Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-01-26

- IL
The day after the armistice was
signed an American soldier in France
| wrote to his best girl:
For over a year I have had a burn
ing ambition to go overseas, and by
gosh, I've still got it,
Then he, and all his fellows. sat
down and did a little figuring. Statis-
tics seemed to prove that long, sad
wait lay before him. To make sure he
consulted his company commander and
had his fears confirmed. The company
commander forgot that Uncle Sam
learns by experience. He remembered
how long it took to come over. He
saw visions of trucks drawing: up be-
fore company barracks at ports of en-
barkation, not so very long ago, loaded
with shoes and overcoats and breeches
and shirts; and after a hectic two
hours of sorting and trying. returning
two-shirds laden for exchange with odd
sizes that wouldn't fit anybody. He
saw company clerks toiling all night
long over service records, passenger
lists and the hundreds of individual
papers necessary to keep a quarter
master busy and contented. And on
that basis he knew it would be a long,
long time. even should the return
movement, start Immediately, before
the cow-haunted towns Of sunny
France would fade into memory
But Uncle Sam has learned by ex-
perience. He has put two million SOL
diers into France, and in the process
he has acquired knowledge. The hum
dreds of thousands who passed
through the replacement camps Of ST.
Aignan-Novers. of LIE Mans in Brit
tany, of Blois and of Nevers soon
showed him that some better methods
had to be devised. and in his service
were men frantically DESTROYS of keep
ing their names out of print. who had
the sense to devise them He cut out
the trucks and got down to business,
Then They Devised "the Mill,
The result was "the MILL They
tried to get better name for 1t, but
the dictionary did not contain one. For
| 1T is mill. Into one end they feed
soldiers. dirty and ragged and infested
from the battlefields, and from the
other they turn them out cleaned and
| re-eQuipped and ready for home. Now
that the soldiers ambition to go over
seas is once more in a way to be graft
| fed, he has acquired another. That is
| the way with ambitions. Now ne wants
to greet again his closest friends at
home. and get rid of his closest friends
| in France. 1 refer, in the latter case.
to the coolies.
! 1t is not pretty animal nor is it
pretty name. but both stick The
cootie has risen to the dignity of
official command. I believe there is
now an offeer-1 am not sure he is
not general officer-who rejoices in
| the proud title of chief delousing
officer. Why not chief delicing officer
! do not know. 1t was considered
that the corps under him should be
named the military delicers, some
| other M.D.s objected. At any rate,
| he has built various combat strong
| holds, such as in the embarkation
| camp outside of Bordeaux, and there
he obtains his victories.
Men going home are either casuals
or organized units. The organized
units come off the line and are sent
| into billets in villages scattered over
| a wide area. There they put up their
| own little portable delousing plants
and draw their new equipment and
generally tidy themselves up. When
they think they are ready they re-
| port that fact and are inspected: and,
| if their opinion of themselves is cor
| rect. they are, according to priority
| list moved to embarkation camp No.
=. WHeHSo tHey 30 duodTu snip but
| the casual is in different case.
have always had the greatest sym
| pathy for casuals. They have usually
Z! no homes and no friends. Nobody
| wants them. On the authority of any
| piece of tissue paper with blue rub
Der stamp on it they travel over the
| face of France, seeking preferably
their old units, but. at any rate a
home. I am glad to see something
done for them at last Here in en-
barkation camp No. ] they come into
| their own.