Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1919-02-21
Copyright, 1917, by The Mcclure Newspaper
SYndicate)

(Copyright, 1917, by The Mcclure Newspaper
Syndicate)
"What DO 1 think of a blinkin' con-
scientious object0rw answered key
Honney from the corner of the tlrebay.
"Well, what with this bl0omin' war on
and blokes goin' west by the thou
sands, a pacifist or conscientious obJec-
tor is one Of two things, he's either
blinkin' coward Or bloody pro-Ger-
man. But it's funny the way Some O.
them blighters, with their West Emo
ideas back in Blighty, changes their
minds when they gets out here IN the
mud. and gets their first glimpse of
wnr zen cross. It's either a firm
squad up against a wall, a bloomln'
V. G.. Victoria CrOsS) or rest in
peace sign over their nappers for
them. A strange thing it is, but true;
those blokes never go through the
trenches in an ordinary way like we
do; it's q case of extremes, no in-be-
tween stuff.
"Next time you're en- burial party,
take a look at the third cross from the
left in the fourth row as you enter
the cemetery. You know that patti
that leads through the orchard just Off
the entrance of that big E. &. Woyai
Engineers) dugOut; well, under that
cross rests bloke who back in Blighty
prOfessed to be a pacifist. He wouldn't
blinkin' we'll volunteer, not likely; they
had to draft him, an when they did he
refused to fight, so they stuck him IN
the N. c.. c.. (noncombatant corps) and
handed him a pick and shovel and put
him to re, airin' roads and diggin
graves. Well, it didn't take long be-
fore he was properly fed up with his
job, and he threw down the pick and
shovel and grabbed up rifle an bayo-
net. Oh, yes, he clicked it all right
and went west In fact he was buried
In one o. the graves he helped to dig.
/ suppose some O those college officers
called it the iron of fate, or some 9th
er blinkin' Understanding phrase, but
we knows that it was only common
ordinary luck, cause we all knows that
if you're going to get it, you'll get It,,
no matter if you're a gentleman's son
or a bloomin' chimney sweep.
"This Brighter I'm telling about was
in my platoon when I was in G COM
pany, an he used TO give me the prop
er pip with his arguments against
fighting and the likes O that.
'The first time / met him was in st.
Armand; our bat was in the rest bill
lets awaitin' a new draft before going
up the line again. You see we had
clicked it pretty rough at Fromelles,
an a platoon looked like blinkin'
squad when it lined up for parade. |
was playing house in that estaminet
right across from that bashed-in
church on the corner when his labor
battalion came through and took over
billets just opposite from the esta-
minet. I was sitting near a window
and watched them pass. A sOrrier
bunch of specimens Of men l never
saw; it turned my blinkin' stomach to
look at them, what with their pasty
struggling gait. Right then and there
admired the Germans for their sys-
TEN of universal military training. II
England had of had little more of it
there never would have been q war
and right now we would be in Blighty
with our wives and nippers, instead of
sitting here in these bloody bitches
waitin' for a shell to come over with
our name and number on it.
"After the labor battalion took over
billets several of them came into the
estaminet and sat at a table near me.
They started to discuss the war and
voice their opinions about the top
hats at home. This bloke I'm a talkin'
about was the lOudest of the bunch /;
he seemed to have q crouch on every
thing in general. I listened to him a
few minutes chucking his weight about
until it bloody well got on my nerves.