Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1916-08-30
LETTER FROM BORDER

| Will Do RAPID ana complete.
LETTER FROM BORDER
Below is given several excerpts
from letter written BY an oflicer In
the regular army to q Manchester
friend. On account Of the strictnesa
of government censors no names are
given:
MARTA, Texas, Aug. 20. 1915.
Dear Friend:
Have Just received your letter and
am answering In haste, as We leave
tonight for another point along the
border. I cannot tell you where. "a
all troop movements are concealed un-
til the last minute arrives. have
been down here for some time, and of
course have become accustomed to
the climate. 1t is not anywhere near
as bad at it is pictured in some of
the papers up North.
At first the troop was with was
in a very poor camp. but since the
sanitation corps got to work every
thing is fine and It is much the same
as Iowa. One can close his eyes when
he retires for the night and imagine
readily that he is back in Iowa.
That bunk that some Of the militia
men have sent back to various news
papers in Iowa about the poor quail
ity Of the grub is simply rot Some
Of the boys came down here fondly
imagining they were going on sum
mer's vacation with unlimited pleas
ure and hotel menu to order din
ner of Of. OF course they got glor-
iously fooled but the grub or food
or fodder or whatever you will is all
20. K, believe me- The best part Of
it all is. it seems, that those who Jared
the lowest at home are the very ones
who raise the loudest wall.
Since encamping here the men have
all made cots for themselves and
this eliminates the bug and insect
pest. While necessity forced US to
sleep on the ground in our blankets
the bugs W ere very bad, but that is
a thing Of the past now, and we are
not troubled at all.
l have talked to several suardsmen
and they say that their one regret is
that they did not bring down a plen-
Il ful supply Of insectide and carbol-
ic acid.
The Mexican situation has raised
the "regs." idea OF the National Guard
very highly and militiamen are no
longer looked down upon as they once
were. OF course we do not expect
and did not expect that they ould
step down here and pull of maneuvers
with the same ease as we did, but the
boys sure did themselves proud, and
it would take a very highly trained
eye to distinguish between regular
and guardsman now.
I suppose Manchester is much the
same. OF course have not been
there for several years, but I can
sure see it pretty plain yet. had
fine time and your people there are of
the most hospitable have ever met.
I must close now, as the bugler is
playing the color call, probably the
last that we shall ever hear from
here. You should see the men. can
didly believe that there is no more up
lifting sight in the world nor none
more patriotic than the lowering Of
the national emblem at sunset. The
men at attention, the band rendering
"The Star Spangled Banner" and all
this set upon a stage that cannot be
rivaled for sheer beauty and natural
picturesqueness.
In one hour tents " i'll be struck
and we will be driving our horses over
the sands of the desert To-. You
know as we'll as I that is the part
about army life that is hardest to get
used too. One never knows what he
is going to do or where he is going
until he actual order comes to move.
And so goodbye and write. I shall
send you a card as soon as we reach
our destination.
SHOULD USE DINNERS.
More and more throughout the
state is the hue and cry over the use
Of DINNERS on automobile headlights
being raised. 1t is right, too. No one
can drive safely at night with the
glare of brilliant electric lights blind
ing him. Most cars of later years
are equipped with DINNERS and they
should be put into use. The manu-
facturers did not place them on the
machines for ornamental purposes.
CONTRACTORS BUSY.
Judging from an interview with
several Manchester contractors, this
city is on the crest of building
wave. Many new houses have been
erected thus far this summer and
many more are in the process of con-
ctrurfiop Mon oh actar ic opo of tho