The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1918-02-19
CONGRESSMAN DRANE'S
BEAUTIFUL LETTER ANFNT
HIS VISIT TO SOLDIERS
At CAMP WHEELER


the Evening Telegram an account of
the Congressman's visit. Mr.. Drane.
having read the article in the Evening
Telegram, wrote Mr.. Wills the fol-
lowing beautiful letter, which we take
the liberty to publish because of the
fine sentiments it embodies and the
beautiful language in which they are
expressed:
Sunday Night, Jan. Is, 1918.
Lieut.. c. A. Will,
Co. ID, 124th Infantry,
Camp Wheeler, Georgia.
My Dear Lieutenant-Last night
my attention was attracted to a COM
n.unication in the Lakeland Evening
Telegram describing in some detail
visit l made to Camp Wheeler some
time ago, and particularly my visit to
the Base Hospital, where I met and
TALKED with so many soldiers who
were ill. From the fact that the in
cident was only known to one. be-
sides myself, who could tell of it, 7
air sure you gave the communication
to the paper.
sincerely thank you for the kind
ly courtesy which prompted you to
refer to me in such friendly and COM
plimentary terms, but really, my dear
friend, | did not realize that l was
doing anything out of the ordinary.
Those boys are either my personal
friends, or the sons Of my personal
friends, or, if we place the question
or broader basis, as prefer to do.
then they are still my friends. for
they wear the uniform of my country,
an6 therefore they are as my own.
Surely they are entitled to the
friendly care and solicitude o. all
GOOD men, whether members of Con-
gress or men in private life. After
we Rave shown them all the affection
possible as between man and man.
we must still remember that we have
done for them the least we can do
and they still surpass us, Great
er love hath no man than this: that
he will lay down his life for his
friends" That is what some of those
lads were doing on that cold, gray
day, when you and were going
ti,rcugh the hospital. I remember one
lad In particularr-you had gone about
frey feet away to speak to one of the
boys, when I noticed this particular
lad, who was of South Florida
town, the name of which | will not
mention, and l noticed tear on his
face. He was going west" and knew
1t, and he was, oh, so lonesome, ava J
from home and mother. He was not
afraid; he just dreaded to go with no
one to hold his hand. whispered
something to hint matters not
what, because the secret was his anc
mine--and he smiled. left him smil-
ing, and afterward looked back, and
his eyes were still following me, and
still he smiled. He went west" that
night, as l thought he would. You
will recall that l suddenly developed
a desire to leave? Well, that was the
reason; l could not trust myself
there was something in the atmos-
phere of the place which made my
eyes misty and my voice husky. When
ny record in Congress is finally made
up. | am always going to think, deem
down in my heart, that the finest
work / did in my public career was
! to change the tear of a dying soldier
lad into smile. think it is not
given to many men to do this, and il
will not show up in the Congression-
al Record, but Somewhere" there
will be Record" and it will be on
a clean page. After time | will get
tired here, and want to rest from my
labors. When do, and enter
through the portals of the porch
called Death" the first thing I am
gong to do, after I have greeted my
own loved ones who have gone be-
fore, | am going to look about and
find that South Florida lad with the
sweet smile. did not know before
that a man could smile like that
Some day, when I get back to South
Florida, and time has mellowed the
grief of a stern-faced man and a
eray-haired, agonizing mother, when
they have come out from the little
Getnsemane this war has made for
them, they ought to know, and will
tell them. They will be satisfied, for
they will understand that "Now they
see through a glass darkly; but then,
they will see face to face" Then they
will know that there is something
worse than this thing we call Death