Okolona messenger. (Okolona, Miss.) 1900-current, 1918-10-17
SPORTING WRITER /.
Gives TWO TRAGIC
BONDARGUMENTS
LIEUT.. cRANTLAND RICE, POET,
RELATES INCIDENTS FROM
THE FIRING LINE.
APPEALS TO HOME FORCES
Lay Down Barragc That viii Keep
Hun on Road to Berlin.
is Plea.

Lieut. Grantland Rice, with the
American Expeditionary Forces 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
Organization two humanity vital rea-
SOFAS why the Home Forces" should
lay down a 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.
His detection was so complete that
he failed to pay any attention to
scattering drift of German shells, still
dropping here and there through the
woods.
:" If they had only cussed or raised
hell he said. it wouldn't have been so
bad. / wouldn't have minded it go
much
Wouldn't have minded what 90
much?. we asked.
1T was this way he continued.
Our bunch had been wiping out ma
chine gun nests and chasing Germans
fer 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.
Six Days Without Food.
For six days they had practically
Eothing to eat and less than. little to
drink. But they kept going, killing
and chasing Germans with the bayo-
net. 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 a
Kick, not word of complaint. Never
mind. Bill" they said; "it's all a 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 cussed,
OF raised some hell wouldn't have
cared so much
This is just one sample of how the,
A. Z. f. tackled the job in France-of,
what 1t his been up against.
The folk back home had no doubt,
mat the men at the front would make.
good for them. The men at the front
haven't any doubt that the folk hack,
home will make good for them also.
If one delegation can storm ma,
chine gun nests for six days without,
GOD and water In the midst of death.
isolation and destruction without a.
omplaint. the others are pretty sure
10 raise $4,000, 600, 900, or twice $4,000
100000, so quickly there'll be no fur
her debate as to how strong the coun-
Try stands back of the fighting ma
chine 1t has sent $500 piles from
home to suffer and die for the great
EST ideal the world has ever known"
The Second Reason.
dere is lne second reason:
Il saw him lying by the roadside, in
ihe wake of the American advance,
Hst beyond Fere-en- Tardenois.
He was lying face downward, the
tim of his steel helmet buried In the
pud. A heavy rain was still falling,
put 1t has not yet completely erased
the wiring on a letter he had carried.
The letter was from his mother. 1t
expressed the wish and the hope tina.
ne was well and dry and safe' that
he was happy and would soon be back,
as they were thinking of nothing else
but his return. Your daddy she
wrote, sits BY the fire at night and
sefuses to talk of anything but you
and of the day you'll be back with us
again
"Well-and dry-and safe-with the
rain beating on him, face downward
in the midland a bullet hole through
the top of his steel helmet. But he
bad fallen toward Germany.
He was only one Of the many who
had made the great sacrifice. His IA
Their and mother were only a small
part Of the many who had made the
greater sacrifice.
The question left is a simple one:
How many of these have died and are
going to die in vain because the peo-
pie back home couldn't raise the
money to crush the military power
that made such things possible?"
CONTINUOUS BOND BOOSTERS