The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-09-14


He gladly accepted and as he sank
back into the soft cushions he sighed,
1T was nice of you to pick me up, be-
cause I came home on account of the
death of my mother" He said his
home was so far out that he asked
only to be taken to the home of his
sister, also on the east side, but not
so far. He said he never could express
his gratitude for that much help. But
after taking him to his sisters house
and finding conditions as they were,
the kind lady insisted upon delivering
him at his former home, which was
long way over east of town. This
house also was small and poor looking
and the crepe was on the door, but
there were three stars on the service
flag in the window.
Did you see the large sized pigs at
the fair? One of them weighed 1904
pounds and bacon 10 cents pound.
Isn't a pig most all bacon? 1t isn't
are as fat as a pig even If it is the
style to be slender, is it? 1t is very
much like saying you look like a mil
lion dollars.
And speaking of millions-do you
suppose the Rota club made any less
than that from the sale of forget-me-
nots for the Belgian babies? Mrs.
Hugh Crawford and Miss Ida Hardy
sold over $3.50 worth in a
short time last evening.
WASH The 1. w. u. "A. tent all l1XeO
up to represent p hostess house, with
fire place. desk and even piano with
palms and cut flowers sitting around,
the most attractive place? This was
something new for a tent at a Topeka
fair. In fact there were many things
this year new to AGATHA.
Sergt. George D. Rees, the son of
Mr.. and Mrs. G. D. Rees, who is with
| the engineers in France, has recently
| received his promotion from corporal.
He is with the 10 engineers and was
| in the engineering department of the
Santa Fee before going into the army.
! His parents have received a letter
from him which will be of interest to
many. He says in part:
r 1--WE are in the front lines now and
| by walking a few hundred feet to an
wonderful view of Germany and sew
| eral kilometers of boche trenches. In
general it is a most wonderful sight,
| but there are a few places where the
ground is shot up so bad that it is a
veritab BILE shambles. Some of the coun-
| try has been thickly wooded, but there
| is nothing to be seen now except big
| craters and tree stumps and trenches.
You can remember possibly some of
| the pictures that you have seen of
the war and the destruction caused !:
well parts of the country look just
|
ed and the houses shot to pieces. One
] church that I saw full of the most
| beautiful statuary and decorations,
| was reduced to trash; the pipe organ
smashed to kindling and everything
covered with bits of plaster and rock.
| However, the country has not been to-
| tally devastated. There is an album
dance of fruit, such as cherries, plums,
| apples, currants, gooseberries and
| some vegetables, but they for the most
part are being spoiled by weeds for
want of care. However, we tend to
the fruit and many a good dish have
] we had for the making.
| Last night some of the boys Lad
narrow escapes. when the boches bonn
| barded us. They put over some high
| explosive shells which caught some of
the boys out and you should have seen
them make tracks for their dugouts.
One boy was standing in the road
when a shell exploded; a piece of il
whistIed by him about half inch
from his stomach AMI before it lit al
most he was going head first into his
dugout. He said he felt the wind from
the piece, which was as big as his two
hands.
81 was standing outside a little be-
fore that, watching an aeroplane I'M
der bonn bardment by anti aircraft
guns and suddenly heard whist1ine
] sound and before 1 could move a
piece of shrapnel cut limb directly
in line with my nose and was de-
fiected. Well. yo1 know. for some rea-
son or other, I did the same thing that
the other fellow did.
Still two other boys were caught
out by -six-incf1,' which lit between
them and their dugout, which wa.
about ten yards from where they
stood. The shell failed to explode
which is common with about half rhe