The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1918-05-21
THE OLD LADY TALKS
(By Edith Barnard Delano OF The
Vigilantes.)
XII
On the Last Crumb

Inc Saturday dinner table was boun
tifuliy set forth, and beside Cousin
Joseph's place was plate of tin'
white biscuit. The Old Lady jokingly
said something about i, ann Cousir
Joseph's wife remarked, with a little
note of pride,
Eyes, Joseph always has TO have bis
hot biscuit"
"How's that, Joseph" the Old Lady
asked. what about the war and the
food rules?'
We'll" said Cousin Joseph, with Q
kindly, tolerant smile at his women.
folks, these new-fang,ed war-breada
taste pretty good. I'll adri. that
But 1 can't manage to eat 'em; thew
give me Indigestion.
The Old Lady's smile was as be-
Inign as his. That's too bad, joe
said she. "But-do you know, I don't
think your digestion really matters!'
why, Marthy!" Mrs. Joe protest
led; but her husband chuckled.
! Maybe you would if you had to
live with me-" said he. But the Old
Lady shook her head. IF so, I'd "a
begun thinking about it before now!"
she returned. But I can't set your
digestion, Joe, fond as I am of you.
up against the life of my grandson
Junior, for instance, nor against some
other lads leg or arm or eyes. That's
what it comes to-
"Oh, now, oh, now! You run too
fast, Marthy," her cousin expostulat-
ed, in the tone one uses to a child.
81 know it's important to send what
we can over there; but as for giving
up things like white -four and sugar
and so on altogether-oh, well, now,
we haven't come to that yet! 1t isn't
as bad as all that-not yeti"
isn't it?" the Old Lady asked. "And
just when do you think it will be as
bad as all that, Joe?"
/ What do you mean-'just when'?"
/; "Oh put it right down in figures
we all understand! What you say is
mot yet and ask, then, when? The
war has been going on close on to
forty-five months. l don't know how
many lives have been shed in it, The
papers say they run up into the mil
Ilions-and that's more than you and
me can see when we close our eyes
end think about it, But all that only
adds up to not yet What | ask is,
how many more months must the
fighting and the suffering 60 on, how
many more arms and legs must we
waste, how many more eyes must be
put out, how many babies must be
made fatherless, how many mothers
hearts must we crush the JOY out of.
before we come to it,? When?'
"We-e-ell but to hear YOU
talk, a body'd think my biscuits here
were bullets, Marthy! Whereas Nellie
there made EN-, and"
"They amt bullets, Joseph! They're
shells-shrapnel shells! Every grain
of wheat that goes into each one of
EN- is a bullet! Yes, sir! Why, the
most important battlefield in all this
( war-do you know what it is? It isn't
, Verdun, nor it isn't up there in Elan
, cers, nor it isn't in Italy nor over in
Palestine; it's right wherever there's
an acre of wheat growing! And there
iscnt dugout on the front, no, not
anywhere, that's as important as Mel
lies breadbox out there in the pan
try! And there amt an airyplane that
does any better service for the Allies
than the man or woman or child that
refuses to touch wheat till the wars
overt"
"oh, sho. now, even Mr.. Hoover
himself don't ask folks to stop eatin
any wheat-even he lets YOU eat wbat
your health demands!"
And who is Mr.. Hoover. I'd like
to know, that he should ask me or
you to set our health or our comfort
up above the life or the usefulness O.
one o. those boys over there? When
every ounce of -four may man a leg
or an arm Or"
"oh, shucks, Marthy! You do spoil
a mans appetite! Here, Mother" said
Cousin Joseph, take away the hot
biscuits, and bring me in some more
A - "A N