Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1918-05-09
IN THE \
MORNING MAIL
How Mrs. Lane Finally Realized
That Thousands of Other
Mothers Sons Are at War
Scared Battle Front,
BY MAMMALIAN FOSTER
OF the ViojIantes-

leaves nothing, and there ia also the
well known biological theorem that
you cannot get blood from a turnip.
1t Is also assumed, Sir Isaac Newton
having demonstrated the law, that
what goes up Is bound to come down,
but this is only abstract Mrs. Lane
probably would have denied 1t.
The fiat rent, previously $1,000
year, now was $1,40O, and it showed no
signs whatever Of coming down. The
same condition applied also to her
children's shoes. The shoes now cost
ST. whereas they formerly had cost 81.
But this was merely detail. A SINH.
lar phenomenon occurred as to beef.
steaks, potatoes, butter, fish and the
81 other varieties of domestic essen
tails. All had gone up; none had
come down. About the only thing sta.
bic in Mrs. Lanes cosmos was Mr.,
Lanes yearly income. This was $1,000
a year. Already hrs. Lane had given
up one maid. The war literally was at
her door. True, Mrs. Lane had no son,
no brother-no kin Of any kind-in the
war, but the war still was at her door.
Hard to Make Ends Meet
Give money for the war? What do
you think she was doing, anyway
She was giving every cent she had,
trying to make both ends meet In her
household. It hurt, trough. Mrs.
Lane was kindly, warm hearted wo-
man, and she would have liked to give.
The war was dreadful It was so
dreadful she'd stopped reading about 1t.
But one must read letters. One
must do that when a friend takes the
trouble to write them.
The letter came in the morning mail.
Mrs. Lane read 1t, then she read it
again. Afterward she sat there abb
sorbed, silent, rigid. The color had crept
out Of her face, and her breath came
swiftly from between her parted lips.
II haze Just come back from the
cGnteen," it read. "Such an after
noon! A trainIoad OF seriously
sOOunded to be fed at once, schich
is trying, as one has to climb into
all the carriages, one after the 9th
er. We begin 10Th the men scho
are fCeU enough to sit UP and han
die their cups, and those scho are
too i'll eDe1s to lift their heads, of
course, zoe haze to Hft and feed
ourselves. Feeding the ones tcith
bad face tUoaa,ds are tho hardest.
can stand ordinary bounds Of
blood, but t0hen q man ought to
haze nose and mouth and oil no
has jS-ugh!-it takes oil your
courage to get through a feeding.
managed to get halt pint of
milk and beaten egg and some
brandy dO1Cn the throat of boy of
tsCeaty aCb0 had no mouth left, Gfd
had to clean it bet4ceen every
nrOuthfuI He had had no food for
fifteen hours and tUGs 80 thirsty
that he a0Gs nearly insane. / held
his head GgGinst me, ard I gagged
all the time, but I just kept think
ing, Suppose 1t aoGs my boy soho
needed drink and there soas no
one to gtve it to him. So I s1ent
through soith 1t, and he finally ,oent
to sleep. Oh, Martha, Hartha Lane,
zoe need eUerythin0-aH you and
the rest can sendP'
If Lawrence Had Gone to War.
One o'clock struck. Mrs. Lane still
sat with the letter clutched In her
hand. whats for dinner?" asked Han.
nah, the maid. Mrs. Lane hardly heard
her. She was still sitting there when
Olivia fioundered In. Olivia was four.
teen, the conscious age. Mother" she
said fretfully, II can't go to dancing
school again in brown gloves when all
the other girls have white ones" The
plant reminded Mrs. Lane that Law.
renee at boarding school had written
that morning about his socks. He had
only two pairs of silk ones left. "And,
mother" said Olivia, continuing But
what Olivia said Mrs. Lane didn't hear.
She had dropped her head on the table
and unaccountably was weeping. "Just
suppose it was my boy-mine" she
was sobbing.
"Why, mother! !" calculated Olivia.
She hurried toward her mother.
what is it, mother? You're acting just
as though Lawrence had gone to wari |"
Mrs. Lane looked up, the tears
streaking down her face.
"That's just what Is the matter with
mel l should be acting as II Lawrence
were there. And so should you'll Ii
Willie were like these, the boys there"
she pointed to the letter that had Slip
ped from her lap to the f1oor-"if he
were, like them, In need, dying, want
ing eggs, milk, brandy, to keep him
alive, would you be buying white
gloves? And would we think what other
people wear or how they live or wheth.
er We had only one servant now? II my
boy was over there, II my son were"
But other women's sons are over
there Mrs Lane had at last realized
this. The tears were rolling down her
cheeks