The Leader, enterprise and press. (Fitzgerald, Ga.) 1915-1921, 1918-08-16

| IL oNSl " lhS ACduCl -I-HlSI plloS. II -
of unusual interest as it demonstrates
| that bread cast on the waters returns
i'll ham sandwiches" for Fitzgerald re-
| ceives considerable advertising from
it.
Music News is in receipt OF the fol-
lowing interesting letter from Josef
Konecny, the Bohemian violinist, res
| ident of Chicago, who is now in war
service for the United States:
22nd Receiving Co., Q. M. c.,
Camp JOS. E. Johnston,
Jacksonville, Fla, July a, 1918
Music News:
suppose you, as we'll as some Of
your readers, will be interested in
some of the adventure" that befall
a rookie" in Uncle Sans army.
left Chicago Saturday night, May
Is, and arrived at Jefferson Barracks
early Sunday morning, after having
breakfast and changing cars at St.
Louis, Mo. 1t was with an admixture
of manifold sentiments that ate my
breakfast in the restaurant of the
Union depot at St. Louis. Only a
short time before l breakfasted in the
same place with my two congenial CO.
artists on concert tour, and little did
| imagine then that when | next pass
ed through there it was to be as a
volunteer in Uncle Sans army
On our arrival at Jefferson Barracks
the boys in khaki greeted us, at every
step and turn, with that very sifnih-
cant expression, "Oh, you'll like it,"
We were quartered in tents in a
beautifully wooded grove overlooking
| the Mississippi River, and for two
days had not much of anything to do.
! On the third day we went up for the
| big examination. This was an event
which will remain as one of the out
standing features in the memory of
every soldier who has gone through
| it, We entered the examination rooms
at about a. IN. in an entirely nude
state, and after being subjected to
most minute and detailed physical ex-
animation emerged between 3 and 4
p. m. in soldiers uniform with equip
! ment. One may rest assured that no
| weakling or defective will ever sue
cessfully run the gauntlet of the many
doctors, surgeons and examiners-too
numerous to count.
We remained two weeks at Jeffer-
son Barracks, during which time all
| of us learned the practical meaning of
that mysterious term fatigue duty"
| Fatigue duty is everything but what
its name indicates. 1t may mean ev-
cry imaginable work under the sun-
from policing" your tents and streets,
peeling potatoes, scrubbing floors, ser
wing at mess ("kitchen police") down
to farming, carpenter work, breaking
stones, loading and unloading cars,
and what not. Every soldier goes
through this, no matter what his rank
in civil life. have already added
number of trades" to my list of &C
complishments since l entered the
army.
OF course, took my violin with me
and from the very first made good
use of it. If had any misgivings as
to how the boys in khaki would take
to classic music such doubts were
quickly dispelled. At Jefferson Bar
racks | played almost daily for the
! boys; sometimes in our tents, at other
times in the open, in natural amphi-
theaters surrounded by beautiful trees,
under the auspices of both the
Knights of Columbus and the Y. M. c.
A., to as many as $500 soldiers and
civilians at time. Never will | for
get the wonderful attention and the
enthusiastic reception accorded me by
the boys, as we'll as the inspiration of
the beautiful surroundings and re-
markedly romantic Stuation--a stu
alton that will never rccur in the lives
of many of us--at least not in this
generation.
After two weeks at Jefferson Bar
racks we were sent here to sunny
Florida. 1t was jolly crowd of boys,
$50 in number, that took the train that
Saturday afternoon. We had our kit
chen car with us and for two days and
nights lived on the train, except at
Birmingham, Ala, and Fitzgerald, Ga.
where the Red Cross ladies met the
train, and we were permitted to leave
it for short period. The Red Cross
ladies treated US royalty and I can't
speak highly enough of their work.
OF course played for the boys on
the train as we'll as for the officers.