Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1918-03-07
MACHINE GUNNER SERVING M FRANCE
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lNlh0 GU nifIl

ing to their work. Crossing the
street, / accosted Bobbie with:
"Can you direct me to the place Of
damageT
He asked me. "what damager
In surprise, I answered. why, the
damage caused by the Zeps."
With q wink he replied:
''There was no damage; we missed
them again"
After several fruitiess inquiries Of
the passersby. decided to 20 on my
own in search Of ruined buildings and
scenes Of destruction. i boarded a bus
which carried me through Tottenham
Court road. Recruiting posters were
everywhere. The one that impressed
me most was q 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 turned, the
accusing finger followed me. / was
an American. in mutt. and had a little
American flag 10 the lapel OF my coat
/ had no king. and my country had
seen 81 not TO need me, but still that
pointing finger made me feel small and
III at ease. got on the bus TO try
TO dissipate this feeling by mixing
with the throng Of the sidewalks.
Presently came TO O recruiting Of.
fee. Inside. sitting at q desk was .
1analw AAA a. t.
terview him In regard 10 Joining the
British army. opened the door. He
looked up and greeted me with II 81.
myte, want to tyke onr
Hooked at him and answered, well.
whatever that In. I'll take 4 chance
at It."
Without the aid Of an interpreter. /
found out that Tommy wanted to know
IL cared to Join the British army. He
asked me: did you ever hear Of the
Royal Fusiliersr Well. In London.
you know. Yanks are supposed to know
everything. so was not going to ap-
pear ignorant and answered, Sure"
After listening for one half-hour to
Tommy's tale Of their exploits on the
firing line, I decided TO join. Tommy
took me TO the recruiting headquarters,
where / met a typical English captain.
He asked my nationality. / imnedi-
ately pulled out my American passport
and showed II to him. II was signed
by Lansing. After looking at the
passport, he informed me that he was
sorry but could not enlist me, as IL
would be q breach Of neutrality. /
insisted that / was not neutral. be-
cause to me II seemed that q real
American could not be neutral when
big things were in progress. but the
captain would not enlist me.
With disgust In my heart went out
In the street. had gone about Q
block when a recruiting sergeant who
had followed me out Of the once
tapped me on the shoulder with his
swagger stick and said: "S'y. I can
get you In the army. We have q Hef.
tenant down at the other once who
can do anything. He has Just come
out OF the o. T. @. (Onicers' Training
corps) and does not know what neu.
trality is" decided to take a chance,
and accepted his invitation for an in.
PRODUCTION to the lieutenant. 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 Tight. and want to Join your army
BE looked at me in a nonchalan,
manner. and answered. That's al
right; we take anything over here
looked at him kind Of hard and 70
piled, $50 I notice." but Il went owe,
his head.
He got out an enlistment blank. and
placing his finger on blank line said
Sign here"
answered. mot on your tintypa."
II beg your pardonr
Then explained to him that I woult
not sign II without first reading Il.
read II over and signed for duration O,
war. Some Of the recruits were lucky
They signed for seven years oniyi
Then he asked me my birthplace.
answered. ogden. Utah"
He said, -Oh. yes, Just outside q
New York;"
With q smile. ] replied. ~wsll, it's u,
the state q little"
Then was taken before the docto
and passed as physically al. and wa
issued q uniform. When I reporte,
back TO the lieutenant. he suggeste,
that, being an American, i 70 on re
cruiting service and Try 10 shame com
OF the slackers into Joining the army.
IAN you have to DO" he said. lis :,
go out on the street. and when you se,
a young fellow In mutt who look
physically At. Just stop him and r1v
him this kind Of q talk: Aren't yo,
ashamed Of yourself. a Britisher. phys
ically fit, and In mutt when your kin,
and country need your Don't yo,
know that your country Ia ut war an,
that the place for every young Brito,
is on the firing linef Here / am. a,
American, in khaki. who came fou
thousand miles to nght for your hin,
end eosnezA sse xsst a ysk have .s