Evening journal., 1918-03-20
BY !. W. PEGLER

United Press staff Correspondent
WITH THE AMERICAN EXPEDITION
AIRY ARMY, FRANCE, Feb Q by mail
THE fellows In IL" Company had
musical evening back in the rest camp
on the night before they went back into
lhe trenches
The big Swedish supply sergeant
PLAYED everything he Sucw on his
trench h-madc 6ddle a Young boy from
Milwaukee. with Gcrm9n-soundiDs
name whose daddy can't speak Ems
lish without a Mebor and Fields ac-
cent. gave The star Spangled Banner
on a moulh-orgsn Slim. the cook sang
Poor Boy which has seyenty-lve
verses. while al the rest OF the fell
lows sang in r harmonious undertone
~ minors "plinky-plinky- plank plunk
in imitation of banios.
Willie. The sixiecn-year-old corporal,
sang "Cuccaracha.- the rolicking Wiz
r~ia song which the boys learned at
The border. And johnson the captain 9
"dog-robbcr" contributed two wailing
Gaelic melodies with some steps that
iarrod half the candles down Off the
shelf
The camp is not FAR distant from the
front 80 one moment when Tho captain
was ordering Johnson 20 do the dance
F for The boys there fell lull in The en-
/ icrtslnmeni and you could plainly hear
some machine gun down in the trenches
/ probably spraying at a boche working
party or patrol.
The cspiain was an officer in the Texas
Field Artillery--in a regiment ruled by
his dad. an old-time colonel Of militia.
fo SAYS the fellows In "L' Company arc
the gamesi, least complaining crowd OF
hardworking fighters in the army.
"I." Company Is kind Of a hi. family
and the 22-year-old lad from Dallas rules
his crowd with diplomacy. good-fellow-
ship and dness-recOgnizine human
fraillies and making allowances FOR
them.
The fellows in tho hut would have
felt nretty much hurt n he hadn't come
TO tonight's musical evening They
! feel that he Is their patron and they
come 90 him with their little troubles
and some big ones just as high-sohool
boy back homo would go 10 his dad and
make a clean breast Of II when he gets
/ in Dutch with the Prof.
/ Little Mike Francis, from the hills or
| North Carolina told how he lodged the
/ revenuers when he was distllling Illicit
corn-iuce on the acres "willed" 10 him
hy his old dad Mike Is the pigeon
specialist of the company. lie claims to
have invented a gas-mask which viii
protect the faithful winged messengers
from the enemy's poison fumes.
A sergeant from Anadarka, Okla, won
The Y. NJ C.. AS nrst prize Just before
the regiment went into the trenches IN
q contest TO advertise the atrocities OF
the Boche and park mp the regiments
nghiinc spirit. The attempt that cop
ped the nVe bucks follows:
By the rife on my back.
BY my old and wcll-worn pack
By ihe bayoncts we sharpened in the
billets down below
When were holding TO a sector
BY the Holy jumping Hector,
/ Colonel. weIl be goit-strafed II the
Blankieenth let it go.
And the Boches big and small.
Runty ones and Boches tall
Won't keep your boys a-squattlns IN
the bitches very Ions.
For well soon be busting through
sir.
! God help Fritzie when we do SIR
Let's be COINS. Colonel Blank. because
were feeling mighty strong.
The sergeant recited his poem ano
brought down the house
There was vigorous knocking on the
door
The captain went Ga answer the sum
mons and stepped outside 10 talk with
a second lieutenant Of an engineer com
pany stationed near the front TO build
a light railway
captain. don't you think your men
ought 90 be made TO consider someone