Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1917-09-12
DON'T WORRY ABOUT
BoYz; 2>MP \! DODGE
The Boys Are Going {, d. Treated
Well. officers Are All Go n.
Used to Refined Home
Influences.
NO IONES0' y CONSCRIPTS
ARE IN CAMP
Need Not Picture Your Boy as Look
ing LOnely and Unhappy. They
Are All Enthusiastic.

The DeS Moines Evening Tribune
of Friday contained the following
article by Lue Mcnamara, about the
(, soldiers boys at Camp Dodge, the
army contonment where Decorah and
Winneshiek county boys are located:
Mothers, don't worry about your
boys. l went out to Camp Dodge
yesterday to see "The lonesome little
conscript" l couldn't find him. And
here's the message to you mothers
given to me by Maj j. A. Storch of
the Third battalion, Three Hundred
y a1d Fiftieth regiment, one of the men
who will have your boys training in
charge. It's reassuring message.
It's for mothers. The gallant major
dsmounted from his prancing horse
4 to give it to me. Here it is:
Most men are good men. The boys
who come here are mostly good boys.
They are going to be treated we'll.
The officers who have them IN charge
all come from good homes AID are
Il used to refined home influences. So
don't worry about your boy. He'll
have less chance to go wrong than
he would at home"
And just inside the barracks some
of the young conscripts who had just
arrived were busyinr themselves IN
packing their grips and getting out
cots. Maybe your boy was among
5 them. If he was you need not pic
ture him as looking lonely and un-
happy. He was grinling, was your
boy. He was enthusiastic and glad
to be there.
l hurried and caught up with one
rather pensive looking youth who
was going from the receiving station
to his barracks. Here. l thought,
was the lonesome little conscript.'
Excuse me, but how are you?"
asked il a tone of genial sympathy.
Bully" said the kid, flashing a
grin.
How do you feel about coming
out here?" l prompted,
"Tickled to death to be here. Glad
/ came" he said, as the barracks
swallowed him up.
And he looked as though he meant
every word of II.
| followed kid conscript into the
a, barracks. saw him welcomed cor
daily by the officers, take off his coat,
select a black painted cot from a
stack and carry it upstairs to his own
little apartment which will be shared
V by some 200 others.
l saw him come grinaing down
stairs. ready for dinner
n Kid conscript didn't have any en-
graved silver napkin ring like he did
when he was just Robert McPher-
son Jones back in his home town,
And there wasn't any mother to
Jump up every few minutes to wait
on him But he didn't seem to mind.
You ought to have seer him. o moth
er, way off there in the home town,
\ light into the beefsteak a la minute
and the boiled potatoes.
Here's what sonnie enjoyed at his
I meal in Uncle Sans reserva-
tion: Dill pickles, vegetable soup,
beefsteak la minute, boiled pota-
toes, stewed corn, apple cobbler,
coffee and bread and butter. What?
Oh, yes, if he wanted second help
(. ing he got it.
Mother must have made it seem
almost like home to him. The meal
was served under supervision of Chief
Cook Harvey Metz of Mason City
whose son oliver is now in France
with the. Eighteenth Iowa infantry
of Cedar Falls.
I'm still looking for the lonesome
conscript. Maybe I'll find him yet.
Lieut.. F. S. Perkins, temporarily at
tached to the supply department, who
was on duty when husky bunch OF
the new conscripts came into bar
!. racks, remarked: They're the ideal
type-right height, right weight and
y right sort of Intelligence. And they'll
lead even a better life. here than they
did at home" So mother, don't wor-
ry about that boy.
v -O--