El Nuevo mexicano., 1917-05-31
: Soldier Tells
About Some Slackers
In the Pecos Valley

The Pecos valley News, puDilsned al Ar
tesla. of which Lieutenant +. Newkirk, New
Mexico National guard, is one of the own.
ers, has the following summary OF the four
principal classes OF young men found in
that vicinity who do not want to join the
ranks, HEte
1T is startling to observe the increas-
ing number OF young men in this city who
have suddenly heard Of excellent positions
Awaiting them In Kansas or California, and
1t Is even more so to listen to the palaver
of their silly relatives, who no doubt, fondly
Imagine that their line OF chatter is intend.
ed to deceive people at large as to the real
reason why young men leave town. On the
other hand it Is pitiful to think Of what
will happen to these chilly-footed, saffron
backed lads, when, after passing up the
work of the National guard they arc thrown
bodily into the regular army under the ma
Itional draft. There isn't a person in own
who does not know the real reason of these
mems moving, and one would think that a
sense of shame would eventually stiffen
their legs. However, men Of this class rare
ly know what shame means.
"There is another class that 10 even fun.
nier than the first, and that is composed
Va "a " oolONatOS "a baSA W tlO
land" movement. Lads who fifteen days
ago could not tell a pillow from a harrow
have lately developed a taste for ~overalls
and splitting on their hands, that is positively
alarming. | passed one in front of the post
office who was industriously chewing a
straw, and as | went by he glanced up
anxiously and remarked by gum!" in a
loud, agricultural tone OF voice. / admire
lkt..A h-..t. A.1,,A - a.. -1~k.~ "a A.
tinctly original ideas Of what constitutes a
farmers working clothes, but | fear that
the drafting officer win never let those pink
and white hands pass for the ~grabbers of
a real producer.
"a third class is made up Of those who.
in the past week, have added or reduced
several years or several months to their
age There is a man in town who has been
shaving for ten years, whose mother sol
emily assures me that her honey-boy isn't
a day over IL, and at the other end of thet
line is a married man who grew ten years
in a single night only to discover that maj
ried men are not wanted at all. | met
single man at Hope who was just seventeen
days over the limit and he was the saddes
man in the whole Pecos valley until / brat
emily suggested that one more lie would noS
hurt him much, and that if he lied about his
age it would certainly, be in a good cause.
He gave me a look that said as plain as
day, You'll never reach the Golden Shore
and walked hurriedly away, no doubt wish
ing to remove himself from the presence Of
one who would i~nveigle him into mortal
sin
"Then there are the physically unfit.
Neighbors, fellow citizens, and lodge broth
ers, I say it with my hand on my heart.
if | had even remotely guessed that this
Pecos valley was such a vale of tears and
hidden disease l would have located on tho
plains. Men whom l have known for years,
hunted over the mountains, fished from one
end of the Pecos to the other, who can tote
a rifle or drag an illegal seine for hours
at a stretch, have carefully hidden from
me their secret sorrow, the knowledge of
that unseen malady that was eating out
their vitals. How any life insurance com
pany can, with due justice to it's stockhold-
ers, sell protection in Artesia, is something
I can not understand. There must be forty
per cent of the lower of youth, young men
between IS and 25, who will not live a year.
And while nothing would please them bet
Ter than forgive their last kick on the battle
fields of Europe, dying in defense Of their
beloved country, deep down in their hearts
they want their bones to fertilize the soil
around Artesia, and SO prefer to stay at
home.
These are only four of many classes.
Some, far removed from the common herd,
have each a class by himself. Others are
too badly frightened to be classified. But
this time, regardless Of classes, every young
man will do his duty whether he wishes or
not, and the rich and the poor, the patriotic
and the Stacker, will eventually stand side
by side, thanks to a military law that treats
all alike"