davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Taney County republican. (Forsyth, Mo.) 1895-1992, 1918-03-21

Without the aid of an interpreter, /
found out that Tommy wanted TO know
If l cared to Join the British army. He
asked me: "Dld you ever hear Of the
Royal Fusiliers" Well, in London,
you know, Yanks are supposed to know
everything, so l was not going to 0p-
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 I met a typical English captain.
He asked my nationality. | immcdi-
ately pulled out my American passport
and showed 1t TO him. 1t was signed
by Lansing. After looking Mt the
passport, he informed me that he was
sorry but could not enlist me, rs ii
would be breach Of neutrality. ]
insisted that ! was not neutral, be-
cause to me il seemed that real
American could not be neutral when
big things were in progress, but the
captain would not enlist me.
With disgust in my heart l went out
In the street. / had gone about n
block when a recruiting sergeant who
had followed me ont of the office
tanned me on the shoulder with his
swagger stick and said: "S'y, | can
get you in the army. We have n Hef-
tenant down at the other Office who
can do anything. He he's Just come
out of the O. r. c. (Ofllcers' Training
corps) and does not know what neu-
trality IS" decided to take a chance,
and accepted his invitation for m in
PRODUCTION to the lieutenant, I entered
the Office and went up to him. opened
up my passport and said:
Before going further wish to state
that am an American, not too proud
to fight, and want to join your army"
He looked at me in a nonchalant
manner, and answered, "That'S all
right; we take anything over here"
looked Mt him kind of hard and re-
piled, $50 1 notice." but it went over
his head.
He got out an enlistment blank, and
placing his finger on blank line said,
"Sign here"
answered mot on your tintype."
"I beg your pardon?"
Then l explained to him that I would
not sign 1t without first reading 1t. |
read it over and signed for duration Of
war. Some of the recruits were lucky.
They signed for seven years only!
Then he asked me my birthplace. l
answered, "Ogden, Utah"
he said, "Oh, yes, just outside of
New York;"
With a smile, replied, "Well, it's up
the state a little"
Then l was taken before the doctor
and passed as physically fit, and was
issued uniform When ! reported
back 20 the lieutenant, he suggested
that, being an American, | 60 on re-
Cruiting service and try to shame some
Of the slackers into joining the army
"All you have to do" he sHid, sis to
go out on the street, and whc you see
n young fellow in mufd who looks
physically fit, Just stop him and give
him this kind of n talk: Aren't you
ashamed of yourself, q Brltisher phys
ically fit. and in muftl when your klng
and country need your Don't you
know that your country Is at war and
that the place for every young Brltor
Is on the firing line? Here am, ar
American, in khaki, who came foul
thousand miles to fight for your kinl
and country and you, as yet, have no
The Taney County republican. (Forsyth, Mo.) 1895-1992, 1918-03-21

to his desk. I Immediately followed
this action by throwing the kilograms
into the wastebasket. Then we looked
at each other in silence. He was
squirming in his chair and I felt de-
pressed and uneasy.
The telephone rang and / answered
1t. 1t was a business call for me, re-
GueSting my services for an out-of-
town assignment. Business was not
very good so this was very welcome.
After listening TO the proposition ]
seemed to be swayed by n peculiarly
strong force within me, and answered,
II am sorry that / cannot accept your
offer, but l am leaving for England
next week." and hung up the receiver.
The lieutenant swung around In his
chair, and stared at me in blank aston
lshment. A sinking sensation came
over me, but l defiantly answered his
look with, "Well, It's so. I'm going"
And | went.
The trip across was uneventful. l
landed ut Tilbury, England, then got
into q string Of matchbox cars and
proceeded TO London, arriving there
about 10 p m. l took a room in hotel
near St. Pancras station for "hve and
six--fre extra" The room was minus
the fire, but the "eXtra" seemed to
keep me warm. That night there was
n Zeppelin raid, but didn't see much
of Ii. because the slit in the curtains
was too small and had no desire to
make 1t larger. Next morning the tel
ephone bell rang, and someone asked,
"Are you there7" was, hardly. Any
way, learned that the Zeps had re-
turned to their fatherland so went
out into the street expecting to see
scenes Of awful devastation and COW.
erlng popuace, but everything was
normal. People were calmly proceed
Ing to their work. Crossing the
street, accusted Bobbie with:
"Can you direct me to the place of
damagep
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, / decided to 60 on my
own in search Of ruined buildings nn(
scenes Of destruction. I boarded bus
which carried me through Tottenhnn
Court rOnd. Recruiting posters were
everywhere. The one that impressed
me most was llfe-size picture o,
Lord Kitchener with his finger point
Ing directly at me, under the caption
Of "Your King and Country Need You
No matter which way / turned, th'
accusing finger followed me. l wa!
an American, In multi, and had littl
American flag in the lapel Of my coat
1 had no king, and my country hat
seen fit not TO need me, but still tina
pointing finger made me feel small am
Ill at ease. l got off the bus to tr.
to dlsslpate this feeling by mixln
with the tbrong Of the sidewalks.
Presently I came to a recruiting OF
fee. Inside, sitting at desk was
! lonely Tommy Atkins. decided to ir
teryiew him In regard to joining tn
British army. 1 opened the door. II
4 looked up and greeted me with II s.!
myte, want to tyke onf"
looked at him and answered, "Wel
whatever that is, III take chanc
at L" -,
The Taney County republican. (Forsyth, Mo.) 1895-1992, 1918-03-21
CHAPTER |.
From Mufti to Khaki,


II was In an Office In Jersey City.
was sitting Mt my desk talking to
q lieutenant of the Jersey National
Guard. Ga the wall was big war
map decorated with variously cOlored
little flags showing the position Of the
opposing armies on the western front
in France. In front Of me on the desk
lay n New York paper with big fiaring
headlines:
LUslTANlA suNKl AMERICAN
LIVES LoSTl
The windows were open and feel
ing Of spring pervaded the air.
Through the open windows came the
strains of a hurdy-gurdy playing in the
street-'T Didn't Raise My Boy to Be
q Soldier"
"LuSltanla Sunkl American Lives
Lost l"--"I Didn't Raise Ny Boy to
Be n Soldier" To us these did not
seem to jibe.
The lieutenant In silence opened one
OF the lower drawers Of his desk and
took from It an American flag which
he solemnly draped over the war map
on the wall. Then, turning to me with
q grim face, said:
"How about 1t, sergeantf You had
better get out the muster roll Of the
Mounted Scouts. as l think they will
be needed in the course Of few days"
We busted ourselves till late In the
evening writing out emergency tele-
grams for the men TO report when the
Gull should come from Washington
Then we went home.
| crossed over to New York, and as
went up Fulton street to take the
subway to Brooklyn, the lights in the
tall buildings Of New York seemed tC
be burning brighter than usual, as Il
they, too, had read "Lusitania Sunk
American Lives LOST" They seemed
to be glowing with anger and righteous
indignation, and their rays wigwagget
the message, "J,erayW
Months passed, the telegrams lylnI
handy, but covered with dust. Then
one momentous morning the lieutenan
with a sigh of disgust removed tn
flag from the war map and returned
The Taney County republican. (Forsyth, Mo.) 1895-1992, 1918-03-21

enlisted. Why don't you joln7 Now
Is the time
"Thls argument ought to get many
recruits, Empey, so go out and see
what you can do"
He then gave me small rosette Of
red, white and blue ribbon, with three
little streamers hanging down. This
was the recruiting insignia and was
to be worn on the left side Of the cap.
Armed with a swagger stick and my
patriotic rosette, l went out into Tot
tenham Court road in quest Of cannon
fodder.
Two or three poorly dressed civil
lans passed me, and although they mp
peared physically ft. said to myself,
"They dent want TO Join the army
perhaps they have someone dependent
on them for support" 80 did not ac'
cost them.
Coming down the street I saw a
young dandy, top hat and all, with q
The Taney County republican. (Forsyth, Mo.) 1895-1992, 1918-03-21

fashionahly dressed girl walking be-
s e him. l muttored, ''You are my
neat" and when he came abreast Of
M I stepped directly In his path and
Stopped him with my swagger stick,
saving:
"You would look fine In khaki; why
MT change that top hat for steel
h,imet? Aren't you ashamed of your
self, husky young chap like you in
mrfti when men are needed in the
trenches? Here | am, an American,
came four thousand miles from Ogden,
Utah, just outside of New York, to
fight for your king and country. Don't
be Stacker, buck up and get into uni
form; come over to the recruiting Of.
'ce ana I'll have you enlisted"
lie yawncd and answered, II don't
eyre il you came forty thousand miles
No one asked you to-" and he walked
Oh. The girl gave me q sneerlng look;
was spcechless.
recruited for three weeks and near
ly got one recruit.
This perhaps was not the greatest
stunt in the world, but 1t got back at
tie officer who had told me, ayes, we
take anything over here" had been
spending Il good lot of my recruiting
time in the saloon bar of the Wheat
Sheaf pub (thcre was Il very attractive
blonde barmald, who helped kill time
| was not as serious in those days MS
I was n little later when | reached
the front-well, it was the sixth day
md my recruiting report was blank,
! was getting low in the pOcket-bnr-
maids haven't much use for anyone
who cannot buy drinks-so | looked
around for recruiting material. You
know a man on recruiting service gets
q bob" or shilling for every recruit
he entiCes into joining the army, the
recruit is supposed TO get this, hut he
would not be n recruit IL he were wise
to this fact, would he?
Down at the end of the bar was h
young fellow In mufti who was very
patrlotic--he had about four "Old
Six ales aboard, He asked me If he
could join, showed me his left hand,
two fingers were missing, but | said
that did not matter 40 tive take any
thing over here" The left hand is
the rife hand as the piece is carried
at the slope on the left shoulder. Near.
ly everything in England Is "by the
left" even general traffic keeps TO the
port side.
took the applicant over to head
quarters, where he was hurricdly ex-
amined. Recruiting surgeons were
| busy in those days and did not have
mucn time for thorough physical exam.
nations. My recruit was passed az
"iit" by the doctor and turned over to
n corporal to make note of his scars
l was mystified. Suddenly the corpO-
raj burst out with, "Blime me, two of
his fingers are gone" Turning to me
he said, "You certainly have your
nerve with you, not 'alf you amt, to
bring this beggar in."
The doctor came over and exploded
"What do you mean by bringing in q
man in this conditiOnW
Looking cut Of the corner Of my eye
| noticed that the officer who had re.
crulted me had joined the group, and
I could not help answering, well, sir
was told that you took anything over
here"
l think they called II yankee Inn
pudenee," anyhow 1t ended my recruit
ing.
The Taney County republican. (Forsyth, Mo.) 1895-1992, 1918-03-21

called "D" straps, fastened to the belt
in front, passing over each shoulder,
crossing in the middle Of my back, and
attached by buckles to the rear Of the
belt. On the right side Of the belt
hung a water hottie, covered with felt (;
on the left side was my bayonet and
sCabhard, and intrenching tool handle,
this handle strapped to the bayonet
scabhard, In the rear was my In.
trenChing tool, carried in a canvas case.
This tool was combination pick and
spade. A canvas haverSaCk was
strapped TO the left side Of the belt,
while on my back was the pack, also
Of canvas, held in place by two canvas
straps over the shoulders; suspended
on the bottom Of the pack was my
mess tin or Canteen in a neat little
canvas case. My waterproof sheet,
looking like a Jelly roll, was strapped
on top of the pack with wooden stick
for cleaning the breach of the rifle pro-
ieCting from each end. On Il lanyard
around my waist hung a huge jack
knife with can-Opencr attachment.
The pack contained my Overcoat, an
extra pair of socks, change of under
wear, hold all Containing knife, fork,
spoon, comb, toothbrush, lather brush,
shaving soap, and razor made Of tin,
with "Made in England" stamped on
the blade; when trying to shave with
this 1t made you wish that you were
at war with Patagonia, so that you
could have Il "hollow ground" stamped
"Made in Germany0 then your house
wife, button-cleaning outfit, consisting
Of brass button stick, two stiff
brushes, and box Of SOLDIERS
Friend paste; then a shoe brush and
box of dublin, writing pad, lndel-
iblc pencil, envelopes, and pay book
and personal belongings, such as n
small mirror, decent razor and q
shcaf of unanswered letters, and fags
In your haversack you carry your iron
ratiOnS, meaning q tin of bully beef
four biscuits and q can containing tea,
sugar and Oxo cubes; q couple of
pipes and pack Of shag, tin of rife
OIL and pull-through. Tommy gen
orally carries the oil with his ratIOns
1t gives the cheese q sort of sardlne
taste.
Add to this first-ald pouch and n
long, ungainly rifle patterned after the
Daniel Boone period, and you have an
idea Of a British soldier In Bllghty.
Before leaving for France, this rifle
Is taken from him and he Is issued
with Lee-Enfeld short trench rifle
and ration bag,
In France he receives two gas he'll
NETS, q sheepskin coat, rubber mack
Intosh, steel helmet, two blankets, tear
shell goggles, balaclava helmet
gloves and a tin of antfrostbIte grease
which is excellent for greasing the
boots. Add to this the weight of his
rations, and can you blame Tommy for
growing at a twenty.kIlo route march
Having served as sergeant major in
the United States cavalry, | tried to
tell the English drill sergeants their
business, but 1t did not work. They
Immediately put me as batman In their
mess. Many greasy dish of stew was
accidentally spilled over them.
would sooner fight than be waiter
so when the order came through from
headquarters calling for draft Of
$50 re.enforcements for France, I vol
unteered.
(To Be Continued)
The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-08-10

Great numbers of German prison CTS captured by the Allies in the first part of the great advance are shown in this British official photo marching through Southampton aft CT landing.
The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-08-10
SPORTS IN OUR NAVY

One of fitting boys the Navy good clean At the different Naval Training Stations throughout the the leaders their branches the sporting world engaged fit the for service Many well known champions putting the boys through the Pelham Bay Station N Y Our photo shows Captains reading left Track Team-Gordon Swinnng-ODay; Wrestling Sevortz BoxngMcCafney TennisO -Eionky; BasebaI-Bauer
The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-08-10

Front view of one of the steel waistcoats now being made for the use of British troops in the trenches. They are found to be very effective as a protection against spent bullets, shrapnel fragments and bayonet thrusts. Weighing no more than five pounds they are made of large number of small steel plates fixed together by welded steel rings. They are worn under the turic.
The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-08-10

to their old lines. This is the latest photo of the famous French General and shows him reviewing his troops.
The Oklahoma City times. [volume] (Oklahoma City, Okla.) 1908-1984, 1918-09-11

lied engines OF oiiense whether they
be tanks or guns to prepare the way for
the infantry or gigantic cannon to
smash whole blJ,u OF defense at ono
shot II may not be generally known
that already last year the great under
ground fortress tina, was beaumont
really succumbel to single shell from
an cighteen-nch gun which pierced
over 100 feet OF earth and concrete aud
exploding in the forts yitals utterly
paralyzed the resistance. Now the
French have howitzers Of twenty.one
inch caliber whose she'll is over two
yards high and can wreck a dozen bat
teries In a sheltered rayine or ami.
hilate regiment hidden in a cavern
they deemed impeuctrabIc
The fourth factor IS the most impor.
tant Of all, being the progressive de.
moralzation Of the German army
When an officer can say 81 have sur
rendered because | have il my duty a,
a good German 10 fight no longer since
our cause is lost and tie continuance
of the struggle only lengthens the agony
and increases suffering" there is some
thing very rotten IN the state OF Ger
many,
The Oklahoma City times. [volume] (Oklahoma City, Okla.) 1908-1984, 1918-09-11
By DOROTHY DIX,
The Worlds Highest Paid Woman
Writer.

IT, students Of social phenomena
nothing IS more curious than the
TACT that the most dangerous time
10 human life, morally 'peaking, comes
on the roaring iortle'
1t is when men and women arc be
tween 40 and 50 year, Of age that they
are most prone to folly and most apt
to do the things that wreck their 1--we,
things that they would have been in
capable Of doing when they were
younger and that they are too cautious
20 do when~ihey are older !. /, then
that most divorces take place, and most
scandals have their origin
OF course the real reason for this
state OF affairs is not hard to find 1t
is a last flare up Of the fires OF youth
last mad desire 10 have one more
fling, 10 take a final bite Of the cake
of romance, 10 have farewell kiss be.
fore one settles down into the drabness
Of old age
This yearning for a last little puilan.
dering is common 10 both men AMI
women. and it IS the 'hug ,El, makes
middle aged women who have Just be-
come grandmoihers suddenly take 20
dycing their hair and talking about al
fintes and that causes ia', bald head.
ed paunchy men to begin to doll up
The Oklahoma City times. [volume] (Oklahoma City, Okla.) 1908-1984, 1918-09-11

ing few wild oats, And then he u
simply game for any adventures who
cong, alorg and tells him that he stin
has the ugurc ut an Apollo and the
iron gray hair gives man all irresist-
1Iy romauis ,yok, and that the way
he make, love makes the young fel-
lJas seem like amateurs, and who pre-
tend, to BE- afraid OF him because he
IS such - devil of a fellow with tho
women
The remedy 5or CELEBRATING the dan-
ger line IS As obvious as the cause a.
the line itself II lies in husbands and
wives remembering that there is an In.
dian summer OF the heart as well as OF
. '1r year. and MAT IT they are not hold
, n. i.nu their claim when this second
lu owning a.. romance comes somebody
. uFuy lY io jump to get II
When man Qult, making love 10
! n. vl'c .umc other man is very apt
| 90 acgiu, and the only way a woman
an be- certain that no other woman
Ilr'l, her husband that he is heart
1 ma,hr. +, 20 'cll him that so often
| herself .hc won't give the other woman
] .'.r.u
The Oklahoma City times. [volume] (Oklahoma City, Okla.) 1908-1984, 1918-09-11
four FACTORS IN
ALLIES FAVOR ON
| H|NDENBURC Line
Decentralization Of the German
Army Most important,
By Walter Duranty

ltcopyrlEht '9l2 by tho New York Times
the Chicago Tribune and tho Oklahoma
| city TlmosJ
WITH THE FRENCH ARMIES,
Sept ll-"Gcnerally II speaking the
fnemy Is back on the Hindcnburg line
now We shall see whether he can hold
r. was the summing up Of the -itua-
hon on the French battle front given
me by an officer today
The pivot Of the German system con
fronting The French IS the massit Of ST.
Pobain whose importance is comparable
30 Cambrai for British operations.
Hundreds Of bochc batteries are in
btalled in the forest and screened in the
Favines around Laon On the south
kest OF the town II is covered by the
massii OF Monlmpteuil behind whose
trest 600 feet high are huge under
ground caves and shelters big enough
10 hold an entire regiment, The block
Pf forest west Of Laon is crammed with
b vast store OF munitions and ma
lerial and divisions can concentrate
hpseen in It's recesscs. Not without
teaSon has the enemy always boasted
81 E4epbaln's impregnability, but today
thefe are four new factors whose com
Pised effort may well shauer the
|nightieN Of deienses
The first is the French ability 10
mancuyer whose success was prove!
haalust the hardly less powerful posi-.
lion OF the Thiesoourt masSii Whcn
ast spring Germany changed the
Ptruggle to war OF maneuyer her
bropagandisN claimed that previous
training In such operations would give
per armies superiority but the enemy
forgot 10 take into account the fact
hat the French army had manuevercd
training no less thorough than his
bwn The depletion of all armies that
hAs been the consequence OF four years
lauphter has rendered Il impossible 10
bold even organized land forliiications
With sufficient density OF troops
Throughout 20 prevent maneuycr at one
@oint or another The aSSallan, thus
bas enormous advantages a, the Ger
mans found IN the attack on the
fhemin deS Danes. Now i, is turned
lgainst them and flushed by victory the
French pursue the tactics of "inilltra
Hon" with lrfestible skill and dash.
The second factor is the unprece-
ented dryne0 Of the season which
aeilita,eS the turning movement
saina the n/isii along the Disc cor
dor to degree impossible before
The boche is trying TO remedy matter,
By artificial floods but the parchcd
farth soak' up the water rapidly and
Inc ground is now feasible for infantry
hat was an impossible morass this time
last year.
The third factor In the enormously
Inereased power and number OF The al.
The Oklahoma City times. [volume] (Oklahoma City, Okla.) 1908-1984, 1918-09-11
Luke McLuke Says

Luxe mcLuke says
An Old maid, idea Of a hog is a
woman who has had three husbands
and who is chasing another
a l0' Of men would be wealthy il
they worried a. much about their own
business as they do abou, other peoples
business
Never bet a hat with a woman II
you win you win S. Ii you lose you
lose 81
Grca' exciiemen, is something dis
played by a woman when she has 4
five dollar bill in her pocketbook and
sees page advertisement OF bargain
sale IN department store
The man who would lie and steal to
get money is usually the first to snccr
when preacher leaves, a church and
goe, To another church bsrausc he has
been offered a larger salary
Another thing we can't understand Is
why g'rl will spend two hour, Doh.
ing her halr up and then put on a hat
that hides everything but her face.
II the average husband kisses his
wife in the morning and kisses her
again AZ night he doesn't think that
'he has any right 70 bother him in the
interval
II you are taking 10 girl and she
siVhS and tells you that ,he expects 70
die an old maid YOU had better beat t.
YOU are ioollng with dynamite.
Honesty is the be', policy There
used TO he some prof, in being crooked
but nowadays competition is too fierce
A husband often has 70 admit that
he is in the wrong Bu, It is different
with his wife
A. soon as We discover ono who can
/ Ner on a wooden collar button with
hi' hare loot and not cuss. we will ne.
lirve IN the ,uperman But until then
We will MAINTAIN that there amt NJ
slch animal
And what mas become Of the old
fashioned barkeep who used TO say
Have one on the house. boySY'
The trouble with a wife is that sh,
always seems TO he in need Of a littl,
more coin than 'he can get.