The Sentinel=record., 1918-05-30
LETTER 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 Viqilantes.


 Mathematics teach us that from i leaves nothing and there is also the well known biological theorem that you cannot get blood from turnip. lt is also assumed, Sir Isaac Newton lhaving demonstrated the law, that what goes up Is bound to come down, put this is only abstract. Mrs Lane probably would have denied it.
 The flat rent, previously S1,200 a Iyear, now was S1 400, and 1t showed no signs whatever of coming down. The same condition applied also to her Ichildren's shoes. The shoes now cost H whereas they formerly had cost S4. IBut this was merely detail. simi- ar phenomenon occurred as to beef steaks, potatoes, butter, fish and the IT other varieties of domestic essen Jials. All had gone up; none had come down. About the only thing sta- i ole in Mrs. Lanes cosmos was Mir. [ Lanes yearly income This was 1000 | a year. Already Mrs. Lane had given l up one maid. The war literally was at | her door True, Mrs. Lane had no son, DO 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 d0 you think she was doing, anyway7 | She was giving every cent she had. l trying to make both ends meet In her household It hurt, though. Mrs. Lane was a 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 it.
 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 it. then she read 1t again. Afterward she sat there ab- sorbed, silent, rigid The color had crept out of her face, and her breath came swiftly from between her parted lips.
 "I haze just come buck from the
 cdnteen," C re5d. "Such dn after
 no0ni trdtatodd of seytously ioounded Co De fed at once, paich
 is trying, as one has Co climb into
 dU the carriages, one after the oth~
 CT. We begin sotth the men ioho
 are toeit enough to su up and han-
 dle thetr cups, and those i0ho are
 too fH eVen 10 Ut their heads, Of
 course tce hare 10 lift and feed
 Onrseipes. Feeding the ones tCith
 bad face foonfds are the hdrdesf.
 cdH stand ordinary iooHnds Of
 btood but t0hen man ought to
 hdpe q nose aud mouth aud GU he
 has fs--aGh i--it takes all pour
 courage 10 oct through feeding.
 nidnd0ed 10 get hall q pfat Of
 milk and bodten cog and sonis
 brandy dorn inc throat of boy of
 tiCenty loh0 had no moufh Jeff, and
 had 10 cleda C bettCeen eperu
 mou.hfM He had had no food for
 fifteen hours and tods SO thirsty
 thGt he iods nearly insane held
 his head against me, and Odq0ed
 GH the Hme, but just kept think
 ing, 'Supp0se it tCas my boy tch0
 needed drink and there tods no
 one Co giue it 10 hiBt.' So ' trent
 through tDith H. and he finally ioenf
 to sleep. Oh, Mdrthd, Marthd Lane.
 toe need erervthing-dH pou and
 the rest can sendt"
 If Lawrence Had Gone to War.
 One o'clock struck. Mrs Lane stiii sat with the letter cIutched in her hand. What's for dinner7" 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. "I 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 unaecountably was weeping, Just I suppose 1t was my boy-mlnei" she ; was sobbing.
 "Why, mother 1" calculated Olivia ? She hurried toward her mother. "what Is 1t, mother7 You're acting just as though Lawrence had gone to war 1" Mrs Lane looked up. the tears streaklng down her face.
 "Thats just what is the matter with ! me I should be acting as if Lawrence were there. And so should youI If Willie were like these the boys there,s she pointed to the letter that had slip ped from her lap to the fioor--''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- . | ar Vva had only ara carVanf noxr1 If mn boy was over there, if my son were" 3 But other women's sons are over there. Mrs. Lane had at last realized this. The tears were rolling down hss cheeks.