The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1919-01-28
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
IN FORM A TON
BURE AU
FREDERIC J. HASKIN. Director.
Washington. D. C.
ONE MORE SOLDIER.

washington, u L., JAN. Eo.-1 his
is the story of one soldier-a private
who has just returned from the front
1t is story that is told again and
| again. but which is always new. for
each man has different reaction to
war.
This man was a young merchant in
an eastern city when he received his
draft summons. His qualifications for
army life were a good sense of humor,
a fastidious APPETITE and an expert
| knowledge Of his own particular mer-
| camille line, which was women's lin
gerie and kimonoS.
His first reaction to the army when
! he was sent to a training camp was
distinctly unpleasant. He hated be-
| ing herded with SO many other men,
| he found it difficult to obey orders
when he was in the habit of doing the
ordering himself and his APPETITE re-
! belled against the plain army food.
Then one day they appointed him
keeper of the army mules, and he
company interviewed in time, and he
was given a job in the supply division.
In this ca pacity he went to Europe.
Gradually-it was on the way over, he
: said-he began to like the army. His
amiability won for him many friends
in his division, and the irresponsibility
of the military life began to appeal to
him. Also, he began to be very proud
of the fact that he was an American.
They went across in an English vessel,
| manned by English sailors ana COOKS,
and they were surprised to find that
any people could be so unenlightened
as the English. In the first place they
did not know how to cook, and in the
second place they did not know how to
talk. Private J. will give you his
word that he could not understand
them. and he had great difficulty in
making them understand him. In
Liverpool, however, the men were
much impressed. There were SO many
wounded British soldiers. 1t seemed
to them IS if every man in England
had been wounded. When they got
to the front they found that this was
because an Englishman is sent, home
as soon as he is wounded, whereas the
French remain in the hospitals near
the front and go back to the fighting
as soon as their wounds are healed.
Once in France, Private ]. was
placed in a damp, evil-smelling box
car along with thirty-nine other men
and shipped to an unknown point
which afterwards turned out to be an
American camp. This was the first
time they had travelled in a box-car,
but the men accepted it with their
usual native humor. Did you hear
them call out, Eight horses or forty
men p -" asked Private j., and after
wards they never saw a box-car that
the whole company did not shout:
Eight horses or forty men,
In the first camp the accommoda-
tons were very good. The ground
was dry; the tents did not leak, and
there was good meal to be had three
times a day at the mess kitchen. But
there were only few shower baths,
and Private US division was sent away
before 1t got chance to use them.
Once more they were showed into
hox-car. and started out for an I'M
known destination, which, 1t was whis-
pered among the men, meant the
trenches. Private ]. noticed that
while the supply company d, usually
brought up the rear of every move
ment. and was always delegated to the
last car on the train, this particular
day it was moved up next to the en-
gine-an erratic change in policy that
saved his life.
They had just pulled out from a
small French town when the train
stopped. 1t had been stationary only
n few minutes when suddenly there
was a terrible crash. Private US train
went forward with a tremendous jerk,
and then stopped again. One of the
men managed to get the door open,
and they saw that the last eight cars
of their train had been demolished by
a French express train. The dead and
wounded were being lifted out of the
man limb or two were scattered about.
and a curious nauseating odor was
rising from one of the burning cars IN
the rear. The men in the supply car
groaned as they grabbed their first
aid packets to go to the assistance of
their comrades.
On a pile of blankets with a half
dozen men STOPPING over him. lay
young sergeant who had been the
! 4
splendid baritone voice and could
play on half dozen different musical
| instruments. and he was always in a
good humor. Everybody loved him
and here he was lying in the midst
of a wreck miles from the front, with
both his legs torn off.
When Private J. reached the group,
the sergeant was unconscious, and
| they were waiting for an ambulance
that was to be sent out from the
French town. Suddenly the sergeant
regained consciousness. He did not
to sing. The song that he sang was
"Smiles'-the song that they had all
ways made him sing when they were
feeling blue. When he reached the
end of the song he died.
When they reached the front-a
point very near Metz-the greatest
test of their endurance began. 1t
was raining. of course. private J.
was in France for fiv- months, and
during that time he swears that the
sun shone just twice. He feels very
sorry for the French people because
they have to live in such a country
But aside from the rain, there was
very little water. The men dared not
wash in a nearby stream, for fear 1t
had been poisoned. and every bit of
drinking water had to be passed by
laboratory expert. The rations. too
were reduced to a minimum They
| consisted. in fact, of a sort of greasy
/ meat soup. which the men called
| Sum-" and bareback. This was
served twice a day-at eight in the
morning and at four in the afternoon.
| Now that they were actually under
| the range of the German guns, the