The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1924-02-15
8 3
VETERANS COLUMN
THE BATTLE OF THE BONUS

by Ed Streeter, author of "Dere
Mable" Letters.-Courtesy of the
City Club of New York Post of the
American Legion.)
Dere Mable,
l just received your picture post
card from Washinton an have stuck
it in my war album. Id like to get
chanel to look over some of those
locul battelfields myself. It's turrible
to think of the acers of devastutated
desks and of the brave lads that
stuck by EN- till they passed out
from los of ink. | knew private
once what fought the war in Wash
linton. Hes DRAWN disability pay
now for a parilized right arm. But
that amt what l took my pen in
hand to write you of.
It's this Bonus dismiss that's both
erin me. wisht you'd get me the
real inside dope on it if you happen
to be talkin to Mr.. Coolidge the
well known presydent some day. 1t
amt that I'm mixed up on where
stand | know that all right. Id
just like to find who started all
this an give him chanel to see if
his war risk insurance still works
or not.
They've been pullin and haulin me
from pillow to post about this thing
ever since you went away. There
amt a day somebody don't come up
to me an ask me for my views. It's
the first time anybodys wanted EN-
since the day | brought the picture
post cards back from Paree. But
them was views worth askin for.
Which is a French joke an l guess
you wouldn't understand.
One day its the Ex-Service Mems
Aunty Bonus league that's after me
TO sign up with their outfit. Next
day another bunch is ,tellin me Id be
a dumbell to do that cause all / got
to do is to sit tight an boiler an
Washington will have to come across
with the price of secondhand Ford
POGO Pronto. To use French idiot
of speech. All of which was con-
fusin till | got onto the idear of
what they was talkin about.
The Silver Tongued Orators call
it adiustibel compinsation, whatever
that means. | call it a handout an
handouts was over for me when |
marched off the dock at Hoboken.
At last I'm on a self supportin basis
as the man wrote his wife when he
hung himself. | don't need no more
free movies, nor Paris Heralds, nor
.feetless socks to wear on my rists
nornothin. I'm workin now-An it
amt the goermint neither.
But when | tell these Bonus fell
lows that they look at me like was
missin some of my buttons. They
say don't | know the govermint owes
me money. 1t seems that accordin
to the rules of the Patryots Union
they forgot to pay us overtime or
somethin. Maybe it's for smoothin
out horses on Christmas. | don't
know. I'm here to state one thing,
though, an that is | don't need no
hired Napolyuns to tell me who owes
me money on who don't.
OF course they didn't pay me
enough. Cause why? Cause they
ouldnt, If they could have the
Tresury would have gone bust the
4 first pay day on me alone.
/ Steepel Jacks that climb steepels
gets 25 smacks per diem, as the
lawyers say, cause their work is
sposed to be dangerous. On that
scale | often wonder what | would
have drawed that day in the Bots de
FORCES wood when the bullets was
playin "she loves me she loves me
not with the daisys right above my
tin derby? And what do you spose
me an Angus Macdonald was worth
an hour the time we sat in the
Chatoe (Which is kind of a French
railroad station near Brillycourt) an
listened to the Fritzies take the
thing apart over our heads? An.
Mable, | can remember time when.
on a piecework basis, I've peeled
100000 worth of Govermint pota-
toes in one week without gettin it.
Wages for what we went through!
Wages hell! Of you'll excuse the
expressun) Do they think we're
like those fellows Ceser used to
hire when he wantd to catch himself
ia new town? But that's history,
Mable, which of course you wouldn't
understand
OF course | took what they handed
me. Id have took all they'd give
me if not more. As it was, by the
time they got through takin deduc-
tons away from me my Vim Rooge
allowance wouldn't have KEEP
Frenchman alive till his Petty Daju-
nay (Which is a French dish eaten
right after breakfast). Just the
same, Mable, Id have taken Rushin
roobles if they'd handed EN- out. An
so would the res of the bunch.
When | first went down to train
in camp there was an old fat horse
doctor who said l couldn't be sol
der cause didn't have good feet.
Quick as anything l says | knew
they wasn't much to look at but l
hadn't figgered that | was enterin
EN- for no beauty contest. Fast
with the comeback, that's me all over
Mable. An when l saw he looked
kind of sheepish l says Id used EN-
for twenty odd years (barrin few
months at the start) an they hadn't
wore off yet. But it wasn't no use.
| come near tastin my first blood