Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-04-14
What do you know about soldiers?

What do You know about soldiers?
To most of us soldier man is either
| a drone or hero, according to whether
| he is killing time or enemies. at SO much
| per and rations. This, of course does
not presume to refer to expensive, gold
| finished officers who retire, to live in his
| tory ever after 1t is just about enlisted
men quartered around the city who stay
where they are put, do what they are
ordered and get killed whenever the occa-
sion occurs Everybody knows how a
private can fight, but few of US have any
idea what he does with himself between
wars unless
Unless you happen to live where YOU
may run across him evenings on the Ave-
nue. anywhere from Navy Yard barracks
to where the cars come in from Fort Myer.
In that case the private steps out from
under what you might call the obscuring
folds Of the army blanket. and takes on
the individuality of beautifully spruce,
chin-up, Misunderstanding youngster out for
fun. with all Washington for his play
ground There may be-there doubtless
| are-soldiers who do bad things, the same
as civilians, but there are also others.
And the others make up the crowd.
Just as one instance; take the young
marine who sprinted out from the bar
racks the other evening about twilight.
He was joyously young, and one could
tell by every buoyant stride that he was
on his way to keep date.
| Two girls stood on a corner near the
Avenue and as the marine approached
one of them gave the cough signal-you
certainly know what a cough signal is,
don't you? And the other giggled.
| They were not bad girls. mind. Why.
| they couldn't have been because they We're
| SO young that the egg shells were not of
L = Il. OF Itch fp.1-
| low things who knew no more about
| health than to force the season with last
summers peek-a-bOos and no more about
morals than to stand on street corner
and pick up acquaintance with any pass
| ing man.
The marine smiled. shook his head and
marched on One girl chirped after him
Must be in a hurry to meet her.
And the other girl called out with
| wheedling sweetness, 'Oh, the poor little
soul!
"Can'tcher wait Iongernuff to take us
to the pitchershOw?"
The marine halted, wheeled around and
took hand in the Irritation.
Say, kiddies run home and tell MAN.
ma I said to spank you and put you to
bed. Run on-and, say! Behave your
selves real good and Mr.. Right will be
coming along in jiffy to march you up
the aisle, like this-dum, dunn, de dunn,
dunn, dunn, de dunn
He minced the Lohengrin measure,
turned his face backward with chuckle
that took away the bitter taste of the
call-down and then bolted for the car.
That's all there was to it, except that
we'll, when you come right down to it,
trying to save foolish girls honor for
her is just as good soldier work as saw
ing a. country's flag. And anyhow, it
helps to show what an enlisted man can
do with himself between wars.
He looked as if he had just crawled out
of sewer pipe. He probably had.
AS he sprang into half-empty car
going Brightwood way it was plain to
see that he resented the necessity OF
keeping quiet, for he shuff1ed his mud
caked shoes, took out penknife and
stropped it against his mud-caked over
alls. and wriggled at the button OF his
mud-caked flannel shirt.
Then he started in and read every ad
in the car. grinning approval at some
~-d chewing unmitigated contempt for
the others. 80: 81