The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1918-10-11
TWO AMERICAN ARMY REASONS
FOR SUPPORTING LIBERTY LOAN

Lieutenant Grantland Rice, with the
American Expeditionary Force in
France, sporting writer of national
reputation, poet of the James Whit
comb Riley stamp and American fight
ing man, sends to the Liberty Loan
Committee of the Second Federal Re-
serve District, two humanity vital rea-
sons why the "Home Forces" should
lay down barrage of Liberty Bonds
that will keep the Hun going Berlin
ward. Mr.. Rice, who has been from
the Somme to Alsace along various
parts of the front since he went across
several months ago, writes:
"The Sergeant sat at the edge of a
thicket just this side of the River
Vesle.
Ellis detection was so complete that
he failed to pay any attention to a
scattering drift of German shells, still
dropping here and there through the
woods.
aft they had only cussed or raised
HE'LL he said, it wouldn't have been
so bad. wouldn't have minded it so
much.'
Wouldn't have minded what so
much?' we asked.
ait was this way he continued,
our bunch had been wiping out ma
chine gun nests and chasing Germans
for Six days. They were mailing US
here and there, but the bunch still
went forward. In fact, they went for
ward so fast that the field kitchens
couldn't keep up.
"'For six days they had practically
to eat and less than little to
drink. But they kept going, killing
and chasing Germans with the bayou
ct. We tried to catch up, but we never
could.
"'When we finally did, we expected
to hear 'em raising hell because they
hadn't been fed. But there wasn't
kick, not a word of complaint. "Never
mind, Bill" they said; ats all part
of the game. You couldn't help it."
"'Think of it! Six days with rifle
and bayonet into machine guns and
shell fire without food or water-and
yet not kick! If they had only cuss-
ed or raised some hell | wouldn't have
cared so much
"This is just a sample of how the4
A. E. F. tackled the job in France
of what it has been up against.
"The folk back home had no doubt
that the men at the front would make
good for them. The men at the front
haven't any doubt that the folk back
home will make good for them also.
eff one delegation can storm ma
chine gun nests for six days without
food and water in the midst of death,
desolation and destruction, without
the others are pretty sure to
raise $4,000, 100000 or twice $6,000,-
100000, so quickly there'll be no fur
ther debate as to how strong the coun-
try stands back of the fighting ma
chine it has sent $500 miles from here
to suffer and die for the greatest ideal
tke world has ever known"
Here is the second reason:
II saw him lying by the roadside, in
the wake of the American advance
just beyond Fere-en Tardenois.
"He was lying face downward, the
rim of his steel helmet buried in the
mud. A heavy rain was still falling,
out it had not yet completely erased
he writing on a letter he had carried. |
"The letter was from his mother.
It expressed the wish and the hope
hat he was well and dry and safe;
hat he was happy and would soon be |
,ack,' as they were thinking of moth
ng else but his return. Your daddy
he wrote, sits by the fire at night |
ind refuses to talk Of anything but |