The Ely miner., 1943-09-02

And in the fourth place, don't agl-
tate me unnecessarily. I'm at the
end of my patience with you and I
amt feeling in no holiday spirit
anyway"
buttoned the handsome winter
blouse and he stepped back to in
spect it with the eye of an artist.
Every time my wife gets mad at
me, she has her picture taken to
send to me. The picture I got to-
day showed she's going to eat my
heart out numerically when I can't
put off my furlough any longer and
I have to 60 home. And with do
mestic difficulties on my hands, !
have to fit your winter uniforms. "
He yanked at my coattail, straight
ened the collar and scratched his
head. 'Hargrove-37 long," he
yelled to the boy at the desk.
MAN that is born of woman" I
conforted him, sis of many days
and full of trouble"
"Git off the platform and into this
overcoat," he sighed. He held the
coat while I got into it and he
slapped my hand for fidgeting again.
Sometimes I wonder why I go to
so much trouble keeping you boys
dressed right. Here I spend the
whole afternoon wiping sweat out of
my eyebrows, just to see that your
clothes fit you and you won't look
Like a bunch of bums-which you
are.
do you know what some migrate
full kitchen termite said the other
day? He started putting it around
that the Army could double itself in
half an hour by filling up the extra
space In its trousers. Do your trou-
sers fit you bum?" He Strengthened
the pleats in the back of the over
coat and gave the tail an unneces-
sarily vicious yank.
"Did I say they didn't?"
groaned, raising my arms despair
mgly. "Just because somebody else
says you stretch the coat in the
back so the man will think it fits
right in the front, you have to go
picking on mel"
'Me pick on you?" he screamed.
Its a wonder my nerves amt COM
pletely shot! Do I come around and
put signs on the door saying, Walk
Up One Flight and Save Five Dol
lars? Do I throw gunny sacks on
your bed and ask you to take up the
cuffs two inches?
with my thankless job, it's a
wonder I haven't collapsed before
this. I wish I was a permanent
kitchen police instead of a supply
sergeant. Hargrove - 81 long!
NEXT"
"This battery is my baby" Cor
poral Henry Ussery said, loosening
his belt for a real bull session. I've
watched it grow from thutty-one
men to what it is now. It was hard
work building up this battery to
what it is now, but it's worth it
when you look around and see what
you've done"
The assembly sighed en- masse
and decided to loosen its belts. Us
sery was wound up again.
when I got here, there wasn't
anybody here but the instructors.
We spent four weeks eating dust and
running rabbits. There I was-Td
spent thutteen months learning the
old drill and tactics to where ]
reckon I had it down better than
any man in the whole Army. Then
they started this minute Army.
with a bunch of green ignorant Yam
kees-and I had to teach them what
they had to know!"
The bull session nodded wisely
and Corporal Ussery went on. ''Now,
this young Corporal Joe CAN'T, for
instance. Now, this Corporal CAN'T,
when he first came in, was one of
the greenest rockies in the bunch.
But he snapped out of it and made
corporal in four months.
"Was that soldering" a voice
broke In, cor handshaking-as the
Latins used to say, mittus flop
pus?"
Much as I can't stand CAN'T, I'll
have to admit it was soldering.
That's the way it is. You sweat your
head off hammering the drills and
the calisthenics and the military
courtesy and guard duty and the
physical hygiene and the manual
of arms into them. They're all
clumsy and awkward as a bear in
an egg crate at first, but then you
can see them, after a while, snap
ping into it and getting better and
better. By the time we've had them
thutteen weeks, and they're ready to
be assigned to their posts, they're
as keen and alert as bunch of West
Point cadets. They're extra good
cooks and better soldiers"
isn't good soldier a specialist
at gripping and growling?" somebody
asked him.
when soldier can gripe," the
corporal announced in a pontifical
manner, "he's happy as a pig in
the sunshine. When he doesn't gripe,
there's something wrong with him.
That's another thing you learn.
When you first came here, you didn't
know the first principles of gripping.
You griped about the clothes; you
griped about the beds; you griped
especially about having to go to bed
at nine o'clock"
Gripping is an art, just like gold
bricking is an art. Before you leave
here, you learn that you don't enjoy
gripping bit when you spread your
energy all over everywhere, gripping
about everything. You learn to
choose one thing and specialize in
gripping about that.
'If you want to be specialist at
gripping, you have to get on your
toes. You get to where your clothes
are comfortable. Where Won used