other supplies, and the making of knitted 

 garments and sending them to the men. 



The supplying of comfortable woolen things was the 

 main work of the women's committee. Of course, every- 

 body knew that the lumberjack has plenty of experience in 

 making the best of hardship and discomfort, and that 

 the men of the Forest Engineers had gone to France ready 

 and willing to endure many a visit from these old 

 acquaintances. But frost-bitten toes and a chilly spinal 

 column never made anyone's work improve, and so, as 

 the Chaplain of the ioth put it, "the sound of sweaters 

 in the making was received with great joy" over there. 



The sweaters and other knitted garments, however, 

 were not all. The purpose was also to promote cheer- 

 fulness in the camps, and one way of doing this was to 



send Christmas things. The first work of this kind that 

 the committee did was to get together, pack, and ship a 

 large box of Christmas things donated by the members 

 of the Washington office of the Forest Service. This 

 box contained 126 knitted garments, 164 bags, 75 cans, 

 and 18 packages of tobacco, 2,500 cigarettes, and a quan- 

 tity of candy, chewing gum, and pocket flash lights. 

 Special arrangements were made to have this box go 

 forward with Red Cross shipments to France, and it was 

 with considerable satisfaction that those who had packed 

 it saw it start on its way on November 15. It did not 

 arrive in time for Christmas. In fact, with this ship- 

 ment began the difficulties with which the women's com- 

 mittee had to contend all through the war in getting its 

 material into the hands of those for whom it was intended. 

 The boys knew that the box was coming, but they had 

 such a long wait before it arrived that fears began to be 

 entertained that it had gone to the bottom with some 

 torpedoed ship. At last came the word, in a letter dated 

 June 26, 1917: "We received here yesterday a large 

 Christmas box containing a splendid and most welcome 

 assortment of things for the men. ... I can not but 

 remark with what accuracy of planning and dispatch the 

 box reached us an even and exact six months after the 

 date on which you proposed it should reach us. But 

 not one regret is there, and not one man but is most 

 delighted that the shipping authorities so cleverly divided 

 our 'from home' Christmas pleasures half way between 

 Christmases." 



As the 20th Engineers was being organized, the bat- 

 talions were encamped successively at American Univer- 

 sity, Washington, D. C. Practically every man in these 

 battalions was supplied with a sweater, and many were 



