Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1919-02-21

tool leaned over to him and said:
"'You must be OF Of those bloomin'
conscientious DIRECTORS we reads about
In the papers, one O. those blighters
who don't believe in fghtin' but is
willing to sit back in Blighty and let
us blokes out here do your bloody
fghtin' for you, while you gets blink
in good screw (salary) sitting on a
high stool in some Office
''He turned to me and answered:
It's the likes o. you who volunteered
for this war what keeps it goin'. If
you had all refused to go at first, there
wouldn't be any war?
81 couldn't see it his way at all, and
went right back at him with: Yes, and
if it wasn't for us volunteering, the
bloody German flag would now be fly
ing over Buckingham palace and King
George would be in the Tower Of Lon
dom
"He thought minute or two and
answered: We'll, what of it; one flags
as good as another, and as for the
you but make you pay taxes so he
could bloomin' well sit around doing
nOthin'Y
"This was too much for me, that
hlinkin' jellyfsh a singing mud at our
king, so lost my temper, and taking
my glass of vim rouge in my hand
[ leaned over close to him and said:
when you mentions the kings name
il is customary to drink his health,
Perhaps he never did anything spe-
eial for me, but I have never done
anything special fer him, and even
st that I've done a damned sight more
than you have for him, so take this
wine and drink his health, or I'll
dent that napper of yours so you won't
be able to wear that tin hat of yours
"He got kind Of pale and answered:
Drink to the kings health; not like
ly. It's through him and his bloody
Top Hats in parliament that I'm out
mere. Why in the blinking hell don't
he DO his own fighting and let us poor
blokes alone?
''I saw red and was just goin' to hit
him, when a big Irishman out of the
Royal Irish Rifles next to me grabs
the glass Of wine from my hand, and
looking the Brighter in the face yells
at him:
swell, if the king amt done moth
ing for you English, he's done less
tor us irish, but [ volunteered to come
out here for him, and here | am, and
glad of it too, and hopes some day
to get into Berlin with the kings
forces. You won't drink his health;
we'll you can battle his health With
that he threw the wine into the blight
ers face and smashed him in the nose
with his fist. The fellow went over
like log with the Irishman still
agoin' for him. If we hadn't of
pulled him off | think he would have
Killed that conscientious objector. The
military police came in to see what
all the row was about. / had clicked
three days G.. 3. CONFINED to barracks)
and didn't want to get arrested, so in
the confusion I made tracks for my
billet.
''Tlle next time I met the bloke was
when we buried old Smith out of the
Tenth platoon in the cemetery at La
EasSee. He was one of the grave dig
gers. All during the burial service
he stood looking at the Union Jack
with queer look on his face. When
old Smith was lowered into the ground
and the dirt was thrown on him the
conscientious bjectOr--Watkins was
his nlme-came over to me and said:
81 hear he (pointing at old Smiths
erave) is forty-eight years old and has
left a wife and three nippers back in
Blighty. He was too old for the draft,
wasn't he? Then he must have vol
unteered.'
81 answered: OF course he volun-
tcered, and there he lies, deader than
h; but I'll wager quid his wife
and kids will be proud of him-and
that's more than your kids will be
about you
s'He sneaked off without answering.
Three days later nearly dropped dead
when our lance corporal came into our
billet with a bloody nose and a beau
tifully trimmed lamp. When / asked
him how he got knocked about he
told me that fellow out of the non
combatant corps named Watkins had
mussed him up just because he had
called him a white-livered coward.
watkins ducked twenty-one days
number one on the wheel, and when
his sentence was finished they trans
ferred him to fighting unit, and
bang into our platoon he comes.
"Many a talk had with him about
that pacifist stuff-he hadn't changed
a bit in his ideas-but he kept his
mouth shut about the king and the
Top Hats at home.
"Then we went into the trenches
and I knew his finish was near. A
firing squad or rest in peace was to
be his lot; they all get one or the
| ether sooner or later.
"After two days in, Fritz got rough