St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1900-06-27
MAGAZINES FOR THE SOLDIERS.
QuRrtermaster sawyer has Forwarded
Many Boxes of Reading Matter TO the
TrOOps M ManiIa.

QuarIermaster sawyer has Forwarded
Many Boxes of Reading Matter to the
! Troops at Manila.
There are few situations more dull and
uninteresting than that in which a SOL
der finds himself when he is stationed at
a little cantonment in the country
where he is supposed to watch
the enemy, If there be one, but where in
reality he sits and watches dull land
scape from day to day and denounces
the luck that brought him there. Out in
the Philippines there are numbers of
these little stations; the troops in fact
! being widely scattered in detachments
and occupied in species of police work.
Along the Dagupan Railway, for in
| stance, the barracks Tor small detach-
ments that guard stations are bare.
walled shacks, and the outlook is over
Jungle or rice fields Life at such a place
very soon grows dreary and monoton-
Gus. Here i'll the cities of New England
magazine or illustrated paper does not
form great essential factor in life. 1t is
pleasure to be passed swiftly and
thrown aside. But the story is told of a
copy of Harper's Weekly which driited
into Panay cantonment that the men
first read it, then read it backwards, |
they bet on the number of words in it,
had spelling contests from it, and finally |
pasted the pictures on the walls. 1t was |
veritable blessing to them. Once a
soldier was seen sitting on log and cry
ing. He was suffering with nostalgia,
bpr,ac,cG bich ;lle
soldiers. He was holding in his hand a
picture. A man who looked over his
shoulder, expecting to see lovely girl
ish face" was surprised to see the rather
grotesque proportions of an old mule,
standing beside barn. That's my
fathers old Jerry mule" said the bow:
1.-THE blamed critter is in that barn now
and Im-here. wish | was him."
Magazines and books are easily sent
to the soldiers. Pack them carefully in
stout boxes and send them to the
United States Depot Quartermaster,
ITO Summer street, Boston" This
official, Major ]. E. Sawyer will for
ward them to the front without delay
and free OF anv furtherc cost to the sender.
Il one has a favorite regiment he can
u
he books or magazines will reach them
afeIy. Colonel Rice recently wrote ask
ng for literature Tor his men. Material
or that regiment should be sent to
Reglmental Library, Twenty Sixth u.
}. v, Manila, P. j." Copies of the illus.
rated magazines are the most popular
mong the men. These they can first
cad, and afterward cut out the pictures
md paste them on the walls OF their
quarters. Mutilated magazines are not
esired. The men feel insulted if they
nd mutilated magazine in a box. 1t
5 one of soldiers sensitive points. He
eels hurt, and will make terse observa.
ions regarding the sender. Newspapers
re not desirable literature, either. The
ews is six weeks old when it gets to the
1en, but that however is not the worst
art. They are very easily torn, and
re not apt to reach the men in good
ondition. There are some sixtv-three
thousand American soldiers and citizens
4 the Philippine Islands who are scatter
in detachments and who want maya ,
ines to read. They are all kinds of men,
nd the magazines they like best are not
he studied and scholarly reviews. They {
want lots OF pictures and light reading.
here have been number OF boxes of
looks, etc, received and sent forward bv l
1aJor Sawyer, who has come recently {
rom Manila himself. Express or freight n
harges to the quartermaster's Office
aust be prepaid, but after that the
United States does the rest Boston 7
transcript.