Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1919-01-17
The "Comeback !"
BY Frederic J. Haskin

door, is new thing in the newspaper
game. But tho Comeback, the paper
! published by the wounded soldiers at
/ Walter Reed Military Hospital announces
], this desire as it's editoria! policy.
! The first OF chain Of similar newspapers
! To be established in the reconstruction
| hospitals of the country, the Comeback
will live just as long rs IL Is necessary for
| the government to support a econstruc-
ton hospital for the mer who have made
/ their sacrifice lover there
"The Comeback announces it's purpose
to carry on for while" the editorial in
:, the first issue states IF the advertising
and circulation holds out, we shall be here
until the last rehabilitated soldier has
settled down on one Of Secretary Lanes
/ soldier farms or married a beautiful heir
ess, whose father dabbled bit in war
| stocks"
Written and printed by the wounded
| men themselves and sold by the Ped Cross
nurses who have borne the burden Of the
war with the men, the paper tells the
| story Of the men who are asking n chance
| to Comeback
Don't eoddlo u.s." is their message TO
the too sympathetic publicl We have
made our sacrifices like men and now we
ask for square deal and chance TO
d
| In our hands and calling tis heroes ism -
going 10 take the place Of the job we need
| to support ourselves and our fam ilies.
Eve are not objects Of charity or pity.
Give us your advertising and subscription
and we will take care Of the regt.
The Comeback is confronted with rs
many responsibilities es ever faced new
born newspaper or magazine. The editor,
IN the first edition, declares that the paper
will have as many duties 10 perform as
| a soldier IN France has cooties."
First the little paper is to uphold the
morale Of the wounded men, explaining
the various plans of the government for
their welfare and training II is to keep
alive the spirit of carry on" which upheld
these veterans Of Chateau Thicrry, Ar
gonne and the Marne, in the midst Of
the fighting.
Many Of the men come back TO the hos
| pitals IN this country entirely unaware
that their Uncle Sam has made any prepa-
rations for their futures, beyond the
meager pension granted the veterans Of
other wars. Despondent, the men are
convinced that their handicaps in the
form Of missing arms or legs, VIII bar them
forever from active participation IN the
affairs Of the world
To these the Comeback explains that the
government has determined that not one
man from over there shall 90 back INTO
civil life less fit 10 support himself than
he was before he enlisted In the service.
HOW UNCLE SAM HELPS.
you have lost your right arm. Mr.
Mach:nlst,' the paper says, well, your
Uncle Sammy has new arm for you that
will enable you % go on with your trade
or enter a new line Of business. Write
10 tls and We will tell you all about it.
Secondly the Comeback must serve
AS model for the dozens Of other papers
To be published IN reconstruction hospitals
in other sections of the country. Even
as the hospital at Walter Reed stands
as a model Of its kind, the paper published
by the Walter Reed men viii blaze the
trail along which the other hospital publi-
cations will follow.
Already two other reconstruction hos
pitals have established weekly newspapers,
similar in policy and makeup TO the Come
back The New York hospital has its
..Rightabout, and the hospital at New
port News has established paper as vet
unnamed.
The naming of the paper is left to the
men of the hospital The Comeback
received its title from Private Earl Barrows
a veteran of Argonne forest now learning
to play baseball with specially designed
artificial arm invented for him at the
hospital When he is mustered out,
Private Barrows expects to study engineer
ing at technical school IN New England.
The responsibility OF its position rs the
first paper of its kind rest heavily on the
shoulders o: the infant journal, four weeks
old on the fourth OF January.
"A noncom officer has 10 cut his n0tches
l.. las
a.The Job OF being a noncom newspaper
to 8 hayfoot-strawfoot brigade of hospital
sheets, may he dignity, but it IS certainly
also responsibility.
As it's fourth duty, the paper must
serve as practical school of journalism
for the wounded men with leanlngs toward
newspaper careers.
For example, Private Stewart L. Evans,
eighteen-y ycar-old veteran OF twelve months
hard fighting over there, came back 70 the
Walter Reed Hospital with one arm gone,
lost under barrage fire at Chateau Thierry
and disinChnation 10 so back 70 his old
trade rs a machinist. One week : serylce
In the advertising department of the
Comeback has convinced hlm and his
chief that be was intended 10 be the adj
vertislng manager OF some metropolitan
daily few years hence, and IN the mean
tlitiS ne lecsSs np tiAitt titS
cal training on his hospital paper.
from the typesetter's case 10 the inl-
posing stone, and from cub reporter TO
editor-in-chief F" the paper declares, ''every
job will be filled BY a iank they couldn {
kill. The fellow who wants 10 learn
journalism will have an opportunity to
learn any phase of it for which his ability
Ats hi II.
.'If these doughboys ever learn to write,
the paper prophesies, there will be more
real stories of the war written after the
war than while it was being fought.
Suppose the Comeback gets fellow who
battered the Boche in Belleau Woods
and helps to lind the reporter that is IN
hun What tale he could tellr
ALL CAN WRITE.
Every man in the hospital is given a
chance to write for his paper. The Come
back issues reporters blanks with in
structions Just how to write the story and
distributes them among the men in the