Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1918-02-01
SOLDERING At SEWER
How The Men Are Preparing For
Servlc In France.
ILLIIERATES BEING TAUGHT TO READ

ILL ILnhlLO DLINu ihUuui ~ "I"o
Story Of Young Man who Has to Do
His courtins by Proxy-Plonty to
Eat and Plenty to Wear-Praetiee
With Gas Masks-Many Soldiers
Now Have Their Wives at Camp.
Correspondence The Yorkviil- Enquirer
= Camp Sewer. Greenville. S. c.. jan
ary o3..Before they go "over there"
II they do go: and hundreds Of them
firmly believe that the whole show Is
going to be off before they are ready
every selcctivc craftsman and every
National Guardsman who dosen't al
read; SkiiC% hcE. viii have learned to
read and write. Thus does the att;
offer another priceless advantage and
opportunity to hundreds who would
probably never have gotten 1t had they
stayed at home behind the plow-
handles or in whatever occupation
they might have been engaged. Under
regulations and rules promulgated by
! the war department. certain time Is
to be set aside each day for the In
struction of those soldiers who are IL
Ilitcratc. The teachers are their COM
rades who have had the educational
topportunties that they have lacked up
until this time. It Is compulsory upon
!all illitcrate soldiers to attend these
schools. The great majority are very
grateful at the opportunity given them
ito learn. The minority are Of course
I"agin" II: even as they are "agin'
work, and effort of every description.
Nevertheless they will learn too, or else
they will wish they had. because the
army has no patience with and no time
for n malignercr, and 1t doesn't take the
army long to sort out the malingerers.
| I'm this regiment, at least, these schools
have only been established few days
and much progress has already been
made. Some fifteen or more men
most of them drafted men. too. by the
way, are attending from my company
and all of them have gotten beyond the
\ B c stage and confidently expect to
be able to place their official sigma
lures instead OF their marks opposite
their names on the payroll when the
time comes the last day of this month.
! All of them are putting In their spare
time at night in practice. Just now
their one ambition, so far as their lit
lcrary education Is concerned, Is to be
able TO scratch their names instead OF
their mark.
| One of them, at least, fine looking
youth from North Carolina and q
whole lot better soldier taken all
around, right now. than / will ever be-,
is even now striving and hoping that
he will soon be able to write an entire
letter as well as his name. Here's the
reason: He met a pretty girl over In
'Greenville some time ago and fell
head -exerE heels u, -laxe With her reaaa
she fell in love with him.. AS / said
before. he's a good looking soldier with
a good line OF talk, everything consid-
cred, and don't blame her a bit
fact is | would have done likewise ]
,cxpcct, II | had been girl. OF course
she didn't know he couldn't write, be-
ling interested principally In his face
and uniform.
Well guess he told her he was 60
! ing to write to her every day or two
even il he was only four miles away
from her and guess she told him the
same thing-I know she did, judging
from the number of letters he gets
)m her. He came to me day or
1.-TWO after he met her and told me his
troubles. Said he had become stuck
on the prettiest. fairest, cutest. sweet
est little girl over "in town" and mad
promised TO write to her every day or
two and he couldn't write but she
didn't know 1t: and she had never seen
his writing and my writing would look
to her like his; and would / write to
!, her for him and he would wash shirt
or n pair of trousers or do someting
else for me every time l wrote to her
for him.
The bargain was closed and / wrote
her according to his dictation except
that tried to change the dictation for
better when I thought l could. That
first letter was despatched to her and
in a couple Of days a fat. pink. mono
grained envelope. bearing an odor OF
jassamine or voilets or Palm olive
soap or something Il don't know much
about those things) came addressed 10
him. He spied me from afar and with
the letter held above his head. he came
running with here 1t Is; l knew she
would fall for It," He opened the
aforesaid pink envelope and l read the
contents written in a beautiful. cramp-
ed 16-year- old -school-g girl hand.
II was the same old stuff that has
been coming and going ever since the
first man and maid began correspond
ling with each other. or course there
was nothing to do but write to her
again Immediately and I did and have
repeated the performance tri-Weekly
for him ever since.
And now he Is learning to read and
write himself and as he told me
night or two ago after l had just
written an especially tears-in-your-
eyes, goo goo epistlc for him: Corp
Iorul. I'm doing my darndest and III
soon be able to write to her myself.
| smiled and sighed a sigh OF relier
because 1t will be a relief. l couldnt
help but wonder how he was going 20
explain to her how or why he changed
his handwriting when he does begin
writing himself. am sure that r"iht
has never occurred to him'-not yet
However l guess he will tell her ne
changed 1t because Of military neces-
sity or something like that. And with
his handsome face and buttons anu
khaki clothes, he'll get by with 1t.
Quite a number Of married drafted
men enlisted in the Thirtieth Division
have moved their families to Green