Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-09-19
WHEN A LETTER FROM FRANCE
81 CONES IN A BLUE ENVELOPE
rs Time for Your Heart Go Mail Be.
cause of the Ne,o Eternal Trangle-The Girl the
Private and the LeuenantCensor

RMY discipline may come and
~ army discipline may go, but love
b very democratic thing, isn't it?
That Is to say, the lieutenant Of COM
pany and one or two of the privates
are very often all in love with the
same girl back home. This gave rise
to very interesting envelope in
France. 1t is a blue envelope. By
this time every one knows that 1t is,
as rule, the lieutenant of company
who censors his mems letters Can
you imagine how much fun 1t was
for the other fellow-the just plain
private person--to have the lieuten-
ant reading his love letters to the
girl of the towns dreams whom he
was addressing tenderly at the same
time? Think of the advantage. Hence
the blue envelope.
Who SAYS an army isn't human?
Every week each boy in the service
is permitted to have one blue envelope.
When a letter is first incased in this
the hated rival with the little bar
on his shoulder is absolutely devoid of
power to read that letter. 1t is sent
to a far distant censor, who never
stops once to wonder how much of a
right that very fresh private has to
cali lt1E SlhL uear.
TOTS of people will be surprised at
IL these upheavals discovered in
mere censor's breast. They are things
not spoken of right out in the parlor
in France. In fact, they say If you
ask: Who censors the censor's love
letters?" any one readily answers
"Why nobody writes him any"
Have you ever gotten a blue en-
velope? Life can take on new interest
now watching for them.
HISTORY will record many strange
Ii things about the war, but / doubt
IL 1t will ever tell about the eternal
wartime triangle-the girl, the lieu
tenant and the private. Girls are so
susceptible to what / heard one girl
call those funny little lingerie clasps
a soldier wears on his shoulders. It's
tough on us privates, socially speak
ing, sometimes" one of them confided
to me, especially when girls mother
is around. The mothers seem to have
a craze for walking along the street
and watching the other fellows salute
daughters best beau"
Then I heard another side to the
story. He was nice and big and quite
young to have a commission. Gee"
he said, II wish they'd make. the fuss
over the officers that they make over
the enlisted men. Maybe l wouldn't
like to be one of that herd going
down to the town hall to have a lot of
pretty girls come up and ask me to
dance. I don't know a darn girl in
the town, and just because I'm the
lieut. nobody asked me to come"
CNUNNY, isn't 1t, each one taking the
joy out of life for himself. But
even at that the complaints seem to
be far greater on the other side. THE
girls are always passing us up for the
fellow with the ornaments on his
/, Shoulders" is cry very often heard.
Is it true, girls? Does it matter so
much who gives the first salute when
you're walking down the street with
the man in khaki?
Personally, l love all the privates
One can always be certain they are
absolutely broke-who wouldn't be on
thirty dollars month?-and you talk
turkey from the very beginning and