The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1918-02-21
Gordon Christie Gives
Details Of Soldier Life

D., Christie, a teacher IN the Wimbledon
High school, and also of Mrs. j. Aus
tin Regar, of Fessenden, who is well
known in this city.
I Mr.. Christie was lawyer in Seat
tie, and when on business trip to
:, Vancouver, he saw some Belgian chill
dren whose hands had been cut off
and his indignation was so great that
he enlisted in the Canadian forces, as
the United States had not then gone
into the war.
The letters are as follows:
December %, 1917.
My dear Grace: In a happier time
this would be beautiful day. The
sun is shining brightly. The sky is
perfectly clear. And the ugly scars
on the ground are concealed or trans
formed under carpet Of white. There
is a line of observation balloons in
front, and one in rear, ours. Between
the two, numerous air crafts are soar
ing hither and yon like great birds.
The bursting shells from the anti
aircraft guns send small f1eecy clouds
across the sky. But on the surface
all is quiet!
It looks like fairy land, and it is
difficult to realize what a hell is to be
turned loose up there one of these
days, in fact, no one seems to con-
slider it. Some Of the men are playing
Five Hundred, some are washing,
some working on their equipment,
but the smatter of talk that is going
around, is all of Christmas. And if
one could look in and read what is
written on the hidden tablets of the
mind, l doubt if one would find a sim
gle thought of war. Therein lies a
great strength! It is we'll not to re-
member too much, or to anticipate too
much. When they talk of things fast
there is a word of respect for the
fallen, and the rest is of amusing in
| cident. Amusing incidents consists of
the times Fritz" tries for you and
misses, by a close margin.
! received very interesting letter
from Ruth few days ago. She ex-
pressed her opinion with regard to an
article she saw in the paper relating
to the soldiers comforts. She was
quite correct. The kindest thing one
can say about the chap, who wrote the
article is that he didn't know what he
was writing about.
Whenever I see paper l am i'm
pressed more and more with the
amazing credulity of the people: or
is it the armor plated intelligence of
the publishers. (Just returned from
supper where I received four parcels.
! one from you, two from Catherine and
one so badly mutilated l am not sure
Of the sender, that it, the wrapper is
all off so l can't see the original hand
writing. And now have almost for
got the war. The hut looks like a
scene from an opera. 49,
! Nearly every man here received
parcels tonight. Thirty candles are
glowing. About a dozen Tommy
cookers are going. The crowd is sing
ing snatches of songs. And the place
is tllled with aromas very strange to
it. Outside the moon is shining and
the "heavies" are lending their deep
notes to the songs. And me, am
chuck full of that cake and CANDY.
You see we can't afford to wait for
Christmas day out here. We have it
when we have the wherewithall and
that is tonight. Tuesday some of US
may not be here. The parcels, Grace,
We're simply great. l could not have
picked better or more appropriate
things, if I had been selecting them
myself. And in addition tonight, nv
selection will have several little
spuds the coming week.
10 return to Ruth's query. I (here)
am at loss to understand why some
of those creatures attempt to give
! the impression that this is a sort of
picnic, unless it is salve for their
own conscience which must show them
the direction their duty lies.
Thank God! there are not many of
those spiritless creatures, but it makes
me boil every time I see one of those
patronizing articles which with sub
tie design insinuate that we are here
fighting for certain people, that such
people are making the job easy, and
that we ought to be proud to do it.
We are here fighting for no one!
; We are here fighting for our ideals
and it is with sorrow that we learn
our ideals must have necessarily. a
certain number of jolts as we'll as rea
lizations.
We are here to fight. We do not
expect comfort or convenience. We
expect to win. When we do, all else
Will be unworthy of consideration.
And we will win, perhaps soon. If the
Italians only hold on their front. I
believe this winter will see that army
crushed, and with that gone, the end
will be in sight. If they do not, we'll!
it will only take little more time.
But to return to the tail once more,
l will tell you briefly how the troops
are quartered out of the line, in order
that you may form your own con-
illusions regarding these newspaper
articles.
The billets are mostly old buildings.
which in happier time and when in
a better state of repair, were the
proud domiciles of live stock. There
is no fire and it is indeed, hardy
man who takes off more than his
shoes when he goes to bed. 1t is
cold, or it is wet. Most of the time
we are lousy. We average about one
bath month, that is, we stand for
three minutes under a hole in a pipe
and call it bath. But we don't ex-
pect any more. One gets use to such
things when there is a great purpose
to achieve and doesn't mind.
The troops laugh about the cold,
about the wet, about hunger, about
fighting itself, and because thew
laugh the fool thinks they enjoy it,
l fancy. But the truth is it is neither
good or bad. it is war. And war is
what Shornoon e.;I - ,,,o. Al -