The sun., 1919-10-12
By ANNA sTEEsE RICHARDSON.

By ANNA STEESE RICHARDSON.
FF the army for. ltfe." was
the slogan of the A. E. F.
as 1t set foot on American
soil. Yet to-day, man here or there.
lad in Massachusetts, or in Texas.
lays down hl1 hammer or saw. turns
from typewriter or the plough and re-
enlists in the peace army.
Why?
Private Bill P, formerly Of the
, .67th Infantry, now at the Aviation
Repair Depot, Montgomery, Ala, ex-
planned the psychology of reenlist-
ment in words and action. In France
Hills capacity for absorbing sand
wiches, currant biscuits and chocolate
bars had been limited only by his sue
less with ivory cubes, which was uni
formly good. His appearance in a
canteen whose stock had run low in
variably threw its workers into a
panic. Avs- s-f
When we met again in New York,
before a huge plate glass window. he
could hardly withdraw his, attention
from the dextrous tosser of wheat
cakes long enough to report on the
healing Of an ugly wound. So, when
our paths crossed later in Montgom-
cry, We moved instinctively toward an
open front, soft drink emporium,
where Bill ~allowed' over chocolate
oolored suds that he had come to town
because he was doggone lonely at
home. He was still in uniform. too.
hob-nailed shoes, blue infantry hat
cord and all. though he admitted that
stcordlng to military regulations he
could wear 1t only three days longer.
Bill Breaks His Date.
We parted with the understanding
that at IL noon we would share the
best lunch that the Elite Cafe could
get up But IL noon. and 1880 passed,
and Bill still figured among the miss
ing" An hour later I came upon
him, absorbed in conversation with an
other uniformed boy at the Red Cross
csnteen,
"Doggone 1t, ma'am," he said.
1ushing, IF I didn't forget all about
that there lunch when my buddy
turned up. Gee, when seed his ugly
old head. stickin' out of that train I
let out yell you might of heard up
70 the hotel. An say. we're goin' to
reenllst, both of u.s."
When? Where?"
"Now-out to the Aviation Repair
Depot"
why in the world-you told me at
Vacqreville-"
Yes, ma'am-but that was France,
lat
tard gas. Buddy here's had all he
wants OF the farm. an them cracker
oox warmers in Pops store gimme a
pain. Aviation listens good to u.s."
And so at 1850 o'clock that same
afternoon I watched Bill and his buddy
arms linked, pass Aviation Repair
Depot Headquarters. Signed and
sealed to twelve months more of army
service they tramped happily along
70 stand retreat.
Said the Adjutant: "They said they
were lonesome for each other. What
really brought them here was the
mental awakening experienced by
thousands Of their kind In military
service, Systematically they had
come to realize the handicap of Hitter
"''H tii'iT nOiiic eINHoHiiicht. oOou
nshters both of them. but they could
hardly read and write, SO they suf-
Tered the humiliation OF stopping in
.he ranks while men with better men
'al equipment got commissions Pri-
marty these boys want an education,
out are ashamed to go to school.
They Missed Comradeshfp.
O., Then, however homesick they may
nave been In France. home didn't come
W to their expectations. The bodily
ailments, complaints and mental stag
nation Of their folks filed them with
vague fears for their own future. But,
sooEe all else, i believe thoy missed
ihe community life of the army, o life