Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-04-28
BEST THOUGHT IN AMERICA
DIGEST OF THE MAGAZINES

duueu interest from being a trua r.,A
than fiction story He gives a search,.s
picture of the between timesn of uarta.s
When relaxing from the tension NJ tbo AZ
Ing line, as he is shifted from one hath.
front to another. the soldier bow. or ma,
slts back In the corner of the railway co,
rage and stops to think perhaps for m.
nrst time in the hurry and confusion az /
ALL since he Joined the colors:
With rush. some six or eight pao,,,,
soIdlers scrambled into the compartment tn,
were wet and muddy and worn In less tbss
HVe minutes they sat with mouths open fsI
usleep, all but one. He did not look like
peasant-he looked more like a factory harS
Ihere was something so lean and hungry a
intensely eager in his eyes. He did moi moth.
me watching him, for with an almost strainsi
intensity he was studying the faces of thssi
peasant comrades with whom he had 49,,
thrown. He seemed to study them one bv N.
we stopped at station and they all awoka
Ihe group began to talk. There was talk a
trenches, of deep mud and water, and som,
one told of bayonet charge in which he bai !
killed 10 Frenchmen. Then followed SONS M
Jokes about a spade. Some one in the German
tfenches, 1t seemed, held up a spade ever
morning, and presently from the Frepsh
trehches an answering spade appeared, where
upon both French and Germans climbed out
OF their holes, and there was a truce Of d F
minutes-one of the toilet arrangements Of tn.
war. Finally somebody wondered how lons
the war was going to last. And then the lean
raced man, the watcher began TO talk 70
these comrades whose faces he had STUDIED
SO carefully, one by one. His talk at first wa
careful. too We're q hard crowd Of fellow
to beat" he declared, and to this the othsy
promptly agreed. But so are the French and
the English" he added land I think the val
VIII last for Years. And when II is over what
will we get out of it?"
He talked about war taxes. He asked each .
peasant what tax he had paid on his farm
before the war. Then he said the taxes would &
De doubled for years to come. and the lOngg
the war lasted, the longer and the heaHa +
would be the taxes to be paid. But that E
not our Kaiser's fault" said a stout good.
natured peasant. 1T is tho fault of England
and the French and Russians. Don't you knoE
they started the war, the devils2' Thief i
Governments did" said the ean-faced maA
"But I've talked with some of those fellow
when we took them prisoners The Frensa
are good fellows, like ourselves" Eyes, thu
are good fellows" the good-natured peasant
agreed. And they did not start the war u
Russia, the Gear, he started it off, becaua
the workingmen up in Petersburg were making
nam trouble; they even had barricades In ne
streets. SO he started the war to stop thsl
strikes. And in France it was the fat Catholf
priests and all the rich people who want
King. In England, / read in the papers Insf
have had hard time TO get the workngmta
to enlist"
They are cowards," said a peasant "fsl
but they did not start the war. I tell you hs
war was started by lot of fat rich peopA
And we are the fellows who have to get kisa
and II we don't get killed by God We ~
have to pay war taxes! And think Of ths
widows we'll have 10 help. All the ieaeI
who are killed are leaving In every ulAss
widows and little brats who will have 70
,ed And the villages will have to FEED tn.a h.
And that viii mean more taxes. And us
onger all this fighting goes on, the moro tals
We will have to pay"
All the faces were gloomy now. The geoa
latured peasant tried to Joke, but got no y
'ponse. We'll, we're in for IT," somspo1
;rowled. IAN the same" said the leah,as'ss ,ss /.
nan, TN be glad when there's peace ~ = !
glad when we all jump up out OF the ueneas
md all the French fellows do the same -
We all run across and shake hands wish -
ther" That will be fine," said the
atuFed peasant. wen do II soon s. -
var is over" Some fellows have done .
he speaker replied. 'What?" "soms b.
old me that where he was our men hslo
pades. and the French did the same, ana H.. r..
hey ran out and all shook hands anu
i'd like this at the trenches" He made = =.
I which they all laughed But the laugh ~
topped, and there was tense silence;
ant do that TO your officers" groWlsa
ian uneasily. "Its lie and Il never
ened" said another peasant you ar n
laking It up" Perhaps it is lie, sAn
peaker, but that is what the feiio" -
Le threw a vigilant glance along the r0s
aces.
And when you come to think Of hAss
Ontinued quietly, sit is not so bad what -
allows did. You must obey your ofnesi5s, A.
ause this Is war, and IL we fellows
oeY everything would all be mixed
le French would charge and Kill US -
whole regiments everywhere jumps
the trenches, as he said, and al uls -
en did the same. and we met In tns -
the held then there would be war no
I'd no need of officers" .. ass
There was a long, uneasy silence. -
ze this talk" muttered ths good-nat1tsa -
H. "It is not good to talk OF this -
e right, brother" another growlsa.
M get US all into trouble" he SAID
lgrlly TO the speaker, Look OUT
lere's no trouble" the speaker Tep1ls
st told you what the fellow SAID
was wrong ana perhaps he was risns
* about something else instead.
: The lsan-1aead man haa 1ss=as
per With 3 relieved expression -
had put through his JOB loF ne