The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1917-07-18


listed in the army without the con-
sent of the family. She went pos'
haste to the training camp to bring
her brother home and, incidentally
to give the commanding officer a Sc
we're scolding for accepting such
how for the service. But what sne
saw at the camp, the immense lm-
| movement in the bearing and phy-
siuue of her brother when she at last
found him. the vision of what the
! voung men were doing for God ana
home and native land, converted her
and she wrote to her mother all her
experiences. telling in detail that
while she went to scold, she re-
NAMED to admire and praise. the
how was permitted, without protest
to continue in he service.
She saw he boys in training ana
this is what she wrote:
! "They were out there for definite
purpose, representing the highest
type of courage, and for our sakes.
II wasn't just boyish whim and fan
CIV with them. 1t was something
higher. They wanted to earn to fight
to protect you, perhaps, and me, and
all the rest of us who stood in their
way so and opposed them bitterly.
clenched my hands, and the tears
came down For there they were
toiling for me, and back over yonder
by the officers quarters Old Glory
flew and fluttered safely from the tall
flagpole; and there were their little
guarding, dun colored tents, squatting
under the sun and popping in the
high wind like volley of shots-add-
ing a touch of realism to the mimic
war theye boys were playing. And,
on, mother! something rose within
me- maybe the valor of yesterday,
maybe fathers courage and fighting
blood born again in mel don't
know what, but something high and
white and pure that made me under
stand just why jeff Davis had en-
listed"
And then she very clearly learned
that the writing of sob sister stuff
was, positively harmful to the boy
and tells this:
81 found myself humping into JEFF
Davis commanding officer-the very
, man I had planned to shrivel up with
scorn and obloquy for taking oul
, baby boy away from us. His eyes
were angry and he asked me, rather
bruskly, why women did things like
that. Did they enjoy it l asked like
what, rather meekly. He flared out:
why will the mothers of men write
them sob letters II they could SET
the sights l see after their sons gel
those letters-Or their husbands OF
brothers, for that matter-if they
! could only realize how unpatriotit
those letters are, they might thinl
twice before they sent them. There's
boy we have trouble with ever,
: time he gets letter from home. His
. mother writes about her LONELINESS.
and her ever-fowing tears-she mus
l have to do her homework in a skiff-
: and her sacrifices, and the empt,
> chair at the table, and dwells a
length on the dewy lonesome eyes O
his pet dog, and tells him they hat
strawberry shortcake-the nice. juic,
kind you always loved, Willie-fo,
supper, and she couldn't eat anv be
: cause he wasn't there, and the,
scraped out his share because no
; body else could bear to eat it. Car
: you beat it for sheer cruelty? Boy,
: are queer animals Ostensibly the,
. are rocks toward their womankind
: but you just get EN- away from HON,
and then begin serving them witt
that sort of diet several times a week
: and you'll find how really dependen
: they are on their women and what ,
lot of bolstering up they need In
stead OF writing I'm proud of Won
3 Willie. and | often think how nob,,
you're serving the finest country an,
fag of earth. | think YOU look :,
handsome in your uniform. and I'm
4 betting on you to put up the creates
little fight in the world, for | know
q l can depend on you to be fine an,
brave and clean, always, and a credi
to the mother who loves YOU and 9,
proud of your unselfish patriotism
and who think you are so right IN h,
there she writes a lot of sob sin,
about the lilacs being IN bloon
where he used to play. and how tbei
smell nearly chokes her with lonein,
SO that she goes off and cries an,
u cries, and oh Willie what 20