The main outlines of the scheme were clearly defined
and were easily seen, but the perfecting of the details called for all
Craig's tact and good sense. When, for instance, Vernon Winton, who had
charge of the entertainment department, came for Craig's opinion as to
a minstrel troupe and private theatricals, Craig was prompt with his
answer--
'Anything clean goes.'
'A nigger show?' asked Winton.
'Depends upon the niggers,' replied Craig with a gravely comic look,
shrewdly adding, 'ask Mrs. Mavor'; and so the League Minstrel and
Dramatic Company became an established fact, and proved, as Craig
afterwards told me, 'a great means of grace to the camp.'
Shaw had charge of the social department, whose special care it was to
see that the men were made welcome to the cosy, cheerful reading room,
where they might chat, smoke, read, write, or play games, according to
fancy.
But Craig felt that the success or failure of the scheme would largely
depend upon the character of the Resident Manager, who, while caring
for reading-room and hall, would control and operate the important
department represented by the coffee-room.
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