The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1898-05-13
"GOOD BYE JIMv"
"Take Keer o. Yourselfl'-The Boys
Start to War and the Whole Town
Turns out to bid them Good
Bye and God Speed.

| hSlu vi OaNNle' lut SOuuuS VI Nue nus
tile guns will never reach this quiet
valley and the only knowledge most
of us will have of the war will be
what we read in the papers. 1t does
not seem likely now to be a long war
And the chances are that it will be
settled on the high seas. So there is
hardly any likelihood that the boys of
Company d, who shouldered their
kuap sacks and took the train
for the rendezvous at Topekawill ever
get outside their own country, per.
haps not even outside their own state,
or that they will ever see an armed
enemy. The prospect now is that
they will spend the summer, or as
much of it as may intervene before
the remainder of the Spanish fleet
finds its way to the bottom of the sea,
in the quiet humdrum of the camp
and parade ground.
Nevertheless there was something
fine and heroic and pathetic in that
scene at the depot last Saturday 1t
was only known an hour before train
time that the boys were TO go. But
the anvils were fired few times in
front of the armory and everybody
within hearing knew without any
farther telling what it meant. So
half hour before train time all the
streets leading to the depot were
crowded with men, women and
children. There has never been such
a crowd there before Mr.. Edgar says.
And the center of it was "the boys"
Not try ing to do the heroic, not OBJ.
truding themselves on the public no.
tice. Only standing there quietly,
saying good bye to their friends, jok-
ing some, laughing good deal, glad
were off at last after the long wait,
and yet with serious thought now
and then about what the future
might hold.
The crowd was quiet and thought
full too, but it was bubbling over with
patriotic enthusiasm. That was
shown by the way it cheered aud
cheered and cheered again when the
special dispatch from Commodore
Dewey telling of the glorious victory
at Manila, which appears on the tele-
graph page of this paper was read to
them. The engine of a freight
train was standing on the side track
and it joined its shrill shrek to the
frantic shouts of the multitude. 1t
was great news and it came just in
time to speed the boys on their way
with the joy in their hearts only
second to the joy they will feel when
they win their own fret battle. If
80 good a fate should be in store for
them,
The train came at last, and as it
pulled out with our boys on board
there was another great shout from
the crowd on the platform, shout
which without articulating word
was yet eloquent with patriotism aud
pride and good wishes and hopes and
prayers.
The boys are gone. 1t will he lone.
some in a good many homes for long
time, perhaps for all time 1t is
more than likely, as stated already,
that their term of service will be short
and that they will never hear the
sound of hostile shot A yet it may
be that before their term OF service is
ended they may have sailed to the
ends of the earth and borne their part
in battles as fierce as ever made the
green earth run red. If the easy life
of the drill camp should be theirs and
they should return soon, We shall all
be glad and smile to see them. If the
hard and stern realities of war should
fall to their lot, we will yet re-.
joice, for we know they Will
give good account of them
selves and that whatever their
duty may be they will do it as their
fathers did before them, and as thous-
ands who remain behind will do
theirs if their country should have
need of them also God be with the
| hOVa and bla66 them and kaan than