The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-10-10
buy Liberty Bond.-
ALL SOLDIERS ALIKE"
SAYS BA|RNSFATHER
Watch for the Trench Expression
Fnces Of Your Own Men, Sug-
Eests Famous English Car
toonist, Now I'm America.


rived recently At an Atlantic port.
announced news item. old Bilr'
/ is the trench's most famous figure
He is one Of Rritain's "contemptibles."
and YOU always see him standing knee
deep in a pool of water watching
German shells explode over his head
with very much fed up" expression
on his face. old BIZ doesn't look
like the crusader that he is
OF course it was not "Old BIZ that
really came over. It was his creator,
Captain Bruce Bairnsfather There is
no such person as "Old Bilr'-at least
no one person is odd Bill" But there
are several hundred thousands OF him
still in the trenches and the dugouts
still lighting and still grubbing around
in the mud. Captain Bairnsfather Is
the man who discovered him in all
his gray humor.
AT the Hotel Aston 1t ia easier to
ask for "Old Bill than for Captain
, Bairnsfather The bellhops must
have wonderful time paging him,
/ Tor sometimes he is Captain Barns
feather or Burnsfetter or Bearfritter.
( Personally he is nice looking
young English officer, who has seen a
great deal of war, has been wounded
and wears on his face a touch OF the
trench expression" There is no more
| swagger. in his manner than there Is
/ In his cartoons. Like all Englshmen
he has that indifference and casual
ness about the war that the Germans
made the great mistake of taking
! literally
Early Days Repeated
| Il saw the Americans in action at
that little AFFAIR around Chateau
4 Thierry," said the captain They
arc going in it just the way all the
others did And Is there a trench
expression?' Certainly. and your men
are wearing II You will notice it
when they come home.
All soldiers are alike I have seen
them on all fronts and can find no
difference in them They are up
against the same thing, they are piac-
ed In the same conditions and they
must do the same things And so
they all talk alike and act alike
one of the first cartoons that 7
drew back in 1914 showed a line OF
soldiers with their heads sticking up.
\ shell had struck somewhere in
back Of them and they were asking
What became OF that one - You see
when she'll lights the soldiers duck
Iand then stick their heads up and
ask what became of that oneo' Near
tChateau -Thierry some new American
troops came into line and a shell hit
near them. Immediately the heads
went up and they all said, What be-
came of that one?' 1t was simply
1914 all over again"
Just then there was a curious rat
ftfhg On the door of the room where
the captain was talking
Is that a knock" he asked
No, it's an explosion
And where In that one -
Simply fragments from New Ter
isey.
For after all we have out faint vi
6rauons of the war Mt home
Trench Psychology is curious
thing, the captain viii tell you Sud
den death and injury are the expected
and the only unaccountable circum-
, stance is an unlocked for peace.
On Christmas. 1914.
We had one truce" he said. land
that was on Christmas OF 1914 Just
the day before both sides had been
shooting at each other hard But
when Christmas came all was quiet.
and not shot was fired It was a
beautiful day-~-a pictorial Chritmas
with pink sky. One OF our men
stuck his head over the top of the
trench and saw some Germany doing
the same, Ordinarily il would have
meant death, but neither side started
shooting. And then more men looked
over. and finally some crawled over
, the top. The Germans did the same
thing. Soon they were out In the mid =
die of No Mans Land. talking to-
eether. It's curious how thing like
that spreads. All that day, for two
miles up and down the line. the men
alked together and exchanged gifts.
Il
again at war with each other
Il believe Christmas only celebrated
that way in those few miles We had
the Bavarians and Saxons opposite
Ius no Prussians. OF course. 1t was
dangerous. But il never. never can
happen again, The war has become
too bitter, too serious matter"
The captain wears a ring which was
given to him by a German that day
It is button off uniform. set in
Head He says that he has received let
tors from German officers sent by way
Of Russia. telling him that they. too
have laughed over Fragments From
France" He hates the enemy. but he
Is member of a Christian nation.
/ The captain is on his way TO ANS
tralia. where he will help recruiting
Il want to sec them again" he ex-
tplained. "because | was with the Aus.
Armentieres when I discovered Old
Bill
! Hundreds of men have written me
land asked me whether they were the
I original OF Old BIN But there is so
original Old Bill is just hundreds of
thousands boiled down into one"
"Oid Bin" will be seen on the stage
here, when Captain Bairnsfat hers
| play. THE Better Ole" is produced
The captain saws. he hopes Americans
are near enough To the war TO be
able to understand 1t. "Old Bill' has
also been turned into a moving pic
! ture catroon comedy and the films
| that made London laugh for several
years will be shown over here
-Buy Liberty Bonds---
SALOONS CLOSED, TOO.
BY NEW JERSEY FLU"
Trenton, N J.. Oct. because Of