Unfortunately it turned out that the idea of a play was a mistake in judgment.  Our members, it seemed, did not care to go to see a play except in a theatre.  A great number of them, however, very kindly turned out to help in shifting the scenery and in acting as ushers.

Our treasurer announced, as the result of the play, a net deficit of twelve hundred dollars.  He moved, with general applause, that it be carried forward.

The total deficit having now reached over sixteen hundred dollars, there was a general feeling that a very special effort must be made to remove it.  It was decided to hold Weekly Patriotic Dances in the club ball room, every Saturday evening.  No charge was made for admission to the dances, but a War Supper was served at one dollar a head.

Unfortunately the dances, as first planned, proved again an error.  It appeared that though our members are passionately fond of dancing, few if any of them cared to eat at night.  The plan was therefore changed.  The supper was served first, and was free, and for the dancing after supper a charge was made of one dollar, per person.  This again was an error.  It seems that after our members have had supper they prefer to go home and sleep.  After one winter of dancing the treasurer announced a total Patriotic Relief Deficit of five thousand dollars, to be carried forward to next year.  This sum duly appeared in the annual balance sheet of the club.  The members, especially the ladies, were glad to think that we were at least doing something for the war.

At this point some of our larger men, themselves financial experts, took hold.  They said that our entertainments had been on too small a scale.  They told us that we had been “undermined by overhead expenses.”  The word “overhead” was soon on everybody’s lips.  We were told that if we could “distribute our overhead” it would disappear.  It was therefore planned to hold a great War Kermesse with a view to spreading out the overhead so thin that it would vanish.

But it was at this very moment that the Armistice burst upon us in a perfectly unexpected fashion.  Everyone of our members was, undoubtedly, delighted that the war was over but there was a very general feeling that it would have been better if we could have had a rather longer notice of what was coming.  It seemed, as many of our members said, such a leap in the dark to rush into peace all at once.  It was said indeed by our best business men that in financial circles they had been fully aware that there was a danger of peace for some time and had taken steps to discount the peace risk.

But for the club itself the thing came with a perfect crash.  The whole preparation of the great Kermesse was well under way when the news broke upon us.  For a time the members were aghast.  It looked like ruin.  But presently it was suggested that it might still be possible to save the club by turning the whole affair into a Peace Kermesse and devoting the proceeds to some suitable form of relief.  Luckily it was discovered that there was still a lot of starvation in Russia, and fortunately it turned out that in spite of the armistice the Turks were still killing the Armenians.