The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1916-12-21
!; POOR CONRAO'S LETTER .

When President Wilson proclaim
ed this day u be day of thanks
giving and prayer and that it should
be observed by this nation as q day
of thanksgiving, fasting and prayer
and not a day of feasting and frol-
licking. | think this feast on turkey
and pie out of place. and if this day
should be kept as our President de-
sired we should do, it would seem
better if we had eaten only the
plainest food, or. better still. no food
at ali. Verv little inconvenience
would be experienced in going with
out food one day.
See by the papers that thousands
and thousands of pounds of turkey,
cake, chicken and pie and great
quantities of what are called nice
things have been sent to the soldiers
at the border. That is unnecessary;
the government is feeding these men
and boys, or veterans of the border,
as they no doubt will be called after
they return home without shifting
much dust or gunpowder. If they
are shifting any powder At all, it's
perfume powder. Soldiers feasting
on dainties would make poor fight.
ers. They would very likely imbibe
the turkey trot AAd at the first VOL
ley from the enemy's guns would
outrun the swiftest gobbler. Just to
think Of fixing up huge boxes of all
kinds of knick-knacks for men who
have shouldered the gun and gone to
the front with the intention of en-
during any and all privations of
camp and field.
When the civil war broke out the
Confederate States gave the South
ern soldier more than he should have
had, consequently one-half of the
army got sick and many died. Of
course much of the food was not
we'll prepared for eating. which had
a good deal to do with causing sick
ness. 1t is quite different in the
United States army. Good cooks and
utensils of great convenience are at
tached to every regiment. The meals
served them are of the most SUBJ
stantial sort and not the same every
day. The poor Confederate did not
have any such waiting on after the
second year of that struggle. He
had to be content on one pint of
ground corn, unbolted, that he stirred
in little water bran, and all as it
came from the mill; cooking. or rath-
er. scalding,in frying pan if so for
tunate as to have one. or any old
piece of tin picked up on some bat
tlefeld, but, bless your soul, that
made men of them. All, those he
roes! | see them still in their latter
ed garments, not at the border in
comfortable tents with plenty of
good uniforms and warm blankets.
but standing around the bivouac
fires on a pile of brush to keep the
melting snow out of their sockless
old shoes or rawhide moccasins. But
few remain to tell the tale now.
Sleep on, dead comrades, you rest in
a hero's grave. While alive we stood
shoulder to shoulder, less than half
clad and poorly fed. All. the private
Confederate soldier! look up at him
on the top of the column at the cross
street. See him with gun in hand.
What is he doing at that post? What
is he watching for? Does he not say,
my country, tis for thee?
have seen many of them receive
what in those days was called rations,
sit around a fire, cook and eat the
whole at once and after that subsist
as best they could. Now, that old
pint cup was nothing more than the
common pint cup often used as a
drinkino vassel Snmetinos nna.nuar.