Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1918-03-07


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Tie state Q llttle.s
Then I was taken before IL doctor
and passed a. physically d. ard wes
issued Q uniform. When ] reported
back to the lieutenant. he suggested
that. being an American. I 90 On re
cruiting service and Try to shame same
Of the slackers into Joining the army"
IAN you have to DO" he said. 'is to
90 out on the street, and when you sea
a young fellow In mutt who looks
nt. Just stop him and give
him this kind Of Q talk: Aren't you
ashamed Of yourself. q Britisher. phys
ically n. and In mufti when your king
and country need youf Don't you !
know that your country II at war and
that the place for every young Briton
IL on the firing linef Here I am. IN
American. In khaki. who came four
thousand miles to aght for your king
and country. and you. as yet have not
enlisted. Why don't you joint Now
Is the time
This argument ought to get many
recruits. Empey. 80 60 out and zee
what you can do"
He then gave me q small rosette Of
red. white and blue ribbon, with three
little streamers hanging down. This
was the recruiting insignia and was
to be worn on the left side Of the CAP.
Armed with a swagger stick and my
patriotic ~rosette, I went out into Tot.
tenham Court road In quest Of cannon
fodder.
Two or three poorly dressed civil.
ians passed me. and although they ap-
peared physically at, I said to myself.
'"They don't want to Join the army;
perhaps they have someone dependent
on them for support" SO I did not &C.
cost them.
Coming down the street I saw o
young dandy, top hat and all, with a
~fashionably dressed girl walking be-
side him. I muttered, "You are my
meat" and when he came abreast Of
me I stepped directly in his path and
stopped him with my swagger stick,
saying:
"You would look fine In khaki; why
not change that top hat for q steel
helmet? Aren't you ashamed Of your.
self, a husky young chap like you In
multi when men are needed In the
trenches2 Here I am. an American.
came four thousand miles from Ogden,
Utah, just outside of New York, to
fight for your king and country. Don't
be a Stacker. buck up and get into uni
form; come over to the recruiting Of
flee and I'll have you enlisted"
He yawned and answered, II don't
care II you came forty thousand miles.
no one asked you to-" and he walked
on. The girl gave. me a sneering look ;
I was speechless.
recruited for three weeks and near
~ got one recruit.
This perhaps was not the greatest
stunt in the. world. but It got back at
the officer who had told me, Eyes, we
take anything over here" I had been
spending a good lot Of my recruiting
time in the saloon bar Of the Whea,
Sheaf pub (there was a very attractive
blonde barmaid, who helped kill time
I was not rs serious in those days rs
I was a little later when I reached
the front)-well, 1t was the sixth do,
and my recruiting report was blank
I was getting low In the pocket-bar
maids haven't much $ for anyone
who cannot buy drlnks-so ! looked
around for recruiting material. Yor
know a man ON recruiting service gets
q "bob" or shilling for every recruit
he entices into joining the army. the
recruit is supposed to get this, but hi
would not be a recruit II he were wise
to this fact, would he?
Down at the end Of the bar was {
young fellow in multi who was yer!
patrlotic-he had about four "Olt
Six" ales aboard. He asked me II h
could Join, showed me his left hand
two fingers were missing, but I SAT-
that did not matter as 1--WE take any
thing over here" The left hand
the rifle hand as the piece Is carries
at the slope on the left shoulder. Near
" everything in England Is by tn
left" even general traffic keeps to tn
port side.
I took the applicant owe to head
quarters, where he was hurrIedly e1
amined. Recruiting surgeons wer
busy In those days and did not hav
. much time for thorough physical exam
9 nations. My recruit was passed O
: ut" by the doctor and turned over I
! q corporal to make note Of his scar
; I was mystined. Suddenly the corp'
raj burst out with, "Blime me, two
. his fingers are gone" Turning to m
Q he said, "You certainly have yor
nerve with you, not 'alf you amt,
It bring this beggar In"
q The doctor came over and explode
o 'What do you mean by bringing In
% man in this condition.
Is Looking out Of the corner Of my e!
2 I noticed that the officer who had :
: cruited me had Joined the group, ar
. I could not help answering, swell, 81
I was told that you took anything ov'
u here"
think they called It "Yankee II
g. pudence," anyhow It ended my recrul
u in0 ~" | -