The daily banner., 1917-11-15
When Jack Came Back
From Over There
(By Anna Steese Richardson

shows only on demand, she and
have talked OF little except her bo,
somewhere in France.
She is the sort of woman who cal
maintain a town and a country eS
tablishment without friction, enter
tain her husbands friends suavely
dispense personal charities gracious
ly and pray nOontimes in quiet chur
ches unostentatiously. l imagine
that most of her petitions for the
past fifteen years have been for Jack
For | will not try TO gloss the
truth about Jack. All the wildness
ana spirit of miSrule On both sides
Of the family seemed TO crop up il
turn. He holds record for suspen-
sions in good schools. The unSpok-
en- question on his mothers lips nc
matter at what hour the house was
closed, was alWays-'1 wonder where
Jack is?" But whatever his sins OF
omission or of commission, he has
always been truthful, brutally truth
jul. His teachers may have expelled
him from school in the cause OF dis
cipline, but they believed every word
he said.
And he lived up to this record dur
ing his three years, somewhere in
France. Three times he was made an
officer and three times he fell back
into the ranks for defying military
regulations. Three times he landed
IN a hospital and the third time in
The hospital at Bath, England, the
doctors decided that Jack could nev-
er again go over the top, never again
Il RI n
King George, the little cross-and
passa ge, for America.
Now you can picture the mother
and the home to which Jack return
ed, and the Jack who rose stitfly and
srinned cheerfully as l entered his
mothers morning room. His khaki
Uniform struck an alien note among
he cretonne fiXings, all gay flowers
md paraquetteS, the luxurious "trip
3eries of a woman-made home. But
he boy snuggled among pillows as if
he touch of them filled a long ex-
sting void.
You must find New York a bit
iull after camp life" | suggested.
How do you spend the time?"
He juggled q sewing trinket and
grinned again.
I'm the busiest man in town. l
see two shows a day. | have seen all
ne best cabarets and eaten at all my
3ld restaurants. And when there's
better, l sit at the window
n Dads club and watch the girls
rail up and down the Avenue. My
7ord, you don't know what summers
american girls are-till you live in
3 no tr<n.. / OF TAth
ieekness of her hair-like satin, isn't
It? And her cheek-like the inside
0f rose petal. And that lacy stuff
1t her throat. That's what you think
] 4 n the trenches. Jdsy or ilne. = 3
! manly stuff-something sweet am
lean and kissable. You remembe
ne Scot in Barrie's The Old Lad
5hows Her Medais?' Chiffons-that'
that we think of-not Fritz, no
glory-chiffons l could look at zen
or a year"
He laughed shortly. Perhaps M
ace showed surprise. Chiffons-
rom a man with a cross under hi
coat!
He rose and made a restless tou
Of the room.
Oh, yes, Jack walks-with a limp
lis right leg was saved by one o
hose marvellous operations whicl
military surgeons in France perform
IS frequently as civilian surgeons Il
america remove appendices.
But they could not put his righ
= rm back into commission because
lit of shrapnel struck a spot in tn
pine which set that arm into per
nf l
Jaw is missing and his mother in
ormed me privately that between al
ne pleasurings which he name'
above, he is having a sad time wit
ne dentist.
So we talked about the efficienc
Of Fritz. the marvellous method b.
yhich England unprepared had mob
liZed her munition makers until sh
ould fire three shells to Germany
one, life in the trenches and the bill
cts, the terrific task of re-habilitat
ng devastated France, war relief, AN
that is most wanted by men at tn
'front.'. To us, women, it was a neN
tory, breathlessiy absorbing. To hin
II was old, but he answered patiently
by the way, did you see much O
| The Y. M. C. A. work in France?"
Indifference died in pose and face
lie leaned forward eagerly Hi
cheeks flushed, and his eyes bright
| ened.
Nov you're asking. The Y. Nc
A.? Say, you can't understand it
no woman could. It's a mans work
lone in a mans way-for men. Th
| Z. M. C. A. My God-the Y. M. {
[ hut ;c
| from the States will know from tn
lime they enter France till they com
cut. What's a billet? A barn with
out a roof. A cellar without a light
\ warehouse alive with rats and ve1
min What's biighty? A few day
| IN Paris or London that make yo
| nalf mad with dread of going bac
10 filth. and wet and mud and tn
smell of dead men who have gone be
lore you? But the Y. NJ. C. A. Hu
that's home-if you can get in.
I've sat in my billet, without
| light, with cobb!e stones and blan
| ;.et for my bed when l was too tire
| 20 sit up-and thanked God for tn
| Hut that my pals could get in eve
If l had been too late.
| In that Hut jammed to the doc
there would be lights-and me
writing home. If there was no ma
1T the piano and the boys aroun
him singing, the phonograph woul
be going and the boys smoking an
! listening. And in winter fires-a
| ways fires. l used TO wonder wher
he Y. NJ. c. A. men got the woot
But they always had it-that's
way the Y. NJ. C. 4. men have.
The other day at the club a ma
Iet out a joke about Y. NJ. c. a. sec
retaries lodging the draft. | had
/ mind to knock him down. Dodgin
| langer? Let me tell you that fo
-nree years, the Y. Nj. c. a. worker
nave marched right along with mt
their list of casualties in proportio
o their number was as large as oul
sometimes | didn't wonder thi
s-ritz calls God his own person;
property.
| Can you imagine what it NEAR
| be sent from billets to the tre1
hes? From comparative safety, hoV
aver dirty, to almost certain death {
,,,iury-and trench filth? Well til