Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1918-05-07
LETTER FROM HERBERT C. SMITH
Fort Gibbon, Alaska,

Editor 'Wausau Pilot"
Wausau, Wis.
Dear Mr.. Thayer:
Surely appreciate what is probably
your gift to the 'boys," that are serv-
ing Uncle Sam, namely the "Wausau
Pilot" Nothing hits the spot better
than your weekly. Altho we only get
mail here about once every three
weeks, when 1 do receive the 'Pilot,"
seems as though l was spending
week end back in the old "hum town" :"
while covering the lines, and believe
me there be no. words left out by
this Wausauite from the time | start
in with the EDITORS name on the first
page to the time I read the last add
in the southeast corner of the last
page. Personally, l for one, don't
think you could be serving your coun-
try to any better advantage, than by
doing just what you are. If folks at
home half realize, what the receiving
of the "Wausau Pilot" meant to the
boys "over there" "up here" and in
fact 'all over" they would readily
agree with me on this point But, oh,
for the day, this damnable war is
over, the day world democracy is es-
tablished once and for all. WHAT
grand and glorious feeling twill be,
for the boys to be a-piling board trains
for their respective "hums," the greet
ings at the various kinds of stations,
some probably located in large cities,
some in the quiet country towns, such
as Jobs Corners" the different types
of people that will bedown to said
stations doing the greeting, perhaps a
few Cones Bands" Nevertheless.
what ever kind of greeting will be dis
played, it will be one great big Home
Coming" that will go down in the an
mails of history Far be old America
from being a warning nation. Up to
the time war was declared, we had
celebrated with much rejoicing, 100
years of peace with Great Britain, and
were looking forward to a time, when
quarrels of the world would be settled
by an international court-The Hague.
But how proud we can be of our
democracy" when you stop to consid-
er the achievements since last April.
Without distinction of age, sex, or
occupation, the spirit, with which each
and every able-bodied American rem
dered themselves, their talents, and
their substance, for the best use the
country could make of them in this
emergency, is the dynamo, which is
giving great power to our men and to
all forces engaged in the war. Despite
our unpreparedneSs, month had hard
ly elapsed before laws had been passed
and preparations made for raising a
great army and providing for its train
ing and maintenance; billions of dol
lars raised to carry on the war; in
dustrieS of the country adjusted; ships
built to transfer men and munitions
and food for them and the allies; and
last OF all the enforcement of food
conservation, which at that time
seemed least thought of all. To more
than double the size of our regular
army; to open up training camps for
new officers, who were to take charge
of the drafted men; the building of
the sixteen large cantonments, each
capable of housing forty thousand men.
Certainly stupendous task, and yet
how easily it has all come about Can't
say that Uncle Sam is so far behind,
when it comes to efficiency My ex-
perience at Fort Sheridan, will always
remain foremost in my mind, because
American citizen, first realized the
value of the Stars and Stripes. Pre-
ViOus to this the National Anthem
never meant any more to me than the
Salvation Army song, Throw Out the
Life Line" did to a street bum. The
first night, 1 stood retreat" along
with thousands of other fellows, be-
lieve actually grew an inch, so proud
did / feel, standing there at a right
hand salute, while the band played,
and Old Glory was brought down from
on high. This national army backed
up by the national spirit of our liberty
loving nation, will soon stand at the
pass, which separates civilization from
barbarism. If the Greeks won at
Marathon, and the Christians at
Tours, and the English at Waterloo,
surely the Soldiers of Freedom" will
win, when the last charge is made on
| the battlefield of Europe.
| So much for the war-will try and
disclose something of Alaskan life at
Fort Gibbon, during the eleven months
winter and the one month, which is
| generally d late in the fall. AS a
rule, the most interesting topic to write
on, are the "dog-gone dogs.'' The
population here runs something like
this: 100 whites, $50 Siwash Qndi-
| ans), and 1865 Malamutes (dogs)
The harder the wind blows, the louder
the dogs howl. A Malamute exists for
the sole purpose of being as "ornery'
as he knows how. 1t takes him three
minutes to eat his daily ration of one
fish and he spends the rest of the
ltwenty-four hours yodeling for more
If you build him a good comfortable
kennel and fill it with straw, he'll eat
the straw and sleep on the roof with
his mouth open, singing like Mis-,
sissippi quartet. And when it comes
to being good house dogs, they're
simply not there. They're as playful
as a sick bull in red bathing sui
and the expression on their faces is