The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1919-04-24

men, VINO last grew into close
acquaintances. There is nothing
that binds men into closer friend
ship than common experience in
the army. AS it is in college, so
1t IS in the army-lifelong friends
are born, and congeniality and
association, impossible lin civil
ian life, YIELDS the lives in last
ing memory in common cause.
Among the bright places in the
soldiers life are visits Of rela-
tives and friends to camp to see
him; the receipt Of pass home !;
the distribution Of mail bearing
news from home, and perchance
letter from her whom he most
loves; the kind attentions of the
noble women of the Red Cross
whose aim is to aid the soldier in
every way;the canteen, where he
may spend an hour and satisfy
his taste for something sweet;
the Y. M. C. A. with it's jovial
workers, the friends of the sol
dlers who provide rest and recre-
alton, and place to read and
write; and last, but not least.
payday, with it's hopes-for first
sign the pay roll and then we
wait, and wait-for sometimes it
is months before pay is given.
The delay in mail and pay is
usually due to the fact that the
soldier is separated from his or
ganization because of sickness, or
for replacement, and his ad-
dress is misplaced.
To the shame of the American
army, a large number of the boys
engage their time in shooting
craps" He wants something to
do, and this gambling occupies
and follows where they lead. He
thus sinks to the level of the
negro, whose game he has en-
braced.
The general opinion of the
negro soldier is that he is a good
fighter. Of course, he did his
best when white man, in whom
ne had confidence, led him. The
Germans detested the negro, and
it is said that few negroes were
taken prisoner-they being put
to death as soon as they were
captured. This seems a little
questionable, though it stands to
reason that they received worse
treatment than the whites who
were captured. The negro show
ed bravery and rushed in to kill
the enemy whenever the white
man, his commanding officer. or
acsssca kkifss - 90 81. The negroes
were used chiefly for laborers.
their intellectual standard being
so low,- that they were not en-
trusted with the task of conduct
ing major operations at the front.
A German officer, captured
with his machine gun from which
not a ball had been fired, said
chat when he saw those fine
healthy young Americans coming
toward him. he could not fire
twould have been shameful. But,
he added, if he had seen a single
negro among the men, he would
have opened fire, and have done
his best to destroy the whole
number.
1t is said that in the early
days of American service over
sea, the newly arrived negro SOL
dier-was received by the French
on terms of social equality. Some
OF the negroes claimed that they
were American Indians. AS soon
as the French learned the atti-
tude of the white soldier, the
practice of association with the
negro gradually ceased.
The American soldier is the
popular hero in the heart of every
French girl, but we can't blame
her, when to some degree the
same s'malady" was existent in
the hearts of the American girls.
Next week | expect to tell you
the narrated story of soldier
who has really experienced it all
in America. France. Switzerland