Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1918-05-09
IN The
MORNING mail!
How Mrs. Lane Finally Realized
That Thousands of Other
Mothers Sons Are at War
Scared Battle Front.
BY MAMMALIAN FOSTER
Of the NiQiIantes.

well known biological theorem that
1t is also assumed, Sir Isaac Newton
having demonstrated the law, that
what goes up Is bound to come down,
but this is only abstract Mrs. Lane
probably would have denied it.
The flat rent, previously $1,000
year, now was $1,400, and 1t showed no
signs whatever of coming down. The
same condition applied also to her
childrens shoes. The shoes now cost
81, whereas they formerly had cost 81.
But this was merely detail. A SINH.
lar phenomenon occurred as to beef.
steaks, potatoes, butter, fish and the
81 other varieties of domestic essen
tails. All had gone up; none had
come down. About the only thing sta
bic in Mrs. Lanes cosmos was Mr..
Lanes yearly income. This was ST 900
a year. Already Mrs. Lane had given
up one maid. The war literally was at
her door. True, Mrs. Lane had no son,
no brother-no kin Of any kind-in the
war, but the war still was at her door.
Hard to Make Ends Meet.
Give money for the war? What do
you think she was doing, anyway
She was giving every cent she had.
trying to make both ends meet in her
household. 1t hurt, though Mrs.
Lane was kindly, warm hearted wo-
man, and she would have liked to give.
The war was dreadful 1t was SO
dreadful she'd stopped reading about it.
But one must read letters One
must do THAT when friend takes the
trouble to write their.
The letter came 10 the morning mail.
Mrs. Lane read 1t, then she read it
again. Afterward she sat there ab.
sorbed, silent, rigid. The color had crept
out Of her face, and her breath came
swiftly from between her parted lips.
~ haze just come back from tho
cGnteen," it read. "Such an after.
noon! a trGinLodd OF seriOusly
10ounded to be fed at once, Uhich
is trying. as one hos to climb into
all the carriages, one after the 9TH
er. We begin aotth the men ,oho
die their cups, and those ,oho are
too i'll even to lift their heads, Of
course, zoe hGpe to- Nft and feed
ourselves. Feeding the ones Nth
bad face s0ounds are the hardest.
l can stand ordinary bounds OF
blood, but t0hen man ought to
haze nose and mouth and oil he
20 oh fnT. I'll
courage to get through q feeding.
I managed to get half pint OF
milk and beaten egg and some
brandy do10n the throat of q bog of
ttoenty r0ho had no mouth left, and
I>hGd to clean 1t bet10een eUery
nsOuthfuL. He had had no food for
fifteen hours and 10GS so thirsty
that he aoas nearly insane. I held
his head against me, and gagged
all the time, but just kept think
ing, Suppose it 1UGs n,y bog t0hO
needed q drink and there Was no
one to give it to him. So t0ent
through aoith it, and he finally toent
to sleep. oh, Martha, Martha Lane,
zoe need everythimg-aH you and
the rest can sendP
If Lawrence Had Gone to War.
One o'clock struck. Mrs. Lane still
sat with the letter clutched In her
hand. whats for dinner?" asked Han.
nah, the maid Mrs. Lane hardly heard
her. She was still sitting there when
Olivia foundered in. Olivia was four.
teen, the conscious age. Mother" she
said fretfully, 81 can't 60 to dancing
school again in brown gloves when all
the other girls have white ones" The
plant reminded Mrs Lane that Law.
renee at boarding school had written
that morning about his socks. He had
only two pairs of silk ones left "And,
mother" said Olivia, continuing But
what Olivia said Mrs. Lane didn't hear.
She had dropped her head on the table
and unaccountably was weeping. "Just
suppose 1t was my boy-mine!' she
was sobbing.
"Why, motherl" calculated Olivia.
She hurried toward her mother.
what is it, mother? You're acting just
as though Lawrence had gone to war !"
Mrs. Lane looked up, the tears
streaking down her face.
THAT'S just what is the matter with
me! l should be acting as If Lawrence
were there. And so should you'll II
Willie were like these, the boys there"
she pointed to the letter that had Slip
ped from her lap to the ffoor-"ff he
were, like them, in need, dying, want
ing eggs, milk, brandy, to keep him
alive, would you be buying white
gloves? And would we think what other
people wear or how they live or wheth-
or we had only one servant now? If my
boy vas over there, If my son were"
But other women's sons are over
there. Mrs. Lane had at last realized
this. The tears were rolling down her
cheeks.