The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1900-06-14

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RECOMMENDATIONS
Maybe you have served in the ranks
and know all about 1t; but. II not. let
me tell you that war develops strange
things In men. In company of 100
men you will find more love. romance
and sorrow than you would hear of
among 1000 men at home. 1t was a
comrades pleasure and duty to share
these things with comrade. At home
man would not have talked Of his
love- his hopes and fears even to a
brother. Down there In the enemy's
country, In hut or tent or lying under
the same blanket after the days fight
or march. man turned to man and whis-
pered his secrets, 1t was because we
marched together. fought together, ate
together and the shadow Of death COW
cred US all alike.
You like a man who has shared your
hardships; you love him when he has
shared your dangers. So 1t was that
one might sit down with the company
roster before him and tell of those who
had left wives behind them. and those
who Tad left sweethearts. and those
who had found correspondents and
were mingling romance with war.
1t was known, as If 1t were family
matter, that the orderly sergeant's wife
had died since be left home, leaving
four children motherless: that Private
Hayes had quarreled with his sweet
heart; that Corporal Johnson's farm
was going to rack and ruin since he en-
listed. We heard these things and a
thousand others. and we stood always
ready to congratulate or sympathize
with each other. | have known the big
sergeant to come rushing into winter
hut occupied by six men and wake
them all up that he might read letter
from home telling that the baby actu-
ally had taken three whole steps all by
himself We were men as to war. wo-
men as to gossip. children as to trif1es
1t was so with all of Company G ex-
cept, in one single instance Trooper
Haskins was a stranger among us
when he enlisted. He continued to be
q stranger to his last hour. When we
sized him up. as men size up each 9TH
err we knew that he had some secret in
his life which he did not care to lay
bare to the world. One could see by
the stoop of his shoulders, by the look
In his eyes and by the wrinkles on his
face that he had been hard hit and
would suffer to the end.
AS men we respected his secret and
praised his courage In bearing up un-
der his sorrows, but as soldiers we felt
that his lack of confidence In us was
an imputation. We stood ready to con-
dole and sympathlze, but he kept us at
arms length We felt sorry for him at
first that be received no letters-that
there was not one single person In all
the world to write a word Of cheer-but
his careless Indifference soon provoked
our indignation. We gave each other
the gossip of country and village as we
marched; we read each others letters
as we smoked at the campfire; we
whispered our condolences In the dark
ness-all except Private Haskins He
had no friend He had comrade, but
only in the sense that be shared the
same fly tent and the same rations.
When the comrade had failed to dis
cover whether Haskins was married or
single. divorced or a bachelor, a man
who had been deeply wronged or a
cynic- when he could get nothing what.
ever from him as to his past he turned
away from him and said TO us
Boys. | can't make him out, and I'm
not going TO try any further. If he
don't want to be one of us, let him
slide"
We got down on Private Haskins to
the extent that he was socially out
lawed That meant more than | can
explain to you We gave him credit
for his soldierly qualities-and 1t was
useless to deny that he was a brave
as 1t were. In the midst of thousands.
He noted every move made against
him. and many Of them must have hurt
his feelings and added to his burdens,
but no one ever heard him complain. |
believe he secretly was glad Of his iso
lation. 1t gave him time to think and
mediate. and he would do this by the
hour We didn't misjudge the man, |
am glad to recall. but we simply ostra-
cized him In social way. just as socie-
ty crowds out the man who tramples
on the conventonalities On his part
he must have felt that no words Of