Mexico weekly ledger., 1917-10-18
Letters From
Soldiers


10Y &1AN1A ]
staff Correspondent Of the Ledger
CAMP FUNSTON. Kan, Oct 10
You have received so many letters
from boys at Camp Funston and other
camps telling Of the camp life, eats
work. etc. that il will be a hard MAJ
Ter TO find something to write about
which YOU do not already know; but
I will try it.
Camp Funston now has a population
Of $4,000, being the second largest
city in the State Of Kansas. -Four
months ago its population consisted
of iack rabbits and it was nothing but
an immense sandy valley surrounded
on two sides by smarl mountains one
side by the Kaw River, and trees on
the east. Today there are more thau
| 1000 buildings and others are going
I'M so fast one can almost stand ana
watch the erection from foundation to
roof. Camp Funston is a typical
achievement Of the worlds greatest
| nation at war. It is hard to imagine
A city of 1000 in which every citizen
is a man over twenty-one and most o.
them under thirty-one; every citizen
wage-earner and engaged in the
same line of activity; but that is the
case here. Major General Leonard
Wood might be called the mayor OF
this city and his assistants in run
ming the municipal affairs are thous-
ands of commissioned officers who
might be called members Of the City
Council.
The last contingent Of forty per
cent, which arrived last week, are be-
ing drilled and drilled hard. They
must catch up with the other men who
came some time ago. Most Of the Au-
drain county boys, who came on the
last contingent, are in Company X,
354th Infantry. They and all the
other new men were taken on a six
mile hike Monday morning, and drilled
till noon. After mess the perform
ance was repeated. They went thru
it twice today, and the chances are
about ten to one they'll do it ever,
day for several months to come.
l The Kansas City Star, Of course
is a good newspaper, but to make tn
folks at home feel better / want II
assure them things out here are no
, nearly as bad as the Star would hav'
q them believe. 1t is true that we havI
no heat and the chances are it won
be completed till sometime in Novem
Der; but all this cry about comforts
I clothes, etc., and freezing to death
false alarm. Every man has a sepa
rate and comfortable bed, two com
forts or blankets, and plenty to eat
. And they are not kicking. The
Know they are here to fit themselve
to help crush P~russianism. They AZ
working hard, and nearly every ma
before he has been here a week ge.
the desire to go to France. Our car
tain told us today that he is Of tn
opinion that a big per cent of the me
out here will be on their way TO Franc
by the first of the year.
Every soldier and sailor who write
J. back home has something nice to SO
about the Y. NJ. C. A and I'm not g
ing to be any exception. 1t is doin
a wonderful work with the color:
on the battlefield, and in camp, and
the folks back home don't subscril
literally to help them carry on ii
work they ought to be ashamed
themselves. Every night there
some sort of entertainment in the
big building, and it is always goot
In the selective draft no exceptiC
was made with actors, and those TIL
are here are only glad to get the stal
and help make the life a little bett
for the rest of us. l am writing tn
between acts, and if | mix in a lit
no Dutch dialect, a funny story of Goo
,In bye Broadway" that is the reason.
b. Some of the raw recruits pull o
,in some amusing stunts or bone-head
,zo while on duty, that are never pu
mo lished. For instance, the other mig
N after a rain a rookie guard halted
Az General who was coming in on
nd horse, and ordered him to dismou
ida to be recognized. The General d
itb not want to get his shoes muddy, al
in tried in every way to talk the qua
G out Of it. Finally, the rookie sal
v "Now look here, General, don't v,
NO monkey with me. When they ri
me this here gun she was loaded, a,
Nv she amt never been shot neither
i.v The General %dismounted. Anoth
guard told a raw recruit to halt Al
ng advance to be ~reorganized, the 9th
60 Light. whats the use?" said t
v? new soldier, "You wouldn't know m,
to Soldiers have to be in bed by 81
tn. and they are always willing. /
viii near enough that time for me to ste
emit All soldiers like to get mail, and / a
&C. no exception. Tell my Mexico frien
, a that Carter C. Vaughn, Company
354th Infantry, at Camp Funst
would be mighty glad to hear fro