The daily banner., 1917-11-01
Our Own Boys First
(By Anna Steese Richardson, of The
EigilanteS

?
Eigilantes.
Last week friend, dressed in her
smartest fall raiment and armed
with the ubiquitous knitting bag, mo
tOred TO one of the cantOnments
where our new Army is being trained
to attend the opening of a club house
for officers. 1t was an extremely
fashionable function, but my friend
slipped away with a young nOn-com-
missioned officer to see the sights of
the camp.
That night she knitted as she had
never knit before, because she could
not sleep for the memories which be-
set her, memories of shivering fig
ures, echoes of hacking coughs. And
/ the next morning she was al it be-
fore her friends were out of bed,
telephoning them, imploring them to
knit, knit, knit, and stand between
the men she had seen and that grim
enemy, pneumonia.
Another friend served as waitress
in Il Red Cross tea room at a county
fair near one of the northern can
tonments. When there were no pa
irons to serve. the mattresses brou-
ght out their knitting Three young
soldiers from a western State, find
ing the women thus occupied, asked
in all seriousness if a class in knit
ting could not be started among the
men in the camp. They could knit
before taps. an hour or so, and it
would be jolly 10 have sweaters,
muffiers and Wristlets.
/ listened skeptically to these
tales. The uniform was working its
little tricks on the emotionaliSm of
women, I argued.
Then yesterday l saw the picture
with my own eyes. And l no longer
doubted.
| went to nearby encampment to
look up the son of an old friend who
lives in a distant State. Wherever |
turned, l saw half finished windows
through which the fall wind whistled
and shrieked bleakly. And all around
ME were shivering men.
The half-fnished buildings are the
barracks which contractors have not
completed as promised for our new
ly mobilized army. The shivering
men are your sons, the sons of your
friends, the boys from your town,
who rode forth cheerily to make the
great fight for democracy.
The boy l went to see was not
Shiyering. His mother, woman of
means, had sent him forth with more
than her prayers-Warm underwear,
a heavy overcoat, knitted sweater,
mufIler, wristlets and socks. Some
of the things he still has. The rest
he has given to his pals.
| saw men in shoddy overcoatS
which were made to wear in crowd
ed trolleys and subways-not in the
open, men in leather coats which
they wore when riding motorcycles,
Ilen in pea Jackets and slickers
which had been loaned to them by
kindly fishermen from nearby towns
Uniforms?
Nothing doing in that line, The
contractors who are turning out uni
sorms, shirts, overcoats and shoes
nave not begun to catch up with the
army which is rallying to the colors.
But winter is catching up with it
coming on hard and fast.
The--555sE tra 70 pin ping s at ny siss *
planned the situation thus:
You see, most of these chaps
come from inside jobs, stores, fac
lories, Offices, where there's steam
neat a-plenty in cold weather. They
don't know what life in the open
means. They hadn't the clothes for
his sort of life. And most of them
haven't the money to buy it with.
Hundreds of 'em, like the average
American, lived right up to the tip
md of their salary. If they had any
hing laid away, it was left behind
for the folks. We haven't had any
pay yet, and when it does come, 80
per cent. of these men will send the
bulk of ii home. Some of them
signed all but money for smokes ov-
ar to their folks before they left.
We didn't come out for a Pullman
ear, camping-with-I Indian guide holi
lay, but gee whiz, if some of these
fellows don't get something warm on
heir backs soon, they'll be whistling
something besides 'Tipperary' thru
,heir teeth, and it'll be pleurisy or
pneumonia"
1t wasn't a cheerful line of con-
versation. 1 hated the overheated
atmosphere of the train on which l
rode back to New York.
Later in the afternoon. l stopped
at certain headquarters of great Or
sanitation. 1t seemed to have been
Gnitters' day. Scores of women were
turning in finished garments, cumfy,
5nuggly wool-warm sweaters, muffi
ers, wristlets and socks in KHAKI and
grey.
AS I watched the work, nice
warm glow enveloped me. 1t was
like going into your living room
from a snow storm and finding that
some thoughtful soul had lighted the
fire.
And then the glow died and left
me cold
All those garments were going to
Europe. Nobody knew just where
IN Europe, but the great boxes would
so overseas.
Oh, know our boys are in France