The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1918-09-12

sunshine when you're in the trenches
up to year neck in mud on rainy
day"
| Come over to my Office, If you
wish. and I'll explain what q Red
! Cross searcher Is" she answered to
another question
It was 2 little wooden Office, neat
inside as only e woman could make
! II, with flowers around, and pictures
lon the wall, pictures that had moth
| ing to do with the war. There were
cushions on the seats and chairs, and
magazines on the table. II looked
like q den in somebody's summer
home
Its part o. the game to have &
nice Office" she said, smiling. we
want the boys 10 like TO come around.
Anyway, / like TO have q neat office
and get pictures up that are nothing
ike these wartime surroundings.
Lists of Missing.
See these lists. They're sent out
By the Red Cross office in Paris, from
the home and hospital service branch.
These are men who have been re-
ported missing. The army is TOO busy
lighting Germans TO investigate any
further about them, and sends in
this report
But the mothers and fathers and
sisters and brothers back home are
not satisfied with the word missing
They want 70 know more. and We
are out here To try 10 find out about
the missing boys They're all CLASH
fad according TO their organizations,
gou see
when q new bunch OF wounded
OF sick comes N here, / compare this
list with their organizations. Pos
sibly III find some one in the same
company as one of these missing
boys Then III go and talk TO him,
and see Il he knows anything about
the missing lad Maybe it's ever so
little, but III send it in and maybe
some other searcher in some other
hospital viii find the rest OF the
story from another soldier. and we
can put the TWO together TO account
for the missing
Ny first day out here found q
boy who told ne Of half = dozen
missing men had on my list They
went out together, five pTiEates and
q sergeant The men I talked to
thought the five priTa-ss were cap
tu-ed, but re doubted the sergeant
lived. He hesi-z-ed when ! asked
him why. and it vas with great urg-
ing that I got him 20 say, You see,
they vent out together, and CeI- day
we found Z hand with only three
fingers IN II, and the sergeant was
the Only nan II the company who
had just three fingers 50 l don't think
he's living. Ea'zm-
Report IS Verified.
q turned n the report and several
weeks later il Wa verified oy Z re
port 70 the Red Cross through the
Spanish legation II Germany BY con
stautly getting the boys 20 tell stories
OF their comrades, We can pisce the
stories Of the missing men together,
and if they are safe. notify TIE par
ents. II they are killed Ks t-y 70
get the story OF 1t. and Iet rhsir
folks know, b. letter The army
! doesn't have tius for details, 90 ne
try 10 get hem.
That's Just part Of the xorE ~
course. We try 20 connect the hos
: pital with the homes. When patients
die here, l write letters 20 the par
: ents, and give them q sympathetic
account Of the boys last DAYS. we -e.e
( 81 c-bL4 1COlN A-t1nL4. y L-f.l axes 5.zrE
= here, as the army does from -he from.
"IH make weekly reports to the
-, folk back home on very I'll patients
y and write letters for the ones Who
= are too i'll TO do it. I had an inter
: esting experience Of that type his
: afternoon. i corporal very very
: weak and Just operated upon. cold ne
= his pa. on the next bed wanted ne TO
y write a letter.
Corporal on the JOB.
81 got some paper and sat down
by the pal 10 write what he gave me
u l asked him whom he wanted II writ.
e ten to. He hesitated. bashfuIlv. The
If corporal, struggling 10 raise himself
b though awfully weak, whispered
e Tell her. lad, tell her DESPITE he
n pains. ne was being a corporal to the
a last and encourag ing his pal
II The man beside me looked IN