The Washington herald., 1918-10-20
By A TRANSPORT OFFICER.

OF the many difficult duties an on
Ger In the army has to perform in
France, or at any other seat Of war,
there Is nothing to compare with that
OF the censoring of hundreds OF let
ters written by the soldiers under his
command. The unfortunate platoon
commander is required to have the
wisdom of Solomon to cope with his
task, the proper fulhlment of which
brings him no glory and no thanks.
In fact, II he is not an amateur
diplomatist Of a high order. he Ie-
ceives only the friendly abuse Of his
men
The problems he Is confronted with
are unending, and the censoring work
is done as a task after the perform
ance of other tasks. The soldier,
when he has nothing else to do. writes
letters to his mother, sisters, broth
ers uncles, aunts, cousins, and to
every friend he can think of, telling
all about the war, all about the coun-
try, all about the natives. all about
the food he eats, and a million other
things. Very often he writes practi-
eaily the same letter to seven or eight
different people. and the letter is
about six pages long. The unfortu-
nate Officer has to read through each
and every one in case there may be
something hidden away in any one
OF them which 1t is not desirable
should go forward. The soldier writes
his letters cheerfully In his spare
moments; the officer, alas. censors
them miSerably in what should be
his spare moments.
Writes to TIVE Wives
What is the oficer to do in such a
case as this? A soldier has two wives,
and writes to both on the same day!
Is 1t necessary for the company officer
to interfere? Another soldier. who
has Just arrived in France and has
never been within twenty miles OF the
firing line. writes home that the
sound of the guns is deafening and
the bombs were bursting all around
this morning" There was probably a
certain amount Of truth in the latter
statement. as he may have witnessed
an exhibition OF bombing at the prac-
tiee ground or assisted at a bloodless
battle in one Of the training fields.
Another soldier. who Graves for SYM
pathy and gifts, writes home to say
that the life is hard and the food is
bad. very bad indeed. and will you
please send me some cigarettes ana
candles and a cake" etc?
The newer the soldier the more he
writes. the greater the hardships re
endures. the more wonderful the ad-
ventures that occur TO him. The dan
gers through which he passes (usu-
ally when he is still miles behind the
firing line) are simply tremendous,
The older and more experienced SOL
dier who has been at it for a little
time does not write these Munchausen
letters, but takes things as he finds
them and makes the best of them.
realizing that he is engaged in a war
the greatest which has ever occurred.
and not in a Cooks Tour" to Europe.
He does not expect Pullman palace
cars when travelling on the train. or
parlor suites with bath and a separate
table in the dining salon when cross
ing the ocean. or even palace hotel
accommodation when he gets to
France. What he wants to do is to
kill Germans. and he realizes that TO
do this he will have to put up with
all sorts OF conditions which he never
dreamed Of before becoming a soldier.
After he has soldiered for a little