The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-02-23
LETTERS TO EDITOR
BIRMINGHAM sABREs


 To the Editor of The Age-Herald:
 The letter you published last week from E. M. Beardslee regarding the Birmingham Sabres surprised and gratifed me very much. Being troop commander, am in position to appre- ciate what he said, and want to add my voice to his.
 The troop was mustered into the service April 12, 1921, and at the time we understood we were to get adequate quarters. For almost year we have been drilling outside, rain or shine, for the simple reason that we have no hall for indoor work in bad weather. Let any one picture themselves on a bad, rainy night riding about forty minutes to drill, changing to their uniform in room in which the cracks are so big that you could throw a dog through them, drilling in the mud at least one hour and half, changing again and repeating the long ride. They will get home before Il o'clock if they have good luck, and for this pleasant weekly experience they receive $1, one-ffth of which the B. R., L. & P. gets. No, we do not receive handsome salaries, the high- est paid man being the c. O.. He gets $6 66 per week providing he fulflls certain condi- tions, and his work is not by any means con- fined to one drill per week.
 We were quartered temporarily in the fair grounds, and we have long since worn our welcome out. The government requires a drill hall for bad weather and good stable. We have neither, so when federal inspection comes off next month the inspector will want to know why we have not, and how we got mustered in without having them.
 Atlanta has just finished a we'll equipped armory and stable for their troops. We call Atlantians "blow-hards," and they are, but we will have to admit that they blow about what they have done, while we inclined to blow little about what we are going to do, such as build an auditorium.
 Headquarters Troop Twenty-third Cavalry division, is Birminghams troop, but it will be- long to Squeedunk, Toadvine or some other metropolis that can build sufficient quarters unless Birmingham gets on the job. It will be a burning shame and an everlasting dis grace if Birmingham loses this troop because of not furnishing it a home
 Col. T. O. Smith very generously gave us an ideal lot, close in, and Stockham Pipe and Fit tings company are the only ones who have contributed one penny toward the building so far, and it isn't because they have not been
 
 kind of armory and stable that will make it pleasure to come to drill, instead of night mare. This thing is coming to a showdown with the department They have placed $25,000 worth of horses and equipment here and they expect quarters for it.
 Everything is fine for the soldier during war but few people seem to realize that the soldier is essential during peace, otherwise from where would come the soldiers to fight, ''to make the world safe for democracy" when war does come. All this stuff about eternal peace is poppycock. So long people disagree and get mad, they going to fight, especially when the ones who declare do none of the fight ing. So why not be sensible and ready? It is the old story over any over again. Every war is the last one, and each time peace is declared we say, "There will be no more war, it is too awful and then we hang out our old signs, Soldiers and Dogs Not Allowed" We should not try to fool ourselves; we will never have eternal peace until Christ comes again. Why not do something for.our next soldiers now? All of them will not come back to beg for bonus. Yours very truly,
 JOHN c. CARTER.
 Birmingham, February 20, 1922.