Other places of interest visited by the soldiers were the St. Bernard’s Pass, Mt. Revard, and the Church of the Black Madonna. The last place was the most interesting of all because of its unusual sight. Inside the church is a small figure of the Madonna with a black child in her arms. The robes are of gold studded with diamonds, and pictures, crutches, canes and other tokens of thanks have been left here by people who have been blessed and healed. Once when the town was destroyed by a mountain slide, only the church stood, and the presence of the Madonna was thought by the people to be responsible for the miraculous escape. Here the Negro soldiers were more than welcome and the keepers felt honored by their visits. Altogether more than twenty thousand soldiers visited this leave area, coming from all parts of France. They were selected from the various organizations in the A. E. F. and sent for periods of from seven to fourteen days. Before they arrived some unpleasant propaganda was spread about them, but they made a highly favorable impression. The “Y” headquarters was a spacious building, splendidly equipped. There were band concerts, and on Sunday afternoons there were refreshments in the beautiful garden, with representative people of the vicinity assisting in the serving. Because of the good conduct of the men and the success of the secretaries in establishing such fine relations between citizens and soldiers, the Governor of Savoie gave a farewell reception, including a public meeting in a theatre and an entertainment in his own home afterwards; and letters were written by the mayors of all three towns and by leading citizens to praise the work and to express regret at its closing. While thousands of soldiers visited the leave areas, tens of thousands went to see Paris the Beautiful. Naturally officers and welfare workers as well as the men in the ranks desired especially to see this great city before returning to America. Ordinarily three-day leaves were granted, and each day in the spring of 1919 brought hundreds of soldiers to the city. In order that the limited time might mean as much as possible to the men, the Y. M. C. A. organized wonderful sight-seeing programs, including all the famous places of historic interest. With every party there were efficient guides, and the Negro soldiers, like all the others, appreciated fully and thoroughly enjoyed the never-to-be-forgotten experience. * * * * * CRITICISM OF THE “Y”