The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1917-11-17

in the now smashed Second North
Dakota, writes entertainingly OF
camp life and his new work-major
of a machine gun battalion.
Major Gearey is now at Camp
Mills, Mineola, Long Island, and re-
Gently enjoyed a short furlough'
which he spent in New York city.
The letter follows:
Camp Mills, l.. l.. n. Y.
November 9Th, 1917.
Dear Folks:
They have a way at division head
quarters OF writing mimeograph or
circular orders, ETC., as it seems to
be impossible to get business at
tended to in any other way; unless
they were to print books. and that
is so slow. 1t seems to me that II
I am to correspond with you all'
I shall have to adopt a similar meth
cd. so please like my letter, even
though it lacks the personal touch,
which might accompany a penned in
dividual letter.
| could not write of what is to
happen, for that might be viola
ton of orders and as there is moth
ing much to write OF myself, i am
forced to relate what has happened
recently. That involves the pos
sibility of duplicating for ! can't al
ways tell what / have written to
each one.
we left Camp Greene on a fair day
after having been ordered to move,
have then ordered to stay-about
three times. was told by the dtvis-
ion adjutant that my movement out
of camp had been reported by the
uuartermaster as the most salts
factory movement he had handled
vet. | know that / left the cleanest
camp I have seen since / came into
the service; inspected IL myself
after the last soldier was gone; and
so some things go fairly we'll. i feel
all the time that ] am not meeting
my own ideas of success, but l have
not been criticised yet-so far as |
know.
! was glad to go to Charlotte and
was quite as glad to get away. 1t
has few pleasant memories for me.
It was there l lost my battalion; the
weather was, for the most part vile
and the work presented almost in
superabIe difficulties. 1t was there
also that / regained a command and
the people in that region were most
hospitable. think the. work l have
lis more important and difficult than
the old command and many Officers
tell me that it is an honor to be
sent to command a machine gun
battalion, Perhaps IL is as a mill
tarv proposition; but IL has greatly
increased my burden and / can see
nothing but hard work ahead for a
year or two One consolation Is
that many others are In new
classes of work and the scheme of
strategy is all being rearranged from
month to month and even from week
to week and so we all are. as one
might say rather ''up in the air.
They have their trouble above and
below me and we all agree that war
is hell Real campaigning is not so
bad after all. 1t has it's trials but
there is a sustaining excitement; an
ever reckoning uncertainty and
something spectacular to relieve the
monotony incident to camp life.
It is the personal discomfort; the
tiresome routine work; the eXacung
methods; the prosaic routine that
tires one and depresses the spirit.
Arising before daylight in cold
damp, flat camp; getting up after
shivering all night and washing in
water with ice on the top, going
without baths; eating vile grub
stopping about in the mud; working
and working hard and making little
progress: having a mountain of
duties ahead and never getting done;
only to find another hill 9of work
looming ahead when the last is past
that destroys the fine spirit Of
achievement. But like it.; oh YES,
/ like it. l have been through all this
before and went i'm with my eyes
open and we don't expect nor ask
any sympathy. If l can only be a
little help in setting the world rtght
again, may be. forgiven for some
of the things / have failed to do in
the past
You know believe in the effici-
ency of a smile; and 1t does help
over hard places. When / feel like
swearing (Which Is quite often) ]
try smiling and IL seems to answer
the purpose; when / think of you
ais in heated rooms, hot baths,
clean linen, palatable food, a chance
to dress up occasionally, time for
repose and recreation and think my
situation Is bad; ! try considering
the fate OF the Princess Pats, of the
soldiers who defended Verdun; OF
the war captives in the hands of the
Germans, and / discover that my
situation Is really not so bad.
Well, you want news and all this
sounds more like whining than in
formation. Now am not kicking.
like it and am In to stay to the
finish. however. far off that may be.
can't write you any news or a
military nature: but I can write
some things that most anybody
might learn II here. We had an un-
eyentful trip from Charlotte and
passed on some of the work to 9TH
ers and really saw a little as we
came along. / awoke one morning
about daylight and looked out OF the
car window and discovered that we
were passing a great river. won
dered III IL could be the Potomac
We soon crossed and observed a
great dome and square wings on
either side and wondered If IL might
be the capitol az Washington
though we were not due there for q
couple OF hours. III proved to be the
center Of political activity of the
III. s. Al. / was able 70 arrange for
8 stay Of 8 couple Of hours there