The Morgan City daily review. (Morgan City, La.) 1916-1920, 1918-05-17
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How Mrs. Lana Finally REALIZED
That Thousands of Other
Mothers Sos Are at War
SCarred Battle Front.
BY MAMMALIAN FOSTER
OF the ViQiIantes.


lcaNcS nothing. and there is also the
well known biological theOrem that
you cannot get blood from a turnip.
1t is also assumed. Sir Isaac Newton
having demonstrated the law, that
what goes up is bound to come down.
but this is only abstract. Mrs. Lane
probably would have denied it.
The flat rent, previously $1,000 a
year, now was $1,iOO, and it showed no
signs whatever Of coming down. The
same condition applied also to her
childrens shoes. The shoes now cost
81. whereas they formerly had cost 81.
But this was merely a detail. A simi.
lar phenomenon occurred as to beef.
steaks, potatoes. butter. fish and the
81 other varieties Of domestic essen.
tials. All had gone up; none had
come down. About the only thing sta.
BILE in Mrs. Lanes cosmos was Mr..
Lanes yearly income. This was $1,000
4 year. Already Mrs. Lane had given
up one maid. The war literally was at
her door. True, Mrs Lane had no son.
no brOther-nO kin Of any kind-in the
war, but the war still was at her door.
Hard to Make Ends Meet.
Give money for the war? What do
you think she was doing. anyway?
She was giving every cent she had.
trying to make both ends meet in her
household. 1t hurt, though. Mrs.
Lane was kindly. warm hearted wo-
,1,o ho~ tn
The war was dreadful! 1t was SO
dreadful she'd stopped reading about it
But one must read letters. One
must do that when a friend takes the
trouble to write them.
The letter came in the morning mail
again. Afterward she sat there u.-
sorbed, silent. rigid The color had crept
out Of her face, and her breath came
swiftly from between her parted lips.
II houe just come book from the
] canteen," it read "Swch an otter
noon! A trGinload OF seriously
sc0xnded to be fed ct once. schich
!! Is frtin4, as one has to climb into
all the carriages. one after the 9th
@. We begin ,cith the men uho
are sceU enough to sit ap end han
die their cups, and those achO are
too i'll ecen to lift their heads. OF
course, zoe hare to lift and feed
ourselves. Feeding the ones 10Th
bad face nounds ere the hardest.
can stand Wdinary ,c1unds OF
blood, but tchen man ought to
hare nose dNd mouth and ell he
hos is-ush!- lit takes ell your
courage to get thyen7h jeeding.
managed to set kGlf Pint Of
p,iH and beaten egg and some
brandy detcR the thrOdt Of boy OF
ftccnfN tcho had no m0ath left, and
had to clean it befseeea every
moNthful. He had had no food fn
fifteen hours and scas 50 thtrstS
that he 1cas nearly isasanc. l het4
hts head d10isst nse, a~l gagged
all the time, bat just kept tAdnA-
ING, Suppose II scds sss ~ schs
needed q driuk and TIER seds no
one to Strc II to htss.' So I acent
through .cith It, ssd he finally vent
to slee1. Oh, Kaytha. AartAs Lane,
100 need evesvthin0-sA ysS and
tho rest csn scnA"
u Lawrsnee Hal Gene 70 War.
One o'clock struck. Mrs Lane stiu
sat with the letter clutched IN hss
hand. whats for diBner" asked Han.
nah, the maid. Mrs. Lane hardly heard
her. She was still sitting there When
Olivia foundered in. Olivia was four
teen, the conscious age. mother" she
said fretfully. Il can't 60 to dancing
school again in brown gloves when all
the other girls have white ones" The
plaint reminded Mrs. Lane that Law.
renee at boarding school had written
that morning about his socks. He had
only two pairs Of silk ones left and
mother" said Olivia, continuing But
what Olivia said Mrs. Lane didn't hear
She had dropped her head on the table
and unaccountably was weeping. "Jus,
suppose it was my bOy-mine she
was sobbing.
"Why, mother!" calculated Olivia.
She hurried toward her mother
as though Lawrence had gone to war;
Mrs. Lane looked up. the tears
streaking down her face.
THAT'S just what is the matter W! L
me l should be acting as if Lawrence
were there And SO should you. /.
Willie were like these, the boys there.
she pointed to- he letter that ha slip
ped from her lap 10 the tioor-''if he
were, ike them. in need. dying, want.
ing eggs. milk, brandy. to- keep him
alive, would you be buying white
gloves? And would we think what other
people wear or how they live or wheth.
er we had only one servant now? If my
boy was over there. if my son were"
But other women's sons are over
there. Mrs. Lane had at last realized
this. The tears were rolling down hss
cheeks.