The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1918-05-11
LETTER IN the
l!3.. MORNING MAIL
How Mrs. Lane Finally Realized
That Thousands Of Other
Mothers Sons Are at War
Scared Battle Front. ,t.
BY MAMMALIAN FOSTER
OF the ViniIantee, .

Mathematics teach us that 1 from /
leaves nothing, apd there is also the
well known biological theorem that
you cannot get blood from turnip.
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 fiat rent, previously $1,000 a
year, now was $1,000, and 1t showed no
signs whatever of coming down. The
same condition applied also to her
chlldrens shoes. The shoes now cost
81, whereas they formerly had cost 81.
But this was merely detail. A SINH
LII phenomenon occurred as to beef.
steaks, potatoes, butter, fish and the
81 other varieties of domestic essen.
tials. All had gone up; none had
come down. About the only thing sta.
BILE in Mrs. Lanes cosmos was Mr..
Lanes yearly income. This was $1,000
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 1t.
But one must read letters. One
must do that when friend takes the
trouble to write them.
The letter came in the morning mail.
Mrs. Lane read it, then she read it
again. Afterward she sat there abb
sorbed, silent, rigid. The color had crept
out Of her face, and her breath came
swiftly from between her parted lips.
~ haze Just come bGck from the
camteen," it read. "Stcb on after
noon! A trairload Of seriously
tpoanded to be fed at once, tchich
is trying, as one has to climb into
all the carriages, one after the 9th
er. We begin 10Th the men 4oho
are t1eU enough to sit up and hdn-
die their cups, and those toho are
too i'll even to lift their heads, of
course, zoo hare to lift and feed
oarSeIveS. Feeding the ones 4Cith
bad face tCound8 are the hardest.
/ can stand ordinary 4oound8 of
blood, out tchcn man ought to
haze nose and mouth and oil he
has iS-Wah!-it takes GH your
courage to oct through a feeding.
I managed to get half pint of
milk and a beaten egg GMd some
brandy doom the throat Of a bog Of
t.oenty 'Cho had no nroHth left, and
had to clean il betloeen eUerv
mouthful. He had had no food for
fifteen hours and tCG8 80 thirsty
thdt he 1oaS nearly insane. held
his head against me, and gagged
oil the time, but Just kept think
ing, Suppose it ,oas nv boy 40ho
needed a drink and there 11aS no
one to 0iue it to him So I tcent
through ,cith It, aud &c finally :Ccnt
to sleep, Oh, Martha, Martha Lane,
zoe need evervthing-GH you and
the rest cGr send"
II Lawrence Had Gone TO War.
One o'clock struck. Mrs. Lane still
sat with the letter clutched in her
hand. whats for dinnerl" asked Han.
nah, the maid. Mrs. Lane hardly heard
her. She was still sitting there when
Olivia flonndered in. Oltvia was four.