St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1918-05-18
Headquarters Thirty-ninth Division,
Camp Beauregard. Alexandria, Lo.,

camp b6duT6SdEu, L0.,
May 2, 1918.
Governor Ruffin G. Pleasant, Baton
Rouge, La:
My Dear Governor Pleasant-As
chief executive of your state and as
a patriotic citizen Of this Nation, !
know you ore interested in the well
fare Of the soldiers Of this Camp
thousands of whom are from Louis
lana.
It is impressed upon my mind eV-
o.y day THAT many mothers, wives
End sweethearts of our soldiers, are
unwittingly, bringing upon them
selves and upon their soldier rela-
ti7es the greatest misery and dis
face.
u want to see you. Please some
home.
These light words of affection
compose hundreds of messages that
are received by the men in this camp
each day. Despite the fact that they
appear as tender tokens from home,
they are they cause of more misery
and anguish on the part of the sol
diers of Camp Beauregard than any
other cause. They engender home
sickness and discomfort in the hearts
of the boys, who go, with or without
leave, to their loved ones In these
strenuous times of war, the crime Of
being absent without leave is a Sc.
rious one and it's punishment is well
known, especially to the men of the
army.
Because the folks at home are the
innocent causes Of SO many of these
crimes, / want to make a direct ap-
peal to relatives and friends of the
men to refrain from addressing to
them messages that make them be-
lieve that things are not right at
home-that they should return to
their firesides, even without per-
mission.
1t is natural | know for a sick
wife or mother to want to see her sol
der boy. In every one except the
most extreme cases. the desire should
be surprised, for the soldier, not be-
a physician, could accomplish no
real good by a visit without leave, get
himself in a -predicament from which
he can not extricate himself in
months and in some cases years. A
soldier should no. be written discour-
aging letters, but instead he should
be sent words ofscheer. He has i'm
portant duties to perform for his
country and he can do them better
with a light heart.
The sight of a prisoner wearing a
ball and chain, is a pitiful n in
private life. That of a soldier boy be-
ing driven to unpleasant duties of a
prisoner under guard is just as shock
ing, but it is not an infrequent sight
in this lamp. The greatest number
of the reasons for his predicament
are letters written by folks at heme
imploring him to come to them.
In many cases of desertion the
cause is traced TO these seemingly
Spanish-American a Experts who
are familiar with the new Browning
gun believe that the newer weapons
will serve even more effectively in
the present titanic struggle. It
would be a coincidence of more than
unusual interest If the Browning
machine gun plays a major part in
bringing the world conflict to a close,
for it was a Browning weapon, a
30 calibre, late 80 model, in the
hands of the seryian assassin of an
Austrian grand duke in the summer of
1914 that precipitated this tremendous
war Of nations.
Despite his unparalleled success as
inventor and the steady accumula-
ion Of a large fortune from his pat
ants, Mr.. Browning remains a simple
modest business man, interested in
.imately in the progress of the sport
ng goods business with which he is
Identified. He continues to reside
Ogden, his work shop is there and
when he finds time for his favorite
'ecreations, hunting and trapshoot-
ng, he enjoys these outings with 0g-
len friends. Tireless energy has not
eft him a broken man. On the con
rary, he is over six feet tall, straight
S an rroW and IN robust health.
Although his individuality has been
by such wel1-known names as
,olt, Winchester and Remington,
If. Browning with all of his modesty
as not been able to entirely escape
istinction. In 1905 the Franklin IN
titute Of Philadelphia conferred up
Il him the John Scott Legacy medal
Of his achievement in per
the automatic pistol. In
914, King Albert, the weIl-loved
ing of the Belgfans, conferred upon
lie modest Ogden inventor the deco
alton of Cheyalier de POrder de
This was before the days
I the var, when the completion of
lie millianth Browning pistol in the
q hrin1n Natinnaln in i iepn was the