El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-11-13
PAYDAY JOY IN
PERSHING'S ARMY
Most Popular Man in Expe-
dition Is Paymaster;;
Bootlegger Busy.
BY EDMUND BEHR.

Field Headquarters, Punitive EN2edI-
ton. Mexico. BY Airplane to Columbus,
n. NJ. Nov. I5.-Everyone in camp Is
smiling today. No. Pancho Villa has
not been captured Nor has the order
OF withdrawal come
It's pay day.
Since early morning long lines OF
cavalrymen. doughboys. mule SINNERS
and artillerymen have trailed into the
paymaster's office. signed their names
to the payroll and filed ont with gold
and silver clinking in their pockets
This is the day OF days in camp
Homesiczness and petty kicks are
temporarily forgotten when the army
paymaster arrives. as he does about
this time every month
Little To spend Money For.
Before he's through paying or luiiN
500. 600 viii be distributed among the
regiments stationed here There's not
much TO spend II for down here 50
most Of il Will probably find its way
to relatives or banks back IN the
states Most OF the soldiers VINO nave
been with the expedition since II en-
tered Mexico have started savings ac-
counts. against the day Of their return
TO American soil and the celebrations
that viii inevitably result
a dozen little stores scattered
through the camp give the men n
chance TO spend some Of their month :
pay Mormon business men and dust
ness like Chinese are the proprletors-
They sell many things that appeal 70
soldiers fancies-statlonery candy. TO
bacco blankets. looking glasses, cook
les canned preserves. chocolate maya
zines. oil stoves g Is and underwear
BOotIeEEers. Too.
Once in a great while = "DootleEEer
is able TO elude the guards and make
his way into camp with flre-Water ca o.
ried in five-gallon gasoline cans
Around pav day especially do the llquor
vendors redoubIe their efforts 10 get
into camp with their contraband I'm
OF .pickhandle" are sold for p cents
The quality Of the whisky they sell
is notorious, as one man Said- -,--
Tt makes you feel like three drinks
Of II would give you the power 10
lick a regiment
Put II is only fair 10 say that the
number OF bootleggers who have pene-
rated the camp are very few MOST
Of them are Mexicans- Several nave
been arrested with the goods on
them. r.,.,
There is a strange COINCIDENCE con, con
nected with each pay day mere " leH
night comes, a low voiced choT Us
breaks out all over the camp, groups
OF men cluster about rough tables. over
about il five and ten deep. so there Is
no seeing. from the edge Of the crowd,
what IS in progress at the center BUY
the musical clink Of silver md gold IS
audible. There IS a great swapping OF
fingers and the men bending over the
tables. can be heard utteTing these
mysterious cavalistic words
Come on, little joe Git MN:
sebenr' ''Baby needs pair OF SHOES
Fighter from Decatur Don't you
fail me Big Dick Cit every sheep
in de fold" Read EN- and weep
Oats il. natural
For a week after pay day this , goes
on every night. then gradually me
eroups thin out. By the middle OF the
month an is quiet at night around the
tables.
The Most Popular Man
Ask any soldier who the most popu-
lar man in the army is and his answer
viii never vary-"the paymaster-
While that universally popular flgure
is in camp. there Is an air OF peace
and coutentment that is not so no
ticesble at any other time OF the month
The camp today is full OF tnat splrll.
Next week well all he broke. the boys
saw. now our pockets are jingling mer-
rilv. So I'VE should Worry