The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-06-26
BOYS ASK PHOTOS
Kodak Pictures Are Real Treats
he,a, to Soldiers.
Just Snap Anything and Send
1t to France:
GET THAT FAMILY TOGETHER
And Be Sure That All Have a
Smile on Faces.
Then Add a Little Letter and
Yanks Will Be Happy.

The simple answer to the oft-re
pated question, What can we send to
the men in the army to make them
more comfortable and happy" is an
swered by the word ''photogra phs. I"
The men over there, according to those
who have been over and got back or
the Topeka boys who are writing
home, are fighting for the safety of
their wives, their parents. their chill
dren and their neighbors, and they
like nothing better than to know what
is happening at home, and to have
their mental vision of home and the
home town refreshed with pictures of
their familiess their friends, their
house and lot. the park where they
used to eat picnic lunches favored
with the succulent red ant, or the
roadway where they sauntered with
the girls on Sunday evenings. or per-
haps the creek bank, where they
fished for bass and caught polywogs.
They tell it about a man that a lot
of us know who was asked for some
high flown opinions on the objects of
the war. Said he, Il don't care a
damn about democracy and the integ-
rity of small nations-Im fighting for
a five-room frame cottage in Topeka,
and what's in it, This man, and
thousands like him, want pictures of
the five-room frame cottage and
what's in il. The Am erican man with
out photograph in his pocket out in
France is a very lonely man indeed.
Take the Whole Family.
A correspondent now with the boys
on the Somme front writes back with
a suggestion for professional and anna
teur photographers. He advises that
the photographs of the homes and
families of the men be taken and
can find out the names of the men
in service whose homes are on his
street or in his neighborhood, tell the
members of the families of the men
what he has in mind, and then get
pictures of the house, the front yard,
the grape arbor, the baby, the dog
anything and everything that looks
like home. In sending these pictures
to the boys, cheerful note should
accompany them.
1t doesn't matter in the least if you
are stranger to the soldiers. They
Will think Just as much of the pic
lures and the note as they would If
they had known you for twenty years.
The correspondent suggests that army
service photograph leagues could be
organized so that the work would not
be duplicated, for some of the men,
while others were left out.
The things the men most want are
photographs, letters, reading matter.
smokes and sweets. American choco-
1ates are better than the French, and
might be sent in large quantities,
properly wrapped. Cigars are almost
impossible to obtain in France, and so
cigars and cigarettes are most ac-
ceptable gifts. Letters filled with
family and neighborhood news, with
cheerful messages of affection and
good courage are the kind that should
be written.
But the chance for the camera man
or woman to do something definite for
the country by keeping the men visual
ly in touch with home and loved ones,
is an opportunity that should not be
neglected by the patriots at home who
are ready to serve the defenders of
the homeland.