Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1918-04-19
From Far Away Washington

past winter when reading OF your
very severe winter that you could
have shared some of our MILD
weather. We have had the mildest
winter this year that we. have had
since coming West, almost seven
years ago. There have been a few
days of skating weather here, but
most of the time we have had almost
spring-like weather. The roses
have retained their leaves all win
ter, and the grass has been green
all the time.
Unlike most of our winters we
have had a great amount of cloudy
weather: We have had little sick
ness this year, contrary to the old
adage, that "a green Christmas
makes a full graveyard"
We see that The people of High
land with Bath are measuring up to
the full standard of patriotic service
in giving their boys, their time,
and their money to their country,
1t is also true of this western coun-
try with few exceptions. We
have many foreigners here, chiefly
from Germany, Norway and Swe-
den. Some of them, probably, are
silent sympathizers with Germany,
but they dare not show their SYM
pathy openly, but many of them
seem to be serving their adopted
country loyalty. Our greatest
menace and danger here is the |.
w. W. They are so secret, so de-
structive, and know not the mean
ing of loyalty. They are the true
Bolsheviki of America, and shoul /
be dealt with as anarchists. They
are foes to all forms of constituted
authority and government.
In almost every instance an l.
W. W is foreigner. We, by
having no restricted immigration
laws, have fostered this viper, that
is now biting the hand of the gov
eminent that has fed it. They are
everywhere; your automobile driv-
er from the public garage; the man
who brings you your milk, or the
cobler who mends your shoes, is
liable to be one. You open your
daily morning paper, and in start
ling head lines you see $50 and so
arrested for disloyalty," 80 and
500 being probably a man whom
you have seen daily engaged seem
ingly and solely in some peaceable |
profession, but who spends bis
evenings and nights in rabid pro-
Germ an and I. W. W. secret meet
ings. At first this was very start
ling to me, but one can get used
eventually to almost anything, even
attacks by German airplanes, l
suppose.
These I. ". W. always work
among the ignorant and uniform
ed.
We baye a number of our boys
from this town and our high school
in France now. So far as we know
only two of them have been killed
or wounded yet. Every day there
are letters from some of them in
the daily papers. Most of them
happy and contented, enjoying
their new experiences and the
many strange and interesting sights
and adventures that they are see
ing and meeting. Now and then
sadly pathetic picture is revealed
10 their letters of longing for home
and familiar friends and scenes.
Such a one, I recently read from
little Anton Lee, whose father is
Norwegian; a little lad only sixteen
years old, who enlisted with his
older brother at the first call for
service. In one of his letters, writ
ten from somewhere in France,
he says, "Oh, mother, keep think
| ing of the pink and white apple
blossoms and the green, green grass
in our orchard at home, and you,
and all, 0, mother, wish l were
with you," and then he adds with
quaint grown-up manner, "but L
am a soldier and I must serve my
country" Dear little boy, may
he live to return to his country.
Since writing the above we have
beard of the taking prisoners OF
$4,000 British troops, and God
alone knows how many killed. 1t
seems disheartening to US. yet
every one speaks bravely. and
seems determined to do his part.
We have recently had as our
guests C. Fl. Burns and wife, OF
Vollmer. The Burns Bros, Wal
lace and Chambers. have recently
purchased another fine wheat farm
| in the Camas Prairie, and will farm
on large scale. They rent as
much more grain land as they own,
and this year they will have out a
large acreage in wheat, which at
tbo oroeont prioo of wheat WI |