ss methods being adopted, and we do not mix our
business with philanthropy--the Association hut is not a charity as far
as its business side is concerned. The average hut in a large camp is
expected to pay its way, so that subscriptions from the general public
can be applied to the extension of the work and to the maintenance of
centres that cannot be self-supporting.

The War Office, in the early stages of the war, asked us to pay a rebate
of 10 per cent. on the gross takings of the refreshment department.
After full consideration, we came to the conclusion that we could only
do this by extracting the money from the pockets of the men, who for the
most part are miserably paid, by paying it out of subscriptions given by
the public, or by limiting the extension of the work. Neither
alternative seemed desirable or in the interests of the men, and after
many conferences with the Quartermaster-General's department at the War
Office, it was agreed, by mutual consent and at the suggestion of the
War Office, to refer the matter for decision to the Secretary of State
for War. It was at the time Lord Kitchener was in Gallipoli, and Mr.
Asquith was personally in charge. At a conference at Downing Street the
representatives of the Board of Control Regimental Institutes stated
their case, and we had the opportunity of replying. Mr. Asquith took
several weeks to consider the question in all its bearings, and
ultimately gave the decision entirely in our favour, and decided for the
duration of the war we should not be asked to pay the rebate. Later on,
the matter was reopened by Lord Derby, and eventually it was found
necessary for the Y.M.C.A. to pay 6 per cent. on their gross takings in
huts on Military ground, to regimental funds, and this is a great tax on
its resources. Most of the huts are loaned free to the Military for
church parades and military lectures.

The figures of the Red Triangle are colossal, and yet figures by
themselves fail to give an adequate idea of the magnitude of the work,
and for obvious reasons it is impossible to make those statistics
complete. On a given date it was ascertained that upwards of forty-five
thousand workers were giving regular service to the war work of the
Y.M.C.A. By August 31, 1918, 929,590,430 pieces of stationery had been
sent out from Y.M.C.A. Headquarters in London for distribution amongst
the men of His Majesty's Forces. The stationery bill by the summer of
1918 had risen to the rat