The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1918-01-15
To Finish The JOB
SOUTH DAKOTA SOLDIER IN
FRANCE SAYS IT'S UP TO
THE UNITED STATES.

what they are there Tor and are de-
termined to finish the job and finish
1t thoroughly Is the gist of a letter
received by Milbank relatives of Dom
aid A. Thomas, of that place. who is
somewhere in France" billeted in a
farmhouse near the training fields.
Not a man among us wants to go
home until the job is DONE" writes
Thomas, land the outcome settled.
we hope, for all time.
We're going to do u part with
customary American thoroughness
and dispatch, and On a scale that
staggers the thought, even though ac-
customed as we are to big things, but
which will without doubt throw the
balance in our favor, and will prove
the quickest road to an early peace"
After recounting the moral and
physical and even financial benefits
the boys across the water are receiv-
ing through their new experience,
Thomas adds:
Il am telling you all this just to
show you the bright side of this great
war. Goodness knows that there is
enough about it that is not pleasant
to contemplate. Right now I am
thinking of the rumor that has come
to us of the fate of the first Amer
lean captured by the Germans. Since
il Is only a rumor. l would not care
to be the means of spreading it nor
would I be allowed to. Nevertheless
II goes to show that Germany's hatred
Is now being vented on Americans.
1t Is a thing that makes ones blood
boil and long to get into the fray.
War is horrible enough without
STOPPING to the ~barbarity that has
marked Germany's warfare. Thank
God that America will play fair.
Every one is taking out govern
ment insurance. Every n in our
tent has taken out $1,000 and in the
regiment I should estimate that so
per cent at least, have signed up for
varying amounts. Many are going
the limit of $4,000. They say that
the applications are pouring in to
headquarters of the expeditionary
force at the rate OF $4,000, 900 a
day"
Long for Mail from Home.
The longing for word from rela-
tives and friends at home is n OF
the hardships of soldier life in
France, according to Olaf Karp, a
Centerville boy with the expedition
airy forces. Thanks for your letter
which / received today, he writes.
Getting mail Is the only enjoyment
we have here. We are billeted out
among the farmers. but do not think
that we are scattered all over, for
we are not.
THE farmers here do not live on
farms as they do in the United States,
but live in small villages and that is
the kind of a place l am in now for
the winter, but can't tell you the
name of the place.
Another part of Mr.. Karp's letter
describes conditions at the front as
follows:
II was at the front for nearly a
month In a quiet sector, where we
fired at different positions. was
told we did good firing, so guess
we must have hit the tender spots,
for the Germans returned fire on us
and they struck too close for comfort,
but we soon learned how to get In the
dugouts In quick time. We can hear
the shells coming by the whistiing
sound. Nobody was hurt in my bat
terry while at the front.
Wait Hours for Mail.
Just a word about the front. Had
the idea that 1t was a very busy place,
but to my surprise ! saw nothing,
absolutely nothing. Everything is
covered and under ground. 1t is
wonderful work and takes an awful
amount of labor to do 1t. That is one
reason the war is drawn out, for the
Germans are masters in digging
themselves into the ground and, once
there, it is hard to get them out.
ION our trip to the front we went
through some of the towns that were
destroyed by shell fire and there was
nothing but ruins left of what was
once a town. All along the way
saw little white crosses, each one In
dicating a grave. both French and
German. A German grave is also
marked ''soldat altman" but every
one is we'll kept and nearly all OF
them have flowers planted on them
The desire for letters from home Is
not confined to the men in France,
as the following from Frank A. Stem
niger, of Parker. who is in the camp
at st. Louis, Mo-, would indicate:
After drill we usually try and get
our mail. but the postoffice is flood
!, ed with mail until 1t is nothing to
/ see two lines two blocks long wait
: ing for their chance.
after we are assigned to a COM
! pany we can get our mail at the COM
pany postoffice, but the mail line