Evening journal., 1918-05-08
ARMY Ghost NOW
Walks With Limp
Privates Today Lucky TO
Get More Than 81 Monthly
10 "Squander"
INSURANCE, BONDS
TAKE ALL HIS COIN

CAMP MCCLELLAN. Anniston. Ala,
May s. - Thirty greenbacks every
thirty days, couple Of snappy
uniforms, three square meals per
day dental and medical work taken
care Of at Uncle Sans expense and a
Few miles Of travel with little adven-
ture tossed in-sounds like he mans
opinion Of life ideal, doesn't it2
Poor boy" the town wags used to
say, he gives up everything for Si5
a month" Congress saw to it that the
ante was raised to $50 a month.
But how many persons have ever
paused to total up the chances a private
is given TO keep his thirty simoleons
from burning holes in the pockets Of
his best uniform? Few indeed.
Yes, he gets the thirty per, but not
in the form Of particularly tough pieces
Of parchment colored a tantallzing
green and bearing signatures conspicu-
out for their illegibillty which the bar
Der will barter for shaves. No stree,
the soldier Of today is a flnancier and
the government paymasters are camou-
leurs.
when does the ghost walk ?" was the
most used question in the army at one
time, but in many cases today 1t re-
calls troublesome thoughts to the en-
listed mans mind The thought Of pay
day is not troublesome because he has
to spend what he gets; on the contrary
he has to solve the big problem OF
spending what he doesn't get.
Take a corporal for instance. He is
down on the muster roll for the fat
sum Of thirty-siK iron men. Out of this
4n1- oil Of
to be sent TO the soldiers mother, with
the latier's permission Of course. Then
comes $40 instalment on a couple OF
Liberty Bonds that will be nice and
Juicy by the time the war is owes.
There goes S25 out OF the S36. We have
sti to account for. He has taken ous
a $4,000 war risk insurance policy,
which all good soldiers should do, and
he is minus $3.50 more on this item.
Three dents have taken S3i 80 out O. the
$50
The corporal stalks up to the pay
master and is handed $3.50 in cold cash
at the end Of each months work. An
awful lot Of money TO be burdened
with. isn't it9 Out Of this he buys
enough stationery, stamps and ink to
keep him in touch with his mother, four
or five sweethearts a half dozen aunts,
and who knows maybe he has score
Of cousins who won't speak TO him
when he comes back from Berlin unless
he drops them a Line OF cheer twelve
times in the year"
This month he happens TO need new
toothbrush and one OF his tent mates
has suggested that he quit borrowing
other peoples soap and buy a cake OF
his own. He needs an occasional smoke
10 help level his spendthrift mind and
he wouldn't be one Of the boys unless
he saw Douglas Fairbanks in the cam
teen movies once a month and dranR-a
dope once in a while.
All this costs money and the corporal
doesn't have many 80 cent pieces to
squander on trips to Admission or to buy
flowers, theatre tickets and bonbOns for
his Southern beauty.
But / amt no corporal" chimed in
& "rook' who stood by listening TO Me
fortunate $50 one describe his plight.
And my mother needs that fifteen rocks
every month, and l stand just as good
a chance Of being popped off over in
France so my folks can collect that ten
thousand insurance"
True enough, but how is he going TO
pay Sc 30 insurance make a si5 allot-
UlflA anu NlOW away a. I0lL VI A4lnfAAf
Bonds on $50 per WREN these three fig
ures total s3i so. He'd be owing the
Government $3.50 every thirty days The
soldier Of today has to be a fnancier to
get away gracefully with his monetary
worries.
It's one sure bet that all privates
cant be plungers But the Government
makes the allotment compulsory and
tlc war risk insurance covers more
than 30 per cent. Of the men in the di-
vision. With these two items the pri-
Nole manages TO give a monthly ac-
counting for s2i.60. so the most he can
have in his jeans is $3.50. But they don't
an have this much the average pay OF
an enlisted man in the Twenty-ninth
Division is 81.
Il has been said that corn whiskey is
available at IS a quart in the mountains
OF Alabama, but even the thirty-second
degree drunkard would wink twice at
his 81 before he contributed it toward a
quart Of this "rotgut," which, by the
way, is as plentiful as rain in the Sa-
hara Desert. despite the rumor
"The ghost ought to be getting
around pretty soon. hadn't he?" queried
a newcomer Of the top dickey in a New
Jersey company.
ought TO be around by the TWEEN
tieth" was the reply.
why speak Of nuisances2" said one
Of the wise boys. I'VE burned up a
tent down in our squad and it'll take the
gang ten months to pay FOR it,"
IT'S a good thing you didn't set fire to
a mess shack. or the Government would
have a mortgage on your life" was the
reioinder.
When a man is in the army he doesn't
have to buy meal tickets Pullman
berths and new spring clothes. All that