Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1913-04-15
Miseellaatuas Reading.
OTHER SIDE OF ARMY POSTER

OTHER side Or ARMY fOS En-
Recruit Finds There are q Lot o.
Things Beside Parades in q Soldier
Life.
"On the reverse side Of them gay
army posters is pick and shovel" thi
chap in the army overcoat remarked a.
he nodded across Twelfth street at the
recruiting office advertisement. "Bu'
the rookie never turns 1t to see the pic.
ture on the other side. Maybe soon he'f
sobbing his blooming heart out, but hii
term is three years-not on parade. :
IT climbed out of one ditch into an
other. / reached out my right mitt fol
a gun-they shoves a shovel into 1t.
"Ts this ALP says, stretching out
my left fin. Where's me weapon"
well, they pokes pick into my left
hook. ,a
Il was equipped for soldering. Month
after month I've been fighting for my
country as chore boy, stable man, wait
er, cooks assistant, scavenger and
trench digger. Yes, sir; I've launder-
ed and washed dishes for my country
well, you're soon out Of it-lets
drink on that" says to my soldier
friend. m
"Out Of 1t? He'll" he says. Il did
my three years at Riley. Then I re-
enlisted" Ee-..E
Here is his story, told before he
climbed on the last car for Leaven-
worth:
We went up to the flag, my pal and
me, down in Tulsa, Okla.
More of 'em go up to the flag because
they're hungry then for glory. was
hungry enough. My pal was hungry
enough. But we wanted a skip at
things, too-and we was in ditch.
I'm naturally a venturesome cuss,
guess. ELSE wouldn't have pulled my
feet under the table. But I'd brought up
at Tulsa down and out. Jessie Alice.
gathered in with at Joplin in this state.
Alice had blown in from the east too.
He'd been lately canned from a college
and much booted by the old 'un for the
scrape.
Money? Say, we had breakfast, just
that.
The city was diggin' for a pipe line
and q friendly barkeep puts us wise to
a foreman. Then he plays commissary
and stakes us to So for overalls. Alice
didn't have much heart for that ditch
not with silver in his pocket. Anyway,
we ate up the stake, and while we was
a doing it we was goin' down for dear
conscience sake to squint at them dig
gin's-and a goin' by the recruiting
station on the main street Of Tulsa.
There was that little group Of gay
army posters. like over on Twelfth
street. My favorite was the one where
the old colonel Is gravely thankin' tho
young private who has just slipped him
q message.
One afternoon with last squint at
the ditch, we turns in at the poster
place, askin' II they wants any men for
the Philippine islands. F,a
Want men? Sure they wanted men
for the islands.
"Sure you go to the islands," the SER
geant said. That's where we're enlist
in for, my boy. We send you out to
some coast fort, where you get equip
ment and sail on the first transport"
Well, there was half dozen other
young fellows there, and we was soon
a-chinnin' and fightin' our little brown
brothers.
I once missed gettin' into the navy by
an eye. After studyin' them gay fine
pictures and a fightin' the little brown
fellows by chin, I got worried. Sure
nun, three or four Of US couldn't read
the letter tests. With that the sergeant
packs us out in a hall and tells US to
memorize them charts. We had three
days before the recruitin' officer came
to the station, and by that time we
could spot them charts back and 'front.'
wards or sprint from the middle out
Alice, whose eyes were keen, was q
buzzin' with book Of island lingo.
The officer came. We held up our
hands and the sergeant explained he'd
just ship us to Ft. Riley, out in Kansas
so we could get our equipment and 60
on to the Philippines from Riley.
Pipe the middle Of a hot afternoon
and US q bootin' in from the train at
characterization City on your map
The colonel nor none of them poster
guys was down at the depot to meet
us. We hoofed it to the post, and II
was four long, dusty miles.
When we got there I didn't meet the
colonel, but met "slum." y
I was to see more of "slum" than the
colonel, anyhow, and l guess, as first
impressions keep, was lucky In pipin
this "slum" with blanket" on.
I can't wise you to what "slum" is
and maybe that Is one definition Of 1t.
Alice used to try 1t this way: Put
him." says Alice. Tumble him In
'slum' and 1t can't be did,"
"Slum" is made to be eaten-by so:
diers. Sometimes 1t has little meat
sometimes q few potatoes, sometimes
some scraps-but more often 1t is just
"slum." But it's better with q crusty
blanket.
Besides army "slum" we had bread
without butter and black coffee with.
out sugar. At last, we did pretty well
but failed at 'seconds"-a second por-
ton.
Out in camp 1 slept on the ground
that night without blankets and 1t was
plenty cold. Blankets hadn't been Is.
sued to us and the regular soldiers
were not a-carin-I soon found they
hadn't any use for a rookie-found II
out-a-plenty, too.
The next morning I drew mess kit
sort of fatigue clothes, a currycomt
and brush q was in an artillery bat
tery) and horse blanket. Ten days
later l got my clothing.
The first chance asked the top SER
geant when we would go to the islands
"Oh, hell" he laughs, this battery's
been here since '98 and liable to be here
ten years more" And, say-it's still al
Riley.
1 was a-learning more than that. It's
most surprisin' the number of pictures
those poster fellows overlook.
Lamp these:
Picture of soldier peelin' potatoes.
Picture of soldier diggin' a trench.
Picture of soldier cleanin' q stable.
Picture of soldier polishin' shoes.
Picture Of soldier pressin' clothes.
Picture of soldier cookin'.
Picture Of soldier groomin' a horse.
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