Sioux County pioneer. (Fort Yates, Sioux County, N.D.) 1914-1929, 1918-05-09
In a recent statement the war de-
partment strongly advises against dis

In recent statement the war de-
partment strongly advises against dis
cournging letters to soldiers:
Recent reports from commanding
generals of certain army divisions In
ulcate that one of the fruitful causes
OF soldiers absenting themselves with
out leave IL the discouraglng letter
from home. Such letters frequently
give alarming and exaggerated reports
Of conditions surrounding the soldiers
family, that some member Is desper-
ately Ill, that all are starving, or that
they are being in some wny harassed.
In Instances such letters have so
preyed upon the minds Of soldiers that
they have absented themselves with
out leave to go home only to find
that conditions had been grossly ex-
aggerated.
Meanwhile the soldier had been alb
sent without lenve-a serious military
offense. His problem then became
one of facing the penalty or getting
deeper into trouble by DESERVING. Some
times mans pride or feur has led
him to desert.
Every soldier wants to receive let
tiers from home. They should be fire.
quent, cheerful, hopeful, and appre-
ctatiye Of the sacrifice that he is
making for his country. They should
be full of family incidents and cheer
full home gossip. They should pro-
tect him from the trifling alarms and
the small annoyances of everyday life.
They should encourage him by giving
full confidence that his family and his
friends stand behind him in the great
enterprise he has undertaken.
"The value Of such letters to soldiers
is beyond estimate. The harm that
discournging letters from home do to
him Is clearly indicated by reports mt
the adjustant generals Office Here
of division commanders:
II find, also. that many of the fam
lilies of the men write to them of I'M
satisfactory conditions ut home, sick
ness of relatives, and how much v,,-
ri6us members of the family wish to
as sickness, etc, are concerned, are
often Overdrawn, but, combined with
the homesicll feeling, often result In
the man going absent without leave
and finally being dropped as de-
serter.'
"1 am now, through the newspa-
pers of Indiana and through lecturers
in Kentucky, whom we are able to
reach through the office of the adj
jutant general of that state, endeavor-
Ing to advise the home people of these
men of the seriousness of these Of
lenses and that their efforts should be
to assist every man in performing this
duty that has devOlvcd on him, to
tighten his worries, and above all, to
regard desertion in its proper light
shall also attempt to get the West
Virginia papers to institute cam
paign of education along similar
lines.'
"a division inspector submitted the
following in this connection:
"'While stationed at Columbus bar
racks Ohio, last year I was member
of a general court-rnartial that tried
approximately 100 enlisted men for
desertion from National Guard rcgi-
ments stationed on the border. l be-
lieve am safe in saying that mt least
80 per cent of them gave as their rea-
son for desertion the fact that they
had received letters from home to the
effect that wife, sister, or mother
was either dying. very Ill, or in des-
titue circumstances, and begged the
man to come home Mt once. Many Of
the men admitted that when they nr-
rived home they found that the writer
of the letter had exaggerated condi-
tons
"Many young soldiers, fresh from
home, suffer from inconsistencies. no
matter how army officers may try to
make their surroundings pleasant ana
comfortable and provide proper
amusements. Extraordinary meas
ures have been taken by the war de-
partment during the past year to keep
the young soldier actively engaged
while in camp with sports, amuse-
ments, and comforts that wholesome
psychology might be sustained. Still,
a type of soldier will yearn for home
and fall into n brooding mood. 1t is
obvious how harmful to him and to
the service discontinued letter from
home might be-
The enrolment Of more than 1O2, 900
boys between sixteen and twenty-one
years of age for farm work this season