American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1918-05-03
MACHINE GUNNER, JERYNGN FRANCE
GIa7 on |
lhaIAl4 tII EnANl

ing to their work. Crossing the
street, l accosted a Bobbie with
"Can you direct me to the place of
damage2"
He asked me, what damageT
In surprise, 1 answered, "Why, the
damage caused by the Zeps."
With a wink he replied:
"There was no damage; we missed
them again"
After several fruitless inquiries of
the passersby, I decided to go On my
own in search Of ruined buildings and
scenes of destruction. l boarded a bus
which carried me through Tottenham
Court road. Recruiting posters were
everywhere. The n that impressed
me most was a life-size picture Of
Lord Kitchener with his finger point
ing directly at me, under the caption
Of "Your King and Country Need You"
No matter which way 1 turned, the
accusing finger followed me. 1 was
an American, in multi, and had a little
American flag in the lapel Of my coat.
1 had no king, and my country had
seen fit not to need me, but still that
pointing finger made me feel small and
i'll at ease. 1 got off the bus to try
to dissipate this feeling by mixing
with the throng Of the sidewalks.
Presently I came to a recruiting Of
fee. Inside, sitting at a desk was a
lonely Tommy Atkins. I decided to in
terview him in regard to joining the
British army. I opened the door. He
hooked up and greeted me with II sly,
myte, want to tyke onT'
looked at him and answered, swell.
whatever that is, I'll take a chance
at It,"
Without the aid of an interpreter, I
found out that Tommy wanted to know
If 1 cared to join the British army. He
asked me: did you ever hear Of the
Royal Fusiliersf" Well, in London,
you know, Yanks are supposed to know
everything, so I was not going to APP
pear ignorant and answered, Sure"
After listening for one half-hour to
Tommy's tale Of their exploits on the
firing line, l decided to join Tommy
took me to the recruiting headquarters,
where 1 met {. typical English captain,
He asked my nationality. 1 immedi-
ately pulled out my American passport
and showed it to him. 1t was signed
BIZ Lansing. After looking at the
passport, he informed me that he was
sorry but could not enlist me, as ii
would be a breach of neutrality. ]
insisted that I was not neutral, be-
cause to me it seemed that a real
American could not be neutral when
big things were in progress, but the
captain would not enlist NE.
With disgust in my heart 1 went out
in the street. 1 had gone about q
block when a recruiting sergeant who
had followed me out of the office
tapped me on the shoulder with his
swagger stick and said: "S'y. | car
get you in the army. We have a 1ef
tenant down at the other Office who
can do anything. He has just come
out Of the o. T. c. (Oficers' Training
corps) and does not know what neu
trality is" I decided to take a chance
and accepted his invitation for an in
PRODUCTION to the lieutenant. I entered
the Office and went up to him. opened
up my passport and said:
Before going further I wish TO stat
that I am an American. not too prou,
to fight. and want to join your army.
He looked at me in a n~onchalan
manner, and answered. "That's al
d right we take anything over here
looked at him kind of hard and re
d piled. $50 I notice" but it went owe
s his head.
= He got out an enlistment blank. an.
placing his finger on a blank line sale
d "Sign here"
> I answered. "Not on your tintype."
f II beg your pardon?"
II Then l explained TO him that I wOul
2. not sign ii without first reading ii.
1 read it over and signed for duration @
V war. Some of the recruits were luck!
!. They signed for seven years only!
IT Then he asked me my birthplace.
d answered. "Ogden, Utah."
r. He said, "Oh, yes, just outside {
Is New York;"
With a smile. I replied, swell. it's u
le the state a little"
Is Then I was taken before the doctc
:" and passed as physically fit. and wa
issued a uniform. When l repOrte
I back TO the lieutenant. he suggeste
)t that. being an American. l go on n
ID cruiting service and try to shame som
re of the slackers into joining the army,
Ell "All you have TO do" he said, "is I
ID go out on the street, and when you sc
Is a young fellow in mutt who look
to physically fit. just stop him and Civ
rs him this kind OF a talk: Aren't yo
n ashamed Of yourself. a Britisher, ply
Is ically fit. and In multi when your kin
to and country need you? Don't 20
Il know that your country is at war an
d. that the place for every young Brito
Is on the firing line? Here | am. a
a American In khaki. who came fOI