Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1917-07-25
LETTER FROM
WARREN SOLDIER
CONTINUED from page one)
were shown where to sleep and told tc

were shown where to sleep and told to
60 to bed.
want to remark upon the hair cut
we received at this time. The army
regulations read Keep your hair cut
short, Those BARRIERS sure followed
the letter of the law. Some of my hair
was left two inches long and some of it
was cut within a half inch of my life.
have been here two months and have
had my hair trimmed four times and
it just begins to act right. There were
a good many howles heard in that bar
Der shop and there we're good many
pOmpadours spoiled, at least, for the
time being.
However, we finally got to bed, and
don't think 1 will soon forget my
first night in Jefferson Barracks.
There were about eighty hunks in the
room, two deep, and a green recruit in
each bunk sharpening his wits at the
expense of his fellow creatures. They
were cursing one another, initiating
cat calls, growing, growing and some
crazy loon was up doing clog dance.
would about get to sleep when some
witty remark would soak into my con-
seriousness and I would laugh and be
wide awake again. I think it was two
o'clock before the bunch settled down.
This was before they were sworn in,
you understand, and the officers didn't
bother them unless they started a
rough house.
The next morning we were called
up little before six and marched to
the Mess Hall. The Mess hall is one
of the most interesting parts Of the
barracks to strangers. The old one
will hold about fifteen hundred soldiers
at one sitting. Each bunch of new re-
crhits are required to take their turns
waiting on the tables so there is no
shortage Of walters. 1t takes one
sitting about fifteen minutes to eat.
The cooks have huge caldrons in which
they boil potatoes by the sack, beans
by the barrel and soup galore. Every
thing is done on large scale and inn
mense quantities of each item are
cooked. A bunch Of walters come out
pushing a cart of potatoes, beans,
coffee or whatever it might be and
stop for minute at table and dish
out the grub for dear life. They go
down the hall in this manner filling
the dishes for the walters at each table
and when they come back the dishes
are empty and they fill them again.
This goes on until each soldier is sat-
listed and then the tables are cleared
of dirty dishes and they start over
again. About fifteen or twenty thou
sand meals are sometimes served a
day. The soldiers sure have good ap-
petites. know, personally, that /
have never had such an appetite in
years. saGAAsA Ek4aY
When the new dining room Is put
into use should judge there will be
room for from three to five thousand
at one sitting. 1t is a wooden struc-
ture and seems to be nearly completed
at this time.
After breakfast we were called out
in front Of the Receiving barracks and
divided into squads of fifty according
to the time we had arrived the day
before. There were about six hundred
and fifty Of us and as had come in
on the last train the night before was
in the thirteenth squad. The six hun
dred and fifty were examined, fifty at
a time It was about four in the ev-
ening when we finally got into the ex-
amining barracks and here our fun be-
gan. don't know how cold it was in
those rooms but have seen zero
weather that was warmer. I will give
you an idea Of this examination as
near as possible from the orders we
had fred at us while travelling thru
the building. Room /. Take OFF your
clothes Room IL. Look me In the