Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1918-02-22
IUSITANIA SUNK! AmthiSAN
LIVES LOST!


headlines:
lusITANIA SUNK! AMERICAN
LIVES LOST.
Th. windows w"r" open ami II i'tI-
iug oi spring prvad"d the ar
Through the open windows came inc
,,r.,,ns of :, huIdl gurdy playing in tn"
street II Didn't l;aiS" My BOY I" h'
= soldier
"I,usi,ania sunk. American Lives
I.us,'"-"I Didn't I:rlS" MY BOY |"
IL. . Soldier" To mS th"s" did not
seem To iih".
Th. lieutenant III silence Opened ""'
nI the lower drawers oi his desk an"
tunh irum II an American haS "hl'h
he Sulrinnly dTap'd over ia" war map
am ,h,. wall. Then. turning io IN" with
- .:rim face. S;ild:
How about II. sergeant r"h hhn
n,.,,rr get out the muster roll "i IN"
Mounted scouts. as think th"N VIII
i,.. needed IN the COurS" oi Il H." diNS.
A.. hIsl,d ourselves till late III III"
evening writing "ui emergency ''"'
Grams Tor the. men To report when the
call should come from Washington.
Th"n "" went home"
1 crossed over to New York. and az
wen, up Fulton street To take the
subway To brooklyn. tn" lights III 'h'
tail buildings or New York seemed I"
To-. burning brighter than usual. as u
they. too. had read "l.uSitanla sunk
American Lives Lost" They seemed
To hr glowing with anger and righteous
Indignation. and their rays wigwagged
TIA" mrssag", "i;cpaN!
Months passed. the kilograms lying
handy. hut covered with dust. Th'h.
ou,. muiurntuuS morning the lieutenant
with - sigh of disgust removed inc
flag from the war map ana returned
Ia his desk. immediately followed
this action lay throwing the tclegranS
into the waStchaskrt. Then "" looked
nt each other in silence. He was
suuirninr i'm his chair and felt de-
pressed and uneasy.
The telephone rang and ! answered
it. II was Il business call for me. re-
uuesting my services i2r an out OIL
town assignment. Business was not
very good. so this was very welcome.
Nftcr listening To the proposition !
seemed to he Swayrd by peculiarly
strong force within me- and answered
II am sorry that ! cannot accept your
offer. hut am leaving for England
h,
The lieutenant swung around in ms
chair, and stared AT me in blank aston
ishmrut \ sinking sensation came
over me. hut | dciiantly answered his
look with. well. it's so. I'm going.
And I went.
The trip across was unrvcntful. l
landed al Tilhury. England. then got
INTO Il string OF matchbox cars ana
proceeded to London. arriving thcr"
about 10 y. III. took Il room in a ho'ei
near 81. raucras station for "tiv" ana
six-tir,. EXTRA" The room was minus
th,, fire. but the extra" seemed 10
keep me warm. That night there was
- Zeppelin raid. Int didn't sc" much
or il. because the slit in the curtains
was too small and | had no desire To
make il larger. Next morning the tel
rphunr hell rang. and someone asked.
ARE, YOU there" | was, hardly. Any
WAY. I learned that the IepS had re-
turned tu their fathcrland. so ! went
ont into the street expecting Ia see
scenes of awful devastation and Il COW
rring puplllarr. hu, everything was
normal People were calmly proceed
ing To their work. Crossing the
street. | accostrd u Robbie with:
Can YOU direct me TO the place oi
damage
lie asked me. What damage"
In surprise. ! answered. why. the
damage caused 10y the Zcps."
With u wink hr replied:
There WAS no damage: we missed
them again
After several fruitlesS inquiries OF
the passrrhy. ! decided To 20 on my
own in search al ruined buildings and
scenes of destruction. boarded bus
which carried me through Tottcnham
court road. Recruiting posters were
cvrrywhrrr The one that impressed
me most WAS 4 life size picture OF
Lord Kitchener with his finger point
in" directly at me. under the caption
al "N"ur King and County Need You"
M matter which way ! turned. the
accusing finger followed me. wax
an american. In muiti. and had II little
american tiag In the lapel or my coat.
! had no king. and my country had
seen III not 10 need me. hut still that
pointing finger made me feel small and
III Ut ease got of the bus TO try
Ia diSsipate this feeling hy mixing
with the throng Of the sidewalks.
Presently came to a recruiting Of
nrr. Inside. sitting at n desk was a
lonely Tommy Atkins. | decided 10 in
tcrvitw him in regard to joining the
British army. | opened the door He
looked up and greeted me with Il s'y.
mHtr. want 10 tyke on"
looked NJ him and answered. We'll.
whatever that is. I'll take a chance
at H."
Without the aid OF an interpreter, l
found out that Tommy wanted to know
II cared to join the British army. He
asked me: Did YOU ever hear OF the
EuNal FuSillerS"" Well. in London.
YOU know. Ianks are supposed to know
everything. so I was not going TO ap-
pear ignorant and answered. Sure.
After listening for one half-hour TO
TommN's tale OF their exploits on the
firing line. decided to join. Tommy
took me TO the recruiting headquarters.
where met u typical English captain.
He asked my nationality. immedi-
ately pulled out my American passport
and showed It TO him. 1t was signed
10y Lansing. After looking at the
passport. he informed me that he was
sorry hut could not enlist me. as 1t